What makes a dog bite?

[bckrazy]

***warning, non-popular opinion***If you comment on it, keep it CIVIL***
I know people aren't going to like my opinion on this dog (not talking about puppies) bitting matter, so please bear with me & don't hate/flame me too much. If a dog will bite randomly like that, its a dead dog. I have no tolerance for random bitting dogs. If there was a reason, then that is a totally different story. I also don't care what size the dog is, big or small.. Random bitting is random bitting, & random bitting = a trip to the rainbow bridge.
***warning, non-popular opinion***If you comment on it, keep it CIVIL***

What do you classify as a "random bitting dog"? The Collie that nipped a stranger? There could be a number of factors contributing to that situation, making it FAR FROM a "random bitting". Take into account that people herding is a very common issue with herding dogs. Also, that these dogs tend to be aloof if not fearful toward strangers. He could be a perfectly nice dog... who is definitely being poorly handled (if the girl even allowed him room to touch a stranger period), who might have been spooked by a stranger standing in between a car door.

The thing that really stands out to me is the fact that the dog didn't flip out, bark, growl, snarl, or lunge for the OP's face. He quietly nipped the back of her knee. That is classic herding behavior. That is totally unfair to the OP... and I completely feel for her. But to say a dog like that deserves to die? Many herding dogs cope with their stress/fear issues by herding. Gonzo does it. He hasn't made anyone bleed or left a mark, but if a stranger scares him and is moving irradically, he will nip at their feet. It's terrible that the OP bled, but to me a dog who will nip cowardicely is not even comparable to a dog who will take a chunk out of some one. ALL this dog really needs is to be properly controlled and desensitized to people walking by him, if he has the issues that it sounds like he has. I think it's arrogant and just plain inhuman to sentence a dog to death for being afraid and irresponsibly handled.

My point is, what may seem completely random to you, probably does have a good reason behind it and probably did come with a warning. There are a few dogs out there who aren't wired right, and a lot of dogs who are either badly bred or badly handled and trained or a combination of the two. I agree that a dog who bites unprovoked is dangerous; however, it sounds like this wasn't the first time he's done this, and that he's a fearful dog whose owners deal with it by muzzling him and don't even stop to check if the people he bites are ok. To me, this is an owner issue, not a dog issue.

As for what makes dogs bite... for me, it's about being as calm, predictable and non-threatening as possible. I work at a dog daycare and I have never been bitten. Everyone else has, even if it's just nips from herding dogs, who do that ALL THE TIME, perfectly friendly dogs who have trouble controlling their instinct. There's this one BC mix who has nipped everyone's butt repeatedly except for mine - everyone who steps into a playroom with her. I think I've just adjusted myself to moving in a non-livestock-like manner or something, with Gonzo. Gonzo has never herded me either. You can tell a lot from a dog's eyes. If they are staring at you like you're prey, or livestock, you need to do something to snap them out of it and/or be a completely unexciting statue. Body language is also huge. If a dog is tensing up, something needs to break that tension. I tend to "Shhh" (not in a Cesar Millan way), crouch down and turn my body sideways to a really stressed out dog. It calms them right down.

[king2005]

What do you classify as a "random bitting dog"? The Collie that nipped a stranger?

I think you answered your own question. I'm talking about "bitting" NOT "nipping". BIG difference. So I wont respond to the rest of your post.

[bckrazy]

I think you answered your own question. I'm talking about "bitting" NOT "nipping". BIG difference. So I wont respond to the rest of your post.

Were you not saying that you would PTS that Collie?

The OP didn't even know she was nipped... she had to check. Not that it's totally horrible that she had to go through that for just standing there, but the dog didn't take a chunk out of her. Nipping can lead to a little bleeding, maybe a scratch or two, but the difference between a nip that leaves no mark and a nip that causes bleeding can come down to something as simple as not being taught good bite inhibition as a puppy. My point was, this dog didn't just race up to a family member and attack them. He nipped a stranger that was in a kind of unusual situation, because his owner gave him the slack to and probably because he is a fearful dog; I wouldn't consider that a random biting dog.