Working with dogs as puppies is the most successful way to develop bite inhibition but what about the adult biting dog? A grown dog that has diminished bite inhibition has not benefited from the process in development or in the appropriate interactions with other dogs or humans. What can also happen is that somewhere there is a deficiency in that process or the warning/signaling/pre-intention movements before the bite were trained out of the dog (why a good trainer will always admonish "never train out a growl') or ignored to the extent that the dog skips the growling or freezing or whatever else is on the ladder of aggression.
Dogs never "just" bite. There are any number of "distance reducing behaviors" in body language used by a dog before resorting to biting aggressively. Dogs avoid biting, if possible, through a series of deference behaviors which are also stress indicators. Some of the preliminary behaviors used to communicate that a dog is under pressure are lip-licking or yawning out of context, looking away, leaving, creeping, hair raised on hackles, ears back and whale eye. Later, more severe warning signals can include agitated alarm barking, freezing, squaring off, lunging, wrinkled muzzle with bared canines (Open mouth displays can be positive ones. Look for how many teeth are evident and how much gum is showing along with other behaviors), snapping and growling.
Hopefully the earlier signals are recognized and the environment changes and the perceived need to push forward with later signals, including biting, is averted. It is probably no surprise to learn that others dogs are usually the most successful compared to humans in "reading" this information.
For humans the best steps in modifying biting behavior in the adult dog are management avoiding the situations where biting can occur, being well versed in canine body language to read when the dog is feeling pressured and responding to what distance needs to be increased or otherwise needs to change in the environment to reduce the pressure. Modifying behavior by working with the dog through creating appropriate positive associations towards triggers or counterconditioning and careful and gradual desensitizing to fearful stimuli is usually best accomplished through working with a well qualified professional using force free methodology. Missing where a dog's threshold is, going too fast or too intensely can be even more dangerous as it can exacerbate the dogs reaction. How successful the outcome can be will relate to how effectively the behavior modification is delivered, how skilled the practitioner is, how closely the handler/owner works in tandem and the degree of the lessened bite inhibition.
Know that the use of any aversive approaches is dangerous with the biting dog because this is a defensive, fearful or stressed dog who will undoubtedly perceive any harshness, force or punishment as something else to protect against and the biting can actually get worse. This does not mean that being proactive and redirecting are not options here. There is also a danger in not noticing the distance increasing behaviors that signal biting can occur and not modifying and managing the environment and triggers. No matter the scenario, we cannot control every aspect of every situation and in the event warning signs are exhibited, the environment needs to be managed immediately with distance along with a quick cue of one word like "leave it" or "off" and if possible, the dog should be turned away from the stimulus or leave the scene. Follow with an immediate redirection or request for another behavior to change the energy level and praise once the request is fulfilled with the praise focused on the behavior "good sit," or "good down," etc.
There is good news on the one hand with the dog that only bites minimally when he feels threatened and his threshold for that is inappropriate personal space invasion and home territory and not everyone on the street. With this dog, the approach is to create more security for the dog by providing positive reinforcement, direction and immediate redirection when required in a heavily structured environment where he is directed / trained to do most things and little is free thereby limiting impulse/biting. The bad news is it is then harder to counter-condition and desensitize the reaction/behavior because it becomes problematic recreating this. Dogs that want to bite everyone on the street might almost, perhaps, be easier to work with because you can put a muzzle on them and work in the immediate environment they live and react to. Dunbar actually created "growly dog" classes to work specifically with dogs that are overly reactive to other dogs.
Extreme care needs to be taken when working with any biting dog in understanding the level of the dog's bite inhibition, the use of careful observation of what the dog is "saying" and sensitivity to not exceeding an approach to a trigger that the dog perceives as stressful.
Structure with clear communication, force free corrections, redirections and positive reinforcement are beneficial for all animals in all situations. Anthropomorphic aside, all animals learn and much behavior can be modified by careful counterconditioning, desensitization and through that, learning.
References
Dunbar, I. (2006). Dog Aggression: Biting (Video). United States: James & Kenneth Publishers.
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