19 Jun Breed Hysteria in Media Compromises Public Knowledge of Dog Bite Hazards

The current media and government frenzy over pit bulls can be observed all over the Internet, television and in other news sources. Legislative measures have resulted from the popular perception that pit bulls are more dangerous than other dogs. In Maricopa County Arizona 750 pit bulls were scheduled to be put to death in May. Breed hysteria has struck before. In the 1970s, Doberman pincers were regarded as the most dangerous dog. In the 1980s, it was German shepherds. In the 1990s, it was Rottweilers. The fact remains that, without the proper training and discipline, any dog can be dangerous. Avoiding dog bites is oftentimes something that requires you to take a look at the owner more than the breed of dog.

Bad Owners

Advocates for pit bulls and other breeds emphasize that properly training dogs and properly caring for them is the best way to avoid situations where the dog ends up biting someone. Sometimes, you can tell a lot more about a dog by taking a look at how its owner treats it than by looking at the breed. In fact, if you're getting your information from the media about breeds of dogs, you probably have a lot of misconceptions. For example, pit bulls do not have the highest bite strength of any dog, German shepherds do.

Watch out for dogs that are neglected, abused, that look like they haven't been given proper veterinary care and that don't have proper licensing on their tags. This is a sign that the owner may neglect them and that the dog may not have been properly socialized. Be wary of stray dogs. They may have gone stray because they simply slipped out of their yard or they may have been abandoned because they were more than their owner could deal with. People do this every day and, though it's not fair to the dogs, they usually get away with it.

Educate children about dogs. Tell your children how to safely approach dogs, when it's appropriate to approach them at all and when it's not and about the warning signs that dogs give when they do not want to be approached. A little bit of knowledge can go a long way toward preventing dog bites. Remember: any breed of dog can be dangerous if it's treated cruelly.

Dog owners are responsible when their dog bites somebody. Dog bite victims sometimes end up filing lawsuits to recover compensation for their physical, medical and psychological damages from a bad dog bite incident.