My first instinct would be to rule out anything medical. It doesn't sound
medically related to me, but you can't be too sure. When my own lab was
getting a bit grumbly in the park, it took me a while to clue in that it
might be medically related. Turns out he has nasty arthritis in one of his
elbows. So essentially he was hurting all the time. He'd be fine with dogs
he knew, but would be very guarded around dogs he didn't trust.
Other than that, there are far too many variables at play here to give any
kind of a complete answer, and as others have pointed out, depending on the
underlying cause, you may end up making it worse.

You say "All of a sudden" one of them gets up and walks away. Could she have
been startled? What occured the other 3 times this has happend? Any
commonalities? Was she sleeping each time? Gender of the person who was bit?
Severity of bite?

No one is going to be able to give you a definitive answer. Its possible a
behaviorist might be able to give you some good ideas, then again, they may
not, but it isn't likely to hurt. They have the advantage of coming from the
outside, and having seen lots of dogs with problems.

Dale



"Ian Gendreau" wrote in message
...
We have a 6 year old English Black Lab. She's a fantastic dog, warm
and friendly around people and other dogs she knows. However, in the
last 6 months or so, she's all of a sudden started biting! It's
happened 4 times to people we've had over. The people were basically
strangers to her. And each time she was fine with them, until they
turned their back on her, then she nips them in the back of the leg.
Yesterday we had friends over. She greeted them, they pet her, they
watched TV with us for a while. She was fine. She laid down, wasn't
agitated, just slept. All of a sudden, one of them gets up and walks
away and she got up and bit the back of his leg. How do I stop this
behavior? I want to train her, but if it's a good friend we know, she
doesn't do this. And I can't as someone she doesn't know to "come on
over and help us teach our dog how not to bite you"! We're mortified
that our sweet little lab might bite the wrong person. Any thoughts
are greatly appreciated...

(Melinda Shore) wrote in news:ftdu6g$4ls$1
@panix3.panix.com:

I dunno and neither does tiny, which is the point, I think.

Yes, that was the point. None of us know what's going on with the
dog, and to suggest something that might be harmful under certain
circumstances is irresponsible.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

On Apr 7, 11:13 am, Ian Gendreau
wrote:
We have a 6 year old English Black Lab. She's a fantastic dog, warm
and friendly around people and other dogs she knows. However, in the
last 6 months or so, she's all of a sudden started biting! It's
happened 4 times to people we've had over. The people were basically
strangers to her. And each time she was fine with them, until they
turned their back on her, then she nips them in the back of the leg.
Yesterday we had friends over. She greeted them, they pet her, they
watched TV with us for a while. She was fine. She laid down, wasn't
agitated, just slept. All of a sudden, one of them gets up and walks
away and she got up and bit the back of his leg. How do I stop this
behavior? I want to train her, but if it's a good friend we know, she
doesn't do this. And I can't as someone she doesn't know to "come on
over and help us teach our dog how not to bite you"! We're mortified
that our sweet little lab might bite the wrong person. Any thoughts
are greatly appreciated...

Anything short of "hire a trainer" in this ng will get you stoned, fyi
tiny dancer.

Slap the living **** out of that dog next time he even attempts to
bite, at the least. It needs to know there are real consequences for
breaking that rule.

If your child punched a guest, you'd give he/she a spanking right?
Same goes for Fido.

Of course, most in this group wouldn't spank. They'd probably hire
child psychologist, buy 2 cases of ritalin, and clean up a nice corner
for extended time-outs for the next 6 months.

c

On Mon, 7 Apr 2008 10:13:39 -0700 (PDT), Ian Gendreau
wrote:

We have a 6 year old English Black Lab. She's a fantastic dog, warm
and friendly around people and other dogs she knows. However, in the
last 6 months or so, she's all of a sudden started biting!

Define "biting." Did any break the skin?

Did anything of particular interest happen about 6 months ago? To the
dog, to your family, etc.

It's happened 4 times to people we've had over. The people were basically
strangers to her. And each time she was fine with them, until they
turned their back on her, then she nips them in the back of the leg.

Always in the back of the leg? Are we talking ankle here, or calf?

Always strangers?

Yesterday we had friends over. She greeted them, they pet her, they
watched TV with us for a while. She was fine. She laid down, wasn't
agitated, just slept. All of a sudden, one of them gets up and walks
away and she got up and bit the back of his leg. How do I stop this
behavior?

Well, it's highly unusual for a dog to start biting at the age of 6
years (especially a Lab), so a trip to the vet, to rule out any kind
of medical problem (e.g. a hearing problem, pain, etc.), would be a
good place to start.

I want to train her, but if it's a good friend we know, she
doesn't do this.

Why wouldn't you want to obedience train her anyway?

For example, if she were obedience trained, you could simply use a
down-stay (e.g., out of any high-traffic lanes) to prevent her from
"biting" anyone when company's around.

