Fynne bit my face! Grr!

[Miztiki]

Don't worry, I'm not disfigured or anything.

 

Earlier last year I mentioned how she would get excited and snap at my face. I avoided having my face where she could reach it until she learned self control. I pinned her once long ago for snapping at my face and she hasn't done it since.

 

Until today. I have a tiny hole on the top of my nose and on my chin. She must have had her big mouth wide open.

 

I was outside sitting in the chair whacking balls with the tennis racket and she snapped at me and got me. Hubby just walked in the door and asked what happened to my nose. Grr, stupid dog.

 

Does anyone know why she would do this? Ever had a dog that would get excited and jump up and snap at your face?

[Lunar]

Ouch. I'm sorry that happened. Zeeke doesn't go for faces (thank the light), though Zoe will try to lick your face to death. Snapping's a little different than licking though.

[KrisK]

Actually, Dusty BA, the foundling does this...I haven't got a clue why he does it. There doesn't appear to be any malice intended at all...just excitement. The problem with Dusty, is the little bugger can jump like he's on a pogo stick so even if you keep your face away...he can sometimes almost reach Thankfully, he's not as bad as he was when he first arrived!

Sorry to hear that Fynne got ya...

[Dixie_Girl]

Tell, Fynne that she won't be going on vacation if she don't straighten up!

 

Actually, if she wasn't growling or being aggresive then it was probly just excitement.

[fooshuman]

Foo did that for like 5 years, then one day i got a $.99 squirt gun. Only took 4 times and she quit. First 2 ended up squirting her in the eye. Up until the end she never did it again.

 

Funny how lil streams of water can help with almost any correction.

[smileyzookie]

Originally posted by fooshuman:

Funny how lil streams of water can help with almost any correction.

Riven HATES bein sprayed. She goes in a corner and her eyes get all sad, and she looks as if you've punched her. Makes me feel so bad lol..

 

Miz Im sorry that happened, Riven claws me in the face when she's excited, so Im anxious to hear a solution, because it would probably work with her as well.

 

I wish you luck

[Kit]

When Kit gets exicited she does the same thing, snaps at my face. ( She is not growling or aggressive) Its funny how BC use their mouths to communicate feelings, or what they want. In her obedience class the instructor told me that when she does that, or puts her mouth on me that you should hold onto her muzzel and squeeze lightly ( that is what mama dogs do to their puppys when they want them to stop ) I give the command "No Bite". We are still working on it...Remember to wash bite area very well with soap and water and apply neosporin lightly over area. The nurse in me...

Kit and Kari

[Jo&Tex]

I have so many bites from Tex I've stopped counting. It's my fault, I get down on the floor to play with him so he can find me more easily.

We play tug and "I'm gonna get you" and he grabs me in play but it still leaves marks.

It's not something I want to stop doing but I've learned not to play in the dark with Tex.

[Snorri the Priest]

My Kali got me like that once, when he was about 11 months old, but it was my own fault, really - I was giving him a telling-off for some minor crime or other, and got too close. The marks hung about for a short while, but nothing permanent

 

One day, while we were playing, he gave me a "tooth-knock" (NOT a bite, just "careless use of dentition"). The mark was the size of a pinhead, but it got infected, and I ended up in hospital for three days, on an antibiotic drip-feed :eek: So, clean up carefully!

 

Snorri

[mado]

I wouldn't have mentioned this because it's none of my business really , but I went to the coast for a few days with a friend who has two huge dogs the breed of which eludes me , they first were pretty tough with my dog , jealousy and excitement and what not , I decided to let Tamyr deal with it in her own way , which she did successfully and even heroically given the size of the beasts , but they also snapped at the ever so few people getting close , then they got into a freaky fight between them , we were at a terrasse , my friend put her hand in the middle and got nice deep hole in the palm with a geiser of blood , the other side was well bruised too .

We had to get help at a pharmacy .

I was appalled at this behaviour .

It could have happened to a kid passing by and that would have been real trouble .

The evening before she already got told off because of some foul behaviour , a guy was really angry .

I couldn't find a way to tell this friend about the dangerous nature of this behaviour , we did joke about how kids always get dogs in trouble and so on but this was something else altogether and I wouldn't know what to do in the same circumstances .

This lady lives by herself with her dogs and they don't socialise at all , except with her horses ...and that w/e at the beach .

I have no judgement at all , am not scared of those dogs because I can behave , but it seems like a real problem , and apart from staying well away from any awkward situation with strangers I didn't know what to tell her ...

[Lunar]

mado - Dogs fighting will generally bite anything that gets in between, including people, and that goes for pretty much every dog. So I don't think that much, at least, is not unusual. (I got in the middle of fighting cats once - they weren't physically fighting, just growling at each other. I got really claws up for it. Never do it again!!)

[Joan]

Originally posted by Lunar:

Dogs fighting will generally bite anything that gets in between, including people, and that goes for pretty much every dog. So I don't think that much, at least, is not unusual.

Amen to that! I have two scars to prove it.

[SoloRiver]

I have no idea why dogs do this. Neither of my Border Collies has ever done it, although Fly has mouthed my hands at times when she was very excited. Belgians in particular seem very prone to this face-snapping behavior, and in their case it seems to be excited and affectionate (if sometimes scary and usually grossly slobbery).

