Prevention methods for dog bites too simplistic.

Prevention methods for dog bites too simplistic. Scientists at the University of Liverpool have shown that educating pet owners about canine body language may not be the answer to preventing dog bites as originally thought. Experts have argued that dog bites are preventable if owners are properly educated on how to read canine behaviour and identify high risk situations. Until now, however, the effectiveness of this theory has not been evaluated in any great depth. At a time when data suggests dog bite incidents are increasing, the team at Liverpool interviewed victims of dog attacks to gain further understanding into their perceptions of the experience.They found that in some cases there was no interaction with the dog before the bite occurred and therefore no opportunity to assess behaviour. There was a common tendency for victims to blame themselves for the attack, rather than the animal, or in cases where the dog was not known to them, they blamed the dog owner. continue