I got bitten by a dog at PetCo today..

[draggar]

Well, not really it was a "puppy mouthing" (where they put something in their mouth but don't bite down) - luckily I know the difference but I'm sure 99% of the people out there don't.

On my lunch break I stopped by PetCo to get a new feeder for the chickens. I got what I wanted and went to the checkout. As I was standing there I felt something pushing on my back - it was a puppy. I don't know this puppy so I ignored it. Next thing I know the puppy mouths my hand. The other wasn't even paying attention.

Me (duh)
SDO - sucky dog owner

Me: Please watch and control your dog.
SDO: (annoyed) Dogs are allowed in here.
Me: Yes, but you still need to watch and control them. Most people wouldn't appreciate a strange dog jumping on them.
SDO: Then YOU need to watch out.
Me: Actually it is your responsibility to watch your dog when you bring her into public places like this. Not everyone else's. Your back was completely turned and you weren't even paying attention to her.
SDO: Well, it's not like she bit you.
Me: Technically she did.
SDO: She doesn't know how to bite people!
Me: Actually dogs, especially puppies, explore their world mainly with their mouth. This is one of the many reasons why puppies will put almost anything into their mouth. She jumped up on me, opened her mouth and moved her head so that my hand was in her mouth without me having to move it. While I understand that she's a puppy and is just mouthing, most people would call it a bite. Many other people would have management here and would have called the police by now. The last thing you want on your dog's record is that she bit someone as a puppy.
SDO: Are you a dog trainer?
Me: No but..
SDO: (interrupting) HA! You don't know anything.
Me: As I was saying, no but my wife has been a dog trainer for well over 20 years, is a certified CGC and STAR puppy evaluator, as well as a DVG and USA schutzhund evaluator, a long time breeder, as well as the vice president of a large service dog organization and was just hired by the state to study the coyote population and migration here. I'm the head of a nation-wide breed organization for the UKC and a board member for a national breed club for the AKC. I also work closely with the person who wrote THE book on German shepherds as well as canine hip displaysia. I also have done a lot of volunteer work for malinois rescue and I've also done some volunteer work for the local collie rescue.
SDO: (speechless - then storms off).

(The entire time she's letting her dog run anywhere in the leash's length)

I swear, some people don't even realize the first thing about responsible dog ownership.

[MaggieTheCat]

Stories about irresponsible pet owners like this really make me sad and upset. I'm glad you didn't get hurt and the puppy is okay...but what if it happens to someone else, or the dog isn't taught proper manners/discipline when it grows up and ends up hurting someone, whether intentional or not?

I don't have the time or the patience to properly train and take care of a dog, but I'm also smart enough not to get one and hope that it will magically work out okay. That's why my husband and I have cats, we're better at handling them than dogs...

[Squeaksmyalias]

This is why my dog why but well behaved dog has trouble at stores and people worry she will misbehave. I hate people like this.
I agree with you, other people wouldn't have known that was a puppy bite and her poor pup would have been in serious trouble. I would feel no guilt for her of course, just her dog. I only hope that he grows out of it himself cause I doubt he will be taught otherwise, adult dogs who still puppy bite are just asking for trouble.
Btw I've had to do similar to what you've done, I'm not a professional trainer but I have a cell phone full of people professional and owners who can vouch for me saying I have worked with large and small animals half my life. I've been known to pull out my phone and ask if they'd like to speak to my references.

[draggar]

I only hope that he grows out of it himself cause I doubt he will be taught otherwise, adult dogs who still puppy bite are just asking for trouble.

This is so true, Pollux was never taught bite inhibition (how hard he can bite us in play) so he bites very hard in play - we're trying to teach him but it isn't easy since we got him older.

[LillFilly]

Frightening too to think that people that irresponsible might also not have gotten their dog vaccinated, nor that they'll care for it properly.

[MoonCat]

Just another example of EW syndrome: "The world revolves around ME and must conform to my version of reality. I have no responsibility to the rest of the world."

I hope that guy looks into proper training for his puppy, because it will be an education for HIM as well.

[Squeaksmyalias]

This is so true, Pollux was never taught bite inhibition (how hard he can bite us in play) so he bites very hard in play - we're trying to teach him but it isn't easy since we got him older.