Besides, if she were obedience trained, she'd more clearly understand
her place in your "pack."

And I can't as someone she doesn't know to "come on
over and help us teach our dog how not to bite you"!

That's exactly what profssional trainers get paid to do, Ian.

We're mortified
that our sweet little lab might bite the wrong person. Any thoughts
are greatly appreciated...

1. Have a vet examine her first.
2. In the short-term, when company comes over, keep her in her crate,
on a tether, in another room, etc. Don't allow this behavior to become
reinforced. Better safe than sorry, right?
3. Arrange for a knowledgeable trainer/behaviorist to come over to
your house and assess your dog's basic behavior. It really can't be
done over the internet.

--
Handsome Jack Morrison

Dialogue on race could begin on hallowed ground.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/o...0,148856.story

Faces of evil.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...id=1770&ct= 5

Christian Church Discovers Bold Way To Make Itself More Relevant and Inclusive -- Omit All That Divisive Christ-Stuff.
http://ace.mu.nu/archives/258752.php

Obama's Dimestore 'Mein Kampf'.
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=25831

The cowardice and intolerance of slapping a Darwin fish on your car bumper.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedi...lumn?track=rss

A snapshot of government-run health care.
http://www.reuters.com/article/lifes...84889820080320

The Double Life of Barack Obama, by Thomas Sowell.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q...hiOTM2MDI5NzM=

A message for Melinda Shore, Shelly Couvrette, et al., from The UK's Pat Condell!
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/webl...ing_Islam&only

A book that every American should read (and NYT #1 bestseller): Liberal Fascism, by Jonah Goldberg
http://www.amazon.com/Liberal-Fascis.../dp/0385511841

"c" wrote in message
...
On Apr 7, 11:13 am, Ian Gendreau
wrote:
We have a 6 year old English Black Lab. She's a fantastic dog, warm
and friendly around people and other dogs she knows. However, in the
last 6 months or so, she's all of a sudden started biting! It's
happened 4 times to people we've had over. The people were basically
strangers to her. And each time she was fine with them, until they
turned their back on her, then she nips them in the back of the leg.
Yesterday we had friends over. She greeted them, they pet her, they
watched TV with us for a while. She was fine. She laid down, wasn't
agitated, just slept. All of a sudden, one of them gets up and walks
away and she got up and bit the back of his leg. How do I stop this
behavior? I want to train her, but if it's a good friend we know, she
doesn't do this. And I can't as someone she doesn't know to "come on
over and help us teach our dog how not to bite you"! We're mortified
that our sweet little lab might bite the wrong person. Any thoughts
are greatly appreciated...

Anything short of "hire a trainer" in this ng will get you stoned, fyi
tiny dancer.

Slap the living **** out of that dog next time he even attempts to
bite, at the least. It needs to know there are real consequences for
breaking that rule.

If your child punched a guest, you'd give he/she a spanking right?
Same goes for Fido.

Of course, most in this group wouldn't spank. They'd probably hire
child psychologist, buy 2 cases of ritalin, and clean up a nice corner
for extended time-outs for the next 6 months.

c

Hoping like hell you don't have any animals or children and/or you say these
things just to see the reaction because you have no life.

Kathy

On Apr 8, 7:46 am, "kat" wrote:
"c" wrote in message

...



On Apr 7, 11:13 am, Ian Gendreau
wrote:
We have a 6 year old English Black Lab. She's a fantastic dog, warm
and friendly around people and other dogs she knows. However, in the
last 6 months or so, she's all of a sudden started biting! It's
happened 4 times to people we've had over. The people were basically
strangers to her. And each time she was fine with them, until they
turned their back on her, then she nips them in the back of the leg.
Yesterday we had friends over. She greeted them, they pet her, they
watched TV with us for a while. She was fine. She laid down, wasn't
agitated, just slept. All of a sudden, one of them gets up and walks
away and she got up and bit the back of his leg. How do I stop this
behavior? I want to train her, but if it's a good friend we know, she
doesn't do this. And I can't as someone she doesn't know to "come on
over and help us teach our dog how not to bite you"! We're mortified
that our sweet little lab might bite the wrong person. Any thoughts
are greatly appreciated...

Anything short of "hire a trainer" in this ng will get you stoned, fyi
tiny dancer.

Slap the living **** out of that dog next time he even attempts to
bite, at the least. It needs to know there are real consequences for
breaking that rule.

If your child punched a guest, you'd give he/she a spanking right?
Same goes for Fido.

Of course, most in this group wouldn't spank. They'd probably hire
child psychologist, buy 2 cases of ritalin, and clean up a nice corner
for extended time-outs for the next 6 months.

c

Hoping like hell you don't have any animals or children and/or you say these
things just to see the reaction because you have no life.

Kathy

I have 2 happy, well behaved dogs kathy.