What Does It Mean When a Dog Bites Another Dog’s Ear?
There are two reasons a dog may bite another dog’s ear—because they’re playing or being aggressive.
When a dog is play-biting another dog’s ear, they typically hover their mouth over the ear, dosing it in drool but usually not biting down hard enough to leave a mark.
Sometimes, it can be challenging to distinguish play from aggression because, during play ear bites, one dog is typically dominant over the other one.
The dogs may also snarl and make small growling noises during play.
In the following sections, we’ll cover dog play and aggression in more detail so that you gain a better understanding of what it means when a dog bites another dog’s ear.
Is there anything cuter than puppies rolling around together?
Besides giving you joy, puppies learn important skills when they play together—namely, how much pressure they can apply when biting each other’s ears during play.
There are two primary reasons that dogs bite each other’s ears:
Even in the second case, fun is often at the forefront of dog play, even if your Shih Tzu finds itself pinned beneath a Great Dane.
Ear biting can also support dog bonding and encourage dogs to get another dog to play with them.
If your dog meets a new dog, keep a close eye on their behavior until they get used to each other; innocent ear-biting can escalate, especially if dogs forget their puppy training and bite a little too hard.
If your dog’s ear is bleeding, it could be a scary sight to see—blood flow can be heavy for even the most minor bites.
In fact, there’s a scientific reason your dog’s ear bleeds more profusely than a similar bite on a different body part, as an ear’s constant movement makes it more difficult for blood to clot.
Why do dogs bite other dog’s ears?
So, what does it mean when a dog chews on other dog’s ears? Well, from what I can gather it’s important to make the distinction between play and aggression, as ear biting can quickly escalate.
In most cases, I’d like to think you will see a dog biting another dog’s ear with just little pressure. This is the classic “mouthing” play where one dog attempts to exert dominance over another.
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Dogs communicate with their mouths through biting.
And thus biting each other’s ears is a way of showing how at ease they are with each other and they feel safe together.
It makes the other dogs know they are in no danger and it’s all fun and play.
Why Do Dogs Lick Ears: The 7 Reasons Behind This ( Weird ) Behavior
Chewing and nibbling is one of many ways dog communicate with one another. It’s not much of a harmful behavior unless the dog is doing it to the point of causing irritation in other dogs. Here are the most common reasons for dogs that chew and nibble the ears of other dogs.
The dog might be biting the other dog’s ear to engage in play. Biting isn’t always a sign of aggression. There is a good chance the dog is “nibbling” the other dog’s ear to get a response from the other dog. The ears just so happen to be one of the easier targets to bite. This kind of playful behavior might be noticed more with puppies.