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 draconian pit bull ban, as the greatest decrease in reported dog bites in the city occurred prior to the ban.**
Has Denver’s breed ban reduced the frequency or severity of dog attacks in the city?
also see:
Denver dog bite hospitalizations
Dog bite data: Colorado, 2006-2007
National Canine Research Council