# When pets don't bite. Is it out of love, fear, respect? Something else? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 7, 2023, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pets-dont-bite-is-it-out-of-love-fear-respect-something-else/982295 "2023-04-07T04:27:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pets-dont-bite-is-it-out-of-love-fear-respect-something-else/982295/41 "2023-04-11T22:14:50Z")
> [@Didi44](#): > > I don’t have children, but I wouldn’t hesitate to lightly hit them or push them if they were misbehaving either. It’s probably a good thing you don’t have kids. Feel sorry for you pets. There are other ways to discipline without hitting them. ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pets-dont-bite-is-it-out-of-love-fear-respect-something-else/982295/42 "2023-04-12T04:58:24Z")
Absolutely agree! Thankfully I realized this and never wanted children. I once punched a fire extinguisher off a concrete pillar because my co-worker ticked me off. She complained to my boss that “He was out of control!”. My boss said he told her, “If he was out of control, he would have HIT YOU!” and that was the end of it. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pets-dont-bite-is-it-out-of-love-fear-respect-something-else/982295/43 "2023-04-12T15:29:23Z")
Probably shouldn’t have been the end of it. You either damaged, or seriously risked damaging, company property; and if the fire extinguisher was damaged and had been needed before they got around to replacing it, the consequences could have been serious. Also – that’s intimidating behavior. Your co-worker could quite reasonably have thought it threatening. ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pets-dont-bite-is-it-out-of-love-fear-respect-something-else/982295/44 "2023-04-12T16:59:25Z")
100% agreed! It was completely uncalled for and irresponsible! And acknowledged as off topic. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pets-dont-bite-is-it-out-of-love-fear-respect-something-else/982295/45 "2023-04-12T23:45:03Z")
> [@Didi44](#): > > I’ve had pet dogs and cats (strays) that when I’ve hit them (lightly), accidently or because they did something wrong, they’ve instinctively turned to bite with an open mouth, stopped and looked at me straight in the eye before stopping and have an “Oops, better not do that!” look. Dogs and cats use their teeth for lots of things that humans vocalize or use their hands for. So there are many reasons why an animal might show its teeth, or nibble, or even bite. However, from the description of this specific situation, it sounds reflexive. I have known some people where, if they were to hear a loud BANG, they will immediately put their hands up and even make a fist; ready to fight in a second or so, before realizing it was their daughter’s Frozen balloon popping. It’s not surprising that some pets may do the same, especially given how much more hazardous their world appears to them. And while I’m WAGing (so to speak), I would say that the “Oops, better not do that look” is probably mostly in the eye of the beholder. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pets-dont-bite-is-it-out-of-love-fear-respect-something-else/982295/46 "2023-04-16T19:17:54Z")
I lightly slapped Perseus when she play bit me. She has tried since then, but I move out of range before she has teeth on skin. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-pets-dont-bite-is-it-out-of-love-fear-respect-something-else/982295.md?page=2)