Preventing Dog Bites - Part Two

Okay, so yesterday I shared a few tips on how dog owners could prevent dog bites. Of course, no matter how well you train your dog, or how responsible you are, there will always be other people who don't make wise choices. So, you have to prepare yourself and your children the best you can for dealing with an aggressive dog.

Here are the best tips I've come across. Know that unfortunately, these are NOT a guarantee that you won't be bitten, but they will help reduce your risk.

*Don't approach an unfamiliar dog, especially one that is behind a fence or tied out. If you would like to pet a dog, always ask the owner's permission first. This is especially important for children to learn. Children should also be taught that they should NOT retrieve toys from a yard where a dog is confined. It may seem important to get that ball out of the yard, but it's not worth the risk. Ring the bell and ask the owner to retrieve it for you.

*Don't bother a dog who is eating, sleeping, with puppies or otherwise occupied. The old adage let sleeping dogs lie actually applies here! This goes even for your own dog. Be especially aware that a mother dog with pups will have drastically different behavior than before she had pups. The motherly instinct to protect offspring outweighs practically everything else, and children are especially prone to want to cuddle puppies, making this a dangerous situation.

If a dog does attack:
*DON'T scream or run away.
*Remain motionless - hands to your sides, teach children to be a "tree"
*Avoid eye contact
*Back away slowly once the dog loses interest
*If a dog is attacking and you can, feed it something, a book, a purse, a bicycle, anything to put between you and the dog.
*If you are knocked over or fall, curl into a fetal position and cover your ears with your hands. Lie still, try not not roll around or scream.

After a bite:
*DON'T panic
*Wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water
*Contact your doctor, if the bite is severe, go to the emergency room
*Report the bite to your local animal control - give them any information you can, if the owner was present, make sure you exchange information, if they were not present, give them a description of the dog, the location of the incident and any other relevant information that might help them locate the dog.

In NWA here are some numbers for animal control that might be useful:
Bentonville Animal Control- (479) 273-2455
Fayetteville Animal Services- (479) 444-3456
Rogers Animal Control- (479) 621-1197
Springdale Animal Control Officer- (479) 751-4542

Bentonville has combined animal control services with Rogers, so I'm not sure that the animal control number listed above is still valid. You may either need to contact Rogers Animal Control or Bentonville Police Department. The non-emegency police number for Bentonville is 271-3170.

Thanks to the Humane Society of the United States and the Center for Disease Control for all the useful information in the past two days articles.