Dog Bites and Children's Faces
The following was excerpted from the Harvard Medical School Health Letter:

"A relatively serious and unsolved public health problem is the high frequency with which dogs bite the faces of people, especially children. If results from a careful study conducted in Wisconsin hold true for the United States as a whole, there are some 44,000 facial injuries a year from dog bites, and of these 16,000 are severe. Almost all of the worst, and potentially disfiguring, injuries affect children under the age of 10. Treatment is made especially difficult by the fact that dog bites tend to tear delicate facial structures, such as eyelids and lips.

Although very little is known about the circumstances that lead to biting, some educated guesses can be made. Most bites appear to be inflicted by pets in familiar surroundings, and fewer than 6% are brought on by teasing or abuse. Many dogs normally bite each other around the head and mouth as part of aggressive play, and it may be that such dogs approach children in the same spirit, not reacting defensively and not 'intending' to injure their victims. An innocent gesture of the child's may simply be misinterpreted by the dog as an invitation to bite.

The most obvious protective measures - reminding

Child Bitten Without Provocation by the Family Pet

children to keep their faces away from dogs and keeping close watch on toddlers - are probably also the least effective, as Trudy Karlson, author of the Wisconsin study, observes. More stringent leash laws are also generally beside the point, as half of all facial bites to children under 4 are inflicted by their own pets, and 90% of the children in this age group are bitten while at home. Probably the most useful step would be for families with young children to avoid keeping large, aggressive dogs as household pets. Unfortunately, little is known as to which breeds are apt to engage in facial biting. Some evidence indicates that working and sporting breeds pose the greatest risk, as do young dogs (males more than females). German shepherds, malamutes, and huskies seem to be high-risk breeds, whereas hounds may have less inclination to bite than other breeds. Regardless of breed, dogs should never be left alone with a small child, even when the child seems to be protected by a playpen or crib (Journal of the American Medical Association, June 22/29, 1984)."

Please read the letter sent to Dr. Meisterfeld by Dr. Rathbun about his personal and professional experiences with dog bites.

"Who is affected?

Dogs can make great pets. Many people who have dogs think of them as part of the family. But dogs can also bite, and dog bites can cause serious injury and even death. During 1995 and 1996 in the United States at least 25 persons died as a result of dog attacks. 20 of these deaths were among children.

In 1994 an estimated 4.7 million persons in the United States were bitten by dogs. Of these, roughly 800,000 sought medical care for the dog bite. Over half (420,000) of those getting medical care were children.

Children are often bitten on the face and any bite can cause severe injury or infection. Children's small size may cause a dog to act in a dominant way toward a child. * Many children lack a judgment and ignorance about how to behave around a dog and their inability to fend off an attack can add to the risk. It is very important that parents closely supervise children when around dogs."

* This is especially true when dominant training is used on the dog. Please read Dr. Meisterfeld's article "Warning! Warning! Warning! Double Edged Sword: Vicious Dogs, Violent Children."