Why are children always the ones who get hurt when dogs are not on leashes?

Not long ago, a very infuriating and distressing incident occurred. In Chongzhou, which is under the jurisdiction of Chengdu, Sichuan, a two-year-old girl went out with her mother and was seriously injured by a fat and strong black Rottweiler. The poor little girl suffered more than 20 injuries all over her body, and her ribs and kidneys were also seriously damaged.

Source: Video screenshot

Criminal coercive measures have now been taken against the dog's owner, and he will be facing huge compensation and severe punishment from the law, but the little girl's physical and mental health has already suffered great trauma, which can never be compensated.

Why did this tragedy happen and how can we avoid it? Let’s discuss it today.

Why can vicious dogs cause serious harm?

Large dogs are indeed very lethal, because their bite force is quite strong. Someone has done a test and found that the bite force of dogs, calculated by pressure, ranges from 310 to 31790 kPa, with the maximum value being approximately equivalent to 300 atmospheres. The "murderer" this time is a Rottweiler, which has the highest bite force of this breed. We humans have only about half the bite force of a Rottweiler, but we can use our teeth to open a bottle cap or crack a nut (please don't really do this, it will damage your teeth), which shows how powerful a dog's mouth is.

Dog teeth. Image source: pixabay.com

Moreover, when a dog bites someone, it is not as simple as two flat plates squeezing the person's limbs or body parts in the middle. We know that there is an idiom called "a dog's teeth interlocked", which means that the dog's teeth are uneven. Of course, the wound caused by such teeth will not be as neat as a knife cut. Moreover, the dog does not just bite and stop. After biting the target, it will also "shake its head" fiercely. If you watch the video of the police dog training, it is easy to understand that the so-called "biting" means this - biting and tearing at the same time. Moreover, fierce dogs with strong biting power are often strong, with big heads and thick necks, so they bite particularly hard, and the damage is naturally greater. Finally, if the dog is really anxious, will it only bite once?

All these factors will lead to very complicated wounds caused by dog ​​bites, accompanied by punctures, lacerations, soft tissue damage, etc., and may also injure nerves, blood vessels, tendons, ligaments, bones and even internal organs (such as in this incident), so careful wound detection and debridement are required. Severe bites will not only make treatment very difficult, but also often cause victims to suffer severe pain and panic. Especially for children, such an experience is very, very scary.

In addition, dog bites may put victims at risk of diseases such as rabies and tetanus. In addition, the bite wounds are irregular and often leave scars, which affects their appearance.

When vicious dogs attack people, why are children always the most seriously injured?

We often see news reports about dog bites, and the majority of seriously injured victims are children. There are several main reasons for this:

First of all, children are too young, they cannot run, and they do not have enough strength. When facing vicious dogs, they are easily frightened and at a loss, and find it difficult to protect themselves.
The second is the physique. For an average adult, they have to look down at most dogs, but children are small, so they have to look straight or even up at bigger dogs . Children are short and lack deterrence, which can make vicious dogs more unscrupulous.

Taking this incident as an example, the shoulder height of an adult male Rottweiler (not including the size of the dog's head) can reach about 69 cm, and the weight can reach 60 kg. However, a 2-year-old girl, even if she is "extremely tall and strong", is less than 1 meter tall and weighs no more than 15 kg. If the former attacks the latter, the consequences can be imagined to be serious.

This height difference means that when dogs bite adults, they are more likely to injure the limbs and body, but children are often injured on the head and face - which are easier for dogs to attack... According to the "Chinese Expert Consensus on Emergency Treatment of Dog Bite Injuries 2019", when children under the age of 4 are bitten by dogs, 2/3 of the injuries are on the head, face, and neck, and the perineum is also often attacked.

Some serious cases. Image source: Internet

There are also some children who are playing happily with a dog they know and suddenly get bitten. This is often because children do not realize the dangers of dogs and do not understand the habits of dogs very well. They tend to get too close to the dogs, move suddenly, and often shout loudly, which may disturb the dogs.

Is my dog ​​guaranteed not to bite people ? No one can guarantee that!

I also like dogs, but I particularly hate dog owners who walk their dogs without a leash. On the one hand, they directly threaten the safety of others, and on the other hand, they also make civilized dog owners implicated and looked down upon. They often make two excuses, "Don't be afraid, the xxx dog I raise doesn't bite people" and "It's okay, our dog is very well behaved and doesn't bite people."

