Facts

Dog Bite Statistics:

• About 35% of American households owned a dog in 1994-a total dog population of over 52 million.
• Approximately 4.5 million dog bites were reported in 1994.
• About 585,000 bites required medical attention in 1989; 375,000 (or 64%) of those were children.
• 800,000 people sought medical care for a dog bite in 1994, which means that every 40 seconds, somebody is seeing a doctor because of a dog bite.
• Dog bites serious enough to require medical care increased 37% in the U.S. between 1986 and 1994.
• The odds that a dog bite will require medical attention are 1 in 7.6.
• The chances a person will be bitten by a dog in the U.S. are 1 in 56.
• You have nearly a six times greater chance of being killed by lightening than being killed by a dog bite.
• From 1979 through 1988, dog attacks claimed at least 15 lives annually in the U.S.

People Most Likely to be Bitten:

• Among adults, males were more likely to be bitten than females.
• Most of the time, the victim knows the dog. In a study of 40 dog bite cases, researchers found that 21 dogs belonged to a neighbor, 13 were form the immediate household, and only three dogs were strays.
• Thirty to 50% of dog bites are provoked when someone enters the dog's territory.
• In 1995, 2,851 letter carriers were attached by dogs.

Children as Bite Victims:

• Dog bites are the number one public health problem for children, eclipsing measles, mumps, and whooping cough combined.
• 47% of all dog-bite victims were school-aged children.
• Two-thirds of these incidents happen around the child's home, and the child knows the dog.
• Children between the ages of 6 and 10 are the most frequent dog bite victims.
• The median age of all bite victims is 12.
• Boys are bitten by dogs more often than girls are. However, most of the nearly 400,000 cat bite victims are girls. Cat bites are often the more serious puncture wound.
• Children under 10 receive 65% of the reported face bites.
• A survey of 3,238 Pennsylvania school children in 1985 concluded that by 12th grade 46% of the students had been bitten by a dog, and 17% had received medical attention for the bite.

Where a Dog is Most Likely to Bite a Person:

• Most victims are bitten on the arms and hand. The right arm is most often bitten, as many victims use this limb to protect themselves.
• Bites from family dogs are more prevalent on the arm and back, compared with bites from stray dogs and dogs of unknown background that are more likely to be inflicted on the leg.

Dogs Most Likely to Bite:

• Studies show that biting dogs are predominately: medium to large size breeds weighing more than 50 pounds; males; not neutered; reside in a home with one or more children under 10 years of age; and chained in a yard unattended.
• Chained dogs account for a substantial proportion of serious and fatal bites.
• While all dogs can bite, the most frequently reported dog breeds that bite includes pit bulls, German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Cocker Spaniels, Dobermans, Chow Chows, and Akitas.
• In a survey done in Denver in 1991 of biting and non-biting dogs, German Shepherds led the pack with 34 bites, followed by the Chow Chow with 31. (Pit Bulls were not part of this survey as new ownership of these animals is now banned in Denver.)
• From 1979 to 1988, 37 fatal Pit Bull attacks and 9 fatal German Shepherd attacks were reported.
• In the past two years, Rottweilers have been responsible for 10 deaths-about half of the 22 dog-bite deaths reported in which the breed was known.

Insurance Claims Resulting from Dog Bites:

• According to Start Farm Insurance, the average dog bite claims was $12,000 in 1995. The estimated amount paid out by the United States insurance companies in 1994 for dog-bite claims was approximately $1 billion.
• The ratio of households keeping a dog due to fear of crime in 1981 compared to 1993 is two to one.

When and Where Dog Bites Most Occur:

• Dog bites occur more often in the warmer months when there is a greater opportunity for outdoor contact between humans and pets.
• Dog bite reports begin to increase in March and peak in July and August.
• In a study conducted between 1979 and 1994, the three states with the largest number of fatal dog-bite attacks were California, Texas, and Illinois. By region, however, the South had the highest death rate.
• Must dog bites occur in the afternoon and evening, peaking between 3 and 7 PM.
• The top five cities where postal carriers were bitten most by dogs in fiscal year 1995:

  Houston: 117	Santa Ana, CA: 101	San Jose, CA: 75
  Chicago: 75	San Antonio, TX: 72

Provided by The American Humane Association
American Humane Association
63 Inverness Drive East
Englewood, Colorado 80112-5117

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