SUMMARY (1,237 records)

Injuries associated with dog bites and dog attacks were sustained most frequently by 5-9 year olds (28.5%). Of all injuries related to dog bites and dog attacks, 57.9% were to males. Injuries occurred most often in the summer, 37.7%, and most frequently between the hours of 4 and 8 p.m., (32.7%). Most injuries occurred at the victim's own home, 34.2% or other home, 30.3%. The majority of injuries occurred when the patient had no direct interaction with the dog, 28.9%. Injuries that required advice only or minor treatment accounted for 57.9% of patients, while 36.8% of patients needed medical follow-up after leaving the emergency department and 4.5% were admitted to hospital. Overall, the most frequent types of injury were bites, 73.1%, and the body part most often affected was the face, 40.5%.

In April 1998, a search of the CHIRPP database for the year 1996 (118,717 records) was conducted. No age restriction was specified in the search. Records were selected i) if they contained a factor code for dog (code 1301), mechanism for animal bite or sting (code 17) and nature of injury for bite (code 22) or ii) if the text fields contained the following strings: "DOG" or "CHIEN". Selected records were then scanned and eliminated if the injury was not directly related to a dog bite or dog attack. The total number of records identified was 1,237.

OVERALL OCCURRENCE

In 1996, dog bites and dog attacks represented 1.0% of all injuries in the CHIRPP database.

AGE AND SEX DISTRIBUTION OF INJURIES

	NUMBER	PERCENT OF INJURIES	% MALE*	NUMBER/ 100,000 **
<=1 year	80	6.5	50.0	625
2-4 years	273	22.1	54.3	1,362
5-9 years	353	28.5	55.2	1,474
10-14 years	292	23.6	63.4	1,052
15-19 years	65	5.3	44.6	548
20+ years	174	14.1	60.9	780
Total	1,237	100.0	57.9	1,042

^* Of all injuries in the CHIRPP database in 1996, 60.1% were sustained by males.
^** The number of injuries associated with dog bites and dog attacks per 100,000 CHIRPP injuries of all types within the age group indicated. Because CHIRPP collects information from ten children's hospitals and only six of the general hospitals, there is a high number of young children in the database. Using number per 100,000 within an age group (instead of overall percent by age group) adjusts for different age group distributions.

SEASON DURING WHICH INJURY OCCURRED

	NUMBER	PERCENT OF INJURIES
Spring (March - May)	332	26.8
Summer (June - August)	467	37.7
Fall (September - November)	265	21.5
Winter (December - February)	173	14.0
Total	1,237	100.0

WHERE THE INJURY OCCURRED

		NUMBER		PERCENT OF INJURIES
Own home			423	34.2
	indoor outdoor (i.e., driveway, garden, yard) not further specified	242 126 55
Other home			375	30.3
	outdoor (i.e., driveway, garden, yard) indoor not further specified	166 141 68
Road			113	9.1
Public park			38	3.1
Private and commercial areas			21	1.7
School yard			15	1.2
Sports and recreation areas			14	1.1
Other area			22	1.8
Unknown or unspecified			216	17.5
Total			1,237	100.0

RELATIONSHIP OF VICTIM AND DOG

	NUMBER	PERCENT OF INJURIES
Dog of friend, acquaintance, neighbour or relative	434	35.1
Victim's dog or family dog	372	30.1
Stray or unknown dog	151	12.2
Unspecified (insufficient information provided)	280	22.6
Total	1,237	100.0

CIRCUMSTANCES AND FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO INJURY

Note: The following is a list of frequently occurring circumstances and factors in injuries related to dog bites and dog attacks. Each patient was assigned to a single category and percentages were based on 1,237 persons injured. Category assignment was based on the level of detail available in the description of the injury.