Are these two statements scientific? Of course not. Let's talk about it next.

The Labrador in question. Source: Internet

In this incident, a "spectator" also showed up - a white Labrador was watching nearby. After being taken away for evidence and checking the surveillance video, it was found that the dog had not done anything bad, so it was released. Many netizens think that Labradors are honest and will not bite people - is this really the case?

Let’s first look at a bloody statistical chart.

Image source: www.dogsbite.org

The data in the figure comes from dog bites and fatalities in the United States from 2005 to 2017. The statistics are the types of vicious dogs that kill people. We can see that the pit bull ranks first, taking 284 lives, and the second is the Rottweiler that bit the little girl this time.

So it seems that dog breeds are closely related to aggression? There is indeed some relationship between the two. After all, some dog breeds were originally bred to fight and protect their owners. But don't forget, this is a fatality statistic! So those small and medium-sized dogs certainly can't appear on this list - they are all out of control biting people. How can a Chihuahua bite and a Rottweiler bite be the same? !

Therefore, if we include bites, we will find that there are many types of dogs that bite people. In addition to those on the fatal list, breeds that are generally recognized to have good tempers, such as Golden Retriever, Labrador, Border Collie, etc. are also on the list. These breeds of dogs have relatively mild tempers, but there are so many of them that it is inevitable that a few will bite people. In addition, there are some "mixed breeds" whose breeds cannot be determined.

So, we can indeed say that certain breeds of dogs are more likely to hurt people, but we can't easily guarantee that there is any type of dog that will definitely not bite people.

As for the saying "my dog ​​doesn't bite people", it is just a psychological comfort. To make an inappropriate analogy, dog lovers say that dogs are "furry children", but even well-behaved children will fight with people when they are provoked, let alone dogs? Being frightened by sudden noises or movements, having food taken away by people, being "angry" because of being bullied by other dogs, etc., may cause a dog to turn hostile and bite people on the spot.

So don’t use these excuses for not putting a leash on your dog, it’s boring!

Can we still have dogs?

This incident has also led some friends to go to the other extreme, thinking that all dogs are dangerous and that they cannot stand people who keep dogs. This is unnecessary. After all, dogs are one of the most important companion animals and bring countless comforts to people. Friends who keep dogs in a civilized manner should not be discriminated against or criticized for keeping dogs. However, dog owners must also take responsibility. Next, let's briefly talk about the things you need to pay attention to when raising dogs.

1Choose varieties carefully

As mentioned above, there is no dog that will never bite, but some breeds are more dangerous. For example, those large, aggressive, and require extensive training experience and a wide range of activities are not suitable for living in densely populated communities. Not only will they easily make neighbors nervous, but once out of control, they can easily hurt people. Moreover, even if a small dog goes crazy, the owner can usually easily hold it back, but these tall and strong dogs, even if tied with a leash, are difficult for the owner to hold back when they go crazy , not to mention that some irresponsible owners neglect to supervise the big dogs and let them wander around the community.

The owner pulled the dog hard. Image source: pixabay.com

Therefore, don’t get a big dog on a whim. In the end, you may find that you can’t control it, and you are afraid of the criminal responsibility and compensation for hurting people. In the end, you can only hastily dispose of it, which will be heartbreaking and costly. Moreover, many of these dog breeds are banned in cities, and you will face punishment if you keep them. As for those friends who keep a big dog for the sake of "security", their feelings are understandable, but it is indeed not appropriate to build their "sense of security" on the "insecurity" of their neighbors...

2. Strengthen training

It is really ironic that we call dogs "furry kids" but do not discipline them properly. Responsible dog owners should learn about the physiology and behavior of dogs, understand the way dogs think, and accompany and train them well. With the development of the companion animal industry, if a dog behaves unfriendly and the owner does not correct it, they can even find a professional trainer to help correct it. In fact, most dogs can become obedient and friendly through proper training, including the pit bulls and Rottweilers mentioned above , but unfortunately, those who dare to get a large, fierce, banned dog to raise on a whim often cannot do this.

3. Protect children

It is a basic etiquette for owners to bring a dog leash when going out and clean up the dog's poop immediately. I won't go into details. Now let's focus on the safety of children. Dogs are indeed a dangerous factor for children, so we must strengthen safety awareness and not let young children be alone with big dogs.

