Ok, on a four wheeler spinning side to side (like serpentine), apparently got my Mal all jacked up and excited to the point that when I slowed to a stop, he ran up and grabbed/bit my pant leg!! There might have even been a little "grrr" at the moment. A "phooey" and he backed off no problems, but I wondered if the side to side motions I was doing incited him to the bite. He is not handler aggressive, but does have what I deem high prey drive, to the nutso degree so to speak, LOL. Whatcha guys think?

Just wondering.

Do you normally run him with the four wheeler?

I run all of mine (except the pup) with one for conditioning purposes.

What was he acting like while you were moving on the four wheeler?

Without having actually seen it, I would say it was a prey bite, or at most a bite out of frustration of his prey drive (basically the same thing).

Running with the four wheeler is actually a new thing. Only been doing it for few days, but he seems to get excited and stays close, almost like herding, sometimes circling. He appears to love the running and at times giving bursts of speed likened to wind sprints. When I come to a stop he usually has been taking a rest in the mud puddles and searching/exploring nearby wooded area (we have had quite a bit of rain lately so there is a lot of standing water, not to mention we are near a swampy area so to speak) or he will come up to me and put his front paws on my leg to be petted. He has even looked to the front and back a few times as if looking for an area to "hup" up on. Only real issue I have to keep an eye on is that he likes being out in front and keeps looking back to me as we move along. The four wheeler actually just gives a little more speed and enthusiasm for him to "open up" the gait as we move along. Generally in the past when on foot and jogging/running he exhibited a little bit of the jumping/nipping behavior that I attributed to his prey drive as opposed to any kind of dominance issue. Btw, he can smoke it at 30+, lol.

Carol, since you seem to run on a regular basis how do yours interact/react during running with the four wheeler. Mine seems to want to get on sometimes to ride. In the past when pulling a trailer with the mower or moving the truck around in the yard he likes jumping on for a ride, hence my perception of him wanting to ride along on the four wheeler.

Don't mean to get off topic, but what is a four wheeler, is that like a quad? That's what I'm thinking but your original serpentine description is throwing me off.

Geez Louise, is there any chance the dog was just playing? Dog's nip other dogs when they play. He was excited,something new and he was into the game.

DFrost

 Quote: Tony Allen

Carol, since you seem to run on a regular basis how do yours interact/react during running with the four wheeler. Mine seems to want to get on sometimes to ride. In the past when pulling a trailer with the mower or moving the truck around in the yard he likes jumping on for a ride, hence my perception of him wanting to ride along on the four wheeler.

Mine ride on the four wheeler, I want them to be comfortable doing that and when I run them they just run along with me, usually in front off to the side.

I would tend to agree with David and that is was just the dog wanting to play. My Mal, Lab and Dutchie carry a ball and when I stop, they come over and want me to play ball with them, so I usually break them and give them some water and then we play and head for home.

Keith, affirmative a quad (Honda 420, lol).

Dfrost, sure, that is what I was inquiring about. I was just looking for a little confirmation on what I was thinking when it happened. No big sweat or anything. It was just something that was unusual for him to do, so I solicited some opinions, although the scenario information and background on my dog was limited and not fully provided. Just wanted to make sure I was reading him correctly and not overlooking something.

Carol, thank you. I agree with having my dog being comfortable too. I even had my truck coated with Linex from front to back because I had him jumping on the hood so much it scratched the hang out of it, LOL.

Thank you for the replies.
Tony