The Pet Health Care Gazette

Recently publicized results from a survey of dog bite incidents occurring in the state of Colorado over the past 2 years reveal some interesting statistics. For a brief audio synopsis of the results, click on the “play” button below.

This study draws many significant conclusions and implications. Some of the more significant conclusions are reviewed here.

Most Dogs are Never Involved in Bite Incidents

Fewer than one dog out of every 350 dogs are ever reported to animal control officials or public health officials as being involved in a human bite incident.

In the Right Circumstances, Any Dog of Any Breed is Capable of Biting

Bites were reported from dogs of 129 different breeds during the one year time span of this survey. Many of these bite wounds occurred when dogs were running at large. However dog bites sustained when people intervened between two dogs fighting or playing were also reported in high numbers. Dogs protecting their property, food or toys were also frequently mentioned as causes of dog bite injuries and were the most common cause of dog bites involving members of the family owning the dog.

While dog bite statistics for individual breeds of dogs were recorded in the survey, the popularity of each breed within the state was not recorded. Therefore, it was impossible to draw conclusions about whether one breed of dog was more likely to bite than another breed based on these results.

Characteristics of Dogs Involved in Dog Bites

Male dogs were found to be more likely to bite than female dogs and were more likely to bite while protecting property, food or other resources. However, female dogs were more likely to bite when humans intervened in dog-to-dog aggression (i.e. dog fights, etc).

Dogs between one to four years of age were involved in slightly over 50% of the reported dog bites in this survey.

Characteristics of Victims Involved in Dog Bites

Children under the age of 14 years were bitten at higher rates than those of other age groups and male children were more frequently involved than female children. Fortunately, the majority of dog bites to children were minor injuries. Children were most often bitten by dogs while they were playing with the dog, were left unsupervised with the dog, were provoking the dog or when they startled the dog.

A greater proportion of dog bites to children involved puppies, although puppies were equally likely to bite both children and adults. Older dogs were found to be more likely to bite adults than children.

Decreasing the Incidence of Dog Bites in Your Community

Dog owners should not allow their pets to run at large. Dogs should be leashed when in public and/or should be adequately confined or supervised when outside.

Do not allow children to play with or handle dogs unsupervised. Children should not be encouraged to handle stray or unknown dogs.

When separating dogs involved in dog-to-dog aggression, care must be taken to avoid injury to human handlers. Dog bites frequently occur when people try to separate dogs which are playing together or who are fighting with one another.

All dogs should be properly vaccinated against rabies to decrease the danger of infection in the event that a dog bite does occur. Most communities have laws or ordinances in place making rabies vaccinations mandatory.

Dog owners should discourage strangers from petting or otherwise handling the dog, particularly if the dog in question is high-strung or nervous by nature. Children in particular should be encouraged to use caution when petting or handling strange dogs and should always be supervised when engaging in such activity. Dog owners should discourage strangers from holding the dog near their face as well to avoid injuries which may be disfiguring.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009 at 12:10 pm and is filed under Current News, General Pet Health Care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.