Are there more dog bites?

Dog ownership has increased dramatically in the last several decades and there is now 1 dog for every 4 people in this country. The number of bites has remained the same while the amount of exposure to dogs in our daily lives has grown.

Dog bites also run the range from barely a scratch to hospitalization in the CDC’S reporting and their accounting only covers reported bites. Less than 2% of people who’ve been bitten by a dog are hospitalized. Most are treated and never admitted. People are 4x more likely to go to the hospital for something other than a dog bite.

Also, what one person would call a nip, another person might call a bite. I’ve seen photos of reported dog bites in which I personally could not see any evidence. I’m sure something happened but in the veterinary and dog handling world, these would not be considered bites.

Plus, we know there is a great deal of bias in reporting dog bites. There will be different attitudes towards reporting bites in different zip codes, by different groups of people, and with different dog breeds. A low level bite by a bully breed is far more likely to be reported than a more severe bite by a Dachshund. It’s hard to say, therefore, how accurate that 4.5 million statistic is.

Nonetheless we can all agree that reducing the incidence of dog bites is what matters. The most important step we can take is to teach people situational awareness, which is far easier to teach than all the subtleties of canine body language. As a dog guardian do prevent your dog from approaching people who may not want to interact with your dog. Be your pet’s advocate when someone does want to say hi and ask they allow Fido to approach them. If someone is insistent and you know your dog is stressed, tell them Joan Marie & Joan H told them to go away and put yourself between them and your dog.

On a personal note I have seen people go to pet a large dog who was actively barking at them and seen kids going to ride their small dog like a horse. A small amount of prevention and situational awareness is all that is needed to prevent these very unsafe acts from happening. Dogs bite when they hunt, to gain something valuable, to protect something valuable, or to tell something/someone to go away. Biting someone is their LAST resort: usually they’ve already given several cues like turning away, growling, and possibly even snapping before they actually bite.

When it comes to children and dogs, remember that 77% of dog bites happen to children from a family dog or dog they know. We can all do a better job of preventing the circumstances that lead to these bites and educate families and kids about appropriate handling and giving Fido a safe space away from kids. Check out https://www.thefamilydog.com/stop-the-77 for great free resources.

To learn more about aggression in dogs, check out Michael Shikashio’s website https://aggressivedog.com.

To learn more about the statistics included in this report head to https://wisqars.cdc.gov and https://nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com.