If you have a dog at your house for a while, you may try to make yourself believe that it may never bite you or someone entering your house. However, you have to be fully aware of the fact and accept it with an open heart that no matter the kind of dog, it always has the tendency to bite you. Most of the time, it is the dog owners who become the target of dog aggression. Most of all, the most dangerous breeds tend to be the ones that most pet owners own.
Recent History of Dogs Bite
The Centers for Disease Control has recently shared a report where it has revealed the number of dog biting incidents in the United States per year. The particular department has reported that on an annual basis, more than 4.5 million dog bite incidents are recorded in the United States.
More than 400,000 Children Injured Annually from Dog Bites
According to the stats, more than 800,000 people in the United States require medical attention due to dog bite injuries. Surprisingly, half of the 800,000 victims of dog bite incidents are children who are easy targets for aggressive dogs.
Dog Bites Occurrence
Most of the time, people end up getting bitten by the dogs at their homes. These people become easy targets for the biting dogs becoming victims of their aggressive behavior.
Why Understanding Dog’s Behavior is Important?
Whether you have a gentle dog, an aggressive dog, or occasionally aggressive, it is important that you know why your dog may end up biting you or others.
It is very important you know what needs to be done when you end up facing a dog bite. You must also know how you can prevent the dog bites from taking place in the first place.
Understanding the Dogs’ Aggression and Considering Risk Factors
It has been recorded that majority of the time, the dogs lash out at the victims as they react due to stressful situations. You must remember that dogs cannot talk and they cannot express their emotions through words. They cannot even defend themselves with words so they only have one way of expressing themselves.
They express their frustration, fear, pain, and anger, and even claim their territory with aggression. When a dog is feeling pain, afraid, or fear of being attacked, they snap, snarl, growl, and at times, bite.
A dog resorting to biting or attacking depends on the individual dog and the situation under which it ends up attacking the victim. There are also multiple factors that can lead to a dog resorting to attacking you. Such factors end up triggering aggressive behavior in dogs.
Let us go through the factors that may lead to a dog showing aggressive behavior:
Dog Fights
If you see two dogs fighting, do not even think about separating them in the middle of the fight. If you try to do it, there is a great risk you may get bitten by both the dogs or get into serious injuries.
Play Sessions
It is good to be playing with your dog quite often but you are the one who has to be careful when doing so. If you are having fun playing with them, they will be having much more than that. There is a high possibility they may get overzealous while playing and bite you in the process.
Motherhood
Majority of the time, the female dog bite victims are the ones trying to get too close to their pups. The female dogs become extremely protective of their newly born pups. It is better not to get close to them until the female dogs feel comfortable and let you near their pups.
Children
Kids who are unsupervised are at the highest risk of becoming dog bite victims. Due to the small size of the children, the dogs feel dominant over them leading them to attack them. As the children are at eye level for the kids, they may feel scared or become aggressive against them.
Even if you do not have a dog, it is important that you teach your kids not to fool around with dogs as they may grow aggressive at any time.
Situations with Unfamiliar People
If the dogs feel feared and threatened, chances are, they may snap and end up biting. These are considered to be very fatal dog attacks. Therefore, it is important that your dog is controlled and monitored to make sure it doesn’t behave that aggressively.
If you do have a dog and it tends to attack visitors, it is important you train your dog through crate training. Otherwise, it is better you move it to another room and lock it properly.
Mealtime
Many dogs have a habit of being too protective of their food. These dogs may even attack fellow dogs if they come near their plates, and you may not be safe from such behavior either.
Injury or Illness
If a dog is in pain or has an injury that hurts pretty badly, it is possible they may attack you if you get too close to them or touch a particular area.
Is Dogs’ Aggression Level Based on their Breeds?
A study carried out by the America Veterinary Medical Association back in 2014 brought out some very interesting facts about breed-based aggression in dogs. The study suggested that the aggression level of a dog cannot be based on the breed.
The breed factor does not hold much value when it comes to identifying the aggression level of the dogs. Due to their size, many perceive pit bull-type dogs to be very aggressive and dangerous dogs, which is not the case at all.
The pit bull male dogs are famously known for being fighting dogs. The aggression level of these dogs is as similar to dogs from other breeds.
While many perceive small or mid-sized dogs to be less aggressive, study shows that their aggression level is much more than other dog breeds. The study has shown that these dogs have a higher tendency of being aggressive due to the Napoleon complex.
The America Veterinary Medical Association has revealed that the aggression level in dogs is attributed to their socialization, training, and temperament.
Tips & Training for Dog Bite Prevention
- You have to ensure that you take all the precautions when you have pet dogs at your house. You must make sure that the dog is fully vaccinated and rabies vaccination must also not go unchecked. Your dog must not be let off the leash so it roams around freely and without any supervision.
- Bring in a professional dog trainer who is certified to deal with animal behavior the moment your dog shows signs of unusual and uncontrolled aggression.
- Start training your dog when it is just a puppy so it learns fast and better. Be gentle, kind, and as rewarding as possible while training the dog and whenever it follows your command so it continues behaving in the best manner.
- It is better to monitor how your dog interacts with animals, people, and situations. Such interactions may trigger aggression or anxiety. If you feel your dog is uncomfortable in a particular situation, it is better to withdraw them from there.
- Ensure your dog is allowed to feel connected with the entire family pack. Ensure that your dog is watched and never left unsupervised. Such behavior can leave the dog feeling frustrated and abandoned.
- It is better for your dog to be introduced to a variety of people so it can easily socialize. This way, the dog will get used to a variety of situations, noises, places, dogs, and people.
- If you are planning to bring home a dog from an animal shelter, it is better to enquire about the dog's background and personality.
What to do Following a Dog Attack and its Aggressive Behavior
If the dog attacks, bites, and shows no sign of backing off, then just screaming does not work out well. In such cases, it is better that you must call as loudly as possible so others can hear you and come to your aid.
You must make sure that your fists and arms cover your throat and chest. While protecting yourself, you must continue kicking the dog until help arrives. If the teeth of the dog enter your body, it is better not to push it out. Otherwise, its teeth may end up tearing your flesh.
