FAMILY MEDICINE® COLUMN
By John C. Wolf, D.O.
Associate Professor of Family Medicine®
Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine

CHILDREN AND DOGS: LOVE, KISSES AND BITES

Question: My neighbors' 5-year-old son was bitten by their puppy the other day. Fortunately, his injury wasn't serious, but it did remind me of the time I was bitten and required stitches. How common are dog bites?

Answer: About 36 percent of American households own dogs, making the nation's total dog population about 53.5 million. That's a lot of dogs! From this large number there are about 585,000 bites that are serious enough to require medical attention each year, including about 20 deaths. These numbers indicate that about one out of each 100 dogs will bite someone each year. That isn't a terrible risk, but it does highlight the need to approach dogs with caution. And I think that these statistics only indicate the most severe bites since many and probably most bites are never reported.

Dogs bite children more frequently than they bite adults. A survey of Pennsylvania school children showed that 46 percent of high school seniors had been bitten by a dog sometime in their lives, but only 17 percent had obtained medical attention. And boys are bitten more frequently than girls. So, your neighbor's experience certainly fits the norms.

Question: Are there easy ways to predict if a dog will bite?

Answer: There is no foolproof method to predict which dogs will bite. In fact, I think it is safe to assume that all dogs will bite if the circumstances provide the proper motivation. While some dogs take considerably less provocation to make them bite than others, I can give you some general tips that may help reduce the risk of dog bite.

First, it's a good idea to keep a close watch when children and dogs play together. Children are more prone to be bitten because they spend more time with pets and engage in rough play often wrestling with a well-loved dog as though it was another child. For the record, 50 percent of dog bites occur in playgrounds or other public places like streets or alleys, and another 43 percent of them are in the dog owner's yard or house.

Second, keep in mind that chained or tied up dogs are more likely to bite than those that are just loose in the home or yard. This is especially true if the dog is snarling and lunging against a chain. A good preventive measure is to give all dogs on a chain a wide berth.

One of the best predictors of biting behavior is the breed of dog. German shepherds and shepherd mixed breeds are two to five times more likely to bite than any other breed. They cause about 20 percent of all reported bites. Chow Chows are next in line. The often feared Doberman Pinscher accounts for less than 4 percent of bites. And, Chihuahuas, Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, Poodles, Scottish Terriers and Shetland Sheep dogs each account for only about 1 percent of recorded bites.

Dogs that are 5 years old or older are more likely to bite than are younger dogs, and male dogs are more likely to bite than neutered or female ones.

Finally, let's talk about treatment. A dog's mouth is full of germs both bacteria and viruses that can make humans ill. The most feared infection is rabies even though it is no longer very common in dogs. The specter of rabies is quite scary because once a person has developed the symptoms of the illness, it always leads to death. Fortunately, there is time to start effective treatment after a dog bite but before symptoms develop. Therefore, it is quite important to confine the dog until its rabies shot history can be documented and a family physician or public health official can advise the bite victim if rabies shots are necessary. I should add that this once painful series of injections in the stomach is now reduced to five easily tolerated shots usually in the arm over a period of about a month.

Large bites may require stitches to close the wound while smaller ones may just require vigorous cleaning and a bandage. All will benefit from a few days of antibiotic treatment. It is also important to be sure that the bitten person has had a tetanus shot within the last 10 years.

Family Medicine® is a weekly column. To submit questions, write to John C. Wolf, D.O., Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Grosvenor Hall, Athens, Ohio 45701.