Do Cavaliers Bite??

I'm just curious have any of you ever heard of a cavalier biting someone?

I find them to be a very placid dog in all ways. Even at the school when ruby has boys and girls rubbing her. Im always careful to make sure that they never pull or tear at her. Im just wondering in normal circumstances, as in, if they havent ever been traumatised or anything, has anyone ever heard of them biting.

Im just double checking when i have ruby around children??? I wouldnt think so but just said id ask???:xfngr:

Ok, here it goes.
Cavaliers are first and foremost dogs. They can do all the unattractive things that dogs as a species do. If they are hurt, frightened etc... they can react with a growl or nip. I've only fostered one cavalier that did fear biting. It was scary not knowing from one minute to the next if you were going to be hurt. I would never ever say my dogs would never ever bite. My dogs are always supervised when they are with strange children. Some kids move fast or are unaware that they could hurt the dogs. Having said that, my grandson has been raised with dogs, and I have never seen one of my dogs act in an unbecoming manner toward him. Not when he accidentally fell on one or when he has stepped on their feet or tails. BUT, they are always supervised.

All dogs are capable of biting. My late Izzy bit Monty and Joly when he went funny and reacted to any dog who squeaked . The vet could find no reason for this , but said that some dogs do go this way. i don't think it was connected with his advanced mvd. Teddy has bitten me in anger. At about 18 months, he had a character change, challenging all, except for izzy who was boss dog. It took a lot of work, but i turned him round, but I would never fully trust him, as I do the other two.

Agree with all that -- I too have only had one real fear-biter of all the rescue dogs I've had through, but I HAVE regularly had dogs into rescue because they bit a child. It is always obvious once told the circumstances that the fault was not the dog's. Whether a dog is a cavalier or a rottweiler is immaterial as the rules are exactly the same. Adults have a responsibility to manage children around dogs and dogs around children. That means not letting the dog be overwhelmed by lots of children all standing over him or her and reaching out to rub especially reaching towards a dog's head or darting towards the dog. A frustrated, startled or annoyed dog is going to bite as a last resort so it is wise to learn how to read dog body language. And also the number one rule is that only one or two children (esp. strange children the dog doesn't know) at a time and they must sit or squat or kneel to the dog's level.

Read:
http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/bodylangspaceinvaders.html
http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/kidsndogs.html
http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/toddlersndogs.html

very good. That all makes sense....thanks a million.

Technically anything with teeth can bite!
My cavalier has nipped my daughter,but she truly deserved it,she used to lunge at the dog,flapping her arms and grabbing at her.
Daisy and my daughter were involved in a battle for supremacy for a few months,Daisy would go to her bedroom and poop deliberately on her bedroom floor(yaay for wooden floors).Orla would grab her and try to pick her up and would get nipped for her trouble.
Basically I had to take her,firmly say "no bites" and put her in the utility room(Daisy that is). It got sorted quickly enough.
She also took a snap at a vet who gave her two injections while she was ill and stressed.
99% of the time she's delightful and sweet tempered,but I'd never leave a dog of any kind unsupervised with a small child.
A cavalier is too small to do major damage but could still scar a child's face and as my husband works in the insurance business, let me just say that the country is full of dedicated plaintiffs!
Sins

Agreed with everyone else! Even the most mild mannered breeds can have aggressive specimens for a multitude of reasons. Also, the most gentle loving dog can can be pushed to the point of breaking. One of the worst things to do is to make a dog feel trapped & that it has no other way out of a situation other than to bite.

One of the reasons children are most at risk of a dog bite is that they (if not educated) approach a dog in a manner that is deemed to be aggressive by the dog, and worse still, they often can not/do not read the warning signals of a fearful dog. So a dog that is cornered, cowering, ears laying flat, tail between legs will still be annoyed by a child that just doesn't realise what danger they are in. To make matters worse, often a child's face is at the same level as the dog, which a) looks like a challenge & b) is at the exact right height to get bitten.

One of the reasons children are most at risk of a dog bite is that they (if not educated) approach a dog in a manner that is deemed to be aggressive by the dog, and worse still, they often can not/do not read the warning signals of a fearful dog.

