Does it hurt a dog to pet their beaks?

Do you mean their whiskers? Dogs don’t have beaks.

Does your dog have wings and feathers? It may not really be a dog.

If a dog doesn’t want you to touch its snout, it will let you know, in one way or another.

Just be easy about it. My dogs good with gentle backwards stroking.

I just tried and almost got bit. My dogs must not like it.

They let you know if they do or don’t like something.

Our office dog can only take a little rubbing on his snout. He does like to be scratched between his eyes.

@Sargent Biting their owner is not acceptable or an option. I hope you ‘discussed’ that lol

No, I touched a part of his nose that was injured when he was playing so I think I hurt him. =(

Poor thing!

Dog’s whiskers are very sensitive. Try not to mess with them. Tips of the ears, and behind the ears feels good. Of course belly rubs too. Scratching them behind their neck, and on top of their butt is great, because they have trouble reaching those places.

@KNOWITALL I know :( I promise it wasn’t intentional I though it healed.

Never pet a dog’s antlers – it can be very painful. So can rubbing its fins.

Oh no… I’m rubbing my dogs Gills as we speak…

Beak? Birds have beaks, dogs do not. To what are you referring?

It, uh, it is called a “snout”.
Analogue to the German “Schnauze”.

Snouts, beaks, all the same

So did you type that with your wings, your tentacles or your fore legs?

My Ovaries

Beaks?? Or muzzles?? It never bothered my dog to pet his nose/muzzle, as long as I didn’t rub/pet in the wrong direction.
But now I’m curious; Just what kind of dog do you have? What end are you trying to pet?
Is your dog a bird-dog???

He’s a pitbull.

They like being scratched behind the ears.

Wait…you have a pitbull who almost bit you? And he’s not even grown yet? I would have a real problem with that. It could be a precursor of things to come. I only had one of my many dogs even think about biting me and he was gone forever within 10 minutes of the event.

Oh knock it off. He’s fine. 2 years old and the sweetest baby

^Puppies bite, when playing. Perfectly normal.

I stand corrected. He’s not a puppy. He’s two years old. He started to bite in anger because she may have hurt him. He wasn’t playing. * shrugs * Not my dog, not my problem.

^I missed where she said he bit “in anger.” And 2 years is very much a puppy, for bully breeds.

Did you tweet this??

She said it here @MrGrimm888.

“I just tried, and almost got bit.” That doesn’t seem like “anger.”

She inadvertently hurt the dog. What emotion would you feel if you had a painful injury and some one banged into it? What emotion do you feel when you stub your toe?

Here is where she said it.

You are acting like one time makes him this aggressive terrible dog. He isn’t

A dog who snaps is not necessarily aggressive, but any dog should be well over puppy-biting by age two. While larger dogs are usually not mature until they’re around three, puppyhood technically ends at four months.

That said: biting out of pain is different from biting out of anger. It’s usually connected to fear. If I were taking on this case, I would want to know if you disregarded or simply failed to notice any warning signs – growling, staring, showing teeth, turning/walking away, yawning, whimpering, tongue-flicking…

Disclaimer: I’m a dog trainer, but I wasn’t there.

@longgone That’s what I meant by “Almost bit me” I thought the area on his beak was healed because there I couldn’t see anything anymore but it must’ve been still sore. And he growled at me and looked like he was about to bite.

Why are you calling his muzzle a beak? Dogs don’t have beaks. They have muzzles.

@chyna I think it’s a rather contrived attempt to be “cute”. At least I hope so. To equate the two seriously would be frighteningly ignorant.

They are beaks

No They are beaks

I type beaks and it changes to beaks

I don’t call them beaks. I have to copy and paste the word snout and I don’t know why.

This is @SergeantQueen‘s “dog”.

No, I fixed it now. Dogs have snouts

LOLL!

My dog bit my once and I knew when it happened that the blame was entirely on me, not the dog. I ignored the dog’s body language, kept pestering him when he clearly wanted to be left alone and got rightfully put in my place for it.

I had my dog bite me to where I had a mark (that lasted a while) only once when we were playing frisbee, and he was jumping trying to get it, and he accidentally got my hand along with it. Doesn’t make him a bad dog. It was not purposeful or out of anger.
Other times where when he was a small puppy and he was new in our house, and based off his past circumstances was very, very scared and anxious, which resulted in a few nips.

