Recently, we have had a couple of clients with small kids who experienced their dog suddenly nipping, lunging, or biting their kid, apparently ‘out of the blue’. This is quite a common problem for families with small kids and dogs. Kids like to hug, kiss, and reach out to touch in sudden quick movements. Most kids squeal, shout, jump, run, and attempt to put things in the dog’s face, etc. They like to take things away from a dog, or tease the dog.

Unfortunately, these are all things that dogs don’t generally like. It is important to understand that a dog never does anything without something triggering his behavior. It could be something very subtle or unnoticeable to the untrained eye. It can be something in his environment, like a dog barking outside and your kid runs by at the same time. It can be something your child has done on a few occasions that the dog doesn’t like and then suddenly snaps. It can be something physical. Perhaps she is in pain. When a dog reacts, aggressively or fearfully, it is usually due to a perceived threat.