Dog Bite Prevention - Statistics and What to Do

National Dog Bite Prevention Week takes place the second week of April every year so we put together this infographic with statistics on dog bites in the United States for our readers.

Dog Bite Prevention

You'll notice that some of the reasons dogs bite include fear or pain, resource guarding or re-directing their aggression.

A couple of things you can do to help prevent dog bites include educating yourself on dog behavior and learning their nonverbal cues for potential aggression. You can also help by teaching children about respecting dogs and how to read their behavior.

Finally, it's important to support breed-neutral safety laws and to educate dog owners in general about the importance of proper training and exercise for all dogs. For more, see our post on tips for preventing dog bites.

Dog Bite Statistics

About 1.5% of the population is bitten by dogs each year and children are the most common victims. There were 41 dog bite fatalities in 2014. These occur because no one was present to help the victim, the victims physical ability was compromised, or the dog was abused or neglected.