TEMPLE, Texas (KXXV) — As we enter the summer months, there has been an increase in dog bites in children. McLane Children's Hospital talks about the rise in bites, and Alpha Leader K9 in Temple shows us ways to prevent this from happening.
- According to the National Institutes of Health, kids have an estimated 50% chance of sustaining a dog bite in their lifetime.
- 80% of the bites involving kids happen in the head and neck area.
- Alpha Leader K9 in Temple says the training with dogs interacting with children and adults starts at home.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Bryce Geeslin with McLane Children’s Hospital talked to me about the recent uptick in dog bites in children. According to the National Institutes of Health, kids have an estimated 50% chance of sustaining a dog bite in their lifetime.
80% of the bites involving kids happen in the head and neck area. Why is that, and how can it be prevented?
“Probably in the last months we've seen at least 30 or so dog bites, with especially an increase over these last few weeks as people have been home more, kids out of school, and just interacting with their dogs more,” said Bryce Geeslin, nurse practitioner at McLane Children’s Hospital.
“Unfortunately, again, kind of being at that level of the dog for older kids, adults, we typically see them more on the arms, hands, things like that, kind of defensive posture, they're able to get that up and try to protect themselves or that's where they're reaching for the dog and it nips at them there,” he added.
Bryce says that, on average, the age of young dog bite victims is three and a half years old.
Because school’s out and families are home more during the summer, interactions with pets increase, which could lead to some bad situations. Alpha Leader K9 in Temple says that your dog is part of the family and part of your home, give some space and respect what they need as well.
“Teach your kids, just because the dog's lying around, just don't go up and pet your dog. The dog might be sleeping, and you go in and reach in and scare the dog. That's going to cause a dog bite, so teach your kids first how to approach a dog and then go from there,” Edith Morris said, co-owner of Alpha Leader K9 Training.
“We’ll always tend to want to get a little upset with the animal and be like, ‘well, it's a kid,’ you can't teach them this and that. Kids understand English way easier than a dog will, so it starts with the parent and the child, to be honest with you,’ co-owner of Alpha Leader K9 Trainin,g Adrianna Torres said.
Alpha Leader K9 also says the training should never stop. That keeps owners learning and your dog on their toes, so no one gets bitten.
