Bog Bites - How Big Is the Problem

Susy Owen

Attorney

1 CommentPrint ArticleSubscribe

A survey by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta ("CDC") concluded that dogs bite nearly 2% of the U.S. population - more than 4.7 million people annually. That amounts to almost 800,000 bites per year. Half of all dog bites involve animals that are owned by the victim's family. Although certain breeds are known to be particularly aggressive, any dog can attack if it feels threatened.

If a dog does bite, knowing how to handle a dog bite injury is key. Only 15 to 20 percent of dog bite wounds become infected. Crush injuries, puncture wounds and hand wounds are more likely to become infected than scratches or tears. Timely irrigation of a wound is important, so a victim should receive medical treatment as soon as possible.

A large number of dog bite victims are children under the age of 14, so it is important to educate children at a relatively young age. Prospective dog owners should obtain breed-specific information before getting a new dog. One school of thought is that it is wise for families to avoid "humanizing" their dog (e.g., allowing it to sleep on the furniture and to beg for food at the dinner table). Dogs are pack animals, which means that they are very black and white about the fact that there is a pack leader who is the master of the pack. If you make if difficult for the animal to know that you are the pack leader, you may increase the risk of the dog biting.