why does my dog bite me when he is my best friend

1. 58

   rathmell123posted 13 years ago

   why does my dog bite me when he is my best friend
   
   it has not been asked
   
   

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2. 61

   libby101aposted 13 years ago

   It can be a vast amount of reasons. Some reasons can include-- he was taken from his mother too early, he hasn't been trained to "not bite", he is lashing out for some other reason, or he is playing... and there are many other reasons!
   
   To stop this behavior you have to be consistent. When he bites...it is more playful or does he really try to harm you? If you he is play biting, then you should ignore it... do not react at all to it and 99% of the time after a few attempts they will stop the behavior! When a dog is biting for play, he is looking for your reaction...but if you ignore it he will eventually discover that you aren't going to play back! If it is a harmful bite then you should not ignore the behavior but remove him from the room when he bites... buy a dog crate and every time he bites put him in time out! There are many other options to train your dog and keep him from "bad behaviors"!
   
   Good Luck

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3. 59

   PageCposted 13 years ago

   Libby101a offered some good advice.
   
   Many puppies and dogs bite as a part of play. When they play with other dogs and bite too hard, the other dog will yelp and turn away, and this teaches the dog bite inhibition. I have seen some dog trainers emulate this behavior to discourage biting.
   
   Some breeds are more nippy than others. Herding breeds are breed to nip the back legs of sheep and cows, and sometimes this instinct is triggered with humans, too.
   
   You might also try redirecting the biting behavior by playing tug.

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4. 60

   keepitnaturalposted 13 years ago

   Apart from the reasons given by Libby101a, which I would say is the most likely reasons, it may be a dominance thing. He may love you back as his best friend, yet think he is the 'top dog,' so to speak. If he bites &  is allowed to continue to do so then that is exactly the message he is getting; he 'can' bite & dogs use their mouth to keep their pups in check, ward off other dogs etc. & so to him this may be a display of who is really in charge here.
   Just another thing to consider as he looks like quite a big dog & not the usual 'little nippy' type!

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