Why Dogs Bite

Dog Breeds

Sometimes you will see that your dog is nipping or biting. What causes the dog to nip or bite? It can be a certain breed of dog, a certain emotional reaction, aggressiveness, teething or even being around something that has hurt the dog before.

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Introducion

When dogs are puppies they can teethe just like humans do. The pain from new teeth coming in causes the dog to want to try and get rid of it. Just like a teething ring for humans, the dog wishes to bite down on something. In most cases, the puppy is just nipping on your finger or on some item. They normally don’t bite down hard and the behavior goes away after the teeth are finally in.

The type of breed of dog you have may be a reason why nipping and biting are causing a problem. Certain breeds of dogs tend to be either more territorial or more aggressive. The dog’s reaction is to bite first to let the person or other animal know that this is their toy or space, and that touching or coming near them is not good. The bite becomes a warning.

Fear plays a role a lot of times when dogs bite. If something or someone has scared the dog, their first reaction is often to bite to show that it is afraid. There are some dogs that may nip only as a warning to show it does not like the situation it is in.

Finally, there are some dogs that nip to show that they are there. They are giving out a signal to owners or other things that they are there and either pay attention or leave their surroundings. At times this will even mean that when someone comes over they are not familiar with their first reaction is to nip or bite making the person know that they are there.

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