Giving up a dog or saying it’s a bad dog because one time it acted out and bit or whatever is just like giving up or saying your child is bad because of one mistake. Most of the time, they don’t know any better, and with training or teaching, they will learn what’s right and what’s wrong.
Now, if it was a severe bite and someone was really hurt, I may understand but a nip because you stepped on his paw or because you were petting an injury that’s a bit different.
Owning a dog and owning a small child are not much different in the sense that they both don’t know what is right and what is wrong and need to be taught. They both will retain that knowledge once taught, and even though they may slip up from time to time, as long as no major harm was done, it isn’t that big of a deal.

There is a difference between a dog just nipping out of anger, hurt, or whatever, and a dog killing someone or biting very severely. They can’t speak and the only way they can communicate is through the things @longgone said, growling, staring, showing teeth, all that (when they hurt or angry about something, they also use their tails and stuff to communicate in other situations). And when those signs are constantly getting ignored they are going to feel that you are a threat, and when that happens, there’s no real control over how the dog reacts. Even a well trained dog. It has nothing to do with age or breed. All dogs would do the same if they felt threatened. It’s a flight or fight response and in most dogs, it’s probably fight.

@SargeantQueen Normally I’d agree with all you said, but pitties (I’ve had several) are a little different and cannot be allowed to be aggressive at all. In fact, my vet showed me submission exercises to use on mine as they grew to make sure they remained loving pets and not aggressive bullies. Just be careful allowing too much leeway, they are not children and will take advantage of weakness.

Why isn’t what you said about how pit bulls “cannot be allowed to be aggressive at all” applied to other breeds as well? I know that Pit bulls are given a shot that’s supposed to help with aggression (mine was) and that because of how some terrible people are training them, they can be bred to have bad traits, but it isn’t like every single pitbull is a satan dog like I feel lots of people think. And, other dogs can be just as aggressive.

Now, maybe my dog is a bit different because he’s not 100% pitbull (he’s a labrador retriever mixed with pit) so maybe he doesn’t have all the traits a normal pit bull would have. He’s cuddly, playful, and just like every other puppy I have had, aside from the fact that he is that largest so far.

And my comparison of them being like children really only extended to my points in the comment. There are many many ways you can’t treat a dog like a child and being too lenient with aggressive behavior is one of them, I was referring more towards a playful bite or if you were in/unintentionally hurting them. Still shouldn’t bite, but it’s more understandable than a unjustified bite.
They are relatives with the wolves and even though dogs don’t live in the wild anymore they still have the same defensive instincts.

Again, I’ve had a few and some are naturally more aggressive, some aren’t. And other breeds can be aggressive, too, for sure! As a responsible owner, I just asked for tips because my girl was a big beautiful strong dog that I wanted to keep safe and socialized in a society that is prejudicial against them. If your dog snaps at you, what would they do to animal control? That was my worry, keeping my dogs safe no matter what. And trust me, all breeds can be grumpy but none should ever be allowed to bite anyone without correction, for their sake. Play is how they learn boundaries and if I get bit, even by accident, it stops immediately so they know that was bad. If you’re deployed someone will be taking care of the dog, so it’s best to train them for that in advance. I just really love the breed and too many get put down for aggression, not trying to preach lol.

@KNOWITALL Just curious…what did your vet recommend?

Submission exercises. Like laying them on their back and holding them down for short periods from puppy to adult. Giving toys instead of hand bite play or rough play. I jogged with them to keep them keyed down. That dog saved my life during a break in and would have died for me, the least I could do was socialize her so if we were ever seperated she could be adopted without fear or aggression. Best dog friend I’ve ever had.

Sorry to break it to the ignorant, but pits are just dogs…

@MrGrimm So breed specific legislation being passed across America is a real thing targeting this breed and mixes. Educate yourself.

^I’m quite aware of breed specific legislation. It makes as much sense as most gun laws. Education is precisely what is lacking.

It has been brought to my attention that I may have been rude in this thread. I acknowledge that I get easily offended, when talking about pits. I will remove myself from this thread, so I don’t pollute it further.

Peace n love.

They need people like us to speak for them. I’m rather easily offended about this wonderful breed, too. Sorry for any misunderstanding.

