Ever Been Bit By A Greyhound?

[dmswartzfager]

I've been bitten four times by my dogs, and once by a client's min pin (and the min pin bit took the longest to heal up).

 

Carrie was resource-guarding my cheeseburger from Wren while we were sitting on a bench at Rehoboth. I saw she was about to go after Wren, so since my hands weren't free, I stuck my leg up in between them and Carrie nailed me.

 

When we first got Symbra, she was super-spooky, and would freak out if her leash got wrapped around one of the humans or otherwise ended up being shorter than she expected, and she got "trapped" where she did not want to be. By freaking out, I mean bucking like a bronco and whatnot, trying to escape whatever trap she felt she was in. We were at Grapehounds when I saw that situation was about to happen, so with no easy way to get her leash untangled from around Brian (he had some of our other dogs too), I took a firm hold of her harness, unclipped her leash and had almost reclipped it when she spooked and started biting at my hand on her harness, multiple times. It was either let her bite me or let go, and letting go wasn't an option. (I had performed that maneuver a few times before, but that was the first and last time I tried to be sneaky about it.) That was the worst I've been bitten by one of my own.

 

The other two times were from Blitz, right after we adopted him, and right after he had exploratory abdominal surgery. I think I touched his belly to check how things were looking and he got me. He hated having his belly touched for at least a couple years after his surgery, so we were careful to always muzzle or otherwise restrain him whenever Dr. Patty or I needed to check his underside. Also around the same time, he had pressure bandages on his legs because fluid built up in them after surgery and his feet were actually seeping fluid. I was working on removing those bandages, which he tolerated for a few minutes, but then he got tired of me messing with him and got my wrist.

 

So, pretty much all my fault. I do hug and kiss my dogs, but as Heather said, I make sure they are awake, alert, and upright, and watch for cues that they might not appreciate such close contact at that moment.

[4greyhounds]

Yes, I have been bite. I had to get 4 stitches in my lip. It was my fault Sophie was a return due to she nipped a little boy. Later I found out that he was trying to pull her bed from underneath her. When we got home I was bending down to get something on the floor where she was sleeping and she got me. The second time was my fault I have to always kiss my babies good night, she was a sleep on the couch I not only gave her 2 kisses but three and the third one she got me. This was totally my fault and my dh even warned me leave her alone she is sleeping did I listen... NO!!!!!

 

Edit: After we have had her over 3 years, now I can lay with her but I know her limits if she growls stop then.... She is my sweetie.... I love her to peices!!!!

Edited July 20, 2011 by 4greyhounds

[shawna]

I will say that I've never been bitten by a grey. However, my best friend's lab got me twice. He just doesn't like me.

 

Now, having said that, I'm going to say the same thing I do when people ask if my horse bites. "He has teeth, all the way up to his ears. He hasn't yet, but that doesn't mean that he can't."

[XTRAWLD]

Wow. Can't believe the amount of bite responses! Naturally I take care and watch for signs always, as should everyone. Yes I was certainly looking for "provoked" biting as opposed to accidental. Kasey has accidently bit us when we are playing, missed the toy and grabbed a finger, etc so I don't really count those as "bites" because they were not intentional. Kasey is a big time ham, any 2 legged creature with hands are welcome to give him scratches any time! Interesting group of stories....thanks for sharing.

[tuff]

I haven't been bitten but shortly after we got Topper, I asked DH to put the belly band on him before we left the house. Well, Topper happened to be laying in a sphinx position. My husband lacks common sense in some situations and attempted to put the belly band on him in that position. He got bit on the top of the head. No big surprise there

[Guest sandlot13433]

I was bit on/through my lip by my grey who had gotten up on my bed and decided he did not want to get off. Getting him retrained to understand that the furniture is not his was a battle which is why there are definitely some greyhounds who are not furniture "safe". I was new to having greyhounds and just didn't believe that they could ever become possessive of my bed (stupid I know). I have worked with him extensively and through consistency and patience and training and time he now knows what is expected. But it took lots of training and practicing how to "get off" the furniture without becoming possessive and how to stay off. We are still working on the stay off part, but I am happy that he understands the command to get off the furniture. I set my dog up for failure by allowing him to think the human bed was his bed and I am very open with potential adopters about that story. I do have greyhounds that are fine on furniture, but he should never have been one of them. In allowing him to get on the furniture before I really knew him, I set myself up for this. I always hope that by sharing that story future adopters will learn from my mistake and not end up returning a dog that will be labeled a "biter".

