Tips from dog warden on how to prevent dog bites
Deputy dog Hank and deputy dog warden Michael DeWitt are ready for National Dog Bite Prevention Week, which takes place during the second full week of April each year.
Millions of people in the United States are bitten by dogs each year.
Many of those bites could have been prevented with a little bit of education.
That’s why the American Veterinary Medical Association started National Dog Bite Prevention Week, which takes place during the second full week of April each year.
“The purpose of Dog Bite Prevention Week is to bring about education and awareness to dog bites and dog bite prevention in an attempt to just bring the whole education around in trying to help with decreasing the number of dog bites that happen each year,” said Jonathan Beam, Holmes County dog warden.
Beam said Holmes County had 26,000 registered dogs in 2022. There were 26 reported dog bites in the county last year, up from nine in 2021.
“The majority of dog bites don’t even go reported just because they’re minor or small, and they really only get reported if someone gets medical attention,” Beam said.
The Holmes County Dog Warden’s Department and Adoption Center will have special activities for children during the week of April 10-15.
“We have coloring books here, so if there’s anybody out there that wants to bring their kid to the shelter, we can do a quick 10-minute presentation, give them a coloring book and show them some of the dogs and just kind of teach them the basics about dog bite prevention, how to handle stray dogs and what to do in certain situations,” Beam said. “Our officers are all here and can all run kids through that, so if it’s after school or something and somebody wants to bring their kids through that week, that would be awesome.”
The shelter will also have a large cutout where children can put their heads inside of an opening on top of deputy dog Hank’s body and have their picture taken. Any child who comes into the shelter during the week and gets a photo with Hank will be entered to win a care package for their dog. The care package consists of toys, treats, leashes, collars and other dog-related items.
Beam has some tips for dog owners to help prevent their dogs from potentially biting someone.
“When I look at dog bite prevention, there are a few different things that go into it,” he said. “I think number one, as a dog owner, and I’m a dog owner myself, it’s our responsibility to make sure that no one is bitten. Quite honestly, 80% of dog bites that happen in our county happen on the dog owner’s property. A lot of times people think dog bites happen from dogs running at large and biting people, but they actually happen most times on the dog owner’s property.
“We get a lot of the younger kids that get into the dog’s food bowl or get into the dog’s space, so just paying attention to those kinds of things (is important). If you have a big get-together, I would encourage you to just put the dogs away, put the dogs up and keep them confined. People say, ‘Oh, my dog won’t bite,’ but in my seven years of experience, I will say that any dog is capable of biting. That’s just the reality of the situation. In the right situation, they will bite. It’s also important that dog owners understand that the responsibility is on them to keep someone safe from their dog.”
Teaching children, who are most likely to get bit by a dog, proper etiquette around dogs can go a long way toward preventing bites.
“As adults and as parents, I think it’s important for us to make sure that we are teaching our children to respect a dog’s space — their food bowl, their bed and things like that — and also teaching them how to read a dog’s body language because I think anytime you approach a dog, you want to be able to pick up on cues that the dog might not appreciate being touched,” Beam said. “It’s not appreciating what I’m doing. It’s not appreciating where I’m at.
“There are some basic things that we can teach our kids. If a dog chases you, stand like a tree. If you continue running, the dog is gonna think that that’s a lot more fun. When you’re greeting a dog, make sure you’re asking the dog owner’s permission. If it’s a stray dog, don’t greet the dog. Just leave it alone. Even in our county in looking at the stats and our dog bite records, over 80% of our dog bites could have been prevented with just some basic dog bite prevention stuff.”
Beam said things get complicated after a dog bites someone.
“Once a dog bites, that bite is on a dog’s record, and we get involved and have to do a dog bite investigation,” he said. “We have to determine if the dog is dangerous or not.”
Making dogs more comfortable around people and other dogs can help reduce the likelihood that a dog bites someone, a process that begins at a young age. If someone’s dog is still aggressive at an older age, seeking outside help might be beneficial.
“If you have a puppy or if you go out and get a puppy, it’s one of those things where you want them to be socialized around people, so taking them places and doing things with them and getting them to interact with people (at a young age is important),” Beam said. “Anytime you deal with a dog that is older and is already aggressive, that’s where you want to seek professional help by an animal behaviorist to kind of pinpoint what the issue is and what’s causing it and that kind of thing. That’s where I would say that people need to jump in and get professional help.”
Since most dog bites are preventable, it’s up to everyone — dog owners and those who encounter dogs — to do their part in becoming educated about how to approach dogs.
“I think the most important thing is reading a dog’s body language is big and then respecting the dog’s space,” Beam said.