Q: My dog has this weird habit of lunging at people’s feet when I walk him on the street — but he does it only once the person has passed. What is this all about?A: I can imagine how stressful this situation must be for you, especially when you’re just trying to exchange friendly greetings with someone like a neighbor. There are a few reasons your dog could be displaying this behavior.
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Why Do Dogs Chase Pant Legs And Bite Ankles?
An owner of a recently rescued Maltese once contacted me, desperately in need of help. Her newly acquired one-year-old dog was lunging and nipping at innocent passersby, terrorizing them as they went about their errands. She, therefore, started to go the avoidance route—walking on secluded streets in the early morning and late evening.
We discussed a variety of causes for such behavior and came to the conclusion that, regardless of the cause, it was evident that her yelling and repeated leash corrections were not only not working, but perhaps even making the behavior worse. I recommended that she use a harness to protect this dogs delicate trachea, which was at risk of collapsing every time he lunged and pulled against the collar in an attempt to attack and nip.
Why do puppies bite ankles when you walk?
Puppies love to bite your ankles when you walk past. Even more so if you have a trailing shoelace – if you do, be prepared for your feet, ankles, and shoes to be attacked!
Whilst it can be fun for a little while, over time it can become very frustrating and problematic, particularly if you have young children or elderly relations who could fall over when their feet are nipped at. The bottom line is, you should not let your puppy bite you as it will lead to longer term bad behavior.
Here’s why puppies are ankle and feet biters in addition to the reasons already explained.
Young dogs use their mouths to investigate the wide world around them. You see similar behavior in human babies where the put objects into their mouth to figure things out, including whether it’s something they can eat!
Puppies don’t have the advantage of being able to use hands and fingers to explore their environment, so everything goes to their mouth, including your ankles and feet. When puppies bite your ankles as you walk past, it’s just an example of them figuring out the wider world around them.
Also, once puppies are able to stand up and walk around, they will start to play with their siblings. A lot of this play is done by biting and nipping, and they will extend this behavior to their human owners too.
All puppies want to do is eat and have fun… and your feet and ankles are the perfect combination to hone those hunting skills too!
As you walk past a puppy, possibly with a trailing shoelace that looks like a mouse tail, who can blame them for wanting to chase and nip at your ankles? Your feet and ankles make for great target practice.
When our dog Claude was younger, I actively encouraged them game, but this was a mistake. It can be cute but as the puppy grows older and teeth get bigger, it’s not so fun.
Most puppies stop teething by the time they reach 6 months old, and in this time anything they can bite, chew, or nip is fair game; including your ankles and feet!
So, the next time your puppy starts biting at your ankles as you walk, you could put it down to teething and re-direct him towards some chew toys – like this one below on Amazon!
How To Stop Puppy From Biting Ankles And Feet When Ouch No Longer works
When you first acquired your puppy, you may have noticed a tendency in the dog to nip at your ankles at the slightest opportunity he could find. You probably thought that this was his own idea of fun. And to some extent, you were right.
But now the dog is all grown yet he continues to nip at your ankles, feet, and even shoes and shoelaces. As a responsible pet parent, you have all the reasons to be concerned.