Edited July 21, 2011 by sandlot13433

[Guest Audeamus]

No, but I do watch Gir constantly now when DBF has his daughter around. She's a loud screamy toddler who occasional tries to kick at my dog ( we're working on it) and resource guards Gir's toys. And his bed. So while he has not bitten nor has ever gotten close to that thresh hold, I do watch him for signs of him being stressed out/wanting to be removed from the situation. He pants and licks his lips when he wants to leave, I just take him into our room, which is his safe area when it is too much.

I do not want to ever put Gir into a position where he would feel he has to bite. I am the only one who can do his nails without him freaking out, I can handle him a surpsing amount without so much as a growl or warning, and I can take all of the things that he's gotten a hold of that he shouldn't have, so far, out of his mouth.

I am aware of how tolerant my dog is and I am exceedingly glad of it.

[Guest Timo]

Yep, Timo snapped at me and broke skin during the first two weeks we had him. He had some resource guarding issues. He still has some but not nearly as bad as before. We've worked on it a lot since it happened.

[JJNg]

Do greyhounds possess the "anger" or "intolerance" for lack of a better word than other breeds of dog? Not many other breeds would like a head and face right next to theirs and would lunge and strike.....I wonder sometimes if they would ever just snap and lose it and grab me. LOL

I don't believe any breed has it "in their nature" to bite, but any dog can bite if they feel stressed or threatened. Most 'normal' well-socialized dogs will do all they can to communicate their discomfort with a situation before resorting to biting. Unfortunately, people tend to miss the majority of the more subtle signals, like calming signals.

 

I think your observation of most dogs not liking close contact and people in their face is an important one. Most dogs (including greyhounds) don't naturally enjoy hugs and kisses. Those are very human forms of affection, and may be seen as pretty rude behavior from a canine perspective. Some dogs can learn to tolerate and even enjoy this type of attention, but I don't think it's something we can expect from all dogs, and it usually only comes after you've developed a close bond and certain level of mutual trust.

 

I would second kudzu's suggestion to pay close attention to your dogs' body language when you hug or kiss them. If you're too close, you may miss subtle signals unless you have a mirror or video. I find many people think their dogs enjoy being hugged and kissed and totally miss the signs that their dog is actually quite uncomfortable with the interaction. These signs include calming signals like looking away, blinking, lip licking, yawning, or facial expressions like a tenseness around the eyes or mouth. If you look closely at photos of dogs being hugged or held close, many of them show dogs who are not very happy.

 

If a dog consistently shows signs that they are uncomfortable with this type of close contact, and the owner continues to engage in this type of interaction, I would not be surprised if one day the dog does bite. Some dogs are more tolerant and may continue to show signs of discomfort and still put up with the treatment. However, if the dog happens to be having a bad day, or is just not feeling good, that might result in a different response, such as lashing out. I would not consider this unprovoked aggression, although many people may believe it is because they missed all the signs that the dog was never fully comfortable with that type of interaction to begin with.

 

To answer your question, no, I have never been bitten by my greys. Possibly because my very fear aggressive IG (who bit me many times) taught me to respect a dog's body language and not do things that make them uncomfortable. With some exceptions, I don't tend to hug or kiss my dogs much or get in their faces.

 

The biggest exception is that I do snuggle up with my girl Willow, hugging her, getting in her face, putting my head on her neck, etc. But I am careful to watch her body language, and these interactions are only at certain predictable times and places and are part of our routine. After we go into the bedroom for the night, I snuggle with her before brushing everyone's teeth, and then we go to bed. The dogs all sleep on dog beds on the floor of my room, but most nights, Willow will join me in my bed at some point in the middle of the night or in the morning. We'll snuggle for a bit before I get up in the morning too.

