Life without Satchmo: dog bites

Showing posts with label dog bites. Show all posts

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Dog Bites -- Why your dog may bite even you

Six Tips for Dog Owners to Prevent Biting

Socialize and train. Your dog should be comfortable interacting not only with family members, but with visitors and other animals as well. Socialization before your puppy reaches 14-16 weeks of age is a crucial step in raising a balanced, well-adjusted dog.
Basic obedience training is also essential for both you and your pet. Owners need to learn to work with rather than against their dog’s instincts and this isn’t a skill most of us are born with.
As your dog grows and develops, it’s important to continue socialization and training. It will increase the bond you and your pet share, and it will keep your dog’s mind stimulated for a lifetime. At my hospital, I encourage owners to keep puppies in class through their first year of life, similar to encouraging your children to graduate from college versus stopping their education after elementary school.

Spay or neuter. When your dog becomes balanced both physically and mentally, it’s the right time to spay or neuter. Intact male dogs are more likely to bite than neutered dogs. Female dogs, both those in heat and those nursing a litter, can exhibit unpredictable behavior. Ask your vet to help you decide when it’s the right time for your pet. If your vet suggests your dog is brewing a temperament problem, taking the sex hormones out of the equation sooner rather than later will be the recommendation.

Supervise. Your dog is a pack animal, and you’re the pack leader. Dogs weren’t designed by nature to hang out alone in most situations. Your pet needs your presence and guidance, especially when other people and animals are around.
Leaving your dog on his own to decide how to behave can make him feel insecure and anxious, or alternatively, overly confident. This lack of emotional balance can spell danger to those who cross your dog’s path when he’s unsupervised.

Remove the shackles. Dogs that are chained, tethered or otherwise tied up become stressed. Their feelings of vulnerability and protectiveness increase, which ramps up their potential to be aggressive. If you need to confine your dog occasionally outside the house, fencing the entire yard or a section of yard is the way to go. A fence keeps your dog safe inside your yard, and prevents kids and other animals from interacting with your pet unsupervised.

Exercise control. Nearly a quarter of fatal bites are delivered by dogs that are running loose and off their owner’s property. Dogs are territorial, and if your dog is allowed to run loose around the neighborhood, her perceived territory is greatly expanded from your address. She could decide to defend her ‘turf’ in a neighbor’s yard or the playground down the street.
That’s why you must control your dog at all times when she is away from home. Keep your pet secure on a leash, and if you can’t control her even when she’s leashed, allow another family member to step in until your dog is trained to behave on lead and consistently obeys your verbal commands.

Nurture good health. A dog that doesn’t feel well -- is aching or in pain -- is more apt to snap at an unsuspecting person or animal. Keep your dog healthy throughout his life with a species-appropriate diet, plenty of heart-thumping exercise, regular at-home exams and wellness checkups with your veterinarian.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Family dog is not harmless, new study says

When I first read this article, I was really angry. The last thing we need is "new research" that helps people to distrust pets and react by taking them to the shelters to be destroyed. After thinking about this article, I think I am guilty of overreacting, myself. This article simply states that pets and children need to be supervised at all times.

It is true that the most common victim of dog bites is a child. That's a fact. But who thinks about the mental health issues of that dog that had to bite a person to stay safe? Anyway, with this new perspective, I decided to post this article here and see if you have anything to add or an opinion to share about it.

After reading this article, please click over to my Squidoo lense about dog aggression and read the article there that I wrote entitled, "Dog Bites -- The Ultimate in Dog Aggression". Leave me a comment there or come back here and tell me what you think.
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As much as we write about the wonderful attributes of dogs and cats, we are sometimes reminded they're not always angels.

This isn't really news to me, but Fido needs to be supervised around young children, according to a new study.

The study, done by Vikram Durairaj of the University of Colorado School of Medicine, found that dogs usually target a child's face and eyes and most often it's a breed considered "good" with children, like a Labrador Retriever.

"People tend to think the family dog is harmless, but it's not," said Durairaj, associate professor of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. "We have seen facial fractures around the eye, eye lids torn off, injury to the tear drainage system and the eyeball itself."

