So I have been watching my youngest girl pitbull, Sophie these days. I guess she is my only now, but that’s a secondary realization.Today is my last day with her alone (her Father is her main keeper now, after all), before I get chucked out into studio time, packing and wrangling my life back into some kind of recognizable order. Of course I was like, hmmm…maybe I should do some kind of photo project or movie short…”twenty days til Denver.” Then I realized I am most funny only to those who know me best, and my sense of humor, though simple, doesn’t always translate to all. Plus, what’s a story without a ton of drama or sex in it? Nothing fun, I can tell you that.
For example, today I decided to google “should I bite my dog?” Now, I have been biting her for many years now, and I am the only one of her keepers who threatens to bite, and certainly the only one who would bite her. I bite her face and her ears, sometimes until she squeaks. Call me crazy, whatever, I just have the sense to realize she is an animal and trying to coax her to act appropriately through reason alone is just stupid and exhibits the ridiculous human tendency to baby talk to animals or people when they don’t speak the same language. She has been passed out at my feet much of this week, very mellow. When I am about to bite her, I do warn her with a “no!”, and “I am gonna BITE you Sophie!” She turns her head to me, waiting for the bite–she does equate it with the need to calm down when she’s being ornery. When I was out walking her today I did it when she started to pull me, and when she sat furiously barking at the door when the super knocked today. She just goes flat, and though I am sure part of her must associate the biting with a way to get rewarded AFTER she is bad, I really don’t see a problem with it. However, how awesome is it you can ask google such a ridiculous question? Sometimes I like to ask google questions there are no good answers for, like, “why are Americans so stupid they don’t think they need healthcare?” Maybe I will save that for my next google search day and expand my opinions on that.
This brings me back to something I was musing on. I need to figure out a way to keep these entries organized in a manner which keeps the writing part interesting to me. The point of the whole charade is, duh, keeping an actual record of parts of my life, thereby inspiring you the reader that you can go through serious life and death experiences and still be whole. (but come on, documenting an entire life would be boring, so we can consider this snippets of fun if you’d like). Secondly, this serves the purpose of entertaining myself, and maybe even you in the process, keeping you coming back for more so that when I do build my mini deanna empire that you are all very aware of what I am doing and have reason to come back and see the new things I am doing. How egotistical, right? Eh, it’s mine and I learned long ago writing without regard for what I want is just BORING. So I am thinking there are several little categories I can arrange and lay out here to make life interesting.
For example: I could do educational days where I am giving you all information on keeping your tails unlike mine, you know, healthy and free from surgery. Then there is the ask google question of the day, the ask deanna day, the art of the week, the politics that make me mad day (likely Sundays: Meet the Press, I am talking about you), the things that make me laugh day, the beautiful story of the week day, and on and on. Please feel free to send me suggestions either by commenting here, or send me an email to heartsandscars@gmail.com. I wanna be like Oprah, just not so egocentric to have a TV network called OWN named after me (I mean, really, come on Oprah…you might own a lot of crap but come on now). My own little magazine because I know my opinions and life are made of platinum, candy, puppies and diamonds, and you should respect that. Big wink here, seriously…
May 23, 2012 at 8:09 pm
Dont worry, i bite my lovely dog too. i cant help it, its just that I have a sudden urge to do it, even if he hasn’t done anything wrong. sometimes, when i walk into the oom, my dog runs away because he thinks i am going to bite him. try and do all you can to stop babe xxx
December 28, 2013 at 6:30 pm
My dog lets me bite her.
Sally my dog, is a 8 yr old border lab.
She is my best friend!
Ive been showing her sense she was a puppy! And she is unbeatable in obedience, also she absolutely love being showed and trained, and much more.
Another unique thing about salls.
She lettss! Me bite her.
I can bite anywhere, and she just lays there, she doesnt yelp, although I dont bite her extremely hard or such. But she does indeed let me bite her. Ha. I dont do it out of aggression, or to harm her. I do it outta love. She is also my dog, and she knows it. She knows im the alpha and she wont question it.
I was just looking to see if anyone else also bites their dog.
Just not in to discipline them, or such.
P.s. im a trainer, and yes indeed talking to your dog in a baby voice might be stupid, but in the end it so much better having a trained dog in praised like. And not having them scared of you
December 27, 2017 at 5:24 pm
I have searched the Internet so many times for input on “dog owners purposely and gently biting their dog in play”. Nothing. Notta.