 

And in case anyone's wondering, I love my boys too, but Willow and I have a special relationship, especially after she got so sick last year and there were a few days when I thought I might lose her.

 

When I snuggle with Willow, I am on the same level with her, not standing or leaning over her, and I think this is important too. I think a dog who is lying down is more likely to feel threatened by a person who walks up and leans over them. I noticed that you said your dogs "stand there and take all the fuss" so if they are standing, that's probably a safer interaction too.

[Ragsysmum]

Been 'nipped' enough to break the skin by two different kennel dogs but I got a really bad bite ten years back from a kennel crazy hound who broke out of his kennel determined to get something and it just happened to be me. I got nerve and tendon damage to both hands and a broken wrist as he just held on and used my hand like a tuggy toy. In hospital for three days with two ops and still got residual damage and some loss of use in my right hand.

[kudzu]

OP asked something I didn't address originally. In general I find Greys to be more tolerant & much less likely to snap or bite humans. I think what catches some people off guard is that the things we tend to do with our dogs we've had a long time is not something Greys are used to virtual strangers doing to them. Almost anyone who has had a lot of shelter dogs as fosters would probably find Greys no less tolerant or any more prone to bite than other dogs.

 

There is one thing I have thought of periodically & this thread has reminded me again of this thought. Most of our Greys have spent at good deal of time, like years, wearing muzzles when they are around other dogs. I really wondered for a while if this caused them to lose some of their bite inhibition. Later I changed my mind. I now think it may just cause them to get sloppy with their teeth, not paying as much attention to where their teeth are & perhaps they miss aim. That's just a thought.

 

And in case anyone's wondering, I love my boys too, but Willow and I have a special relationship, especially after she got so sick last year and there were a few days when I thought I might lose her.

Ah, Willow. What a beauty she is, so petite & so swift. She deserves all the snuggling & bed sharing she wants.

Edited July 21, 2011 by kudzu

[brindlehound]

Magic has bitten me a couple of times. The first time was while he was being attacked several years ago. I was trying to comfort him and he bit me probably out of fear. The second time I was having a nightmare and flailed my arms and woke him up which caused him to bite me on the bridge of my nose.

[Guest mariah]

In my experience with Chips, the warning signs that something makes him uncomfortable can be much less apparent than with a lot of other dogs. So while he may tolerate more, things can escalate very, very quickly once he's had enough. Most of the non-greyhound dogs I know will walk away if you're doing something they find annoying, but Chips will hold his ground and growl or snap.

 

He has never bitten me, but he has bitten Lane twice. Our behaviorist believes that he lived in a house at some point where there was domestic violence going on, and that he bites because he thinks Lane is going to hurt me. This is an issue we're continuing to work on.

Edited July 21, 2011 by mariah

[Guest Wasserbuffel]

I'm a first time dog owner with my grey. She's snapped/snarled a few times when we missed her body language, but no bites. Once while we were working on trading-up I pushed too far too soon for her and she grabbed my arm with her teeth when I tried to take a high value treat. She didn't break skin or leave any bruises, I don't really consider it a bite, but I've been a better owner since and haven't provoked any reactions in a very long time.

 

ETA: Jayne's much more inclined to use her teeth on me when we play. We roughouse and she bites all up and down my arms, usually very gently, but I do end up with a few bruises. I allow it because we both enjoy it and she won't play bite anyone else. DH has tried to entice her to play with him the same way, but she just won't.

 

I know this dog knows exactly how to use her teeth and has a lot of control. Any snap is just a warning from her, not a missed bite. I was really surprised one morning when she got sat on by DH's 82-year-old grandfather. There she had every reason to bite, but instead just looked at him with the most incredulous expression on her face and wiggled out from under him. (From now on she'll be leashed when Grandpa's around, her getting sat upon was the last thing I expected!)

Edited July 21, 2011 by Jayne

[Guest katethegreyt]

OP asked something I didn't address originally. In general I find Greys to be more tolerant & much less likely to snap or bite humans. I think what catches some people off guard is that the things we tend to do with our dogs we've had a long time is not something Greys are used to virtual strangers doing to them. Almost anyone who has had a lot of shelter dogs as fosters would probably find Greys no less tolerant or any more prone to bite than other dogs.

