13 Ways To Prevent Dog Bites (In Honor Of Dog Bite Prevention Week)
Each year more than 4.7 million people are bitten by dogs, while most of these bites are not serious (statistically speaking), 800,000 individuals seek medical care for these injuries. Of these 800,000 who do need medical care- half of this number are children (with the greatest number falling between the ages of 5-9). In honor of Dog Bite Prevention Week I’ve compiled a list of useful tips to help avoid these disturbing incidents from happening to you or your children.
1. Before you choose the dog for your home, weather it be a rescue or a purebred, discuss the temperament of the dog with someone who is knowledgeable about canine behavior. This can be a shelter worker, a knowledgeable breeder or hire a canine behaviorist to come along for an evaluation. If you are choosing a purebred dog, make sure you are picking a breed that is suitable to your home and lifestyle. If you hear the breed is not good with children - do not assume your puppy will be an exception!
2. Training your dog from the beginning using positive reinforcement methods provides a strong bond between human and dog. This allows your pup to feel secure with your role as leader. Dogs who are secure in their positions with confidant owners are less likely to bite. Enroll in basic obedience classes to get started.
3. Spay or Neuter your dog! Intact dogs are more likely to bite than those who have been altered. (There are also so many health benefits as well!)
4. Do not encourage aggressive or rough play with your dog and speak up when other people try to instigate this behavior with your dog. These can be tug-of-war games, wrestling or general roughhousing.
Photo by emeraldcitycreative
5. Socialize your dog with other dogs and different kinds of people from the get go. Use lots of positive reinforcement in new situations. Go slowly and gradually introduce your dog to the big world around him. An unsocialized dog is a scared dog and is more likely to bite.
6. Get your dog comfortable with you being able to remove toys and food from its mouth from when it is a very young pup. Practice these behaviors often as they are incredibly import to “remind” your dog about! Teach the “drop it” command.
7. Never leave infants, toddlers or young children alone with any dog - no matter how reliable that dog may be.
Photo by KCA
8. Teach children how to respectfully behave around strange dogs - not to scream, run near them and my personal pet peeve - bark at them. Read my piece “Is Your Child Dog Friendly” here.
9. When approaching a dog, make sure to always ask if it is friendly before petting. Some dogs are head shy so petting around the ears and neck is often a better choice. Make sure children don’t hug strange dogs around the neck because they are used to doing so with their own dogs at home. This is a common behavior I see and can lead to incidents if the dog is not used to kids.
10. Do not stare directly into the eyes of a dog - this is considered a threat.
Photo by gus.colvin
11. Teach children and adults to stand still if a strange dog approaches them - running will only cause the dog to chase you.
12. If a dog does manage to knock you over, roll into a ball and protect your face. Lie as still as you possibly can.
13. Make sure everyone knows not to bother a dog when it is eating or sleeping. While you may have a very tolerant dog, it should have its own space and limits that are respected as well. If someone woke you out of a sound sleep and you were having a bad dream, you might smack them - a dog may nip if you do the same thing.
Please take these tips and educate yourself as dog owners and perhaps pass this list on to parents and family members who could use it to educate themselves and their children as well.
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