# Should a dog ever scrunch up his face and attack you?



## ChiFreddie (Nov 4, 2013)

Often when i try and open Freddie's mouth (to give him a worming pill) or put a jumper over his head, or try to remove something from the corner of his eye, he scrunches up his face, wriggles uncontrollably, and bites me hard. I do my best to continue and not let him get his own way but it's hard. Should a dog ever do this? Is it just a puppy thing and he still needs to learn what is and what isn't acceptable behaviour? 

He scares me a bit when he gets like it, so vicious, its like he's possessed.

Also when we're out and strangers put their hands over his head to stroke them, he sometimes bites. He clearly doesn't like it so i tell people not to. I guess having a big hand come down at you when you're so small must be a bit annoying. But still, he needs to learn that biting is never ok right?

At what age did your chi stop biting completely?


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## summerkinz (Dec 21, 2013)

My girl chi does that when shes chewing on a toy or something and I try to touch it. She will wrinkle up her lips and show her teeth and growl. It I don't stop she will bite HARD! She's 9 months and does this. It is scary but I can't seem to stop her. I guess she will have to grow out of it. I do find it gets better if you don't show a reaction when a dog does this. If you act scared or effected by it they will keep doing it. 


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## summerkinz (Dec 21, 2013)

Also my chi stopped the puppy chewing around 5 or 6 months. But still does this snapping behavior. 


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

No, it isn't normal or acceptable behaviour.
I have two puppies the same age as your Freddie, they don't bite at all. They will mouth very gently if they are playing, but they know not to chew on human flesh the rest of the time. A lot of it is to do with how the puppies are raised. A well behaved and attentive mother and a good breeder create a puppy that shows respect to humans and dogs alike. Did Freddie have siblings? At what age was he taken away from his mother? The mother dog and siblings teach a pup bite inhibition. While playing they soon learn that rough play/biting hurts, and the mother will discipline the pups if they get out of line long after they are weaned. This is one of the reasons why it is better to get a 12 week old puppy, more time with the family learning how to behave.
Having said that, it is not too late to work with Freddie. Freddie is trying to communicate with you when he bites. He is telling you he doesn't like what you are doing. So either he is being disrespectful, or he is genuinely scared. How are you responding when he bites you?
He has to learn to tolerate these things. Start handling every part of his body, including his feet and mouth, on a regular basis, several times a day. Make it fun, part of your cuddles, and praise him for letting you. Work up to things he hates, so start lifting his lips, then opening his mouth once he is used to that.
If it is a respect issue, he needs to learn that you are the person who controls all the good stuff. Make him work for every privilege, so ask him to sit before he gets food/treats etc. Only allow him on your lap or the sofa at your invitation. make sure you aren't accidentally rewarding unacceptable behaviour. Insist on some respect, it will strengthen your bond and improve your relationship.


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## Evelyn (Oct 14, 2012)

Yes to what wicked pixie has said. If they know they scare you they will do it even more, I have my dogs growl at me for taking something away that they should not have , I tell them a firm now and continue to take it, none have ever bitten me yet, but they no I am not afraid of them. I always wrap a pill they have to take in something good, like cheese or piece of ham and give all 3 the treat, they gobble it so fast . If the pill can be smashed I do that and put it in their food.


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## ChiFreddie (Nov 4, 2013)

I got him at 8 weeks. I was aware that many say to leave it to 10-12 weeks but many also say 8-10 weeks is best as up to 12 weeks is the crucial socialising period.. And there were only 2 in the litter, the other one seemed more boisterous that freddie..

The weird thing is that he is totally chilled about touching him anywhere else on his body. The vet gave him a full body check the other day and he was relaxed apart from when it came to checking his eyes & mouth, then he bit him.

When he does it i straight away point my finger, say no, and growl at him. Is that best thing to do? Or is not reacting the right thing to do?

I let him bite me for the first couple of weeks i had him, in order to try & teach bite inhibition (i screamed whenever he bit too hard). Then i read something that said you shouldn't let them bite at all so i stopped allowing it completely. And he has pretty much learnt that it is unacceptable, until you want to prod around with his face!

When he is sleepy and on my lap he is much better. I can put my fingers over his eyes and pull the lids down, and i can lift his lips up a bit. So like you say, i'll continue doing that and hopefully he'll learn i mean no harm..


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## summerkinz (Dec 21, 2013)

My dog used to freak out if anyone, including me, touched her feet. She even did it to the vet and he said that some dogs (mostly smaller dogs) have little quirks like that. He said to touch her feet gradually when she was sleeping and tired. When she's awake to distract her by rubbing her belly, then when she's happy and distracted gently graze the problem area. Keep making small touches and she would grow out of it. 

I used to say no and point my finger like you say but it just made her more mad, so I just sit her on the floor and ignore her for a few minutes. Dogs hate it when you ignore them. 


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## hwrios (Dec 16, 2013)

I got one of my dogs at 6 weeks. To me that is WAY too young, but I was in love with him and the guy was about to give him to someone else anyway, so there wasn't much I could do. My other one I got at about 12 weeks and there was a huge difference in their behavior, although it's hard to say that age was the only factor. 

Buddy is the one we got at 6 weeks and he has always been very "bitey", mostly just chewing, but he would try to chew on our feet, hands, faces, everything. It was almost like that was how he was trying to show love because he would chew and lick at the same time. We did let him chew a bit because it didn't really hurt or anything, but if he did it hard we put him down immediately or else completely ignore him until he calmed down. 

