05/20/2014
This week is National Dog Bite Prevention Week. As much as we love our babies, even the most well-behaved dog may bite. We as owners need to teach our dogs other behaviours to avoid them biting somebody. And we need to learn how to read a dog's body language to know whether or not it's safe to approach a dog. It's always best to check with the owner first.
Have you ever been bitten by a dog? If you have, you know how painful it can be. And even though I love boxers and think they're the greatest breed around, every dog is different and you can't judge a dog based on its breed.
I've personally been bitten by a couple of boxers, both times basically my fault; the first time was when we were fostering a dog and she wouldn't come out of her crate and I foolishly reached in to encourage her to come out; the second when I approached a boxer in Yuma, Arizona, that was in an overly excited mood, and I went up to it to say "Hello" (it was a beautiful dog) and reached out, only to be greeted by the dogs teeth! No blood, just a sore hand, and a reminder to pay more attention to the dog's body language. In my defence, I will say I checked with the owner first before approaching the dog - he said it was very friendly and it would be OK. As I say, we need to know our own dogs first!
For more info on National Dog Bite Prevention Week and to learn how to not only prevent but avoid dog bites, visit https://www.avma.org/Events/pethealth/Pages/Dog-Bite-Prevention-Week.aspx
70 million nice dogs…but any dog can bite National Dog Bite Prevention Week takes place during the third full week of May each year, and focuses on educating
