Dog Reports

Posts Tagged ‘Bite’

One of the greatest fears that a dog owner can have is the thought of your dog biting someone else. This person could be an adult or even worse it could even be a small child.

Just consider for a minute the damage your animal could do to a small child if you pet decided to bite them.

It may not surprise you to know that dog biting is quite a problem around the world. There are various reasons why a animal should decide to bite someone, these could be.

1. Your dog has not been socialised correctly

2. Your pet has or could have been mishandled

3. Your dog feels that they are neglected by you the owner

4. Your animal is showing signs of area domination

5. Your pet has not been trained in the basics of good behaviour

If you know that your dog has a tendency to bite or nip does this not fill you with anxiety when you have people come to the house or when you take your animal out for a walk?

Has it got to the stage now where you do not even want to take your dog out for a walk just because of the stressful situation you find yourself in?

Are you afraid to let your pet of the lead just in case it sees another animal or person, and the fear inside you grows bigger everyday because you know sooner or later your dog is going to bite something or someone.

This is one fact to bear in mind (Over 50% of all dogs will bite another dog in their lifetime). Do not be part of this statistic.

Only you know how your dog acts around other people and other animals so it is your responsibility to ensure that your dog is safe to go out into public spaces. If your dog does bite someone then there could be a possibility of your animal being put to sleep as it may be seen a danger to society. Now you have an opportunity to ensure this does not happen to you by giving your pet the right training necessary to avoid these type of problems.

All dogs have the potential to bite someone, it is something that they are born with and depending how we train them and more importantly how we treat them will determine their potential of biting another person or another animal.

Do not let the fear that your dog might decide to bite someone ruin your relationship with your dog. Here is my No 1 recommended solution to Stop Dog Biting.

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Dog Training – Dog Bite Prevention Video

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Dog Bites and Dog Attack Statutes

In California, the short explanation is that for the most part, a dog owner is liable for the bad actions of his or her dog. For a dog owner to be liable for the damages suffered by a person bitten by the owner’s dog, there is no requirement that the owner had knowledge of the dangerous propensities of his or her dog, or any requirement of knowledge of any previous bite by the dog.

Under California Civil Code Section 3342, the owner of the dog who bites another person, is liable regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owner’s knowledge of such viciousness. Under this statute, the owner is said to be strictly liable or subject to strict liability.

As strange as it may seem, while California Civil Code Section 3342 in effect repudiates the common law requirement of scienter, or knowledge of viciousness, California maintains the common law cause of action based on scienter or knowledge of a domestic animal’s dangerousness. Under this common law cause of action used by attorneys for a dog bite in California, liability is based on the owner’s knowledge of the dog’s prior behavior rather than on the owner’s negligence. The usefulness of this cause of action is to establish liability on someone other than the dog’s owner for a dog bite in California.

If you or another family member have been bitten or attacked by a dog and suffered injuries anywhere in Southern California visit our website at http://www.sebastiangibsonlaw.com and call us at any of the numbers easily found on our website.

Dog Bite Negligence and Negligence Per Se

Yet a further way for a dog bite lawyer to establish liability for a California dog bite, is based on the negligence of the person who causes or allows the dog bite or attack to occur. Negligence can be the result of mishandling, allowing a dog to roam the streets unleashed, or improper tying or chaining (note that it is also a misdemeanor under California Penal Code Section 597t to tie an animal in such a manner that will cause the animal to become entangled or injured or which prevents the animal from access to adequate shelter, food and water).

Dog Vaccinations

A dog owner whose dog has not been vaccinated by the age of four months and whose dog bites someone who then must submit to rabies treatment can also be sued by a dog bite attorney in California for violation of the applicable Health and Safety Code Section 1920 and for the cost of and pain and suffering resulting from this treatment.

Dog Propensities For Dog Bites and Causing Injury

Our law firm has even successfully pursued a claim for significant damages when a non-owner allowed a dog with a propensity to jump on others, knocked down a person and caused serious injury to that person.