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That's absolutely right,and sometimes even when you Do try to educate the children they still completely ignore your instructions over and over again.Ironically I've found that my dog is better at taking instructions than my daughter....I can fully appreciate why sensitive rescue dogs need to go to appropriate homes where they won't be harrassed by pre teens!
Sins

Agree with all of the above!

I sold a puppy to a family a few years back around the end of November, on Christmas Eve the Mum rings me and tells me that the puppy has bitten her daughter, she was very upset about it and I, of course was horrified!
Once I got her to tell me the whole story though the truth soon became crystal clear! The mum had been rushing around in the kitchen doing all the things that Mum's do on christmas Eve, her 4 Yr old daughter was left in the lounge with the puppy with her popping in and out to check on them over some 2-3 Hrs! The daughter had been squeezing the puppies cheeks, tugging on it's ears, pulling it's anntennea's, eventually after a long period of this treatment the puppy had snapped! Is it surprising?? I told the lady I was amazed that the dog had endured being treated that way for so long before it snapped, the childs skin was NOT broken it really was just a warning nip, I further advised her that if she couldn't be in the same room as the child and the puppy to supervise how her daughter treated the puppy, then maybe she would do better investing in a crate for the puppy to be put in until her daughter learnt how to respect the puppy a bit better??

I have 2 special needs son's, the dogs put up with a lot from them they really do, I have yet to have one of my own children bitten by one of my dogs, Cavaliers really have to be feeling really threatened before they will bite in my experience!

Off my soapbox now!!

Dogs are dogs are dogs and they have every right to be dogs! It is our responsibilities as their guardians to never allow them to get in a position in which they feel they must bite. Having said that, I truly believe that Ziggy would bite and bite hard to protect me from what he perceived as danger.

have trusted all 3 of my cavs over the years , could do anything with them and they didnt so much as snarl- with me. But I wouldnt have trusted any of them with other peoples kids without supervision- they are pack animals and behave as such.

None of ours have ever bitten a person, but never say never.

As people have said, they are after all dogs and I wouldn't want to put any dog in a position where it felt threatened.

I fostered a cavalier who was a biter, but only for a day or so. Was very wary of him .

I loved the comment from my trouble-making neighbor guy who once told me that his 80 lb. boxer wouldn't hurt anybody - that's after months of the dog chasing me and my cavalier, pinning my daughter to the side of the car in terror, and literally tackling me on my front yard with my dog in tow... just to name a "few" times the dog went after me and my dogs.

My response.... "do you see that 15 lb. little brown dog in my yard?" (our Lhasa Apso). "Well" I said, "I reckon' if he felt like taking a chunk out of somebody he would". So I told him not to tell me his boxer wouldn't do it if he wanted to. Needless to say, that was the 'start' of long years of battles between us that have yet to be resolved. Sad thing is that his boxer has a rap sheet with Animal Control pages long... irresponsible owners - Grrrrrrrr............

Sheri R.

Very interesting replies thank you so much. That's what im always afraid of is the childrens faces. I walked to the school today with ruby and i must say, i was careful before, but i was just that extra bit careful today. I held ruby up alot of the time when the load of children come out the gate together. Then i moved to the front near the trees and let the majority of children go behind me. I had 5 or 6 came over to rub ruby, 2 or 3 at a time or 1 came on own. I was very careful with the children and told them give her room. They were all very gentle with ruby but its no harm to be that extra careful.
As you said a dog is a dog

Any animal, including people, will protect themselves if they are threatened.

My oldest Cavalier has never so much as shown teeth to a human, adult or child. My 14 YO terrier is a biter- she will bite me if she is in pain and I have to do something to her to help her and will gladly bite a stranger for no reason. The first thing out of my mouth is "Do not pet the white one- she WILL bite you." If I know someone is coming over, she is in the crate. My Cav puppy "love bites" us, but I don't think he would bite anyone to hurt them but you never know.

All dogs can bite, and I am very careful with all of mine as I have a 2 YO son and I would never risk an accident. BTW, my 14 YO "biter" has never bit my son but I watch them like a hawk at all times just in case.