Domestic dogs come from a variety of backgrounds and sources and are of many breeds and mixes.
What dogs do have in common with one another is how they communicate. Sometimes
dogs feel uncomfortable in situations and show signals which, if we don’t notice or misunderstand them, could escalate and
lead to a dog bite.
Often children are the victims of dog bites. Learning what dogs mean when they show certain signals means we can
use and teach children safe conduct around dogs.
Statistics indicate 4.5 million dog bites occur in the USA each year and that, among children, the rate of dog bites is highest for children between the ages of 5 and 9 years old.
One study showed that parents were present in 84% of cases when a child under 7 years of age was bitten. The conclusion was that close supervision is necessary to help children avoid behaviors that may lead to being bitten by a dog. A 2003 study on dog bites to children concluded that, out of 100 accidents, 67 children might not have been bitten had they and their parents been adequately educated on safe conduct towards dogs.
Psychologists have discovered that
children understand the risks of approaching an “angry” dog but that they are
unaware that they should show the same caution around frightened dogs. Two groups of children aged 4-5 and 6-7 years were studied, and results showed that while the children were less likely to approach an angry dog there was no difference in their inclination to approach a happy or frightened dog.
Another study investigated whether preschool children can be taught how to interpret dogs’ behaviours, with the purpose of helping
avoid dog bites. Three to five-year-old children were divided into two groups. One group received
training on dog behavior while the other group acted as the
control group and did an activity related to wild animals. The group who received
training in dog behavior were reported to be significantly better at judging a dog’s emotional state and were able to refer to relevant behaviors to support their judgment after the training. The
results of this study are promising as they indicate that preschool children can be taught
how to correctly interpret dogs’ behaviours.
Parents and other adults can help children avoid the risk of a dog bite by closely supervising children when the children are around dogs (including familiar dogs), by learning what constitutes hazardous human behavior around dogs, by learning about and educating children on the signs of a fearful or stressed dog, and by providing dogs with a childfree space of their own when they need it.
References:
Kahn, A., Bauche, P., & Lamoureux, J. (2003). Child victims of dog bites treated in emergency departments: a prospective survey. European Journal of Pediatrics , 254-8.
Karen Overall, V. (1997). Clinical Behavior Medicine for Small Animals. St. Louis: Mosby Inc.
Lakestani, N., & Donaldson, M. L. (2015). Dog Bite Prevention: Effect of a Short Educational Intervention for Preschool Children. Plos one. Reisner, I. R., Nance, M. L., Zeller, J. S., Houseknecht, E. M., Kassam-Adams, N., & Wiebe, D. J. (2011, March 28). Behavioural characteristics associated with dog bites to children presenting to an urban trauma centre. Retrieved from bmj.com:
http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/early/2011/03/27/ip.2010.029868.short
Rezac, k., Rezac, P., & Slama, P. (2015). Human behavior preceding dog bites to the face. The Veterinary Journal , 284-288.
