Incidence and impact of dog attacks on guide dogs in the UK: an update

Moxon, Rachel; Whiteside, Helen

doi:10.1136/vr.103433

Cited by 14 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…It is concerning that almost a quarter of respondents found that their dogs subsequently became distracted by other dogs as a result of the encounter. The number of dogs that had to be retired as a result of an aggressive encounter was similar in proportion to that reported in the most recent Guide Dogs UK retrospective survey, in which 3% of dog guides (13 of 430) had to be retired after being attacked by another dog (Moxon et al, 2016). Although this number is relatively low, it is too high when one considers the resources that are necessary to create and maintain dog guide partnerships, not to mention the effect on the welfare of the dog and the social and emotional well-being of the dog guide handler.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 73%

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Interference With the Work of Dog Guides in Public: A Survey

Allman¹,

Freeberg²,

Evans

2022

Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness

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Introduction: One of the greatest challenges dog guide handlers face after completing training is interference with their dogs’ work, both from people and other dogs. The Seeing Eye surveyed its active dog guide handlers to gain a better understanding of the types and severity of interference they were currently experiencing and to develop strategies to better equip handlers to deal with that interference. Methods: For one month (October 2019), an online survey was made available to the 1,761 active Seeing Eye handlers concerning the interference they had experienced while working their dogs in public within the past 5 years. The survey questions were designed to elicit information about the types, frequency, and severity of interference handlers experience both from people and other dogs, as well as the settings in which the interference took place. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Results: Eighty-nine percent of handlers had experienced people interfering with the work of their dogs at least occasionally by talking to or making eye contact with them, and 78% had experienced interference from other dogs regularly. Interference from other dogs was usually nonaggressive, but 36% reported other dogs making aggressive physical contact with their dogs. Interference of all types mostly occurred in public places. Discussion: A robust, multifaceted public awareness campaign is necessary to address the persistent problem of interference with dog guide teams. Implications for Practitioners: Many factors influence a person's decision about whether to work with a dog guide. This study provides practitioners with a more realistic picture of the challenges handlers are likely to face in their encounters with the public. Practitioners and dog guide schools can use the information in the study to better equip and support dog guide handlers to proactively engage the public and manage interference when it does occur.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 73%

“…There is a small body of literature concerning the frequency and effect of dog attacks on dog guide handlers (Brooks et al, 2010; Godley & Gillard, 2011; Kutsch, 2011; Moxon et al, 2016). This literature has raised awareness about the significant implications of attacks by dogs on dog guides and their handlers.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Interference With the Work of Dog Guides in Public: A Survey

Allman¹,

Freeberg²,

Evans

2022

Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness

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“…Additionally, 12 dogs with green flags were later withdrawn from the program. Due to the large impact of environment on dog-behavioural development [36] we would hypothesis that after their assessments these dogs may have had a life-experience that altered their behaviour (for example a dog-attack, see [37,38]) or that they had singularly good scores for one trait and poor scores for others that led them to have an overall profile unsuitable to guiding work. Due to the heterogeneous nature of withdrawal reasons, this analysis considered each trait scale separately, but it is hoped that when in use by Guide Dogs that a dog’s behaviour profile across all traits could be considered on a case-by-case basis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An evidence-based decision assistance model for predicting training outcome in juvenile guide dogs

et al. 2017

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Working dog organisations, such as Guide Dogs, need to regularly assess the behaviour of the dogs they train. In this study we developed a questionnaire-style behaviour assessment completed by training supervisors of juvenile guide dogs aged 5, 8 and 12 months old (n = 1,401), and evaluated aspects of its reliability and validity. Specifically, internal reliability, temporal consistency, construct validity, predictive criterion validity (comparing against later training outcome) and concurrent criterion validity (comparing against a standardised behaviour test) were evaluated. Thirty-nine questions were sourced either from previously published literature or created to meet requirements identified via Guide Dogs staff surveys and staff feedback. Internal reliability analyses revealed seven reliable and interpretable trait scales named according to the questions within them as: Adaptability; Body Sensitivity; Distractibility; Excitability; General Anxiety; Trainability and Stair Anxiety. Intra-individual temporal consistency of the scale scores between 5–8, 8–12 and 5–12 months was high. All scales excepting Body Sensitivity showed some degree of concurrent criterion validity. Predictive criterion validity was supported for all seven scales, since associations were found with training outcome, at at-least one age. Thresholds of z-scores on the scales were identified that were able to distinguish later training outcome by identifying 8.4% of all dogs withdrawn for behaviour and 8.5% of all qualified dogs, with 84% and 85% specificity. The questionnaire assessment was reliable and could detect traits that are consistent within individuals over time, despite juvenile dogs undergoing development during the study period. By applying thresholds to scores produced from the questionnaire this assessment could prove to be a highly valuable decision-making tool for Guide Dogs. This is the first questionnaire-style assessment of juvenile dogs that has shown value in predicting the training outcome of individual working dogs.

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“…Dog bites account for hundreds of thousands of emergency hospital visits annually, and children are particularly at risk ( 1 – 3 ). Dog–dog aggression is a widespread community concern ( 4 ), and it further increases the number of dog–human bites since many human bites occur when people try to separate fighting dogs ( 5 ). Aggression is a common reason for euthanasia of adult dogs ( 6 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aggression toward Familiar People, Strangers, and Conspecifics in Gonadectomized and Intact Dogs

et al. 2018

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Gonadectomy is widely used to treat and prevent behavior problems including the aggressive behavior of dogs. The aim of this study was to determine whether aggressive behavior toward familiar people, strangers, or other dogs was significantly different in dogs gonadectomized at various ages vs. intact dogs using the Canine Behavioral Assessment Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ) with multivariate analysis. Of 15,370 initial surveys, those for dogs reported to have been gonadectomized at less than 6 weeks of age or to correct a behavior problem, and those with incomplete answers to questions regarding independent or dependent variables were excluded, leaving 13,795 for the analysis of aggressive behavior toward familiar people: 13,498 for aggressive behavior toward strangers and 13,237 for aggressive behavior toward dogs. Aggressive behavior was defined (a) using mean scores for all questions on the C-BARQ for aggressive behavior (range 0–4) and (b) comparing dogs with no aggressive behavior (all questions answered 0) to dogs with moderate or severe aggression (at least one score of 2, 3, or 4). Data for intact dogs were compared with those for dogs gonadectomized at 6 months or less, 7–12 months, 11–18 months, and >18 months. Neither gonadectomy nor age at gonadectomy showed an association with aggression toward familiar people or dogs. However, there was a low but significant increase in the odds of moderate or severe aggression toward strangers for all gonadectomized dogs compared with intact dogs, but this effect was driven entirely by data for dogs gonadectomized at 7–12 months of age, which were 26% more likely to demonstrate aggression toward strangers. This large, comprehensive study of the relationships between gonadectomy and aggressive behavior in dogs demonstrates that when the many factors affecting aggressive behavior are considered, there is no evidence that gonadectomy at any age alters aggressive behavior toward familiar people or dogs, and there is only a minimal increase in aggression toward strangers. Given the increasing evidence of significant negative health effects of gonadectomy, there is an urgent need to systematically examine other means of preventing unwanted procreation, such as vasectomy and hysterectomy.

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Incidence and impact of dog attacks on guide dogs in the UK: an update

Cited by 14 publications

References 22 publications

Interference With the Work of Dog Guides in Public: A Survey

Interference With the Work of Dog Guides in Public: A Survey

An evidence-based decision assistance model for predicting training outcome in juvenile guide dogs

Aggression toward Familiar People, Strangers, and Conspecifics in Gonadectomized and Intact Dogs

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