# Trained to bite



## Gillian Schuler (Apr 12, 2008)

I'll probably make more foes than friends here, but nevertheless:

I keep reading statements such as, my dog is trained to bite etc.!! 

How can you "train" a dog to bite?

My time is taken up with training my dogs not to bite unless I say so.


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## David Scholes (Jul 12, 2008)

Gillian Schuler said:


> I'll probably make more foes than friends here, but nevertheless:
> 
> I keep reading statements such as, my dog is trained to bite etc.!!
> 
> ...


I agree biting is a natural for a dog. I would assume the "when", "how" & "where" are what they are training. It does sound silly but then do we really need to teach a dog to sit, down or come? The dog already knows how. "on command" tacked to the end of the sentence should just be assumed IMO.


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## Gillian Schuler (Apr 12, 2008)

OK, that makes sense David :smile:


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## Howard Gaines III (Dec 26, 2007)

David Scholes said:


> I agree biting is a natural for a dog. I would assume the "when", "how" & "where" are what they are training. It does sound silly but then do we really need to teach a dog to sit, down or come? The dog already knows how. "on command" tacked to the end of the sentence should just be assumed IMO.


But proper and control based biting is taught. Some folks know how to punch but they may not know how to do it well or effectively, hence martial arts lessons. And the dog learns to target and regrip in the same manner.


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## Tim Martens (Mar 27, 2006)

David Scholes said:


> I agree biting is a natural for a dog. I would assume the "when", "how" & "where" are what they are training. It does sound silly but then do we really need to teach a dog to sit, down or come? The dog already knows how. "on command" tacked to the end of the sentence should just be assumed IMO.


i don't believe that it's natural for a dog to bite a human under most circumstances...


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## Gillian Schuler (Apr 12, 2008)

Tim Martens said:


> i don't believe that it's natural for a dog to bite a human under most circumstances...


But David didn't say it's natural for a dog to bite a human. He said it's natural for dogs to bite, which is true from the moment they get their teeth.

For service and sport dogs it's when and how and for pet dogs teaching it not to bite.

Maybe I've interpreted the saying "training a dog to bite" wrongly. I wondered how you could teach a dog to bite that didn't want to, i.e. those that wouldn't retaliate by biting, even under severe pressure.


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## Howard Gaines III (Dec 26, 2007)

Gillian Schuler said:


> I wondered how you could teach a dog to bite that didn't want to, i.e. those that wouldn't retaliate by biting, even under severe pressure.


Why would you bother? That's like trying to teach a pig to sing. It annoys the pig and frustrates the teacher! 8-[


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## Gillian Schuler (Apr 12, 2008)

It's not me that wants to teaach a dog to bite - I'm wondering why others want to.....


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## liz shulman (Aug 28, 2008)

David Scholes said:


> I agree biting is a natural for a dog. I would assume the "when", "how" & "where" are what they are training. It does sound silly but then do we really need to teach a dog to sit, down or come? The dog already knows how. "on command" tacked to the end of the sentence should just be assumed IMO.


I agree!


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## Tim Martens (Mar 27, 2006)

Gillian Schuler said:


> But David didn't say it's natural for a dog to bite a human. He said it's natural for dogs to bite, which is true from the moment they get their teeth.
> 
> For service and sport dogs it's when and how and for pet dogs teaching it not to bite.
> 
> Maybe I've interpreted the saying "training a dog to bite" wrongly. I wondered how you could teach a dog to bite that didn't want to, i.e. those that wouldn't retaliate by biting, even under severe pressure.


sorry. i didn't realize we were talking about biting food or a tug :roll: . when someone makes a statement such as "i've trained my dog to bite" (such as the topic of this thread), i assume it to mean bite people. 

but nevermind me. continue with your discussion of biting food...


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## David Scholes (Jul 12, 2008)

Tim Martens said:


> sorry. i didn't realize we were talking about biting food or a tug :roll: . when someone makes a statement such as "i've trained my dog to bite" (such as the topic of this thread), i assume it to mean bite people.
> 
> but nevermind me. continue with your discussion of biting food...


Okay. Tim, I'll agree biting PEOPLE does not always come naturally for a dog.


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## Gillian Schuler (Apr 12, 2008)

I think I'm making a mess of this  

It was the "training" to bite that often puzzled me in threads but perhaps I shouldn't read posts so literally and take it to mean train them how, when and where to bite.


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## Howard Gaines III (Dec 26, 2007)

This week I'm training my dog to breath air! Never been done, has it?


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## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

Gillian, it is like a "civil" dog. It is improper use. Training a dog to bite is just a phrase used.


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## Gillian Schuler (Apr 12, 2008)

Jeff, thanks, I'm cottoning on if even slowly....


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