How can this be such a quiet matter? I once visited a lady who had just bought an eight week old yorkie. “Bella” refused to settle down so that anyone could enjoy her. I was holding her, looking at her eyes and then gently, lovingly used my teeth behind her ear to bite her with a gentle sway. She immediately quieted down as if she had been firmly corrected. That is no at all the signal I meant to send!!! I meant to be included in all that adorable play.
She settled down, and while she continued to play, even eventually wildly, it was never to the extent she had been.
Later I had my own dogs and eventually experimented with one of my own. Lou-Lou immediately dropped as if I had beat her. And we were only rough housing a little!!! I begged her forgiveness of which she did, but I will never do it again until I find out the sugniffenticance of this.
I wonder why this subject is not further discuss around the web. Surely it happens more than we think.
December 27, 2017 at 7:27 pm
Honestly I also find it preposterous…especially given this is one of the only blog posts that does seem to link back to that. I suppose for me it’s been easy to justify simply because it’s a dog and they speak the language. The dog I have now I threaten to bite but never have to…I am gonna bite youuuu and then nibble on his ear but now he thinks it’s play. Some people think I am crazy for admitting it but again…context is everything! Thanks for commenting!!!!
February 17, 2018 at 7:01 am
The reason it affects dogs so much, even if its only soft and in a playful manner is because this is what the mother does when they are pups to calm them down! While they bite their brothers and sisters playfully, the mother is the “alpha” and therefore it holds a different weight. So when you bite your dog, they see it as getting corrected, or maybe being put in their place as the lesser in the pack. (I sometimes bite my 3 year old Jack Russel Terrier, Charlie) If you do bite your dog, never do it hard! Your goal isn’t to make them afraid of you, so if that’s what’s happening I suggest to tone it down a little. You can be alpha without being feared. Do it in an affectionate way, like saying “Hey I love you but chill.” That’s what it is to your dog. Positive praise when they do something right is often more affective than extreme punishments when they do wrong.
Anyway!! Biting your dog isn’t weird or wrong but please only do it to *your* dog because doing it to someone else’s might confuse the dog and treat you as alpha when that should only be their owner. As well as try not to hurt your pup! They get the message, by biting them you’re speaking their language and you don’t have to do it hard, okay?
November 15, 2018 at 3:44 am
I guess im not the only one bite my dog , sometimes I bite my dog for no reason , he not doing bad or naughty, is just I really love to bite him because he being so dam cute that I can’t help it , he give you the puppy dog eyes look everytime you say ” I want to bite you ” and he give out the cute noise when I bite him . I worry that I might have problems that I love biting my dog , but seriously.. I can’t help my self trying not to bite him , he now 8 year old but people alway think him 5 months old and they alway say he is adorable dog , and most of all he very good boy , he understands people and good behavior , I just love my dog so much that I alway bite him ( just a bit…) πππ..
January 27, 2019 at 12:44 am
I feel its not weird your speaking the language of your dog. When i nibble/bite my dog its putta love and she knows it. If anything its my dog whos the freak because she will press her neck against my face telling me to bite her. Haha.
January 30, 2019 at 4:00 am
Very much agree with you there–it would seem to me it is speaking their language since I have yet to hear one speak a sentence in English, yet.
March 28, 2019 at 8:03 pm
I love my beagle puppy so much I j ust want to bite him sometimes, I have to bite myself to reming myself it hurts and control the force, both of us are learning self control with biting, but whenever I see his sweet face and cuteness I cant control myself He is just so bitable, he start crying like in a very sweet way i just want to bite him harder but I controlled myself, hope I stop doing it so hard, but is makes me so happy to bite him I dont know why!
January 31, 2020 at 2:23 am
I bite my dog too lol. Sheβs a Saint Bernard so she has a bunch of floppy skin to bite.
June 7, 2021 at 10:22 pm
2021 , I have to admit i bite my dogs as well, My pitbull, boy he chills out and sometimes put his hand on my arm like “Stop” okay mom. But my girl pittie Kilo,on the other hand, she loves it, she associates it to playing and ill bite hard and she tries so hard not to make a sound until i tell her “go Ehhh ” and she will mimic my tone and all like “Ehhhh” , and she immediately kisses me after, tail wagging and all. She will ask for this everynight from me and my boyfriend by play nipping our hands LOL.