After walking with Spirit, my friend, and the dog she was dog sitting the unexpected happened. She snapped and bit my foot.
Not sure if it matters or not, but Scoobie is a small intact male Maltesse and Spirit is a spayed female. I'm pretty sure I know why I got bit, but would probably do it again too. Scoobie and Spirit seemed to get along fine except that Scoobie tried to mount her all day. Spirit would just move or spin around each time. I just assumed that they'd figure it out on their own, especially since Spirit is much bigger.
Back at the house Scoobie tried that once too many times and was quickly backed against the sofa with Spirit starting to growl and show teeth. So I did the only thing I know and stepped between them and directed Spirit away. I explained to my friend that I believed Spirit was about to strike and that they need a few seconds to calm down. Again Scoobie tried to follow Spirit's retreat so I blocked.
Before I knew it Scoobie jumped up and bit my friend's hand then bit my foot hard. I asked my friend to take Spirit into another room to keep her out of it while I handled Scoobie. I reached down & grabbed Scoobie right behind the head and held him in place for the 10 or so minutes it took my friend to put Spirit away and tend to her bleeding hand. I did not want to reinforce the idea that biting people will make them go away. She attempted to strike again several times, but I had a good grip. After my friend brought over the leash and kennel we put him back in there and he finally calmed down, sort of.
This is the little terror just minutes earlier. (lower left)
And here's the damage to my foot. It took an hour for me to be able to walk on it. If it was deeper I'd have been in trouble.
While I'm pretty sure Spirit will never bite me, I also accept the possibility that other dogs will while I'm protecting her and made up my mind not to back down if a single dog bites me. So how many time have you guys been bit?
Not sure if it matters or not, but Scoobie is a small intact male Maltesse and Spirit is a spayed female. I'm pretty sure I know why I got bit, but would probably do it again too. Scoobie and Spirit seemed to get along fine except that Scoobie tried to mount her all day. Spirit would just move or spin around each time. I just assumed that they'd figure it out on their own, especially since Spirit is much bigger.
Back at the house Scoobie tried that once too many times and was quickly backed against the sofa with Spirit starting to growl and show teeth. So I did the only thing I know and stepped between them and directed Spirit away. I explained to my friend that I believed Spirit was about to strike and that they need a few seconds to calm down. Again Scoobie tried to follow Spirit's retreat so I blocked.
Before I knew it Scoobie jumped up and bit my friend's hand then bit my foot hard. I asked my friend to take Spirit into another room to keep her out of it while I handled Scoobie. I reached down & grabbed Scoobie right behind the head and held him in place for the 10 or so minutes it took my friend to put Spirit away and tend to her bleeding hand. I did not want to reinforce the idea that biting people will make them go away. She attempted to strike again several times, but I had a good grip. After my friend brought over the leash and kennel we put him back in there and he finally calmed down, sort of.
This is the little terror just minutes earlier. (lower left)

And here's the damage to my foot. It took an hour for me to be able to walk on it. If it was deeper I'd have been in trouble.

While I'm pretty sure Spirit will never bite me, I also accept the possibility that other dogs will while I'm protecting her and made up my mind not to back down if a single dog bites me. So how many time have you guys been bit?
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