His bark is worse than his bite.

George Herbert (1593-1632): Jacula Prudentum.

Let dogs delight to bark and bite,

For God hath made them so;

Let bears and lions growl and fight,

For 't is their nature too.

Isaac Watts (1674-1748): Divine Songs. Song xvi.

The man recovered of the bite,

The dog it was that died.

Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774): Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog.