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Dos and Don'ts to Avoid Dog Bites

As this week's National Dog Bite Prevention Week comes to a close, the importance of raising awareness of how to prevent dog bites does not. As the CDC has reported, nearly 4.7 million people sustain a dog bite injury each year, with 800,000 needing serious medical attention. The actual number of people who sustain a dog bite injury is unknown due to the fact that a number of dog bites that go unreported. With that in mind, there are specific actions that one can take in order to reduce the chance of sustaining a dog bite. Dog bite injuries may always be an unfortunate part of our society, but we can certainly reduce the number of injuries, especially to children by doing and refraining from certain actions.

Dos:
• When approaching a dog move slowly. Never approach an animal in a fast manner. It will only alarm it and an alarmed animal is much more likely to bite out of self defense.
• Before you approach any dog, ask the owner’s permission. Dogs can read their owners body language, and if the owners is a little tense, chances are the dog may be also.
• Whenever approaching a dog, or any household pet, approach the animal with your hand out and fist closed. This allows the animals to sniff your hand and gain a sense of comfortability as well as decide if it is willing to let you to pet it.
For animal owners
• Have your dog spayed or neutered.
• Socialize your dog at a young by exposing it to as many different situations involving people as possible. The more exposure to different situations that it has, the less likely it will be to react negatively in the future.
• Have your dog trained.
• Be smart with your pet. If he/she is your best friend, put them in situations to be successful. This may mean occasionally leaving them home or inside during holidays such as the 4th of July.

Don’ts:
• Don’t approach a strange dog that is on a leash. Dogs are that are on a leash are much more likely to be aggressive.
• Don’t disturb a dog while it is sleeping, eating, or with its puppies.
• Never run from a strange dog. Instead, stand still “like a tree” and let the animal sniff around you. Chances are it will quickly become disinterested and move on.

By taking these simple precautions, whether you own a dog, have a family member or friend who does, or are just concerned about not being bitten, the likelihood of you being bitten by a dog will be great decreased.





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