#202 My Dog Would Never

Send us a message - we can't reply but we are listening

My dog would never bite." It's a phrase uttered with confidence by countless dog owners, but this well-intentioned belief can actually put both dogs and humans at risk. This eye-opening episode challenges one of the most dangerous myths in dog ownership by examining the reality of why and how bites actually happen.

Support the show

🎙️ Have a topic you'd like us to cover?
Submit your suggestion at fiveminutedog.com using the contact form.

📚 Join our online training platform:
Dog training courses from Personable Pets

👩‍💻 Need one-on-one help?
Book a virtual session with a Family Dog expert: personablepets.com/virtual-sessions

📱Follow us for daily tips and updates:
TikTok | Facebook | Instagram

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
You've probably heard someone say, with a bit of
bravado, oh, my dog would neverbite.
The trouble is that bravadousually comes from picturing
only the extreme version ofbiting A snarling, lunging dog
you'd see in some viral video.

(00:23):
But most dog bites don't looklike that at all.
More often they're just quicknips from a dog who feels
stressed or pushed too far.
Bites often come out ofsituations that don't look
aggressive on the surface.
A dog might feel cornered andsnap out of fear, or maybe

(00:46):
they've been handled or petted alittle too much and finally
react.
Sometimes it's a startle, likebeing touched while asleep, or
it could be pain-related, wheninjury or illness lowers their
tolerance.
These moments don't looktraumatic and they're often

(01:07):
small a nip, a snap, a quickcontact followed by retreat.
But they're still bites.
And here's something important.
Biting isn't something that dogshave to learn.
It's instinct.
Just like people are born withfight or flight responses, dogs

(01:30):
are born with the ability tobite.
They don't need practice orpast trauma to figure it out.
It's built in.
That doesn't mean every dogwill bite, but it does mean
every dog can mean every dogwill bite, but it does mean

(01:51):
every dog can.
So our job as dog owners is tonotice the early warning signs
before it ever gets that far.
Things like lip licking,yawning, turning their head away
or showing the whites of theireyes, maybe a stiff body pinned
back, ears, tucked tail or evena low growl Even a dog that

(02:12):
simply tries to walk away orhide is telling you something,
and that's communication that weshould respect.
So just remember any dog hasthe potential to bite.
That doesn't make them bad.
It means they were put in asituation where biting felt like
their only option.

(02:33):
And if we have that false senseof security that our dog would
never bite, then we risk missingthose early warning signs.
But when we stay aware, when weacknowledge that any dog can
bite even our dog, given theright circumstances we start

(02:57):
paying attention, we give space,we make changes before things
escalate, allowing us to greatlyreduce the chance of a bite
ever happening.