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Dog Bite

See Also
1. Dog Bite Infection
2. Rabies Prophylaxis
Epidemiology
1. Incidence in United States: 4 Million bites per year
2. Dog bites account for 80-90% of Animal Bites in U.S.
3. Mortality: >12 per year in U.S. (most are children)
  1. Pit bulls accounted for 44% fatalities 1979-1988
4. Infection rate: 15-20%
Risk of bites associated with breed
1. Aggressive dogs
  1. Dogs associated with fatal attacks
    1. Pit Bull
    2. Malamute
    3. Chow-Chow
    4. Rottweiler
    5. Siberian Husky
    6. German Shepherd
    7. Wolf hybrids
  2. Other Aggressive dogs
    1. Bull terrier
    2. Cocker spaniel
    3. Collie
    4. Doberman Pinscher
    5. Great Dane
2. Less aggressive breeds (Family dogs)
  1. Boxer
  2. Dalmatian
  3. English Setter
  4. English Springer
  5. Golden Retriever
  6. Irish Setter
  7. Labrador Retriever
  8. Spaniel
Pathophysiology
1. Crush or avulsion injury from dog bite
Disposition
1. Outpatient Wound Check in 24-48 hours Indications
  1. Usually indicated over inpatient care
  2. All hand wounds should be rechecked
Management
1. See Animal Bite
2. See Dog Bite Infection
Prevention (Teach to children)
1. Do not approach an unfamiliar dog
2. Do not disturb a dog eating or sleeping
3. Do not disturb a dog caring for puppies
4. When approached by a dog
  1. Never scream near a dog
  2. Never run from a dog
    1. Be still (Like a tree)
    2. If you fall, become a log
  3. Allow the dog to first sniff you before petting him
  4. Do not make direct eye contact with the dog
5. Reporting guidelines
  1. Report dog bites to an adult immediately
  2. Report stray dogs or unusual behavior immediately
References

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This page was written by Scott Moses, MD. This page was last revised before 5/10/08, prior to consistent tracking of revision date. This page was last published on 5/10/2008. Please send comments and questions to the editor. Contact information may be found on the page About the Family Practice Notebook. These pages are best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0.