How serious is this dog bite?

[Anonymous]

My 9 yo son was playing with our 5yr old lab outside-some variation of fetch. Dog gets excited and grab child's arm. The dog doesnt bark or growl beforehand. My son was wearing a jacket and the bite left a small bump/bruise on his arm. I'm trying to google this and I'm getting conflicting information. The dog was sternly spoken to and given a timeout. This is not the first time he has been mouthy but with others he grabbed the tip of the jacket or tried to before getting corrected. What precautions should I take? Right now I have forbid my son and dog from playing together but recently I read that I should not do that. He is otherwise pretty sweet. But obviously my kids' safety comes first. I also have a 7yr old and a preschooler. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

The correction should be loud and IMMEDIATE. Otherwise the dog cannot understand what behavior he's supposed to stop. So this will continue until you catch him in the act and YELL at him, then turn your back and ignore him for a while.

[Anonymous]

This is a dumb distinction but I see what you described as your dog being mouthy versus biting. I don’t see it as a serious issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a dumb distinction but I see what you described as your dog being mouthy versus biting. I don’t see it as a serious issue.

+1

The dog sounds mouthy. During play, your DS should be stricter about "Drop it" and should ask for a Sit (or Down) frequently during play, to cool things down and reestablish boundaries. Your DS may need help from you or your spouse with this, depending upon how much experience he has with training.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like the dog got over excited when playing and "played rough" which is not great, but easy to manage (don't get the dog over excited). Some dogs can get super excited and won't get rough - but not your dog. Some dogs have very "soft" mouths and if they do play bite or mistakenly get their mouth on someone, they don't bite down (see bite inhibition:https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/behavior/reinforce-your-dogs-bite-inhibition/). It sounds like that is not the case here. Sounds like a good place to just manage the situation by not putting the dog into a position where they'll misbehave.

How long have you had your dog? If you're really worried you should call a professional trainer/behaviorist and see what they think. It's better than advice off the internet and might put you at ease.

[Anonymous]

Anytime the dog gets mouthy like that (I don't consider this a bite) the play activity STOPS. This is not a prelude to biting but a lot of dogs have mouthy behavior during playtime with "siblings." You need to train both the dog and your 7 and 9 year old how to play appropriately with the dog. "Some variation of fetch" can devolve into what the dog sees as dog play, which includes mouthiness. Your son has to keep the dog from breaking down play with him into this sort of freefall. You might bring in a trainer to help reinforce.

[Anonymous]

I don't think this is biting. This is normal play-mouthing that dogs do.
Your kids should not play with the dog if this is a huge issue for you or your kid.

[Anonymous]

Here is the thing, dogs play one way and your kid encourages this kind of play, right?
But, all of a sudden, stop the play. Dog doesn't understand this sudden stop.
Anytime, I play like this with my golden, when he gets mouthy, I say drop it, or no bite, and he does straight away.
Of course, I trained him to do so.

[Anonymous]

What you should do is learn a bit about dogs.

[Anonymous]

Time outs don't work for dogs. Only positive reinforcement works. They won't remember or have a remote clue what they are getting punished for and it won't make any difference.

You need to have your dog in a safe place while your kids play, no chances of getting "over excited" and there needs to be an adult present at all times to intervene, before anything happens.

[Anonymous]

How do you put a dog in a time out? You shut him up in another room?

[Anonymous]

You gave your dog a stern talking to?

[Anonymous]

There are plenty of youtube videos about teaching no biting.

The bite you describe does not sound serious.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like your dog has a “soft bite”. That is what you want in a family dog. In case of rough play and the dog gets excited you don’t want the dog to clamp down hard. I wouldn’t worry about it. It sounds like your dog knows not to bite down hard.

[Anonymous]

That’s not a bite, it’s play mouthing. Dogs do this when a human is holding a toy they want. They also often do it when playing tug with a toy - they let go to re-grip and sometimes accidentally grab the hand holding the toy.

Managing this requires a totally different approach than you’d take with an actual bite. Please read some books about dog behavior and/or work with a reputable dog behaviorist before you mess up the dog and its relationship with your kid(s).