Young kids more vulnerable to severe bites from pet dogs--study

Young kids and infants should never be left alone to play with a dog without adult supervision as they are more vulnerable to severe bites, claims a new study.

According to researchers, dogs are very popular pets, especially among families with young children, but they are not always harmless.

Since kids are small and their faces are closer to the animal’s mouth, they invariably get mauled and seriously hurt on the head and neck.

Sometimes the wounds are so severe that the kids need extensive reconstructive surgeries.

Lead author of the study, Dr. Vikram Durairaj, an associate professor of ophthalmology and otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, stated, "People tend to think the family dog is harmless, but it's not. We have seen facial fractures around the eye, eye lids torn off, injury to the tear drainage system and the eyeball itself."

He added, "The onus is on parents to recognize aggressive breeds as well as behaviors and never allow their young children to be left unsupervised around any dog."

Details of the study
For the purpose of the study, researchers scrutinized the data of 537 children treated for facial dog bites at The Children's Hospital on the University of Colorado's Anschutz Medical Campus between 2003 and 2008.

It was noted that 68 percent of the injuries were inflicted on children 5-years-old or less with the maximum bites occurring in 3-year-olds.

The vast majority of dog bites were from a dog known to the child, whether it was his own pet, a neighbor's or friend's.

While half the bites were from family pets, 15 percent of the attacks were launched by those belonging to a neighbor, 13 percent from a friend’s pet and around 10 percent of a relative.

Some other findings
The most commonly cited dog in the attack was the mixed breed. They were responsible for 23 percent of the bites, followed by Labrador retrievers (13.7 percent), Rottweilers (4.9 percent), German shepherds (4.4 percent), and Golden Retrievers (3 percent).

Majority of the attacks were an outcome of potentially dangerous interactions with dogs such as aggressive games, teasing or disturbing him while eating, sleeping, or caring for puppies.

Dr Durairaj stated, "What is clear from our data is that virtually any breed of dog can bite. The tendency of a dog to bite is related to heredity, early experience, later socialization and training, health and victim behavior."

The study was presented last month at the American Academy of Ophthalmology's annual meeting.