Mouthing from pet dogs can be the most adorable thing when you have little pups. However, when you have an adult dog biting your nose, that can be pretty hurtful. Also, most pet owners don’t support dogs who mouth, chew, or bite their clothing, limbs, or face while playing with them. So, if you are asking why does my dog bite my nose, keep reading.
Your pet dog biting your nose is obviously because of these reasons. They’re teething, seeking your attention, or that’s how they are. Also, pets do this when they realize you will reward them for doing so. But if you don’t find this funny, there are things to do to stop your dog from biting your nose. Check the segments below for why they bite your nose and remedies to these naughty behaviors.
Is It Dangerous if a Dog Bites?
A dog bite can be dangerous. A scratch or injury on your skin from your dog’s biting can attract bacteria to the affected area. This can be fatal if you fail to treat it on time.
Sometimes, while nibbling on your nose, hand, or limb, your pooch might bite you and give you a slight wound. On the other hand, while strolling down the street, an unknown dog can aggressively attack you with no prior warning. When this happens, either seek a way to treat the wound by yourself or seek medical attention immediately. First, you must wash the affected area thoroughly with water and apply antibiotics cream on the surface of the broken skin.
This is because, while biting upon your skin, the dog’s front teeth compress your tissue, allowing their smaller teeth to cut through your skin. Thus, giving you a jagged and open wound. The first thing to be wary of is infections, so you may require hospitalization and intravenous antibiotics.
How Serious Are Dog Bite Wounds?
Dog bites can be fatal to your soft tissues and skin. They have very strong jaws that can tear through the skin easily or even bite through your chest wall. Dog bites to the chest can cause lung collapse or serious injuries to the intestines. Also, a dog bite that doesn’t tear the skin can still cause underlying issues.
Let’s consider the few complications dog bites can cause:
Broken bones
One of the serious complications of dog bites is broken bones. Like we already know, some breeds of dogs have very strong jaws that can snap bones, causing a fracture. Most broken bone injuries from dog bites happen on the legs and hands.
Tetanus
Tetanus is a bacterial infection, more or less a disease that attacks the muscles and causes them to become rigid and tight. The infection is also known as “lockjaw,” making the neck and jaw muscles contract. Tetanus results from dirt and dust infections on open wounds. It also comes from burns, insects, and animal bites.
Rabies
Rabies is a fatal condition that is most popularly related to dog bites and affects the main/central nervous system. It’s so fatal that it can lead to the victim’s death within just a few days of infection if left unattended.
Scars
A dog bite can cause scars upon the skin if it breaks the skin. However, mild injuries and scars will invariably lessen as time goes by. On the other side, serious scars or scars on the face can be salvaged through a medical solution such as plastic surgery or grafting.
Infections
Several bacteria can exist in a dog’s mouth, such as Pasteurella, Staphylococcus, or capnocytophaga. These bacteria can be transmitted via dog bites injuries and are riskier in individuals with diabetes or weaker immune systems.
Muscle damage
Another severe complication that results from dog bites that are deep is muscle or nerve damage. Deep injuries can also affect blood vessels beneath the skin. You need to be careful of dog bites because these injuries can happen even though the wound seems small (e.g., punctures on your skin).
Death
Last and most severe complication of dog bites is death. However, death cases from dog wounds are not very common, as out of 4.7 million cases of dog bites in the US, only 16 of them are fatalities.
Why Does My Dog Bite My Nose?
Your dog can nib your nose because of over-stimulation, teething, attention-seeking, lack of training, etc. Now, let’s look at them below.
1. Over-Excitement
When dogs get overstimulated, they can get overly grumpy or excited. When dogs get so much high energy, they can panic and grab anything around with their mouth. Therefore, your mutt can bite anything very close to it in this phase, and if your face is close to them, I’m sorry in advance.
However, this shouldn’t frequently happen, as that is dangerous. Your pooch can leave the same dog bites on other people’s noses as with yours.
However, while nibbling your nose is a great prompt, your pooch is excited. As a result, it can lead to a bad habit for the dog.
Sometimes, after taking a jog with your dog, it may nip your skin or your nose or may even attempt playfully biting your little ones. This happens because of overexcitement. Also, they can be rascals when they get excited, so you must calm them.
2. Seeking Attention
Dogs are very emotional animals that usually demand love and your undivided attention all the time. So, if your dog wants some attention, they until do virtually anything until you give it to them. Occasionally, your dog may even urinate on your leg or body to get your attention back at them.
Some other times, your pooch can bark at you or bring toys to you. Anything to get your undivided attention. Alternatively, your dog can nibble or bite your nose just to get you to love it. It’s usually because it feels boring and idle.
Asides from these above things your dog can do to get your attention are others outlined below. Your dog may:
- Bring its toys—dogs are very playful and love toys a lot, and intuitively, your pooch will love to share that same love with you. One way to do this is by bringing its toys to you. Even sometimes, it may bring all its toys just to communicate one thing, play with me.
