Why do dogs bite people?

Lately there has been an email going around about why dogs bit people. The email shows dogs dressed up like Darth Vader or a bannana and other ridiculous costumes and we laugh and say "oh, how cute!" when really, the dog is sitting there out of complete devotion to its human.

While you're thinking, "OMG, this is SO hilarious! I should text my BFF!", your pooch is thinking, "OMG, I love her SO much! I'll sit here all day if it takes that long, even though I'm hot and I haven't been given a treat. Oh wait, gotta itch. Gotta scratch! Aw man, she's yelling at me again to sit still!"

Now, I'm not saying that this is the reason dogs bite people, but I am saying that your dog puts up with a lot of crap out of unconditional love for his person.

So why do dogs bite people? Dogs bite for many reasons, but a few that I belive are important are as follows:

1. As a last Resort: Dogs give warnings, just like people do. Usually a dog doesn't want to bite you (nor any animal for that matter, unless wants to eat you). Dogs growl, raise the hair on their back and neck, hunch down and put their ears back. This is the category where agressive dog fall. If he's barking, he's saying, "stay away from me!". Listen to him.

2. Out of Excitement: Most dogs bite children because kids are at face level, taste really good (as in, have food on their hands and face) and don't know how else to tell the child they either a) really like playing this game or b) to back off. Dogs interact with your face. They get their cues from your body language and expressions. Biting out of excitement usually happens out of joy, not anger or agression.

3. Out of Fear/Defense: The only defense a dog has against a predator are his teath and his claws. If you poke a snake enough times, it will bite you. If you beat a dog enough times, it will bite you. Not rocket science. People have certain thresholds they can withstand and animals are the same way.

4. Pain: If a dog is hurt, lets say run over by a car, he will be in pain and the only way he knows how to make it better is to lick it. If you go in there and start messing with him, he will hurt and want to make it stop. Dogs will communicate with you the best they can, and sometimes that means biting.

And, yes, I'm just as guilty as the next person. This is Parmie last year: