Puppies and young dogs have an uncanny ability to avoid getting hurt when an adult snaps a correction at them. But not us. Many first time bites are single snaps. The dog may or may not intend to make contact but usually does because the child, or adult for that matter, can't move fast enough to get out of the way. There are dominant dogs, and then there are dominant-aggressive dogs.
Dominant dogs make wonderful pets.
They're smart, protective, loyal, everything you want in a dog. Sometimes they decide to test the limits of their authority. Dominant aggressive dogs are another issue. My theory is that a dominant aggressive dog escalates through four levels of aggression. By identifying the facts surrounding a bite incident you can accurately pinpoint where the dominant-aggressive dog is on the escalating ladder of aggression.