Fear Biting
 A
fear-bite is a bite that occurs out of sheer panic.
It’s not to be confused with dominance-aggression,
which is a sign of deep-set personality problems; a
fear-biter isn’t necessarily a ‘fierce’
dog. He’s just scared.
Why does fear-biting happen?
A fear-biter bites because it’s his only way of
expressing his extreme fear or panic, and his only way
of telling his owner that he can’t handle the
situation.
Almost all cases of fear-biting are actually caused
by well-meaning, but ill-advised, humans: they see
what’s clearly a scared dog, and – intending
to either comfort the dog or to show him that there’s
‘nothing to be afraid of’ – they
approach too close, and push an already-anxious dog
over the edge.
Dogs can’t ask us to please leave them alone.
They can’t tell us that something’s bothering
them, or that they need some space: all they can do
is sign the message to us through their body-language.
It’s easy to tell when a dog’s feeling
scared or panicky once you know what to look for.
Fear-biting never just happens ‘out of the blue’:
it only occurs when people ignore the signs.
Fear-biting: the warning signs
Fear-biters are submissive dogs. When faced with a new
situation or unfamiliar people, they do not react with
the customary effortless confidence of a well-socialized,
well-adjusted dog: instead, they become nervy and on
edge.
A scared dog, when faced with the unfamiliar, will
assume a distinctively submissive posture, and will
display several marked behaviors. The more common
of these are listed below.
Posture
- Tail tucked (or, if docked, the back legs will crouch
down and the haunches will ‘tuck’)
- Hunched, lowered back
- Ears flat against the head
- Elbows bent in a slight crouch
Behaviors
Excessive panting (hyperventilating)
Yawning (an attempt to reduce tension)
Avoidance of eye contact
In extreme cases, a dog may also urinate or defecate
out of fear
What makes some dogs fear-biters?
All dogs undergo what’s called a fear-imprint
stage when they’re about eight weeks old, and
another one at about fourteen weeks. During this period
of a dog’s formative puppyhood, he’s significantly
more prone to ‘spookiness’: being excessively
startled by new experiences and situations. If a dog
has a scare during this time which isn’t properly
dealt with by the owner (ie, after receiving a scare,
he isn’t then taught not to be frightened of that
thing), he may develop a life-long phobia towards that
object.
For example, if he’s been frightened by a repairman
arriving at the door unexpectedly, and isn’t
then acclimatized to that person, he may develop a
long-standing phobia of men who resemble that repairman
(men with beards, men in overalls, men holding toolboxes,
etc).
Some dogs are also just highly-strung and more prone
to anxiety because of their breeding. Certain breeds
– typically, the more intelligent ones, and
the ones emotionally dependent on close, regular interaction
with humans – have proven themselves more likely
to develop phobias and excessive shyness than other,
more emotionally stable breeds. A few of these ‘anxious’
breeds include Weimaraners, Great Danes, and Border
Collies.
A history of trauma or abuse is another major cause
of fear-biting: many abandoned or abused dogs develop
anxiety problems, which, without proper treatment,
may progress into fear-biting.
The difference between shyness and fear-biting
It’s quite natural for some dogs to exhibit
signs of shyness towards unfamiliar situations. It
doesn’t mean that that dog is a ‘difficult
dog’, or that he will grow up to be a fear-biter
– some shyness is to be expected in almost all
dogs at one point or another.
Shyness only becomes a problem when it begins to
interfere with the course of daily life: when a dog
can no longer be trusted around strangers, for example,
or if his behavior is endangering his own safety (scared
dogs often bolt, sometimes across busy roads), or
when your own life becomes significantly restricted
by your dog’s fear.
How to cope with fear-biting
First of all, make sure your own attitude to the problem
is realistic. While the behavior of a fearful dog can
often be significantly ameliorated by careful training
and acclimatization, on other occasions – and
sometimes, despite your best efforts – a dog will
remain fearful to the end of his days.
You cannot force your dog to overcome his fear. Treatment
requires patience, persistence, and consistency: rough
treatment (anger, frustration, shouting, a take-no-prisoners
approach) usually worsens the problem, because it
increases the dog’s anxiety levels instead of
decreasing them.
