Most Dogs that Bite Children Have Never Bitten Anyone Before, Says Study
Dogs that Bite Usually Have a Behavior or Medical Problem
Every year we hear of unfortunate incidents where a child is bitten. Researchers wondered if there were any commonalities that could be established.
Researchers analyzed dog bites that had happened over a four-year period. They wanted to target children. It included analyzing 111 dog bite cases where children under 18 were bitten. Of these, 103 of the dogs had bitten young children. After biting children, the dogs were sent to a veterinary behavior clinic for evaluation.
One in five of the dogs that were studied had never bitten anyone before, and two third had not bitten a child. Most of the dogs had been neutered. Nearly two-thirds (66 percent) had attended obedience training.
Health
Over half of the dogs that had bitten children had medical problems. These problems affected their bones or skin. Several had eye problems, liver and kidney disease, hormonal problems, and infections. Like humans, they could have been in pain. Their pain could have contributed to their biting behavior.
When dogs bite
As one might expect, there were times when bites could be anticipated in advance, and hopefully, avoided. Findings include:
* Children under 6 were bitten when dogs were guarding their resources (44 percent)
* Older children were bitten in association with guarding their territory (23 percent)
* Familiar children were bitten while the dog was guarding their food (42 percent)
* Unfamiliar children were bitten while the dog was guarding their territory (53 percent)
Protecting their "property"
Dogs can be very protective of their "property." Property includes their food, toys, or anything else that is theirs that a young child might try to grab or take. Young children were particularly susceptible to being bitten if their dogs felt threatened by the child trying to get the dogs "property."
Fear and anxiety in dogs
Fully 75 percent of the dogs showed symptoms of anxiety when their owners were gone, or when they heard loud noises like thunderstorms and fireworks. Dogs may bite children when they sense a threat. Young children can move quickly, be unpredictable, noisy, and reach for a dogs property unexpectedly. All of these events may cause a dog to bite a young child.
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- Dogs bite to protect their property or territory
- Younger children (under 6) are most at risk of being bitten
- All dogs can bite, if they are threatened
7 Comments
Post a CommentThis really highlights the need to supervise dogs and children.
Many dogs that bite children would never bite adults. This is because of a fear of larger beings. There are also some dogs that bite children because the unsupervised children play too rought with the dogs.
L.
Thank you for this article. Parents should be diligent about teaching their kids how and when to approach a strange dog. I know adults who still don't know how to approach a dog. It's ridiculous.
When my dog Shelby was a puppy, we intentionally did all of the horrible things to her that a kid might try.. and we did them lots. She learned that two legged creatures always have the upper hand. Being a big dog, we have always watched her carefully around children. Interestingly enough, she lays down for kids. We never taught her to do that, but she lays down to let small ones pet her. It's as if she simply knows. She's never bitten anyone, but now that I know most dogs that bite have never bitten, I am going to start citing your article, just to play with people's heads. Thanks!
Bu the way, the girl was 14. My dog was 2 years old. It was outside going potty. I called the police day in and day out complaining about the girl and had proof from other neighbors who videoed the girl doing it. The police didnt care and didnt do anything UNTIL my dog lashed back. Sad story huh? Sucky too!
This kid was throwing rocks at my dog. It wasnt a pit it was a beagle mix. They called the cops on me and they put my dog down. The girl threw rocks at my dog for years, my dog had had her fill too. She never bit anyone ever until then. The little girl was the instigator. And your article was good and I agree. Thank you for this, too bad Police dont care what we think tho....
It's always a good idea to closely supervise your dog when it is around a small child. Good article.