Many people consider dogs to be part of their family, while others find them dangerous. There are many dog breeds, some considered to be dangerous, while some are considered safe. For example, pit bulls are considered responsible for more than 60% of the reported dog bites in the country.
In a country where, about 90 million dogs are owned as pets, some people are still concerned about dogs. People can’t be blamed for acting in such a way as about 50 deaths per year are registered solely because of dog bites and about 5 million dog attacks are registered annually.
Looking into other stats, more than 70% dog attacks occured against family members or friends and according to a 2017 survey, about 500 lawsuits were filed solely for dog bites.
Why Dogs Bite?
Dogs may bite for several reasons. Some of them are
- They may become stressful in many situations such as transferring them to a new location, firework shows, transporting them in a crate, a car accident, storms and more.
- Dogs may feel threatened when they are backed into a corner, chased or advanced upon by an individual.
- When trying to protect their owner form invaders or threats, dogs may cause injuries to individuals.
- Dogs attack individuals who try to cause harm to their property.
- Lack of training may cause serious injuries as the dog may not know how to control serious bites.
Avoiding Dog Bites
Stressed or angry dogs will bark, snap, assume a low posture, growl or feint with attacks. Let’s look at some of the ways to avoid dog bites
- Don’t approach an unknown dog, especially when you are on a private property.
- Make sure to socialize your dogs with other people from their young age to reduce anxiety.
- Don’t put your dog in stressful situations
- Walk away if a dog is about to bite you
- Before you make a contact allow the dog to sniff you
- You can neuter your dog to reduce aggression
Dog Bite Injuries
Dog bites usually don’t require medical treatment, but sometimes these bites lead to serious injuries. It can include serious injuries such as blood loss, severed limbs, scarring, infection, paralysis, loss of mobility, broken bones, puncture wounds, nerve damage, crushing injuries, permanent disfigurement, lacerations and open wounds, fractures, muscle damage and internal organ damage.
Dog bite injury lawyers help clients to claim the right settlement for the injuries caused due to dog bites.
