TopDog Headquarters, LLC

Bite Prevention

Dog bite prevention is a very important topic seeing that millions of individuals are bitten a year.The vast majority of dogs are safe, reliable companions. But even a friendly dog may bite if threatened, angry, afraid or hurt. Some dogs can be described as dangerous—bred or trained to be aggressive, with predatory instincts that may cause them to chase and attack a fleeing child.

Very few bites happen without provocation - but this provocation may exist only in the doig's mind! Dogs are not little people in furry costumes; they don't think in the same way that we do. Dogs look at the world around them with a different perspective. Most of their actions are instinctive. A dog will react to situations according to what his instincts tell him unless these instincts are overridden by the consistent training and socialization he needs to receive from his owner throughout his life.

Most of these bites occur when a family's dog bites a family member.  The bite victim is usully a child.  Fortunately, most of these bite occurences are just warnings, a dog's way of communicating to a human that s/he has stepped over the line - in the dog's mind.  It is so important to understand your family dog, how he is communicating to you and how you are communicating to him.  Dogs tell you what they are thinking every second and the warnings signs that a bite may happen are given by the dog many times over. These signs are just not recognized by their human family pack. Likely events when a person may be bitten are listed to the right.

To schedule a free bite prevention class: Contact Me

Important Things to Teach Your Kids

1. Never hug or kiss a strange dog. Dogs do not like this. Would you like a perfect stranger to come up and hug or kiss you?
2. If a strange dog approaches, be a tree. Running and any kind of movement will initiate prey drive in a dog which can lead to a bite. Also, do not look at the dog, ignore him. You do not want to put the dog in defense drive where he feels he needs to defend himself.
3. Never go up to a strange dog without first asking the owner if it is okay.  However, even then I avoid this situation because if I had a dime for every time an owner said their dog would not bite.
4. Always, always remember - EVERY DOG WILL BITE GIVEN THE RIGHT CIRCUMSTANCES!

Free Dog Bite Prevention Classes

Bite Prevention Class For Kids

I give free bite prevention classes for children. I do not integrate dogs into the program, so it is a very safe and fun activity for children to learn about how not to get bitten by a dog. 

Bite Prevention for Adults

I give free bite prevention classes for adults.  This involves a more detailed presentation on bite prevention, dog communication and the "nature" of a dog.

To schedule a free bite prevention class: