Preventing Dog Bites: It Is Not Only about the Dog

Abstract

Background: Dog bites can have an array of negative health impacts on victims. Research focusing on the correlates of bites focused on limited sets of variables and produced conflicting findings. Objective: To expand knowledge about the correlates of dog bites by exploring a comprehensive set of variables related to the nature of the dog and the circumstances surrounding the bite not commonly explored in extant research. Methods: Data were drawn from police department reports of dog bites in the city of Detroit between 2007–2015; 478 dog bites were reported. Multiple regression was used to determine the significant correlates of dog bites, focusing on the nature of the dog and the circumstances surrounding the bite. Results: Bites were caused by a neighborhood dog. Thirty-two percent of the reports involved dogs running loose; 25% dogs that had escaped from a fenced or unfenced yard; 9% escaped from their home; and 8% had broken off a chain, were being walked, or were in their own home. Based on multiple regression, the victim was most likely bitten in their own yard by a single neighborhood dog that escaped from its home or yard. Breed of dog was not correlated with bites in multiple regression. Conclusions: The greatest risk of bites does not come from wandering feral dogs. Based on multiple regression, the victim was most likely bitten in their own yard by a single neighborhood dog that escaped from its home or yard. Human error often contributes to bites.

Management of mammalian bites

“…Injury prevention practices and public policy can reduce bite incidents. Never leave children unattended with dogs, and muzzle or leash dogs in public and adopt stress-reducing protocols when handling animals 6162. Prevention strategies tailored to the home environment are important, as most bites occur there 5.…”

Ecological impacts of poultry waste on urban raptors: conflicts, diseases, and climate change implications amidst pandemic threats

“…Existing interventions aimed at mitigating the implications of waste-mediated humananimal interfaces in shared spaces have proven inadequate. For instance, these interventions include selective neutering/translocation of stray dogs (Jackman & Rowan, 2007;Reese, 2005), managing monkey troops (Ganguly et al, 2018), implementing effective vaccination strategies against potential zoonotic diseases, culling of poultry and swine to prevent zoonotic influenza (Barua, 2020), and rehabilitating slums (Dupont & Gowda, 2020), and decommissioning landfills and abattoirs . However, these approaches have not effectively addressed the ecological and behavioural relationships associated with waste and other forms of human food subsidies that enable certain animals to thrive in urban environments (S. Kumar et al, 2017;Schell et al, 2020;B.…”

Modelling the Impact of Culling Stray Dogs on the Probability of Rabies Elimination

“…There are different interventions in place to minimize the transmission of rabies, such as dog vaccination, public health education and shooting of stray dogs. In many developing countries, there are a lot of stray/roaming dogs whose vaccination records cannot be tracked [15]. The owners of stray dogs cannot be traced since dog registration is not compulsory in many developing countries [16].…”