Ive been bitten by my own dog and need to know how to respond?

ive seen dogs do similar things when bothered while they were sleeping. wait till he waked up for kisses!

The question that needs to be answered is if this was truly a reaction to being startled (which, if this is your nightly routine, I doubt) or a dominance issue.

Ideally, you should find a canine behaviorist in your area and schedule a visit. If that’s not a possibility, find a qualified dog trainer and sign the both of you up for classes. Even working on basic commands will help establish you as the top dog and help rebuild your relationship. Older dogs benefit from the classes, too.

You are kidding me right? A canine behaviorist or a qualified dog trainer?

I am with you. And if that works, go for it.

Your dog needs to be reprimanded. No matter what the reason to why it acted out.
You are either the Alpha or your dog is.
Now it is too late to do anything about that incident. But next time I hope you put your dog in its place.

Or you will be sleeping on the floor next time and your dog will be sleeping in the bed.

My Lhasa Apso, years ago… was sitting on my lap… it was a hot sticky day… and I guess she thought I got too close because she turned around and bit my face. I still have a tiny scar on my lower lip, though I didn’t need stitches. She never did it ever again after that… she just went right back to her normal, affectionate self and never showed any signs of that aggression again.

I would suggest not getting in your dog’s face. If the dog comes to your face, for kisses, that’s one thing.. but I wouldn’t get in his face anymore.

Dogs that bite are a danger. What if he bites a stranger or a child next time? If it happens it would be your fault since he by then has a history of biting. I would seriously consider putting him down.

…have a drink and take some of the hair off his back…...

The same thing happened with me and my aunts dog who I had known for years. You can not be afraid of your dog, this was an incedent that happened because you startled him not because he wanted to hurt you. Your dog is also getting old so becareful he will get startled more easiy as he gets older. Also you excluding him from the room makes your dog feel abandoned and as you said confused. You need to begin to mend your relationship, so it doesnt perminately ruin you and your dogs relationship.

I think the suggestions that:
a. you shouldn’t get in your dog’s face
b. your dog acted out because it was startled

aren’t adequate answers. My apologies but a dog should never bite it’s owner. Of course I love animals and feel that everyone is entitled to mistakes. But if my dog did this I would need to see a vet or specialist to make sure it wouldn’t happen again. I feel very deeply for you in going through this. I hope a ‘dog expert’ will come on here and give you an adequate answer.

What I would guess you have to do is the same thing you do for a dog who nips at you while they are eating. They say you have to train your dog, stick your hands in the bowl while they are eating so they learn not to react. I would say you would have to do the same for waking your dog. Wake your dog in annoying ways and make sure he doesn’t react that way again. This time you’ll be aware and if he does try and react negatively you can respond appropriately.

Why do you your sleep with your dog? Why do you kiss it? I does not seem like you have a healthy relationship. Maybe that’s why he bit you, he does not want to be abused any more?

@Cartman. Yeah, I often wondered about people who let their dogs lick their faces. It is nasty. Imagine the dog just having taken a big bite out of a pile of shit and then he goes home and licks your face, or imagine your dog just having cleaned his genital area and then he goes makes ‘puppy kisses’ with you.

Please people, remember people are people and dogs are dogs. The twain shall never kiss. Kissing for people and kissing for dogs do not mean the same thing. Anthropomorphism is never wise..

I’d be worried about the possibility of kids getting bit too….

You could also bite back. Dominate! According to the teachings and wisdom of Ceasar Millan.

@Cartman I had a dog once, a pretty big Shepherd, that my hubby got from a friend. The dog was two when we got him, and he’d been pretty abused. One day he got in the house, up on the couch and wouldn’t get off. I reached for his collar….and the SOB snarled and snapped at me! My instant reaction was to hit him with my best, hardest, open handed volleyball serve upside his head. Then I grabbed his collar and dragged him outside. He didn’t do any more until I started pushing him outside, and he snarled and snapped again, and I called Animal Control. Good bye doggie.

@RedPowerLady and @all:

@syz Is an animal expert. Listen to her advice.

My dog, a big german shepherd, who otherwise is very nice and friendly, once bit my ankle when i walked by wearing a towel on my head. other times before that when i was wearing a towel he would growl or look at me weird but this time i went to step over him and he snapped. i was scared of him for a looong time, years, but it just went away. i didnt really do anything, we just bonded over time.

your dog is getting older, and you startled it in a vulnerable position. If you see other strange behavior, then I would suggest going in to your vet and looking into other reasons this might have occurred. If it is a one time thing, don’t get in your dog’s face when it is sleepy or unaware. My sweet golden retriever snapped at my other dog once, only once it’s whole life, and that was because he was sick. Is your dog feeling ok otherwise? Re-establish the bond with your dog and try to go back to normal.

@augustlan Thanx for that information!

The first thing I would do is check the dog to make sure that there aren’t any sore spots on him that you may have touched causing him to lash out in pain. Illnesses or injuries in animals are often discovered after this type of incident especially if the dog has never shown any agression before. It maybe worth getting him to a vet for an all over check up just to make sure he isn’t in any pain at all especially as, at 7 years old, he is getting n a bit. How is his eyesight and hearing? If these are starting to go then it may very well be that he was just startled by you even though you were just going through your routine.

What breed is this dog?

If there are no underlying health prooblems that need to be addressed then, like others have said, you need to establish yourself as top dog. Unfortunately, for a dog that is getting above his station, letting him sleep on the bed with you is not a good idea. If you can get to a trainer I would definately recommend that. Good luck.

I would tend to agree with @syz in that you need to figure out why the dog snapped and bit you. Was he startled and so defended himself reflexively? Was he claiming the bed and attempting to dominate you? Then I also agree with @Leanne1986 – does he have a health issue you don’t know about?

At the age of seven your dog is officially a senior, although depending on the breed some dogs are much older at seven than others. His vision or his hearing may be compromised, or he may have arthritis already, or some other physical ailment that makes him less aware of his surroundings or in pain and so more likely to be startled. Even having a bad tooth can be enough to make a dog react in an uncharacteristic way.

If he has never shown any signs of dominant or aggressive behavior before in his seven years, then you really do need to have him checked out physically to make sure he isn’t suffering an impairment. Then I would proceed accordingly, by treating any ailments and then possibly looking at retraining for both you and the dog.

If he has been aggressive or dominant in the past, then retraining is a must.

We do have one aggressive dog in our household, a Katrina refugee pit bull. He had apparently never lived in a house before we fostered him, so he needed a lot of training. Even so, we still have to be careful with him around people coming into our house that he doesn’t know and around small children. When he does attempt to snap at anyone (usually my husband) I immediately pick him up by the collar/back of the neck and give him a good shake. This is something parent dogs will do to misbehaving puppies. It reminds him of the limits of behavior and reconfirms that he needs to do what I say, that I am in charge.

This incident doesn’t have to mean getting rid of your dog, but you do need to figure out why it happened. An animal behaviorist can be a great help if there is one in your area, but even your vet should be able to assist you in understanding what happened.