Threat of Dog Attack is Real

Dog Bite Injury Statistics

California, Los Angeles, and Orange County animal bites attorneys report that according to the CDC dog bite injury statistics, someone in the United States must get medical attention for a dog bite every 40 seconds. California dog bite laws often come into play.
It is known that at least 800,000 individual are bitten by a dog or pet every year in the U.S. If you aren't interested in thwarting dog attacks you will probably be injured. Most of these dog bites need immediate medical care and emergency treatment. Most of the bite victims are children, and the majority of them them are mauled or bitten on their faces. Almost $165 million is spent treating dog bites. 70% of dog bites occur on the animal owner's property.

Dog bites result in approximately 44,000 facial injuries each year. This represents between 0.5% and 1.5% of all hospital emergency room visits. Male patients outnumber females only slightly. Unfortunately, children are 60% of all dog bite victims. In children less than 10 years of age, severe injuries occur almost exclusively. The most frequent target is the face(77% of all injures). 97% of attacks to mail carriers happen to lower extremities like the legs or feet. Each spring brings a new crop of horrible injuries. The average stay of severely injured patients is 4.2 days. 18 deaths a year are caused by dog bites.

Types of Dog Attack Personal Injuries

Dog bites usually result in cuts and lacerations, abrasions, crushing wounds, degloving, punctures, broken bones, crushed eye sockets, crushed skulls and even serious brain injuries.

These types of wounds often result in permanent scars. Among the areas of the face targeted include the lips, nose, chin, and cheeks. As dog ownership increases, so do the number of dog attacks and maulings. Most owners are unaware of how to properly care for larger and more aggressive breeds of dogs and many do not want to know. Several owners keep larger breeds for the “gangster” stigma attached to breed and keep them as a status symbol

Most of the bite incidents involve pets and occur in places where folks have gathered socially. Generally, 61% of the time, the attack occurs close to the dog’s home or where the victim lives. Most often, the victim is bitten by a “friendly” dog known to him or her. No one can accurately predict what provokes a friendly dog to attack. Sometimes, the dog is in pain, sick, panicked, threatened, frightened, or any number of other factors. Small children will be the ones to unknowingly provoke a dog to attack. That is why parents and dog owners should never leave children unattended around dogs of any breed or size.

Dogs of the sporting breeds are more likely to attack rather than hounds. Immature, untrained puppies are more likely to inflict injury than adult dogs.

As mentioned above, there are social “gangster” trends towards keeping and aggressively training dangerous breeds by inexperienced and immature owners. “Guard Dogs” are aggressively trained to protect property and premises. Any dog can bite, some are bred and trained to be aggressive, like:

• Rotweilers
• German Shepherds
• American Staffordshire Terriers
• Huskies
• Dobermans
• Akitas
• Chows
• Pit Bulls

As the population of large dog breeds has increased, so has the severity of bite injuries. 44% of all bite incidents were attributed to German shepherds, but only 22% of all licensed breeds. Less than 20% of dog attacks involved smaller “toy” breeds while they were 40% of the licensed breeds. Bull terriers are the most common cause of bite attacks of children in urban areas. 94% of the time, the attacks are unprovoked and the animal is found to be roaming neighborhoods freely, unsupervised.Any dog can and will bite. As stated above, there are several factors at play in each attack. Some breeds have been bred for their aggressive tendencies. Early socialization of the animal will help in lowering the dog’s tendency to bite or attack unprovoked. As is often said, “There are no bad dogs, just bad owners.” Mistreated, abused, malnourished dogs will always be more likely to bite than dogs well cared for.

Dangerous Zones to Avoid With Dogs

If you invade what the dog perceives to be “its territory,” or you threaten its family or make it jealous, you are creating a dangerous zone between you and the dog. Avoid these situations when you are aware there is a dog that is potentially vicious.

You should try to avoid:

• If they are lying quietly avoid approaching or bending over dogs
• Immediately after entering their territory, avoid approaching the dog
• Don’t tease or wake a sleeping dog
• Avoid playing with a dog to overexcitement or annoyance

Never Do The Following:

• Allow your dog to roam the streets or go unleashed


• Go up to a strange dog without speaking with the owner


• Tease a dog


• Startle a dog


• Disturb a dog caring for puppies


• Leave a small child unattended around a dog of any breed


• Ignore aggressive behavior warning signals


• Forget to keep up with all vaccinations


• Hold your face close to a dog


• Eat from a dog food dish to be funny while dog is eating

Important To Remember:

• A threatened dog will attack
• Don’t run from or scream at a dog
• Don’t stare a dog right in the eye; it will take that as a threat
• If approached by an unfamiliar dog, do not try to pet or be familiar with it
• If a large dog knocks you over, go into the fetal position and stay still!