The study says the likelihood of a child getting bitten in their lifetime is around 50 % with 80 % of those bites involving the head and neck. If a dog bites once, it's likely to bite again with the second attack often more brutal than the first.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs each year and 885,000 require medical attention. The total cost is estimated at up to $250 million.

The study looked at 537 children treated for facial dog bites at The Children's Hospital on the University of Colorado's...[read more]

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Save Spork!

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February 19th, 2010

The city of Lafayette currently has a 10-year-old weiner dog named Spork targeted for either death or kenneling after he bit a veterinarian technician.

Spork, a 10-year-old weiner dog, during a stressful visit to the Jasper Animal Hospital in Lafayette, bit the vet technician on the face when she tried to cut away something around his neck.
Lafayette is now ignoring state law – invoking “home law”- which states that professionals who work with animals take the risk of getting bitten, and is attempting to have Spork either put down or kenneled for life.

Here’s the full story from the Save Spork! facebook page.

Last August the beloved 10-year-old miniature dachshund, Spork, snapped at and bit a veterinarian technician at Jasper Animal Hospital as he was being held by his owner. He has been at the vet on numerous occasions over the years and had been there just the week before, without ever having any issues except that he is usually very scared and shaking, sometimes defecating (which some dogs do if they are scared at the vet). In fact, he had been there just the week before when he got his shots and examination for oral surgery.
Spork’s owner was doing exactly what she was told and was holding the 17-pound dachshund firmly in her arms when the vet tech suddenly, and without warning, put her face in his, which resulted in the bite. He was shaking badly before this happened which was noticed by the entire staff, and had pooped on his owner just before the accident. Clearly the little guy was just scared to be at the vet and that was obvious.
Spork’s owner was utterly unaware that it had happened until the vet tech stood up. This is a sad accident, but YOU must realize that it is a very common risk at the vet where it is imperative for everyone involved to follow procedures and best practices, including training to avoid being bitten.
Spork, unfortunately, didn’t have the benefit of any of these at Jasper Animal Hospital.
WHY THIS IS VITALLY IMPORTANT TO YOU:
About a month after the bite, Lafayette Animal Control charged Spork’s owners with having a vicious dog in the City of Lafayette. Please look into this for yourself and understand that this is an extremely serious charge and it is a guaranteed risk you face if you do veterinary business in Lafayette.
The owners have spent more than $6,000 dollars already defending their 10-year-old little buddy!
Despite specific and unambiguous Colorado state laws specifically excluding veterinary health care workers, the City of Lafayette will declare ‘home rule’ and can kill your dog, make you relocate or, maybe worst of all, kennel your best friend for long and cruel periods of time, even making you pay for the kenneling and even if you are found innocent!
The staff at Jasper Animal Hospital endorses this action which could very, very easily happen to you today. Dog bites are very, very common in the industry and you have no way to know what provocation could trigger a reaction from your pet.
IF YOU OWN AN ANIMAL YOU HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT IT!

While HOWLColorado is focused on education about, and the advocacy for, wolves – such stories are particularly interesting to us as it shows, even in the field of animal medicine, there is still a remarkable lack of understanding about “man’s best friend.”
We find this story to be shocking and are hard pressed to see any reasonable explanation for it.
If you wish to join the facebook group, join the Save Spork! group.
If you wish to sign the petition calling for Lafayette to reverse their decision, do so here.
Resources
Motion to dismiss filed on behalf of the defendent – the owner of Spork
City of Lafayette denial to dismiss statement
Colorado State Statute
note: HOWLColorado makes no judgements of the vet involved. We have not spoken with the vet, or the vet tech, and are unaware of any policies which were in place at the time of the incident and whether the vet tech followed any of those policies. We are concerned that a trained vet tech would not have received the appropriate training necessary for dealing with animals of this disposition. It is for this very reason that professionals should be exempt – as they are in state law – from the laws covering animal bites. They should know how to avoid such things, and they should assume the risks of working with animals.

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This is a post from a blog, Howl Colorado about a dachshund in trouble. Please read the comments at this site as well as the original posting and join the fanpage on Facebook if you want to.