You cannot train a scared dog not to bite: he’s
responding to a powerful blend of instinct and sheer
panic. No training in the world can counteract these
two things – as motivators, they’re just
too strong.
What you can do is, firstly, build up your dog’s
confidence, to reduce his overall anxiety and tension
levels; and, secondly, pay close attention the cause
of his fear, and work to desensitize him to it.
Building up his confidence
Obedience training is a great vehicle for doling out
praise and rewards: simply dispensing treats at random
won’t do any good, since the issue here is drawing
attention to achievement and good behavior (your dog
can tell the difference between an earned and an un-earned
reward!).
Start small, with basic obedience classes, and practice
the commands for five to ten minutes every day.
Remember to set him up for success: start off with
the easy commands, and make sure he’s thoroughly
comfortable with them before progressing to the next
level. Always treat and praise liberally for good
behavior.
Desensitizing him to the fear-object
Desensitizing your dog is all about slowly accustoming
him to whatever it is that’s eliciting the fear
response, at a pace that’s comfortable for him.
The emphasis is on maintaining comfort levels: your
aim here is to keep your dog happy and serene (as
much as possible), so that he learns through direct
experience that the cause of the fear isn’t
actually scary after all.
So if he’s afraid of, say, the vacuum cleaner,
start integrating it into daily life. Remember to
move slowly and not to push him too far, too fast:
start by simply leaving it out in a prominent position,
where he’ll have lots of incidental contact
with it (for example, in the middle of the lounge
carpet). Allow him plenty of opportunity to sniff
it and walk around it, Play with him near it; feed
him near it. Integrate the object or the situation
(whether it’s the garbage truck, strangers approaching
the door, small children, driving in the car) into
normal, everyday life as much as possible.
Counterconditioning
Once he’s become desensitized enough to the
fear-object that he’s reasonably calm around
it (so, he might be exhibiting signs of fear, but
isn’t panic-stricken to the point of wetting
himself or hiding), you can start counterconditioning:
teaching him to associate good things with the fear-object.
You can do this by dispensing treats liberally, and
doling out lavish praise for any improvements in his
fear-levels.
Do’s and Don’ts
Do:
Cue your dog. He takes his emotional and psychological
cues from you, so make sure you’re a good role
model. Adopt a straightforward, no-nonsense attitude,
and stick to it. When he’s frightened, talk to
him in a relaxed, don’t-be-silly manner, keeping
your tone matter of fact and direct.
Socialize him frequently and thoroughly. Even though
the most critical socialization period is from eight
to sixteen weeks, it should still be an ongoing process
throughout your dog’s life. The more opportunity
he has to accustom himself to the ways of the world,
the easier it will be for him to see that, really,
there’s not much to be scared of.
Be patient and move slowly. Don’t try to rush
your dog, or force him to confront objects, people,
or situations that he’s scared of – you’re
trying to countercondition his learned fear-reflex,
and you’re not going to do that by teaching
him to associate feelings of anxiety with the fear-object.
Pay attention to his body language at all times.
Some whining and trembling are OK, but if he’s
wetting himself, hyperventilating, and showing the
whites of his eyes, he probably needs some space.
Even though a fear-bite isn’t inflicted out
of a direct desire to cause harm, it’s still
a bite, so give him what he needs!
Don’t:
Crowd him. Scared dogs need space, more than anything
else – you won’t make things easier for
him by entering his ‘personal bubble’. If
he’s really scared, back off, and wait for him
to approach you.
If he’s hiding, or strenuously resisting your
direction, pay attention to what he’s trying
to tell you: that he’s not comfortable enough
to proceed yet. Forcing him outside his comfort zone
is when bites happen.
Don’t coddle him or reward his fearful behavior
with special attention. It’s great to praise,
pet, and cuddle him for good behavior, increased calmness,
and being brave enough to approach/sniff/explore the
object of fear – it’s not good to reward
him for fearful behavior. Save the special attention
for when he deserves it: remember to reward the behavior
you wish to see repeated; ignore the behavior you
don’t.
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