[mado]

HEY !!! I never snapped at anyone's face , even when excited and affectionate

[Bill Fosher]

The more I see Border collies that are regularly indulged in games like ball chasing, the more I think that this is the root of a lot of the reputation that this breed has for being insane and difficult to live with.

[kelpiegirl]

One of my Kelpies, when she was a young fresh girl was not as careful with her teeth as she should be- I think it came from an indulgant mother and she was the BOSS of the litter. She has gotten MUCH better, partly due to learning her place in the pack, and partly due to me teaching her that I am NOT for biting

Julie

[Dixie_Girl]

I really don't know what to say about all this. I play with Jackson. When I say play with, I mean it literaly. This occurs either going to bed or in the morning, but always on the bed. We play grab it. I grab him, he grabs me. We tussle. Sometimes, he bites a little too hard, not enough to even come close to breaking the skin, and all it takes is an owww from me and he goes back to just mouthing. If I have long sleeve jammies on, he mostly tries grabbing the sleeve. He doesn't get out of control, ever. And when I am done, he rolls over for a belly itch. I do play ball and frizbee with him. He is not insane. Except on days ending in "y". He is not hard to live with, except when he's awake. JK about that. When we are in play mode, we play. When I've had enough, always before him, he settles down or looks for another victim, er, I mean person to play with. I think a lot has to do with breeding. I.E. temperment, intelligence, etc. I think it also has to do with how they are raised from puppyhood.

 

Or maybe Jackson is just weird.

[Miztiki]

Bill, it wasn't until a few days ago that she began playing ball with me. It wasn't until a couple weeks ago, after being laid up with a broken ankle, that she began playing fetch at all.

 

She was extremely hyper and out of control when I got her, basically going out of her mind with boredom and lack of exercise, structure, etc.

 

I just wondered if someone knew where this face snapping behavior comes from. I know why dogs jump on people, or lick their chin, or any number of things. I don't know where she gets the face snapping from.

[Dixie_Girl]

Don't border collies and ACD grab the nose of cattle and sheep to control them? Could that be it?

[Borderco1]

Just a guess from watching my dogs play with each other, but when they play fight, they bow and then one will go up and bite the scruff/face/neck area of the other and then either run off to be chased or just stay and wrestle. Could that be what she is doing?? Cause if I understand you right it isn't a case of outward aggression.

[Miztiki]

I don't know, maybe. No, it's not aggression, just excitement. She hasn't done anything like that in a long, long time.

[mosstheboss2000]

The more I see Border collies that are regularly indulged in games like ball chasing, the more I think that this is the root of a lot of the reputation that this breed has for being insane and difficult to live with.

 

 

How can playing ball be the root of a dog being insane and difficult to live with? The breed gets this reputation from owners who do not fully understand the work and committment that needs to be put into the breed. Most BCs that I get into rescue that are labelled as insane or difficult to live with DONT chase balls(and even if they chase it they wouldnt pick it up and bring it back)... actually I can usually bounce a ball off their forehead as they chase the cars, joggers and bikers!!!!! I think that contolled play(and that includes balls in my book!) is a great outlet and motivator for training.

 

Sounds like the dog was just over stimulated, I would just make sure that you add more control work to the play ie. make her sit or back up or lay down ect. before hitting the ball.. my one female is VERY herdy(worked sheep as well as a accomplished sport dog) and she is weird with tennis rackets. She wont chase the ball but fixates on the racket..might be the sound that is stimulating them. None of my other dogs even looked twice. I have never used one but someone in the park had one and she was obsessed and VERY excited about it!! You might want to try a Chuck it instead if you are looking to add distance to your ball.

Cindy

[Tammy525]

Watching the thread and praying for you, Michelle, it sounds like you are having a rough dog week. Could it all just be a reaction to the excitement of you being "sprung" after all that time in your cast?

[Miztiki]

Originally posted by mosstheboss2000:

...actually I can usually bounce a ball off their forehead...

That's Boy! He was far from hyper when I got him but he had NO interest in balls or toys. I can't count the number of times I'd toss a ball and it would hit him on the head.

 

Thanks Tammy, but it really hasn't been a rough week. I tend to air all of my dog's dirty laundry so that I can come back to it later if need be. The hole in my nose is tiny and looks like a zit , so I'm not worried about it. I just wondered where such a behavior might come from or if anyone else's dogs did that.

 

Same goes for Boy. If he does something out of character then I'll post about it so I can come back to it later.

 

Besides, I did some gardening the last few days, so it's all good!

[Kitch]

There doesn't appear to be any malice intended at all...just excitement.

Yeah, that describes Dublin. Dublin will do it when he is really excited - if he gets too close to me when doing the air-snapping he will usually turn his face away - though that was a trained behavior. Now if I can only get him to show as much control with the "Hey You" paw in the face routine, I'd be thrilled.

 

Dublin also does it as a stress behavior - like when he has to go to the bathroom and we are upstairs (the bells are downstairs) - he will do some air snapping before he will break down and actually give a yip. He *really* doesn't like to bark. It took me a bit to figure out that was his "Mom, I gotta go" signal when we are upstairs.