Dog Bite and Dog Attack Defenses

There are defenses to dog bite and dog attack liability in California, the most common of which involve the provocation of a dog, the comparative negligence of the dog bite victim and assumption of risk by the victim. Persons who handle dogs as part of their occupation, such as veterinarians, dog groomers and dog handlers are deemed to assume the risk of being bitten while the dog that bites them is in their custody. On the other hand, a dog owner who fails to warn such a person or who misleads such a person about the vicious propensities of the animal may not be similarly protected by this defense.

Dog Bites to Children

A special rule involving minors can negate the defenses allowed to a dog owner such as provocation, comparative negligence or assumption of risk. Minors under the age of five are deemed, as a matter of law, to be incapable of negligent acts. They are therefore incapable either of performing a negligent act toward a dog, or of acting with reasonable care toward a dog.

Visit our website at http://www.sebastiangibsonlaw.com and call us if you have suffered a dog bite or been attacked by a dog or any other animal owned by another and been seriously injured anywhere in Southern California.

Dog Bite Defenses

Neither “my dog ate my homework” nor “my dog bit my lawyer” are valid defenses to getting out of school work in California, although children will try to use these excuses without success every year.

Statistics show the most bitten member of American society are children under the age of 12 and most dog bites causing serious injury involve medium to large sized dogs with children under the age of 5. The dog is usually known to the child or is the family’s pet.

To understand how these bites occur, what causes them and how to prevent them, a little education in the nature of dogs and the nature of small children will help shed some light on these aggressive behaviours.

A dog’s temperament is first inherited (this is deeply ingrained responses to the world surrounding them and is unchangeable), and then modified by events and/or proper training in his life.

Genetics: Some breeds and certain bloodlines within breeds are friendlier, more suited to living in a family environment, more tolerant with children and more adaptable to training. Most of their actions are instinctive. By default, a dog will react to situations according to what his instincts tell him unless these instincts are overridden by the consistent training and socialization he needs to receive from his owner throughout his life.

Some unscrupulous breeders who sometimes intentionally breed dogs without adequate knowledge of dog behaviour may use unsuitable dogs (i.e. those with poor temperaments) for breeding. These are dogs that are mentally unpredictable or have illness or physical defects that affect their behaviour.

A dog’s basic temperament, instincts and training have the biggest effects on how that dog reacts to the world around him and his levels of tolerance. Therefore, a responsible breeder should always put emphasis on good temperament when selecting breeding stock.

Past events & experiences with children: If your dog has had several painful or frightening encounters in the past with children, then he is probably going to be apprehensive around children, sometimes to the point of being aggressive. On the other hand, a well-socialised dog from an early age takes stressful and unusual situations in his own stride. Such dogs tend to be much less fearful of a busy family environment with noisy and unpredictable children around.

Here is one of the most commonly reported scenarios in a bite case:

A very young child sees a pretty dog he’d like to pet. The dog may not want to be petted. The dog’s first instinctive reaction is to show his displeasure by giving a warning — growling. The growl means that something more unpleasant will follow if the warning isn’t heeded.

Almost any dog will bite under the right circumstances.

A dog is an animal whose behaviour isn’t the same as humans and can’t always be predicted with 100 percent accuracy, no matter how friendly or reliable he is.

The type and number of warnings that a dog gives out can vary, few dogs actually will strike without giving some form of indication beforehand. When faced with a child in this situation, normally many dogs would just walk away. Walking away can be considered a form of warning.

If the child keeps trying to pet the dog, a sterner warning, usually a growl, will ensue. Other types of warnings can be more subtle – for instance, a stiffening of the body and showing of its teeth. Small children may not recognise this as a form of warning or understand what a growl means even though it may be quite obvious to an adult.

Dogs instinctively set up an invisible “fight or flight” boundary around themselves as their safety zone. The size of this boundary depends on his level of confidence and tolerance. A fearful dog will give itself a wider area than a more stable one.