Image source: Internet

Of course, this situation is very extreme, and we don't have to dislike dogs for it, but even dogs that are very friendly to people may accidentally hurt children . For example, a golden retriever or Labrador that has grown to a large size may knock a child to the ground with a light pounce when playing. Some children do not know how to rub dogs, and dogs may resist if they feel uncomfortable. In fact, many children who are bitten by dogs are "familiar dogs" who are familiar with them, not wild dogs outside... Therefore, when dogs and children are together, the owner must strengthen supervision.

Do we need to kill all stray dogs?

Finally, let me briefly talk about stray dogs. Some friends hope to kill all stray dogs. This feeling is understandable. After all, there are still frequent reports of rabies cases in many places in China. And even if they don’t have rabies, stray dogs wandering around the streets really make people worry about being bitten.

An Indian child was besieged by stray dogs on the street. Image source: Internet

In some areas, stray dogs can endanger local wildlife. A more extreme example is when the Tibetan mastiff myth was shattered, many mastiff owners on the plateau could no longer continue and simply “released the dogs back to the mountains.” As a result, groups of mastiffs could even chase brown bears and snow leopards all over the mountains, seriously threatening their survival. From these perspectives, stray dogs will sooner or later become a hidden danger to society, and we really should control stray dogs.

But please do not buy any toxic substances privately to poison dogs . This may hurt innocent pet dogs or other animals, or even be accidentally ingested by ignorant children, causing danger, and you will need to bear legal responsibility.

In order to better solve the problem of stray dogs, the most important thing is that dog owners must think carefully before raising dogs to reduce abandonment. In addition, they must also do a good job of sterilization, increase adoptions, and emphasize adoption instead of buying.

Finally, in the rescue of stray animals, there is one thing that people are very reluctant to mention, but have to do, that is euthanasia. In many countries, stray animals will be captured and concentrated in shelters. If no one adopts them within a certain period of time, they will be euthanized. Only in this way can a better control effect be achieved. According to statistics from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), currently about 920,000 stray animals entering shelters in the United States are euthanized each year (including 390,000 dogs). This is very unbearable, but the heavy three words make people speechless - who will take care of them?

If we have to say something, it is the careless dog owners who raise dogs and easily abandon them who cause such tragedies. Euthanasia for stray animals that no one adopts is just helping those irresponsible owners clean up the mess while being abused .

Finally, to sum up, friends who keep dogs should understand that many people are more or less afraid of dogs. What we can do is to discipline our dogs, keep dogs legally and walk them in a civilized manner, so that we can enjoy the happy time with dogs at ease. As for those who always say "I can't control the dog" and "The dog on the leash is so pitiful and has no freedom at all", please remember: "It is people who raise dogs, not dogs that raise people. If you raise a dog, it must be disciplined."

References

[1] SagermanPJ. Words[J]. Pediatr Rev, 2005, 26(2): 43-49.

[2] Emergency Physicians Branch of Chinese Medical Doctor Association, Beijing Emergency Medicine Society, Emergency Surgery Committee of Emergency Physicians Branch of Chinese Medical Doctor Association. Consensus of Chinese emergency experts on the treatment of dog bites (2019)[J]. Chinese Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2019, 28(9):1071-1077. DOI:10.3760/cma.j.issn.1671-0282.2019.09.003.

[3] Level I Trauma Center Studies - Nonfatal Dog Bite Injuries (2011-2022) - DogsBite.org

[4] https://www.dogsbite.org/dog-bite-statistics-studies-level-1-trauma-table-2011-present.phpU.S. Dog Bite Fatalities: Breeds of Dogs Involved, Age Groups and Other Factors Over a 13-Year Period (2005 to 2017)

[5] https://www.dogsbite.org/dog-bite-statistics-multi-year-fatality-report-2005-2017.php

[6] “Height and weight percentile curve for Chinese girls aged 0-3 years old”

[7] Zangari A, Cerigioni E, Nino F, Guidi R, Gulia C, Piergentili R, Ilari M, Mazzoni N, Cobellis G. Dog bite injuries in a tertiary care children's hospital: A seven-year review. Pediatr Int. 2021 May;63(5):575-580. doi: 10.1111/ped.14484. Epub 2021 Apr 20. PMID: 32979010.

Planning and production

Author: Dingzhong Popular Science Writer

Reviewer: Huang Chengming, Researcher at the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

丨Wang Qian, Chief Physician of the Emergency Department, the Third Medical Center, PLA General Hospital

Planning丨Ding Zong

Editor: Ding Zong