Help please. Sudden snap bite reaction.

[Rjelly]

Hi all,

 

we've had our grey Billy for 2.5 years now, he’s 9 years old and has truly settled amazingly into our home and lives. We’ve had no issues or anything like that with him at all.

 

However, on Saturday, he bit my partner on the nose. We had just come downstairs (he stays downstairs) in the morning, I had said good morning to him with no issues but when my partner said good morning to him, he suddenly bit her on the nose. We are very lucky that she is ok, she’ll have scars but nothing more serious than a few cuts and bruises. The bite wasn’t him latching on, it was a snappy type bite.

 

We’re at a loss to work out what happened. To us there were no warnings that we saw, it was like a switch went off and he bit her. There have been no signs of behaviour changes in him at all before hand and we just want to understand what happened.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks 

Ryan

Edited March 30, 2020 by Rjelly

[macoduck]

Was your partner leaning over him at the time?  Did this happen right after you greeted him? Any chance he fell back asleep before she greeted him? Does he have any hearing loss that you know of?

Emergency Departments and medical personnel are required to report dog bites, even if it's your own dog. You might get a visit from an Animal Control officer. Provided he was up to date on all vaccinations, Billy should be able to "home quarantine" with you for 10 days. That includes not taking him for walks. If you get any pushback, tell the officer you are getting support from your adoption group.

[Rjelly]

Thanks for your reply Macoduck. 
 

she wasn’t leaning over him, she was at his level but not over him as such. He definitely hadn’t fallen asleep, he was wide awake when I said hi to him and had been in the garden before she greeted him. No he definitely doesn’t have any hearing loss either. It’s just a really strange situation.

We’re in the UK so I don’t know if the rules reporting things are the same but thanks for the heads up in case they are. 

[LaFlaca]

Was she looking directly into his eyes? This could be interpreted as an aggression by some dogs. 

[mansbestfriend]

Hi. Could it be a pain or medical issue? More generally, never put your face within biting distance of a dog, especially near it's bedding, or food, or toys (nor when it's resting, or asleep, in a corner or enclosed space). This type of bite seems fairly typical of a dog feeling threatened in the moment, and asking for more personal space please, NOW. As for warnings, now you've had a warning. Peace.  

[racindog]

If it had it happened w/ one of my dogs I wouldn't worry too much about it unless it suddenly becomes an actual behavior pattern.  One thing to always remember about dog bites is that biting to a dog doesn't mean the same thing as it does to us humans.  Dogs bite. All dogs bite. It is what dogs do. It is one of their major ways to communicate and this is how they perceive it.  On the other hand humans tend to see a dog bite as an overt negative aggressive act and frankly it just might not be that. It could simply be that for whatever reason Billy felt the need to simply communicate like the dog he is-with a bite. It is extremely important to note that it was not a bite intended to do harm. If it had been intended for harm frankly her face would have been mutilated instantly. But a quick little nip that in dog terms was harmless actually proves he was NOT trying to harm her but rather just communicate the need to back off-again we may never know what actually was the trigger.  But it shows excellent bite inhibition- he deliberately did NOT try to harm her. What that means is that you now know that Billy is in fact a very safe dog! You know that because he has just demonstrated that even when something happens that triggers a bite he exercises good bite inhibition and the actual damage is minor.  Not all dogs do. Some never learned bite inhibition and when they bite it is with full force and damaging! So said all that to say this. I couldn't count the number of times I have sustained little bites like that form various dogs of mine. I shrugged it off as the price I pay if I want to share my life with dogs who use biting to effectively communicate to each other and us.  I believe Billy is fine. I believe Billy had absolutely no intention of harming her and probably doesn't even realize he did. In a dogs view he did not because he exercised such wonderful bite inhibition expressly because he did not want to hurt her. And really if anything its a feather in Billy's cap because now you know that even if he feels pushed into a bite he won't do any serious damage. BTW, what you described is far from serious damage in a dogs mind. They are easily capable of being brutal when they bite. Dog bites without bite inhibition break bones and mutilate-it bites not just noses but pieces of the face completely off.  If you share your life with dogs you will get bit, because that is what dogs do. Be a dog. Don't take it personal because they don't! Billy is still a very good boy.

[Ragsysmum]

Could he have fallen back to sleep again before your partner greeted him? Mine often sleeps with his eyes open so you think he is awake but he suffers from sleep startle so we are extra careful to make sure he is really awake and moving before getting too close.

[greysmom]

If this truly is new behavior then I would have him to the vet sooner rather than later for a really good going over, including bloodwork (if not done recently), fecal and urine samples, and a good orthopedic exam to test for pain.  

[Rjelly]

Thank you all for your replies, your advice has been honestly so helpful to us!

[greysmom]

After some further thought, I'd like to add to my reply above.

None of us here can really diagnose what happened in this incident over the internet.  We weren't there; we didn't see it happen; we don't know either you or your dog.  So what we're saying is just general information given our individual experience and familiarity with greyhounds (and dogs in general).  So we don't really *know* what the issue could be and are only giving you suggestions.

That being said, I'm going to offer another interpretation given the fact that he's shown no indications of sleep startling or resource guarding prior to this - and you would have.  There would have been some growling or tense body language.  He would have objected in some form if he didn't appreciate your good morning ritual (which it sounds like to me - something you do every morning).  You need to think back on this through the years you've had him and see if there was *any* indication he was uncomfortable in *any* way.  This will also help you put any future incidents in perspective and help you deal with the aftermath.

You mentioned he was out in the garden just prior to coming in and snapping at your partner, so part of me wonders if he wasn't still playing, or happy and showing some high spirits, and got over enthusiastic.  Really over enthusiastic.

I can't tell you how many times I've been snapped at or nitted on, even to the point of drawing blood, by a greyhound who used their teeth to express themself.  Oftentimes they will "displace" excitement and reaction to a fun event (like a run in the garden in the morning) on to a housemate.  It's not aggression, it's just too much for them to deal with internally, and instead of playing with a toy, say, they use the nearest human or dog.  

Really knowing your dog and his body language will help you decide how to handle this from a training perspective.  You can work with him in calmer moments on training a "settle down" command, for instance.  Where you can give him clues to help de-escalate his excitement level.  You can leave him outside a bit longer so he's more tired than amped up.  You can re-direct his excitement on to an appropriate toy or chewing object until he's able to interact safely with you again.

And if you really think he was objecting to your partner's good morning greeting, then I would suggest you change your morning routine to not include this.  You can also locate a positive reinforcement only canine behaviorist (a certified behaviorist, not just a "trainer") that can come into your home and observe both you and your dog and give you some suggestions about how to handle this incident.  Your adoption center or vet may be able to direct you to a good individual familiar with greyhounds.