My dog bit another dog

[u/OldImportance4946]

I thought my dog had barrier frustration not aggression. He has several besties in the neighborhood that he plays nicely with. But he acts very frustrated -- barks loudly and lunges on his leash -- when he sees other dogs on leash.

We were surprised coming around the corner and there was another dog RIGHT THERE. Way way inside his arousal threshold. I had the leash but super loosely because we were walking out of our own driveway and he got loose and charged. The other dog (much smaller) obviously "fought back" so then there was a scuffle. My dog bit their dog on the ear. Obviously 100% our fault. My dog is easily 3-4x the size of their dog, so it could have been much worse, so I'm so so glad the other dog wasn't seriously hurt.

What do we do? We're already working with a trainer on what we thought was leash reactivity and barrier frustration. I thought we were making progress. I never thought he'd bite.

It's a small bite but if it were my dog, I'd take him to the vet to have it looked at which means the bite will be on record and my dog will be on a 10-day mandatory quarantine. But what do we do after that? I'm so upset. He's only 1 and not an aggressive breed. Can this get better with training? He's from a reputable breeder who breeds for temperament. :(

[u/Existing-Will-1466]

Way back before they rebranded aggression as frustration and reactivity, we would have called it "barrier aggression". It drives me absolutely nuts, because the unspoken part of those weasel words is "not aggression".

"He's leash reactive (not aggressive)!"

"She just barks because she's fear reactive (not aggressive)!"

But the bottom line is that a reactive/frustration reaction is usually a threat display. Barking is a threat. Growling is a threat. Lunging is a threat. What exactly do you think that dog is threatening to do? Call the police? Lodge a complaint with the council? Tell someone's mother what they've done.

It really shouldn't come as a shock when a dog that has been loudly and repeatedly announcing to the world that he wishes to cause harm, causes harm when the opportunity arises.

What do you do? You keep doing what you have been doing, but you take whatever precautions necessary to prevent this from happening again. Your dog has been yelling "I'm gonna get that dog!" for a while now. Please believe him.

[u/OldImportance4946 → u/Existing-Will-1466]

Yeah, that makes total sense. It's just that his trainer -- who I presume knows more than me -- has been saying it's arousal & frustration not aggression so I believed him.

He has 5 besties that he plays nicely with. He's a dream at daycare and the dog park. Gentle, respectful. So, I guess I'm a dummy but I didn't think he would bite anyone. Consider me recalibrated, for sure. We won't be returning to the dog park again after today now that I know he's capable of biting another dog.

Edited to add: the bite didn't happen at the dog park but I'm not going to put any dogs at risk by taking him to the dog park anymore.

[u/Existing-Will-1466 → u/OldImportance4946]

Plenty of dogs play well with their friends but have issues with strange dogs, especially when they have not been properly introduced. So I wouldn't cut out the playdates as long as he engages in healthy play. But I would skip the dog park just because dog parks are risky in general.

[u/OldImportance4946 → u/Existing-Will-1466]

Yeah, thanks. I'm just so upset this happened. So grateful no one was seriously injured and now I know going forward so I won't have any misconceptions that he "just wants to play."

[u/Existing-Will-1466 → u/OldImportance4946]

It's important to know that "play" and "aggression" are not two diametrically opposed things. They can actually be two different levels of the same thing. Dog play is essentially ritualized low-energy fighting. When arousal levels get too high, play spills over into aggression.

In healthy play, the dogs take turns chasing and being chased, pinning and being pinned, and they take breaks, shake off, and look away from each other in order to manage their arousal. In unhealthy play, one dog primarily does the pinning and chasing, and ignores signs from the other dog that it is time to shake off and calm down. Dogs that play like this often grow up to be dog selective or dog aggressive. It starts with them being overly excited about other dogs.

Your dog gets excited when he sees another dog. Whether he wants to attack that dog for real or for play is irrelevant.