What is a dog bite?

While the question seems simple enough, the answer is not always what we imagine.

Dog bite numbers offer little useful information about canine behavior. Dog bite numbers are simply a tally of the number of people who sought medical treatment and/or reported a break in skin after exposure to a dog's nail or tooth--or in other words, the number of persons that have been injured interacting with a dog; (which may or may not have involved aggression).

So if dog bite numbers convey little useful information about canine aggression, then what can Colorado dog bite numbers really tell us about canine / human interaction?

Dog bite numbers reveal that there is no "dog bite epidemic" in Colorado, and that all types of dog-related injuries in the state have dramatically decreased in the past 3 decades.

Increased awareness of the importance of humane care and control of dogs, the enactment and enforcement of leash laws, and dog bite prevention education, have all been instrumental in drastically lowering the number of reported dog-related injuries nationwide.

Despite increases in the human and dog population, cities and counties in Colorado have realized extraordinary decreases in the number of reported dog bites from the early 1970s:

**It should be noted that the reduction in the reported number of dog bites in Denver is independent of its pit bull ban, as the greatest decrease in reported dog bites in the city occurred prior to the ban.**

See also:  

Denver's breed ban has not reduced the frequency or severity of dog attacks in the city.

Click on the "Denver Hospitalization Rates" tab at the top of this webpage to learn more about how the city's breed ban has not led to a greater reduction in the number of reported bites and/or number of persons hospitalized with dog-related injuries, as compared to cities or counties without breed bans. 

Dog bite-related fatalities are exceedingly rare in every state, including Colorado. 

Colorado has a population of 5,024,748 people and is the 22nd most populous state. 

Over the past 48 years (1965 – present) there have been 9 dog bite-related fatalities in Colorado. The victims were 2 adults and 7 children.

One (1) of the incidents was attributed to an animal alleged to be a wolf dog. Wolf dogs are hybrids of two different subspecies: the domestic dog (canis lupus familiaris) and the wild wolf (canis lupus lupus). We are not able to determine the degree of hybridization. 

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in a single year, 2009, over five (5) times as many Colorado children died as a result of abuse or neglect than the total of all children involved in dog bite-related fatalities in the state from 1965-2009.

The difference between a Resident Dog and Family Dog

Resident dogs are dogs whose owners maintain them in ways that isolate them from regular positive human interactions. Resident dogs cannot be expected to exhibit the same behavior as family dogs. The overwhelming majority of resident dogs living isolated lives without positive human interaction never harm anybody. 

Family dogs are dogs whose owners afford them the opportunity to learn appropriate behaviors and who interact with humans on a regular basis in positive and humane ways.

Eight (8) of the nine (9) dog bite-related fatalities in Colorado involved dogs who were kept by owners as Resident dogs and were not maintained as Family dogs.

Breed attribution in dog bite-related fatalities is unreliable

Recent developments in canine genetics, along with extensive surveys conducted by university researchers, show that breed identification of dogs of unknown origin based on visual inspection does not correspond with DNA analysis of the same dogs. Equally important, the professionals surveyed disagreed with each other when they attributed a breed or mix of breeds of the same dog. 

Unfounded assumptions about the significance of breed and misplaced confidence in visual breed identification have diverted us from a consideration of factors pertinent to the discussion of community safety and dog ownership. 

Criminal Charges Increasing Nationally

Authorities conduct criminal investigations on nearly all dog bite-related fatalities.  The number of cases that have resulted in criminal charges being filed against an owner or caretaker is increasing nationwide.

Dog Bite-Related Fatalities in Colorado

A report on all of the dog bite-related fatalities that occurred from 2000 through 2009 is currently in preparation.  

National Canine Research Council Investigative Reports on Dog Bite-Related Fatalities

Dog bite-related fatalities have always been exceedingly rare, yet they can attract the kind of publicity that creates an impression that they are more prevalent than they actually are. The annual total of such fatalities has risen and fallen with no significant pattern or trend, while the ratio of dogs to humans in the U.S. remains one of the highest in the world. 

Official reports often do not agree with news accounts and/or contain important information that was either unavailable, or not of interest, to reporters at the time of the incident. Official investigations can take up to two years to complete.

NCRC continues to assemble the most accurate and comprehensive information available. Based on our 20 years of experience investigating dog bite-related fatalities, we will supplement or correct initial media reports with relevant, material information in over 90% of the incidents. 

At the beginning of each calendar year, we will issue a preliminary report on the year prior. Final reports for each year will be released one year after the end of each calendar year. 

[1] National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Center for Statistics and Analysis. (n.d.). Traffic Safety Facts: 2009 Data, Pedestrians. Retrieved from: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811394.pdf

[2] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Compressed Mortality File 1999-2009. CDC Wonder Online Database. Retrieved from: http://wonder.cdc.gov/cmf-icd10.html

[3] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Compressed Mortality File 1999-2009. CDC Wonder Online Database. Retrieved from: http://wonder.cdc.gov/cmf-icd10.html

[4]  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Center for Statistics and Analysis. (n.d.). Traffic Safety Facts: 2009 Data, Pedestrians. Retrieved from: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811394.pdf

[5] Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, Children’s Bureau. (2010). Child Maltreatment 2009. Retrieved from: http://archive.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm09/cm09.pdf

[6] National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Center for Statistics and Analysis. (n.d.). Traffic Safety Facts: 2009 Data, Bicyclists and Other Cyclists. Retrieved from: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811386.pdf

[7] National Weather Service, Office of Climate, Water, and Weather Services. (2009). Lightning Fatalities for 2009 by State. Retrieved from: http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/fatalities09.htm

[8] National Canine Research Council. (2010). Investigative Reports for Dog Bite-Related Fatalities: 2009. Retrieved from: http://nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/uploaded_files/tinymce/2009%20Final%20Report%20DBRF.pdf

Denver among Colorado counties with highest dog-related injury hospitalization rate.

The County of Denver, despite a long standing “pit bull” dog ban enacted in 1989, has a significantly higher rate of dog bite hospitalizations than all other counties in the state except for one, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment statistics.

The Colorado Trauma Registry Database classified Denver County with a rating of "H[1]," that is, with an "injury rate higher than the rest of the state" over a sixteen-year period (1995-2010).

Denver is one of only two counties in the state designated "H."

Three other counties (El Paso, Boulder, and Larimer) were designated "L," with significantly lower rates of dog bite-related hospitalizations, during these same years.

Boulder County, with a population of 295,000[2], only had 56 dog bite-related hospitalizations during the period 1995 to 2010. Boulder County's animal control ordinances are breed-neutral.

Denver County, with a population of 600,000[3], approximately twice that of Boulder County, had more than six times as many dog bite-related hospitalizations as Boulder County during the same sixteen years. The breed ban had been in effect for six years prior to the first year reported, 1995.

From: 1995 – 2010

Denver: 600,000 people - 344 dog bite hospitalizations (breed ban enacted in 1989)

 
Boulder: 295,000  people - 56 dog bite hospitalizations (no breed-specific legislation)

Denver's “pit bull” dog ban has not reduced dog bites of any kind.

Prior to Denver's 1989 “pit bull” dog ban, the city was already enjoying a dramatic decrease in the number of dog bites reported annually: from 3,361 in 1971 to 941 in 1988.

Reports from cities and counties across the country, demonstrate that this trend is unrelated to breed bans or breed specific regulation. Cities or counties that have enacted breed bans or restrictions have not had greater reductions in the number of reported bites and/or number of persons hospitalized with dog-related injuries, as compared to cities or counties without breed bans or restrictions.