Elsevier

The Veterinary Journal

Volume 206, Issue 3, December 2015, Pages 284-288
The Veterinary Journal

Human behavior preceding dog bites to the face

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2015.10.021Get rights and content

Highlights

  • We examined human and dog interactions preceding bites to the face.

  • Bending over a dog, putting the face to the dog's face and gazing between victim and dog preceded bites.

  • More than half of the bites were directed towards the central area of the face.

  • People should be warned to not express behavior that might be followed by a dog bite to the face.

Abstract

Facial injuries caused by dog bites pose a serious problem. The aims of this study were to determine human behavior immediately preceding a dog bite to the face and to assess the effects of victim age and gender and dog sex and size on the location of the bite to the face and the need for medical treatment. Complete data on 132 incidents of bites to the face were analysed.

A human bending over a dog, putting the face close to the dog's face, and gazing between victim and dog closely preceded a dog bite to the face in 76%, 19% and 5% of cases, respectively. More than half of the bites were directed towards the central area of the victim's face (nose, lips). More than two thirds of the victims were children, none of the victims was an adult dog owner and only adult dogs bit the face. Victim's age and gender and dog's sex and size did not affect the location of the bite on the face. People who were bitten by large dogs sought medical treatment more often than people who were bitten by small dogs (P <0.01). Risk factors such as bending over the dog, putting the face close to the dog's face and gazing between human and dog should be avoided, and children should be carefully and constantly supervised when in the presence of dogs.

Introduction

The mutually beneficial relationship between humans and dogs is sometimes overshadowed by bites. Possible injuries range from minor lacerations to fatal wounds (Horswell and Chahine, 2011). Epidemiological studies indicate that the most common victims of dog bite injuries are children (Wright, 1991, Overall, Love, 2001, Ozanne-Smith et al, 2001) and most dogs that bite are familiar with their victims (Gershman et al, 1994, Brogan et al, 1995, Bernardo et al, 2002, Kaye et al, 2009). Among the more serious dog bite injuries are those that occur on the face (Tu et al., 2002). The most serious cases can have cosmetic and functional consequences (Mcheik et al., 2000). The incidence of bites to the face is associated with victim's age; children are mostly bitten on the face, whereas adults are usually bitten on the limbs (Morgan and Palmer, 2007).

In order to develop an effective preventative program, it is necessary to recognise which interactions between humans and dogs are likely to result in a bite injury (Mathews, Lattal, 1994, Mills, De Keuster, 2009). Although the literature on dog bites to humans is extensive, little or no research has been conducted on the behavior of both human and dog during most incidents (Love, Overall, 2001, Reisner et al, 2007). Similarly, we are poorly equipped to draw any conclusions about what triggers bites to the face (De Keuster and Overall, 2011). The objectives of the present study were to determine human behavior immediately preceding a dog bite to the face when other parts of the body were not bitten and to identify the location of the bite on the face. The effect of victim's age and gender and dog's sex and size on the location of the bite on the face and whether medical treatment was sought were assessed simultaneously.

Section snippets

Data collection

Participants were recruited via fliers that were posted in local veterinary practices and dog shows in Moravia (Czech Republic). All cases where dogs only bit the face but not other parts of the body were included in the study. Data on dog bites to the face were collected from January 2012 to June 2014 from dog owners, children's parents, and victims who voluntarily contacted our department seeking an explanation for this undesirable behavior. At the time of the dog bite consultation, all

Results

A human bending over a dog, putting the face close to the dog's face and gazing between human and dog immediately preceded a dog bite to the face in 76%, 19% and 5% of all cases (n = 132), respectively (Table 1). Victims did not step on the dog, pull the dog's hair or body, fall on the dog, punish the dog, scold the dog, or trim the dog's nails immediately before any of the incidents of bites to the face. The proportion of male and female victims was 40% and 60%, respectively. The mean age

Discussion

This study demonstrated that a human bending over a dog, putting the face close to the dog's face, or gazing between human and dog, closely preceded a dog bite to the face. Immediately before being bitten on the face, victims did not step on the dog, tug the dog's hair or body, fall on the dog, punish the dog by hitting, scold the dog or trim the dog's nails. A number of studies (Mathews, Lattal, 1994, Gandhi et al, 1999, Kahn et al, 2003, Schalamon et al, 2006, Daniels et al, 2009, Nahlik et

Conclusions

Bending over a dog, putting the face close to the dog's face and gazing between dog and victim immediately preceded a bite to the face. However, stepping on the dog, tugging the dog's hair or body, falling on the dog, punishing the dog by hitting, scolding the dog and trimming the dog's nails did not result in bites to the face when only the face was bitten. Therefore, to decrease the risk of a bite to the face, people should be warned to not express behaviors known to immediately precede a dog

Conflict of interest statement

IGA MENDELU played no role in the study design or in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data, or in the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. None of the authors has any other financial or personal relationships that could inappropriately influence or bias the content of the paper.

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a grant from IGA MENDELU TP 3/2013.

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