My dog just bit my roomate during a fight

[BowserCat]

I have a four year old Border Collie that has always been a snot to other dogs he just meets. I am able to control him with obedience, if I'm with him he would NEVER attack another dog. The thought may cross his mind, but he would not act on it with me there. He'll obey me and be a good little solider about it.

That's why I'm able to have foster dogs here and not have an issue with him. I've probably had eleven fosters come through here so far and while Swish is not thrilled with the idea, he is able to co exist with them just fine, (but is never left alone with them).

Until today. I came home from work, and my roommate had taken one of the foster dogs outside, and forgttten to put Swish in the bedroom beforehand (which she always does, and I always remind her to do before I leave).

Well this foster is very bouncy and happy, and Swish took offense to his bounciness and attacked him. My roommate tried to break it up and Swish bit her really well. She has several puncture wounds, and a gash on her forearm.

I only know what she's told me about the situation and she said that he did not try to attack her, but he redirected on her when she attempted to break up the fight.

So I come home, and she meets me at the car to relay the story about what happened. I took Swish out of the bedroom and the foster dog out too, and we all went for a walk to make sure he did not think this was acceptable behavior all the time. We did some heeling with them next to each other and he was fine, of course, since I was walking them both they were sure to be on their best behavior. I don't tolerate nonsense and Swish knows this.

My questions is, should I be worried that Swish will now think it's a-ok to bite humans? I realize that it was a "heat of the moment" thing, but I've always felt that dogs know where their teeth are and that he should NOT have redirected onto my roommate. I'm now worried about him being aggressive toward people and that has never been an issue for him, he's always been super people friendly.

I'm just really upset about this whole thing, Swish is an awesome dog, we do dog sports together, he snuggles with my cats and my other two dogs, and he's always been a gentleman around people before this.

Aside from making sure the roommate does not take anyone outside ever again, is there anything else I should be doing?

[Ritz459]

I think biting a human in the heat of the moment is different than intentionally biting a human. Much like if you are in a serious fight and someone grabs your shoulder you swing around and take a punch at them - even if the person who grabbed your shoulder is your mother. I think even my dogs would take a munch at me if I tried to seperate them from a fight by physically grabbing them by their muzzles were all of their nasty teeth are. I've had to seperate a couple of dog fights at work and the dogs that are squabbling don't hesitate to try to bite me - and the dogs I'm thinking of are all people friendly, loving dogs who have never once shown any signs of aggression towards a person (they are actually all "puppies" too, at around a year old).

For future reference, when you try to break up a dog fight, grab the hind legs of the dog on "top" and pull him off by the legs. That gets the dog off balance, seperates the dogs, and if he tries to redirect onto you you just spin him around like a wheelbarrel and keep his teeth away from you. If both dogs are going at it with equal force, it is helpful to have two people to do the "grab and pull" meathod. Reaching in to break dogs up by the collar is asking to get bit.

Welcome to the forum, by the way! I have a Lab who sounds much like your Border Collie...he is okay around other dogs if I'm riding him, but he has some issues. Just today, actually, he decided he was going to go after Chloe (my 1 1/2 year old Collie mix pup). Luckly he stopped when I yelled at him. He tried again a couple of minutes later and just a look from me stopped him dead.

[Punkygirl0101]

I also agree. it does NOT sound like Swish was purposely trying to bite your roomate. I have been bitten before years ago when I was breaking up dog fights between one of my dachshunds who has passed, and her daughter (Dachshund/poodle mix). They had to be separated 24/7 because Hannah (The dachshund) constantly tried to attack her. Hannah would never bite a human though, and just happened to accidentally bite us as we broke their fights up.

I wanted to ask though, how much exercise does Swish get on a daily basis, and how much mental stimulation? I am sure you are aware of how active Border collies are and how much energy they have to burn! Dogs tend to get along better when they are both tired from plenty of exercise, and don't care for a fight cause they don't have any spare energy.

[BowserCat]

Oh, Swish is worked to the bone everyday. We have a mini agility course in the backyard and he runs through that everyday to earn his toy throws, he plays straight fetch for 30 minutes twice a day where I toss the Kong and he goes off in all directions to catch it, we work on obedience after work, and we go to the park and walk ten miles three times a week. No kidding. I'm lucky I usually work from home and have the time for all this.

And he's STILL bouncing off the walls. I honestly think that I could exercise this dog all day long and he'd not be tired. So I do what I can to take the edge off, and then we work on practicing relaxing behaviors.

Thank you both for easing my mind a little. I'm still a bit on edge about this, but it's good to know that I am being unreasonable to think that he might start randomly going after people after this.

[Dangels]

I also agree, back when my mom used to raise Great Danes, she had 2 females who normally got along get into a fight while one was in heat.... while trying to break up the fight, my mom was bitten by one of the dogs. Neither of the dogs had ever been at all aggressive with people, and I know that it was an accident, because as soon as the dog figured out what she had done... she instantly let go, putting her tail between her legs. It was very obvious that she knew that what she had done was wrong. It's not at all uncommon for someone to be bitten while trying to break up a dog fight, and I don't think you have to worry about Swish being more prone to bite humans because of what happened today.

I'm glad that no one was hurt too seriously!

[Agile PAWZ]

I too am a foster home, for Border Collies and have an aussie that is the same way a real grumpy gus in the house but fine with fosters outside. He is boss inside and what he says goes as far as he's concerned and I have to tell him to knock it off from time to time. I agree that your roomates hand just managed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and there is no fear that Swish is going to suddenly have a passion for biting people. Its like saying that feeding a dog raw meat gives them a taste for blood. Pure myth.

[Flutterby]

Originally Posted by Ritz459

For future reference, when you try to break up a dog fight, grab the hind legs of the dog on "top" and pull him off by the legs. That gets the dog off balance, seperates the dogs, and if he tries to redirect onto you you just spin him around like a wheelbarrel and keep his teeth away from you. If both dogs are going at it with equal force, it is helpful to have two people to do the "grab and pull" meathod. Reaching in to break dogs up by the collar is asking to get bit.

To add to this: you should lock your legs in front of the dog's hips, around its waist. This immobilizes them to some degree. If they're wearing collars, hold their heads up so they cannot twist around to bite you. If they're not wearing collars, lock both hands behind their head (where it meets their neck). Do this from behind! Never stick your hands in front of a fighting dog! If you are the only person available to break up a fight, immobilize the aggressor - the other dog may be frightened and run away, stopping the fight. If BOTH dogs are aggressive, and there is no one to immobilize the other dog, you can immobilize one and lift both dogs up by their collars, making sure to keep them far enough apart they cannot reach each other, and holding them up high enough that they cannot bite you in the process. This can be tricky and dangerous, and let's pray you're never in that situation. (I do have a handful of scars from dog bites, unfortunately, but am pleased to be able to say that none were serious, and none of the dogs were able to seriously hurt each other, either.) You want to get the dogs on separate sides of a secure barrier (like a door or a solid fence) ASAP!!

[Flutterby]

Also - animal aggression and human aggression are NOT related, no matter what the media would like you to believe. Dogs biting humans in the midst of a dog fight is NOT a cause for concern - as far as human aggression goes. However, if the dog actually turns on a human, ignoring the other dog - that is DEFINITELY a cause for concern.

[Dogsareme]

I agree with every one that Swish was only acting in the heat of the adrenaline. They are only trying to protect themselves to and just react without thinking or realizing. My dog bit my husband in the leg upon a similar incident, we have had him now for 6 years since and not once has it ever crept up again. Ease your worries, this will not become any kind of habit