When someone whom the dog perceives as threatening invades his area, the dog reacts either by running away or staying put to fight and defend itself no matter how afraid it might be. Some dogs will choose to fight first, rather than run.

A small child who keeps petting or hugging a dog has already intruded well within the dog’s flight or fight boundary. If the dog’s attempts to warn the child fail, the dog (in his mind) has no other recourse — he bites. This is a perfectly acceptable and instinctive behaviour to the dog. He is responding to what he perceives as a threat and is doing what his instincts tell him to.

Dogs do not think in the same way as humans do. A child’s innocent action, petting the dog, can often be provocation for a bite.

Don’t forget dogs have predatory instincts. Running, playing, screaming kids can trigger an instinctive predator-prey reaction in some dogs. Children who wrestle with dogs unknowingly encourage them to use their teeth and provoke a bite. Dogs equate this kind of play with littermates or other dogs where using teeth is allowed. Startling a sleeping dog or petting him when he’s eating can also bring about the same dangerous reaction from the dog.

Guidelines for families who already have a dog or are thinking of getting a dog for the children and what can be done to prevent dogs from attacking children:
* Take your time when looking for a dog. Research, do your homework, learn the differences in the various breeds and choose one that best suits your lifestyle and experience.

* Be honest with yourself about the amount of time and work you’re willing to invest in a dog. If you don’t have time to raise and train the dog properly, don’t get one.

* Consider postponing the purchase of a dog, especially a large one, until your children are at least 6 years old.

* Never leave any child under the age of 12 unattended with any dog or puppy. So keep supervision a strict rule in your household.

* Babies and toddlers should always be kept higher than the dog and keep your young children off the floor when there is a dog in the same room. This is to make sure that the dog (that sees the world in hierarchy) sees your children as a leader and not a littermate which it will boss around, push over, growl at and even bite.

* Educate and involve your children in your dog’s care even if they are small tasks – for example you child can instruct the dog to sit before you put the food bowl down, help brush and groom the dog with you holding the collar, attach 2 leashes to your dog so that you child can hold onto one too. This level of involvement from an early stage will help the dog build a positive association with your children.

* Avoid giving your dog items that it can get possessive over with children around such as pig’s ears, smoked bones, rawhide etc. It is very important to rain your dog to allow things to be taken away from his mouth by trading higher value treats for the item first.

* Obedience training and socialization are an absolute must for a dog that will be spending time with children. Remember that a dog will act according to his instincts if he doesn’t receive proper training or if that training isn’t kept up through regular practice. The dog needs to be taught to obey commands under all conditions no matter how distracting. Just as responding to the command to “come” could save the dog’s life someday, an immediate response to the command “leave it!” could save a child from serious injury.

* Children need to be taught how to be respectful to dogs. They need to learn what kinds of games are appropriate, how to touch the dog properly, how to interpret the dog’s body language and when the dog is not to be disturbed. Avoid wrestling, spanking, kicking, ear pulling, pony-riding, tug of war, fur grabbing, toy hitting, rough play and chasing.

* Telling the toddler to stay away from the dog just isn’t enough! Your children may be too young to understand, so it will be up to you to physically supervise them and protect them from potential harm. Remember that young children do not recognise when they may be in trouble. Adult supervision around children and dogs is absolutely critical. Small children should never, ever be left alone with any dog, no matter how reliable the dog has been before.

* Buy your dog from a reputable, responsible breeder who puts priority on good temperament and health and consistently produces dogs that excel in those areas. Choose a breeder who’s experienced and willing to guide and advise you about care and training throughout the dog’s life.

* Teach your children how to behave correctly and safely around dogs and to respect them. In order to promote a healthy relationship between your dog and your children, educate your children about the way they should treat a dog – for example dogs should be petted softly, stay away from food dishes, toys and bones and not to startle the dog especially when it’s sleeping.

* Remember that what your dog tolerates from your own children may not be tolerated from someone else’s. You need to take extra safety precautions when other children visit and make sure that the children obey your ground rules.