Tuesday, May 19, 2009

National Dog Bite Prevention Week

National Dog Bite Prevention Week is a public service campaign that offers safety tips and emphasizes the need for increased pet owner responsibility in the prevention of dog bites. The campaign kicks off on Sunday, May 17 and ends on Saturday, May 23.

As medical reports of dogs biting children continued to increase, researchers started to ask, “Why?” Henceforth, a veterinary behavior clinic in Philadelphia embarked on a study to help us understand what makes a dog’s mind tick…or at least what ticks it off when it comes to kids.

As reported in the medical journal Injury Prevention, researchers at the veterinary behavioral clinic examined 111 cases of dog bites by 103 dogs (representing 41 different dog breeds) that took place over a four-year period.

Several notable patterns came to their attention: the dogs displayed territorial behavior, anxiety, or were coping with medical issues at the time the biting occurred.

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