Bite to the face...who bit who?

This one...it is a real bummer situation for all involved. Our prayers are with all who are suffering the consequences. Nobody did anything "wrong"...but nobody really did anything "right" either. Net/net, it is a great learning opportunity for many.

SEE NEWS STORY/VIDEO CLIP: "Rescue dog bites news anchor in face"

Let us all understand a few things:

*There are consequences for getting nose-to-nose with a dog. This is NOT even acceptable human-human behavior.

**There are even greater consequences for getting nose-to-nose with a dog you do not know.

***There are even greater consequences for getting nose-to-nose with an unfamiliar dog, under stress (uh, maybe a new environment, being restrained by the collar, surrounded by camera men, etc...you get the picture!).

****There are even greater consequences for getting nose-to-nose with an unfamiliar dog, under stress, who has undergone either a series of multiple low-level stressors or a single enormous stressor in the last 72 hours.

Do you see now, the build up? Do you see how how something like this happens? Humans explain it using phrases like "out of the blue, the dog bit her face"; we often hear this from parents of bitten children (and so often to the face). Really, it is not something that occurs "out of the blue". As soon as we get that, people and dogs will be safer together...and dogs will not be blamed for "the bite". Education will help us attain such a goal!

For those that are here to learn, this is what we call "pushing a dog beyond bite threshold". Unfortunately, it is the dog, possibly his owner, and certainly the canine community that suffers the greatest consequence here.

This news anchor ended up with a different storyline for the day and likely learned a LOT from it, as did thousands of viewers. Common sense keeps us safe...even a little bit of knowledge goes a long way. This one is a bummer. Let us all learn from it.

Kimberly Burgan, CPDT-KA
KBDT | Austin, TX

http://www.kbdogtraining.com/