New Research Says When Dogs Bite Children, Dogs Have a Reason
A big thank you to the researchers on this study. I can’t say it’s a surprize but it is good to see it in print that biting dogs don’t do it because they are “bad” or a “bad breed.”
Thanks to News-Medical.net for this article.
When dogs bite children they have a good reason
Published: Thursday, 4-Oct-2007According to research from the U.S. when dogs bite children it is for a reason.
The research found behavioral or painful medical problems, rather than breed, distinguished the dogs referred to a clinic after biting a child.
The study found that dogs experience anxiety, pain, and other medical as well as behavioral problems and these problems can provoke them to bite children even if they have never bitten anyone before.The study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania examined the the circumstances surrounding 111 cases of dog bites by 103 dogs who were then referred to a veterinary behavioral clinic; the study covered a period of four years.
They found that young children were more likely to be bitten when dogs felt food or toys were under threat, while older children were bitten more often by dogs if they felt their territory was threatened in some way.
The research team also found that one in five of the dogs had never bitten a person before, and two-thirds of them had never bitten a child before.
Emergency room statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show children under the age of 14 account for 42 percent of U.S. dog-bite admissions.
The researchers also found that three-quarters of the dogs exhibited anxiety when left by their owners or exposed to loud noises and half of the dogs had medical conditions, mostly affecting bones or skin.
The study authors say that demonstrable fear may signal a tendency to bite when faced with a perceived threat; they say young children are often noisy and move unpredictably and both these actions can frighten a dog which is already anxious.
Follow this link to read the rest of the article.
I hope this “research” didn’t cost a lot of money because it’s stating the obvious. OF COURSE most dogs that bite children do it because THE CHILD was behaving inappropriately around the dog. There are countless parents who think it’s cute to let their precious children climb on the dog’s bed or inside the crate for a photo opportunity. They think nothing of allowing a child to drape himself around the neck of a dog. Kids who approach a dog from behind and startle him are just asking for trouble. And if I see one more America’s Funniest Home Video of a toddler taking a dog’s bone away and then sticking it in his own mouth for a few chuckles, I’ll scream. Parents need to take 100% full responsibility of both their children and pets. Parents need to learn acceptable behaviors and then model and teach their children what is and is not acceptable around animals - their own pets AND how to greet strange dogs. It’s horrible when a child is bitten, but the dog ALWAYS takes the blame….for being a DOG. Parents- if you can’t supervise your child and pets, then separate them until you can!
Hattie
I absolutely agree with everything you said! Thanks for barking!
I get soooo tired of seeing misbehaved children wandering around animals with no or way too little control. I have told more than a few parents to put their children on leashes. I have even found small children wandering around in places like airports with no visible parent. When I do find these little ones, I take them to security officers and turn them over. How bad a parent do you have to be to let a two- or three-year-old wander around in an airport!?!?!? No wonder they want to blame dogs for their failings as parents!
And I agree that this is obvious to us but you would be surprized to know how many uninformed people still think that dogs are to blame EVERY time someone gets bitten. I know that’s poopy but unfortunately sometimes the only thing that works in defending dogs is a scientific report.
[...] (more…) news medical netarticle whendogsbitechildrendogsbitechildrenbreeddistinguishedthedogsreferredbehavioralpainfulmedicalproblemsbitingdogsdon rsquobitingachildmore hellipagoodreasonpublishedareason theresearch October 05th 2007 Posted to Uncategorized [...]
These “research” things always amaze me.
They always make it sound like the “8th wonder of the world” has just been discovered - but usually it’s just something that any person who takes the time to observe
things knew 30 years ago!
But I guess “take time to observe” are the key words.
There are a lot of humans who just don’t do that!
And I guess there are a lot of stupid people out there too
who DO have to be told these things!
I hope they “take the time” to read the article!
[...] (more…) news medical netarticle whendogsbitechildrendogsbitechildrenbreeddistinguishedthedogsreferredbehavioralpainfulmedicalproblemsbitingdogsdon rsquoagoodreasonpublishedareason theresearchbitingachildmore hellip October 05th 2007 Posted to Uncategorized [...]
My daughter and I both say “Good enough for you”. In fact my daughter tells her children that if her dog, who is not a biter, bites them, then they (the children), will be punished for doing her dog wrong. I feel the same way about mine.
I mean, look, on the “funniest home video shows” they show toddlers rolling around on top of the poor dog or kitty. I don’t find it humorous at all. NO, not at all. We trained our babies from word go to respect the pets in our home.
Anyone that lets their children pull a dogs ears, roll around all over them, “hug” them tightly, etc, are by proxy commiting abusive acts to the animal. Children need to be supervised around dogs EVEN when the dog had proven to be reliable around children. The dog is hardwired to be a dog not a parent. It never surprises me any more that many parents don’t teach their children to ask before petting a strange dog and they allow the children to stomp around and put their faces right by a dog’s muzzle. Children need to be taught manners around dogs and how to respect all animals. I try to educate the neighborhood children any opportunity I get.
Praise be! It is ludacris to let your children think that all dogs are created equal. When my son “Nick” was little we had a Springer Spaniel “Spencer” @ my mom’s & a Cocker Spaniel “London” @ his dad’s. They were both FABULOUS w/ Nick, however he grabbed London’s ears once when he was about 10 months old & London bit him on the mouth. Nick cried & I of course snugged & comforted him but I also told London sorry…London looked very upset that he had bitten the baby. Who’s fault was it? MINE!!!! Luckily it was a small split on his lip which he still carries as a scar today. I watched him around dogs much more carefully after that. It reminded me that dogs are dogs, not people, they don’t have a dialog in their head before they do something. It’s our job to set our pets & any child we are responsible for success. Watch, wait, listen that’s what we can do to ensure success
Not just children, but we need to keep our eyes on dogs and SOME adults during their interaction as well.