- Nibble on your nose—typically, when your dog is nibbling your nose, that’s proof it’s expecting you to give it some attention and love. Hilariously, this is a very effective attention-seeking method for dogs, as you will feel the pain while they’re nibbling. Also, the nose is not the only part of the body your dog can nibble.
- Walk so close to you—another annoying yet adorable and effective means of getting your attention is to walk under you. Sometimes, you can trip on them and fall if not careful.
- Focus on its leash—when your dog stares longingly at its leash, it’s trying to communicate to you it’s time for some exercise. In retrospect, your dog is seeking attention, and by looking longingly at its leash, it wants you to come and play.
3. You or Someone Else Is Rewarding the Behavior.
One other reason why your dog continuously licks or bites your nose is that rather than stopping it from doing so, you pet it. Sometimes, you may have given it your attention, treats, or even toys when it does this, thus encouraging the poch to keep on.
4. Teething
If your pooch is a pup and beginning to teeth, it’d invariably look for what to munch on to ease the pain. So, naturally, they will chew on anything they can place their teeth on, your ring, limb, or even your nose.
Your pup will munch on anything, from shoes to toys, clothing, table legs, etc. Also, if you cuddle him frequently on your chest or lap, ensure to stop your puppy from using you as their chew doll. Why so? Because puppies explore their surroundings with their nose and mouths, this way, they inspect their surroundings. So, if you allow this to continue, you will have bigger problems when they’re grown.
Furthermore, puppies usually stop teething after being eight months old. So, if your puppy is older than eight months, it’s possible your pup is no more teething.
5. Nature
From a young age, dogs explore places and things with their nose and mouth. It’s their best way to interact with their surroundings. They do much more of this as they are pups. Therefore, if you have a puppy that’s nipping your nose, it’s more probable it’s interacting with your nose. Until you communicate that biting your nose is not good, it will continue unalarmed until it grows up.
6. Lack of Training
Also, if your dog continues to nibble your nose, then one reason should be that you have not trained it not to bite you. So, it learns that it’s ok to bite you on your nose as well. Training your pooch to stop biting you will be very needful.
7. Initiating Play
Last, one way that dogs play is by biting each other. More typically, they bite the neck or each, and most likely, it won’t be hard. So sometimes, all your dog wants to do is play, and to get you to play, it can nip your body.
What Do You Do if Your Dog Bites Your Nose?
If your dog has the habit of nibbling your nose, then you should train it not to keep doing so, as this can be more upsetting when it grows older. Dogs spend most of their time chewing, playing, or surveying things and places. Also, they love playing with humans at a low. Pups inspect our bodies by nibbling on our toes or fingers a lot. However, their best form of interaction with people is through their mouth, and most times, their teeth.
Now, this action may seem cute while your dog is a pup of fewer than eight weeks old. However, if your pooch is two years or more with sharp teeth and stronger jaw muscles, this is not so attractive. So, you need to teach it to stop the behavior while you can so it doesn’t injure others while thinking it’s all good. Here are a few things to do if your dog bites your nose.
1. Go for Some Dog Training.
If your dog has developed a naughty behavior of frequently biting your nose, then it’s high time you need to see a dog trainer. But, more importantly, if your pooch is still a young pup. This is the best time to teach it that nose-nibbling is not as good as it thinks. So, you can seek a professional dog trainer’s assistance as they know best what to do to stop your dog from biting your nose.
2. Give It Toys to Play with.
Dogs love to chew. Anything they can much on, they will. So, make sure your dog has more than enough toys to interact with while it’s still a puppy. This is also effective if you have a destructive dog, as you will be able to redirect your dog’s focus to something else.
3. Teach It Good Behavior.
Reinforcing good behavior in dogs is easier said than done, but not so hard with puppies. You need to discourage your dog from biting you, even though it may seem extremely cute. You can walk away when your dog nibbles your nose and do so silently. Your dog will soon realize that your response means discouraging the behavior it’s exhibiting.
4. Shower Your Pooch with More Attention and Love.
The last reason your dog is biting your nose is that it wants your attention. As we’ve established, dogs love receiving human’s love, and yours will do anything just to get it. So, give your dog plenty of playtimes while walking with it and showing all the affection you can to it. This way, you’re less likely to be nibbled on the nose by your dog.
You must show your dog frequent love and attention. This is because if your dog receives love and attention, it will do lesser offensive things.
Conclusion
Why Does My Dog Bite My Nose? There are several reasons your dog will bite your nose, including that it wants your attention, wants to play, is teething, etc. While this can seem cute in puppies, it’s not very encouraging when it gets older.
So, make sure to stop the habit. However, if it causes wounds on your skin, make sure you treat it fast to avoid infections.