 

There is one thing I have thought of periodically & this thread has reminded me again of this thought. Most of our Greys have spent at good deal of time, like years, wearing muzzles when they are around other dogs. I really wondered for a while if this caused them to lose some of their bite inhibition. Later I changed my mind. I now think it may just cause them to get sloppy with their teeth, not paying as much attention to where their teeth are & perhaps they miss aim. That's just a thought.

 

I think that's a really good point and sort of my feelings on the matter. In my short time with greys, I've found them to be much more tolerant and less inclined towards biting than a lot of other dogs I've met over the years. However, since most grew up not surrounded by weirdo humans, I think they may be surprised by some of our behavior compared to a dog with a more "typical" upbringing. The sleep startle issue is a good example of that I think - they don't learn from pups that we are very likely to get in their space while they are napping. They rarely have to deal with a human taking a prized possession from them, they didn't grow up with little children hugging and tugging on them, etc. Since all of those things bother many dogs that have been raised around crazy humans, it's probably a testament to greyhounds' overall tolerance that they aren't more bothered by those things, haha.

 

I also think the muzzle point is an interesting one as well.

 

I was chatting with a lady the other day who wants to adopt a dog. Greyhounds are at the top of her list, except she'd heard they are prone to biting... I tried to explain my feelings on the matter, and I think she's put them back at the top of her list again = ) I just think these dogs are often SO easy compared to other types that having to use a little more restraint when it comes to things like sleepy time snuggles really isn't a big deal. And it's the bite stories that get talked about, not the dog who doesn't, haha. If you only read the health and training forums on this board, you'd think 95% of greyhounds are a walking disaster sometimes, haha.

[JJNg]

Most of our Greys have spent at good deal of time, like years, wearing muzzles when they are around other dogs. I really wondered for a while if this caused them to lose some of their bite inhibition.

Interesting thought. I've also wondered if the muzzles interfere with the use of calming signals and whether greys might be less likely to use them or recognize them because of this. In observing greys interacting, it doesn't seem like the muzzles have much of an effect on either of these issues.

 

I believe that both bite inhibition and the use of calming signals are probably learned early on (or instinctive in the case of some calming signals). And it seems that when grey pups are raised together on the farm, they are not muzzled during the earlier months when they would be learning bite inhibition. And once learned, I don't think it's something they can really lose.

 

The fear aggressive IG that I've mentioned before had very poor bite inhibition. We bought him from a breeder at 8 weeks old, and he was raised as an only dog with essentially no contact with other dogs or puppies as he was growing up. He had a tendency to bite rather hard when we were playing. And later when the fear aggression surfaced, he bit hard enough to cause significant bruising and leave punctures and small lacerations with his canines.

 

Willow was considered a spook at the track, and although that behavior mostly went away by the time she got into a foster home, she still has some fear aggressive tendencies. She has bitten on several occasions, but she shows excellent bite inhibition, and it is more of a warning nip with no pressure behind it, than a true bite. Situations that have triggered her to bite are when the husband reached into the crate to get her in her first foster home, and when men have walked up to her and reached toward/near her when she's lying down. When I first got her, she also had a tendency to turn around and bite if you grabbed her collar too fast.

 

Ah, Willow. What a beauty she is, so petite & so swift. She deserves all the snuggling & bed sharing she wants.

That's my girl, and I feel the same way. I can't even begin to express how much this dog means to me. I posted a few videos of her fun side in the Does Your Grey Play? thread.

[jetcitywoman]

I don't know about the muzzle theory. Seems more of just an individual dog thing.

 

Like many other posters, I did the stupid human trick and bothered Capri while she was sleeping after she first came to us. She came up teeth first and nailed me on the forehead. While I was very chastised, I was also extremely impressed with her bite inhibition: she didn't really bite me so much as banged her front teeth against my forehead. Now that we've had her a while, her sleep aggression is almost gone, but she's still occasionally a cranky-pants. When she's cranky, she mostly just snarls and air-snaps nastily.

 

She did actually bite me once, really just a pinch. She was being mischievous and bit me on the butt. She's like that. :

 

Ajax doesn't have as good inhibition, but he's more easy going and not cranky. Most often he accidentally gets my fingers while going for a toy, so we both have to be careful when playing.

[RobinM]

Yup. I got it and got it good from my Teddy. I was doing exactly what you said in opening thread. Teddy was lying down. I missed his signals. In one lunge, he bit me over my eye which required 8 stitches right over my eye and 2 on the other side of my face plus some dermabond to put together my skin in yet another area. All with one lunge.

 

I lied in the ER. They prob thought it was domestic violence. Rich was waiting to get arrested.

Edited July 22, 2011 by RobinM

[Guest MyHoodies]

I fall into the same catagory as stupid human mistakes. Been bit a couple of times which was my own doing. Most were just a surface scrape and big time bruise (sorry cant spell). Worse was from Jif. probably needed stiches but just cleaned it out and put gause pad and benidyne on it. Vet wrap held it all together for a couple of days (yes I used my dog supplies).

 

hurt like he77 when it happened.

 

mine were all from breaking up a squabble (no real fights)or trying to head off one and being about a fraction of a second too late. 95% of the time is with foster and my Damion (dominant male in the house). always have muzzle in the house but sometimes they do rub them off.

 

still love all my doggies and won't do anything different.

[Guest Timo]

 

I think your observation of most dogs not liking close contact and people in their face is an important one. Most dogs (including greyhounds) don't naturally enjoy hugs and kisses. Those are very human forms of affection, and may be seen as pretty rude behavior from a canine perspective. Some dogs can learn to tolerate and even enjoy this type of attention, but I don't think it's something we can expect from all dogs, and it usually only comes after you've developed a close bond and certain level of mutual trust.

 

 

While I have heard that dogs don't like hugs, Timo seems to love them. When I squat down and open my arms, he walks right into them and burrows his head into my body. He's done this since we first got him. Then after a minute or so, he lies down with his head on my feet. The picture below was taken two months after he came to us. I guess it really depends on the dog.

 

And, this one will bite and snap if I do something he really dislikes.

 

[JJNg]

Each dog has their own personality and likes and dislikes. The comments about (most) dogs not liking hugs and kisses is a generality, and of course there are exceptions. My mixed breed Corey is one of these too. If I get down on the floor, he sits in front of me and scoots as close as he can, practically asking to be hugged. It's also different when the dog solicits hugging and kissing rather than the person going to the dog to give them this type of attention.

 

The important thing is to pay attention to your dog's more subtle behavior to tell what he really enjoys and what he's just tolerating. I see too many people assume that dogs must enjoy being hugged and kissed because we are showing them love and affection. Then these same people are surprised and angry when their dog bites them 'for no reason' when they were just trying to love on them.

[Guest Timo]

Yes, I agree. Even though Timo loves hugs, he hates being spooned. He'll growl or snap his head back whenever we've tried spooning him. I think it's because he can't see us behind him. So it's always good to be aware of what your dog likes and dislikes.

[Guest LindsaySF]

Teagan has bitten me (space/sleep aggression), thankfully not a bad bite, I saw it coming. The most vicious dog I have here is Cody (fear aggression).

 

All dogs are individuals and I do not think Greyhounds are more prone to biting than other breeds. I will say though, that space and sleep aggression seems more common in retired racing Greyhounds than in other breeds of dogs I have dealt with, and some Greyhounds have a low pain threshold and will snap/redirect when in pain. For those reasons, I usually recommend against Greyhounds for homes with small children.

 

 

 

~Lindsay~

[Guest d0ggiem0mma]

My grey has snapped at other dogs in the house, but usually only if they all out stepped on her. Sometimes my smaller dogs think she would make a good stepping stool and she disagrees. She's never hurt anyone, just warning snaps.

 

I did get bitten by one of my whippets last week. Got in the middle of a tussle between two dogs. As soon as he realized he bit me, he was sooooo upset with himself. Thank goodness I was wearing jeans which prevented a lot of damage. I had a BLACK bruise, 6 inches across, but no punctures.

[XTRAWLD]

 

Kasey does this too. He walks right up and acts like an ostrich!