Why Do Dogs Rarely Bite at Full Strength?

Dog bites are bad. Period. However, many people don’t realize that when dogs aggressively bite humans, they almost never do so at full power.

“Mother Nature has equipped dogs well for this purpose.”

— Scott Sheaffer

We measure a dog’s bite intensity in pounds per square inch (PSI). There are very diverse opinions and research on how hard dogs can bite, but most pet dogs bite around 250-300 PSI. And that is enough to crush small bones and significantly injure or even kill a human. All dogs are carnivores and predators at their most primal level. Mother Nature has equipped dogs well for this purpose.

Why then don’t dogs bite with all of their strength? The answer is in the surgical bite skills and the motivation dogs bring to how they bite.

Surgical Bite Skills

Dogs are formidable predators. Their biting skills are, as I frequently say, surgical. They can bite when, where, and at the intensity level they need in any particular situation. Because of this, they are able to send a “get away from me” message without having to go all in. They do this with “bite inhibition.”

Bite inhibition simply means dogs can tune how hard they bite with extreme precision. While humans have great finger dexterity, dogs have tremendous control over how hard they bite. And they adjust this for each situation.

If you’ve ever seen a dog in true predator mode (i.e., pursuing prey animals in order to eat them), you may have seen them shake the animal while they’re biting it. This is another tool they use to regulate bite intensity, which you seldom see when dogs bite humans. When you see your pet dog shake their stuffed toy violently back and forth, they’re exhibiting this intrinsic behavior (this is normal with toys; you don’t need to worry).

Motivation

In most every case, dogs bite people who scare them (i.e., fear-based). Their objective is to get the human to move away from them (i.e., create a safe distance) or for the human to stop doing something to them (e.g., a veterinary procedure). The dog is not trying to injure the human; they are asking the person to stop scaring them.

As a result, dogs almost always inhibit their bite strength in these situations. They are just trying to send a message with their bite. They’re not looking to escalate the situation; they are actually wanting to end it.

Conclusion and Further Reading

Imagine encountering someone who is drunk at a bar. Even though the drunk person may be rude to you, you’re not going to hit them over the head with a beer bottle and send them to the hospital. Your goal is to simply get them to not bother you. You’ll most likely just gently push them away and move on. This is what dogs do with their bites to humans in most instances.

Most dog bites to humans are just a fraction of the damage a dog can inflict, by choice. As always, if you have a dog that is biting people at any level, seek help.

To learn more about how we describe and measure dog bites, please see 6 Types of Dog Bites - Updated for 2020.