Dog Bites just don't happen OUT of the Blue!

Dog bites don’t just happen out of the blue.

Our society is full of misconception and misinformation. As a professional dog trainer I often deal with a false impression people have of a certain tv personality that trains dogs. Mr. Millan. He is loved or he is hated. Even when you present scientific proof that Mr. Millan uses physical and emotional corrections in training you will have those who beg to differ with you. Mr. Millan is “tapping” the dog. Not kicking. Mr. Millan is helicoptering and not choking (and thus using air as a training tool). Mr. Millan can fix any dog.

Now where do we base our opinions on? On our personal experience and what we have been exposed to. If you have been bitten by a dog you may say that all dogs are dangerous. If you have been bitten by a specific breed you may say that only a certain breed is aggressive. Is that however the truth?

“Are we biased?“

The answer is yes! In Mr. Millan’s case many people fall within the bandwagon effect They believe him because many other people believe him too and he is after all on tv and he wouldn’t be on tv if he wasn’t good. Right?

Even in my professional trade I deal with biases. I was, for instance, biased towards pit bulls? Why? The only thing I knew about pit bulls was that they are dangerous dogs. They only dog that really hit the news when something happened. In 1993 the Netherlands implemented a regulation against aggressive breeds aka BSL (Breed Specific Legislation). If the Netherlands took such drastic measures there must be something wrong with that specific breed. Right?

Wrong. The Netherlands ended the regulation in 2008. The regulation included no pit bull terrier was to be owned that was born after 1993. The existing pit bulls were to be spayed/neutered, breeding was forbidden and all pit bull like dogs were to be muzzled and be walked on a short leash. Pit bulls were identified by their size, built, square head, short coat and pointy tail. In 2008 the Netherlands ended the law since the dog bite statistics had not changed. BSL didn’t work. Dog bites still happened.

In the meantime I had moved to the US. I met a lot of pit bull type dogs and my bias changed. My bias was based on fear and the misinformation that was out there. Pit bulls are no different than any other dog.

“Pit bulls are bred to maul humans.”

This is a myth.

First of all there is no breed called pit bull. It is a common name used to identify Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier and American Pit Bull Terrier. The one breed these dogs have in common is the Terrier. Dog breeds are characterized by certain physical and behavior traits. The pit bull was bred for a specific job like many of our other breeds that exists. Retrievers were bred to retrieve, Australian Shepherds were bred to herd live stock and some dogs were bred as lap dogs. Our pit bull today is a descendant of the English bull-baiting dog. That breed was bred to bite and hold bulls, bears and other large animals around the face and head to hold it in position. In the 1800’s the law changed and baiting was made illegal. People turned to using these dogs to fight each other. Crossing the breed with smaller and quicker terriers we have today’s pit bull. Eventually dog fighting was banned as well although it still happens illegally.

Are pit bulls dangerous dogs? What is dangerous? Let us look at the definition:

“Dangerous: able or likely to cause harm or injury.”

In that case any dog is a dangerous dog because any dog is able or likely to cause harm or injury to a human. We know dog bites are not breed specific. Any dog can bite!

Statistics we have:

• Each year, more than 4.5 million people in the U.S. are bitten by dogs.

• Almost 1 in 5 people bitten by dogs require medical attention.

• Every year, more than 800,000 Americans receive medical attention for dog bites; at least half of them are children.

• Children are, by far, the most common victims of dog bites and are far more likely to be severely injured.

• Most dog bites affecting young children occur during everyday activities and while interacting with familiar dogs.

• Senior citizens are the second most common dog bite victims.

Facts we have:

• We have no accurate and up-to-date statistics concerning dog bites in the US

• Pages like dogsbite.org derive information from news reports versus county health records. The data is considered unreliable and not accurate

• A dog is often “labeled” as a pit bull when they are actually mixes of various breeds or have physical traits that are similar than that of a pit bull.

To provide accurate data on dog bites we need reliable statistics that would include:

• County Health Records

• Insurance claims

• Both of the above need to at least include:

• DNA testing (identifying a breed by its physical appearance is not accurate)

• How many bites

• Level of bite (Dr. Ian Dunbar’s dog bite scale)

• Relationship to victim

• Brief description of what happened

“Why do dogs bite? “

Dogs never bite unprovoked. There is always a situation. There is a trigger or multiple ones. There is always a reason. Warning signals are provided but we humans fail to identify them. A dog has options on how to respond but it really depends on the dog’s temperament, prior experience, training, environment and genetics on how the dog will respond. Will the dog choose flight, freeze or fight?

“Dogs don’t bite out of the blue.”

Some dogs have a history. I recently posted an article where a man got severely injured by 12 dogs and the dogs had a long history of aggressive interactions with both humans and other dogs. Even after several incidents the owner was oblivious to the potential disaster that eventually happened. Something most dog experts would have had no problem predicting.

Aversive training methods have also contributed to dog bites. Aversive methods use physical and emotional corrections such as pain and fear to get a desired behavior. Dogs often develop behavioral issues from training methods like these that result in fear, anxiety and aggression.

No one can deny that the responsibility lays with us humans. We are responsible for our dogs. Education and management is the key. We can prevent many dog bites from happening if we understand dog behavior. Regrettably the information on dog behavior that is available to us on television and the internet is less than reliable.

Sources you can trust have been placed on our website. They are reliable, scientific and fact based sources concerning dog bites. In the next couple of months we will post more about dog behavior. We will provide more info on why dogs bite and what to focus on.

One important message I would like to provide is:

“ALL dogs bite.”

Prevention is the key. With prevention comes education. You can eliminate as many breeds off this earth as you like but your dog bites will not decrease.

What are the odds of getting killed by a dog? Very rare! You are more likely to die of a heart disease, cancer, falling down, drowning, car accident or a natural disaster than you will die from a dog attack. We have millions of dogs in our country and yet fatalities are very rare. Don’t be led by fear makers. Get your facts straight. Instead of spinning on fear use that energy and help prevent dog bites by educating the public, your surrounding, your family and friends by providing them facts and not fiction.

Resources: Dog bite statistics: https://www.avma.org/public/Pages/Dog-Bite-Prevention.aspx Dog bite statistics: Ms. Jade: http://www.thedogpress.com/Columns/Dog-BiteStatisics-09_Jade.asp Google definition Dog Bite Scale Dr. Ian Dunbar: http://www.dogtalk.com/BiteAssessmentScalesDunbarDTMRoss.pdf Why do dogs bite? http://www.doggonesafe.com/why_dogs_bite.