I had to deal with tons older dogs who were never taught bite inhibition when I was a petsitter. It's so difficult to teach them not to when you only see the dog a couple times a week for a half an hour.
It HURTS to have a over weight lab jumping on you and play biting you almost constantly, I could stay absolutely calm, still and ignore him, he just had soooo much energy . Its upsetting knowing he doesn't want to hurt you and is doing it because he loves you and is just so happy to see you he just doesn't know any way better to show you. The chocolate lab who did that, I would leave his house scratched and bruised. Luckily now he was rehomed (he knocked the owner's step son down, wonder why?) and last I saw of him he was 90% turned around, still silly and hyper but he lost weight and has learned not to bite and jump. Still has the occasional but small relapse like when he saw me cause I'm just that awesome, how could you not be happy to see me?

[iradney]

how does one train a dog not to bite, exactly? I'm very interested to know

[Marmalady]

When I first got Shandy as a puppy, he would of course jump up at people and when I told him 'NO' they'd go "aww it's OK, he's just a baby". Which is all very well but you can't let a dog do that as a puppy and then expect him to just stop doing it as he gets older. It must be so confusing for the poor dog - 'well it used to be OK for me to do it, why isn't it OK any more?'
It seems as though a lot of folks think the dog will just 'grow out' of it. Doesn't work like that.

[Yarnil]

That's why my husband and I have cats, we're better at handling them than dogs...

Handling a cat.... How?

[Catwoman2965]

Stories like that just make my blood boil. I'm no dog expert, nor do I pretend to be one, but I have been around them enough to know what you should and shouldn't do around dogs. Some people just shouldn't be allowed to own pets.

I have friends who have a VERY unruly lab; i think he's 4 or 5 now, and he still jumps, bites (playfully) steals shoes, etc. and is generally a spastic mess. And it'
s beacuse he's never been properly trained. I love dogs, but he's just obnoxious to be around, but it's not his fault. And I have other friends who had a yellow lab who, aside from being stubborn and developing selective hearing in his old age, was very well trained! Darn dog coudln't hear you yelling at him to come in, but just whisper the word "cookie" and he was in the house in nothing flat

[Jay 2K Winger]

Ah, yes, puppy mouthing.

Our new dog, Mocha, is still a puppy (we got her late last year) and will chew on anything she can get her mouth on, and we've very quickly learned not to put anything in reach of her. If it hits the floor, and you're not fast enough, she'll snatch it up and carry it off to destroy it. She almost destroyed my copy of "Cars" when I left it on the side table by the sofa.

She likes to "gnaw" on our hands if we let her, but Mocha seems to have learned when to back off. She's careful, but if she starts getting a little too aggressive, a sharp "Hey!" from Yours Truly causes her to back off the aggression.

Mocha's certainly a lot more "alpha" than our last dog, Dooney, was.

[nicolecj]

We have a 200 pound english mastiff, so we went overkill on the whole 'no mouthing' exercises. Now when he wants a toy to squeak instead of biting he will put it on the couch or your lap and jam his nose down quite hard. He will hold the toy in his mouth, but unless it is really easy to squeak he won't make it squeak by biting it.

We knew how big he was gonna get, so better to much training than not enough...

[Squeaksmyalias]

We have a 200 pound english mastiff, so we went overkill on the whole 'no mouthing' exercises. Now when he wants a toy to squeak instead of biting he will put it on the couch or your lap and jam his nose down quite hard. He will hold the toy in his mouth, but unless it is really easy to squeak he won't make it squeak by biting it.

We knew how big he was gonna get, so better to much training than not enough...

Not only was it great of you to do, but that sounds down right adorable!

I would explain how to not teach a dog to bite hard or bite, but Draggar is far more the expert then I am I have a feeling he will explain it much better then I would. I can teach it in person, the explaining is meh.

[chainedbarista]

yes! people like that have no business owning dogs (i'm thinking my son falls into that category, despite how many times i've told him that he's not teaching his dog correctly) and the whole 'you should watch out?' i'd like to see how that goes over in a courtroom after fuzzy bites a child and leaves a serious injury in her wake.

some people are just too dumb for...anything.