Preventing Dog Bites

Scott Smith

Contributor

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In 1994, roughly 4.7 million persons in the United States were bitten by dogs. Of these, roughly 800,000 persons sought medical care for the bite. Over half (420,000) of those getting medical care were children. Children are often bitten on the face, and any bite can cause severe injury or infection. Children's small size may cause a dog to act in a dominant way toward a child. Many children's lack of judgment and ignorance about how to behave around a dog and their inability to fend off an attack can add to the risk. It is very important that parents closely supervise children when around dogs.

You can reduce the chances of children in your care being bitten or injured by a dog if you teach them some safety tips:

• Never approach an unfamiliar dog.
• Never run from a dog and scream.
• Stay still when an unfamiliar dog comes up to you ("be still like a tree").
• If knocked over by a dog, roll into a ball and lie still ("be like a log").
• Do not look a dog in the eye.
• Do not disturb a dog that is sleeping, eating or caring for puppies.
• Do not pet a dog without letting it see and sniff you first.
• Never leave an infant or child alone with a dog.
• Teach your dog submissive behaviors, like rolling over to show its stomach.
• Do not play aggressive games with your dog, such as wrestling.
• Seek medical care for any serious dog bit and report all dog attacks.
• Support animal-control programs in your community and the enforcement of local laws regulating dangerous or vicious dogs.
• Support dog bite prevention educational programs in schools.
• Get the advice of a veterinarian about the right breed of dog if you are thinking about getting a family dog.
• Spay or neuter your dog, this often reduces its aggressive tendencies.
• Be sure all pets are properly immunized.
• Seek a veterinarian's advice quickly if your dog becomes aggressive.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Property Owners' Liability.