He doesn't do it much anymore, but when he does, I usually yell "no" in a loud and mean sounding voice and ignore him and it works very well. 

He does try to bite sometimes when I put a collar on him if it takes me too long. I usually give him a firm, "no" and just keep with what i'm doing and I'll hold him more firmly (not too hard!) so he sees that I'm the one in charge and his biting is not going to make me stop doing what i need to do to him. 

Honey, as her name implies, is much sweeter than him. I don't know if it's genetic, or because she was with her mother more, or because she's female, but she doesn't bite or chew at all. She will bite Buddy when he gets too rough and she will chew on him a lot, but not on us. Honestly I was pretty relieved when we got her because he finally got a taste of his own medicine. She has calmed him down a lot.


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## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

When a dog snarles and shows teeth, he is saying "cut it out, next move is I'll bite". You control if the next step is a bite. Pick him up and put him down on the floor pronto. Don't let him get away with it. If he is 'guarding' something, then you can work on that with the 'trade' work. I had a dog that HATED anything over her head. Sweaters, hands etc. I worked with her for a long time. Finally I got a sweater that didn't go over her head. She would snarl, but never offered to bite, thankfully.


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## hwrios (Dec 16, 2013)

Also, there are times when a dog is actually in pain and will bite when the painful spot is touched. 
My puppies just got vaccines yesterday including rabies and their necks were VERY sore. Honey, who usually NEVER bites or growls, had an angry fit when Buddy tried to snuggle with her and rubbed her neck. She growled at him and bit him hard, obviously the spot was very sore and she just didn't want it touched. Today she is fine. 

It makes sense that a dog would hate to be touched in the face or mouth since the head is the most vulnerable part of animals. Same reason so many humans are terrified of the dentist. It just isn't fun to be poked and prodded in your mouth.


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## Moonfall (Nov 16, 2012)

He needs to be disciplined. If you back off when he bites he will do it more. Make it clear who leads, have him work for good things. Make him sit for food, etc. My dog lets me take his food, touch his face, etc with no issues.


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## ChiFreddie (Nov 4, 2013)

I do make him work for most things. He has to sit, sometimes do paw, whenever i lift him onto the sofa. And the same whenever i give him a toy/treat. His training is going quite well i think.. He's getting good at lie down, stay, and leave. Yesterday I got him to leave a treat on top of his paw!

I think maybe i've made him sound worse than he is. He's very sweet 99% of the time, and has never guarded anything. It's literally only when i want to touch his eyes/mouth, and with strangers when they want to stroke him (though that is only a gentle warning bite i think..

Will keep on reinforcing that biting is bad full stop! And work on touching his face


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## ChiFreddie (Nov 4, 2013)

Would it be a good idea to put him on his back on my lap and hold him still, whenever he bites? I read that that's how you show dominance..


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## loupey (Oct 1, 2013)

ChiFreddie said:


> Would it be a good idea to put him on his back on my lap and hold him still, whenever he bites? I read that that's how you show dominance..


yeah I believe so but not everyonr likes the pack idea.
but I personally say try it


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## ILovemyChiChi (Nov 13, 2013)

Unfortunately this is never a good thing, i recommend you try and address this problem asap as my old dog used to have this problem, it started with just little growls then got far worse to the point where you couldn't go near him or his toys/food etc...hes become old now and it's just got worse! I had to leave him at home when i left because my family loved him to pieces he was a shih tzu and King Charles mix (cavatzu) but now i have my Chihuahua I realise just how bad my old dog was my chi is so laid back and will not bark or growl or bite any one even when he is playing he has learnt to lick instead of nip, and he is far more easier to have around and i'm not scared that he will get upset and growl or nip me. 


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## ILovemyChiChi (Nov 13, 2013)

ChiFreddie said:


> Would it be a good idea to put him on his back on my lap and hold him still, whenever he bites? I read that that's how you show dominance..


I guess you can give it a try but be careful


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

I would avoid any type of punishment with a young puppy. Learn to read his cues, and avoid the situation escalating. Every time you allow him to bite he is learning that it is a good way to get what he wants, so don't let it happen again. If you can work out why he is biting, then you can work on the issue.
Bringing up a puppy is all about creating an environment where he can only do the right thing. Use positive reinforcement so he learns what you do want, and don't let him get in situations where he will show unwanted behaviours.
If he is generally respectful towards you, it could well be fear or pain that is making him snap, and punishment will be totally counterproductive in that case.


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## MMS (Aug 2, 2012)

ChiFreddie said:


> Would it be a good idea to put him on his back on my lap and hold him still, whenever he bites? I read that that's how you show dominance..


No. No. NO! This will do nothing more than scare him, which is likely why he is lashing out to begin with. You will only make things worse. I use to follow that dominance theory drivel, and it did nothing more than make my dogs more fearful and reactive. It is far more difficult to fix a reactive dog than to just use proper training methods in the first place. Believe me, we're still working on it 5 years later.

Let him make the choice to put his head in the sweater. Put a treat through the hole and don't let him have it until you've slipped it over his head (I hope I explained that well enough, let me know if you need a deeper explanation). Start associating these behaviors that you WANT (being able to clean out his eyes, touch his face, pat him on the head, ect) with good things, and he won't be so afraid of you anymore.


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