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Breeds and Behaviorby Janis Bradley reprinted from The Bark (April/May 2011)

 

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The Relevance of Breed in Selecting a Companion Dog

Janis Bradley, author of Dogs Bite, but Balloons and Slippers are More Dangerous and Dog Bites: Problems and Solutions and founding faculty member and instructor for ten years at the San Francisco SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers, explores the relevance of breed in selecting a companion dog.

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Leo, rescued from Michael Vick's Bad Newz Kennels in Virginia, is now a therapy dog, visiting hospitals and helping to rehabilitate juvenile offenders.

 

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From Thomas Jefferson's Foxhounds to Michael Vick's abused dogs, some Virginia dogs have gained national attention due to the actions of their famous or infamous owners.

 

Above and beyond their place as family companions and in traditional service occupations, dogs in Virginia serve in an ever-widening spectrum of therapeutic roles. The physical and emotional benefits to humans that come from relationships with dogs are now recognized and utilized by psychiatric facilities, assisted living centers, hospitals, schools and even prisons.

 

Today, dogs contribute more to the welfare of individuals and society than perhaps any other time in the history of the human-dog bond. Additionally, over the past three decades, increased awareness of the importance of humane care and control of dogs, the enactment and enforcement of leash laws, and dog bite prevention education, have all been instrumental in drastically lowering the number of reported dog-related injuries in Virginia and throughout the nation.

 

 

National Canine Research Council

What is a dog bite?


While the question seems simple enough,  the answer is often not what we imagine.


Dog bite numbers offer little useful information about canine behavior.  Dog bite numbers are simply a tally of the number of people who sought medical treatment and/or reported a break in skin after exposure to a dog’s nail or tooth–or in other words,  the number of persons that have been injured interacting with a dog. The interaction may or may not have involved aggression.


So, if dog bite numbers offer little useful information about canine aggression, then what can Virginia dog bite numbers really tell us about canine / human interaction?

First, they reveal that there is no “dog bite epidemic” in Virginia, and that all types of dog-related injuries in the state have dramatically decreased over the past 3 decades.


Increased awareness of the importance of humane care and control of dogs, the enactment and enforcement of leash laws, and dog bite prevention education, have all been instrumental in significantly lowering the number of reported dog-related injuries in Virginia.


In 2007, the Virginia Department of Health reported that 4,346 dog-bite related injuries were attended in emergency departments and urgent care centers across the state.  This number does not include reported dog bites that were not medically treated. Less than 3%  (n=125) of these injuries were serious enough to require hospitalization.

Source:  Virginia Department of Health      va-bite-report-2007


Despite significant increases in the human and dog population, cities and counties in Virginia have realized significant decreases in the number of reported dog bites from the early 1970s:



Source:  "Dog Bites in Norfolk, Virginia,"  Public Health Reports, Morton, C.  June 1973, Vol. 88, No. 1,  and Virginia State Department of Public Health

 



Source: Fairfax Animal Control and Virginia State Department of Public Health

 

 

National Canine Research Council

Over the past 45 years (1965 - present) there have been fourteen (14) dog bite-related fatalities in Virginia, an average of one (1) fatality every 3+ years.
NCRC's 2011 Preliminary Report on Dog Bite-Related Fatalities illustrates the challenge of accurately reporting on these extremely rare, tragic events. Our mission of preserving the human-canine bond obligates us to be as accurate about these emotionally charged incidents as we can, so that they are calmly, correctly and, therefore, usefully understood. Accuracy takes time.

At least six (6) different breeds/types of dogs have been reported to be involved in these incidents.*

The victims were 6 adults and 8 children.

More than half the children (n=5) were killed by dogs maintained on chains.

In 2000, a 6-year-old Cumberland boy was killed by a chained wolf dog. The boy had gone out to feed the animal and found its chain entangled in a cow fence. Unfortunately, as he attempted to free the distressed animal, it attacked him.

Two other cases involved dog owners and/or parents whose extreme negligence resulted in manslaughter convictions:

In 2005, D. Large of Spotsylvania was sentenced to 3 years in prison after her loose roaming dogs killed her elderly neighbor, Dorothy Sullivan.

Also in 2005, J. Martin and H. Frango of Suffolk were convicted of involuntary manslaughter and child abuse/neglect, after their 2-year-old son was attacked and killed by their two dogs. Both parents were sentenced to 3 years in prison. The dog was one of two mixed breed dogs involved in the attack. She was usually chained outside the residence, but was in the basement on the day of the attack because she had given birth to a litter of puppies. The media labeled her a "pit bull."

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In 2005, a 4-year-old Orange County boy wandered out into the backyard where a chained dog resided. The dog, an intact male, identified as a "Rottweiler" in a number of media sources, attacked and killed the boy.

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In 2009, 23-month-old Jasmine Deane wandered out into her backyard where a chained dog was kept. The family owned the dog for 10 years. During the past 10 years the dog resided in the basement during cold weather or was chained in the yard the rest of the year. (Orange County)
For information on this case and other dog bite-related fatalities that occurred in 2009, please see 2009 NCRC Final Report on Dog Bite-Related Fatalities.
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*Note: In recent years, scientists have established that visual identification of dogs of unknown origin is extremely unreliable; therefore, while we can be sure these listed incidents involved varied types of dogs, we cannot be certain of the accuracy of most breed identifications.

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In spite of the reckless, dangerous and abusive ownership practices of some dog owners, dogs still pose an incredibly low risk for causing a fatality in Virginia:

Virginia: Recognized Risks Year 2007
Tobacco-related fatalities: 9,200
Total (alcohol & non) traffic deaths: 1,027
Alcohol-related traffic fatalities: 303
ATV-related fatalities: 20
Persons drowned in swimming pools: 13
Bicycle-related fatalities 10
Death after contact w/bees, hornets, wasps: 2
Persons killed by dogs: 1

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:

In 2007, 31 Virginia children died as result of maltreatment (abuse, neglect).
In the single year 2007, more than three times as many Virginia children died from maltreatment than the total of all children killed by dogs in the state over the past 45 years.
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Fact is, people in Virginia routinely accept far greater risks from ATVs bicycles and swimming pools than any that are associated with companion animals.
National Canine Research Council