Companion Animal Welfare

Dog Bite Prevention and Child Safety

Dog bite prevention education reduces human injury and the welfare consequences for dogs including relinquishment or euthanasia following biting incidents.

Key Facts

Approximately 4.5 million dog bites occur annually in the United States
Children are the most common victims of serious dog bites
Most dog bites are from familiar dogs in familiar settings not from stranger encounters
Body language misreading by children and adults contributes to many bite incidents
Dogs that bite are frequently surrendered, impounded or euthanised as a result

Welfare Considerations

Dog bite prevention is a dual welfare issue: protecting children from injury and protecting dogs from the welfare consequences of biting incidents. Education in dog body language, supervision of child-dog interactions and responsible dog ownership reduces both human and dog welfare harm.

What You Can Do

Learn to recognise dog stress signals including yawning, lip licking and whale eye
Supervise all child-dog interactions and teach children to ask before petting
Support dog bite prevention programmes in schools and community groups