@KNOWITALL Thanks for clarifying. “Submission exercises” sounds pretty scary to me – sadly, many people still try to physically dominate their dogs. That usually backfires. For example, by holding a dog and refusing to let him move away, you’re teaching him that the most peaceful and calm response to an uncomfortable situation (moving away) is not an option. I’ve seen some dogs who were literally taught to be aggressive by slowly removing all their other options. If avoidance, walking away, growling, and even air-snapping fail to produce any results, the dog is stripped of ideas to avoid a physical confrontation. He’s very likely to bite.

Toys and jogging are great, though, and I’m sure your dogs were lucky to have you. It’s a pet peeve of mine that vets (often with zero experience training dogs, outside of their own) tend to give advice that’s just not based on any sensible principles. I’m glad it worked out for you guys!

I am so glad that all of the dogs I’ve ever had were naturally gentle and playful, without any kind of aggression. You really can’t train certain personality traits out of an individual dog and my German shepherd, Dakota, is living proof…..just going the other direction. Her original owner had her for about 2 years and worked and worked and worked to make her an aggressive attack dog. She learned her lessons well, but refused to attack on command because who ever she was told to attack had done nothing wrong. Her nature was just too intelligent and too gentle. So the guy got disgusted and gave her to us.
She has a protective side though. I’ve seen it 3 times in the 12 years we’ve had her. I wouldn’t mess with her family if I was you!
You can’t train a dog’s natural personality into something else. And the stats speak for themselves. Pitts are the overwhelming majority of dogs who kill humans.

My daughter used to have the same, “It’s how their raised,” argument about pitts. Until she got one. Within a few months she had to rehome him because of his innate aggression. She couldn’t chance it with a couple of 4 year old twins in the household.

Pits are bred for aggression by some people, others breed for friendly pets. I personally got pick of the litter and got the first one out of mama’s box, which is supposed to be a ‘game’ dog, meaning high spirited and a leader. Which is why I did submission exercises to protect her from those who’d do her harm, and they tried. Sounds like many of us have different ideas about these wonderful dogs, doesn’t mean anyone is wrong as all dogs are different, all deserving of respect and love just like humans. Being older and in suburbia, I’ve got a beautiful mini-golden and an old black lab, just lovers, which is more my speed and energy level now…lol, works for us.

@Dutchess_III I’m still mulling over your statement above, maybe I misunderstood. Did you kill the dog for biting once? I hate to think you would do that, doll.

The dog in question was one that my husband had brought home. A coworker had abused the dog. He had it locked in a run and would turn the hose on it for fun. The dog was so wildly bored, locked up in that run, that he’d play with his empty food bowl, tossing it with his beak for hours. So he was full grown, about 5, and abused when we got him. In retrospect, I should have said NO!
I was wary of him from the beginning. Like, he would get mange and when when I tried to dust stuff on him to get rid of it he’d growl.
Then one day, about 2 months later, he got on my couch. I ordered him off of the couch and he growled and snapped at me.
I had an 8 year old and a 2 year old and was pregnant with another. Protecting them from that animal made me fearless and violent. I hauled back and slapped him in the face with everything I had, and that is a substantial hit. (My volleyball serve was famous.)
I ordered him off the couch again and this time he complied. I herded him through the kitchen and out the back sliding door, tail between his legs.
He stopped at the door and I shoved him in the ass to get him out and he spun and snapped at me again. I kicked him as hard as I could to get him out the door, away from my kids.

Then I called animal control and they took him away.

@Dutchess_III Horrible story, you did try sounds like. :( Poor guy.

I had a huge male Dalmation, Pauly, bite my entire head once, top teeth on my skull, bottom on my chin, scared me to death. I stayed very still and got up slowly and backed away, never trusted that dog again, he was dumb as a box of rocks but normally pretty friendly.

In the defense of ‘bad’ dogs, my neighbors have one that was vicious to everyone but them. Once he got locked up in doggie jail for biting the meter reader and almost got put down as ‘vicious’, so to help HIM out, I started walking him, going over with treats and generally making friends. I’m not going to say he’s super friendly, because he’s not, but he’s my buddy as long as he recognizes me and if I’m doing him a favor, like walks and treats. Poor guys been abused in a previous home, makes them somewhat damaged and like the rest of us, sometimes they don’t forget or get past it. Breaks my heart.

Blackjack was a beautiful black shepherd. He was pretty smart too. But most people / dogs can’t get over abuse like it never happened, the way Dakota did.

I did try. I hoped that love and kindness would ease it out of him…but it didn’t.