 

		NUMBER		PERCENT OF INJURIES
No interaction with the dog			358	28.9
	no interaction at time of bite or attack victim was cycling, rollerblading, walking, running, or skateboarding victim's activity, not further specified victim making a delivery or service call victim walked, passed dog's territory	158   99 41 32 28
Ordinary interaction with dog (excluding playing)			239	19.3
	victim trying to pet or handle the dog victim feeding dog walking dog or with dog and attacked by other dog	160 70 9
Playing with dog			217	17.5
	playing with dog, no further details provided playing with ball, stick, etc., with dog rough play, e.g., wrestling with dog	176 24 17
Victim hurt, provoked or disturbed dog			97	7.8
	dog bit after being teased or provoked dog startled or disturbed while sleeping dog bit after being hurt or hit by victim	40 34 23
Disciplining dog			70	5.7
	restraining dog, scolding or retrieving dog victim separating dogs in a dog fight taking something away from the dog (not belonging to the dog)	34 19 17
Other circumstances			42	3.4
	dog protecting owner sick or injured dog dog commanded to attack person other	8 8 6 20
Unspecified or insufficient information provided			214	17.3
Total			1,237	100.0

Up to three injuries may be specified for each record. One hundred and eighty-eight patients (15.2%) sustained more than one injury. 137 patients sustained two injuries (11.1%), and 51 sustained three injuries (4.1%). There was no injury detected in 5 patients.

 

		NUMBER		PERCENT OF INJURIES
Bite			1,075	73.1
	head, face, neck hand, finger forearm, wrist lower leg, foot, toe hip, thigh, knee trunk shoulder, upper arm	430 219 126 104 97 55 44
Cut, laceration			265	18.0
	face upper extremity lower extremity head, neck trunk	150 63 28 15 9
Bruise, abrasion, inflammation			118	8.0
	upper extremity face lower extremity trunk	41 35 35 7
Eye injury			6	0.4
Fracture			3	0.2
	finger, thumb hand	2 1
Injury to nerve, muscle - face			2	0.1
Amputation or partial amputation - part of face			1	0.1
Crushing injury - external genitalia			1	0.1
Total			1,471	100.0

 

	NUMBER	PERCENT OF INJURIES
Left without being seen	9	0.7
Advice only, or treatment with no need for follow-up	716	57.9
Treated, medical follow-up required	456	36.8
Admitted to hospital	56	4.5*
Fatal injury	0**	0.0
Total	1,237	100.0

^* The percentage of all CHIRPP injuries in 1996 that resulted in hospital admission was 5.8%.
^** Fatalities counted by CHIRPP include only those patients who were dead on arrival at the emergency department or who died in the emergency department. They do not include people who died before they could be taken to hospital or those who died after hospital admission. Only 0.03% of all CHIRPP injuries were fatal during 1996.

Of the 56 patients admitted to hospital, 35 were males and 21 were females; 19 patients (33.9%) were aged 5-9 years, 17 (30.4%) were aged 2-4 years, 8 (14.3%) were aged 10-14 years, 6 (10.7%) were one year and under, 4 (7.1%) were 20 years or older, and 2 were aged 15-19 years.

The circumstances surrounding dog bites and dog attacks in admitted patients are outlined below: 13 patients were playing with their dog. Twelve patients had no direct interaction with a dog: 9 patients were playing by themselves, 2 patients were walking past a dog in its yard, and 1 patient was delivering newspapers. Nine patients were interacting normally with a dog: 6 patients were trying to pet a dog, 2 were handling the dog's food, and 1 patient was sitting next to his dog when he was attacked by another dog. Five patients were injured while restraining or disciplining their dog. Two patients were walking or rollerblading when they were chased and bitten by a dog. One patient was bitten when she tripped and startled a sleeping dog. One patient was bitten by an injured dog. One patient was attacked by a dog while being carried by his cousin. One patient was bitten when she tried to approach a female dog with pups. Finally, a patient was letting a cat upstairs and was bitten by her own dog. In 10 patients, the circumstances involving dog bites or attacks were not specified.

Bites were sustained by 42 patients (30 of the face or head, 7 of the hand, 2 of the finger or thumb, 1 of the abdomen, 1 of the thigh and 1 of the lower leg). Ten patients suffered cuts and lacerations (8 of the face, 1 of the shoulder and 1 to the abdomen). Two patients sustained eye injuries, 1 patient suffered bruising, and 1 sustained a muscle injury to the face.

This report and data from it may be copied and circulated freely, provided that the source is acknowledged. The following citation is recommended:

Injury data were obtained from the database of the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP), Health Canada.

If data from this report are included in any other document or publication, it should be noted, where appropriate, that the information comes from sixteen hospitals (ten pediatric and six general) across Canada.

For additional information on the CHIRPP program, please contact the Child Injury Division, Laboratory Centre for Disease Control, by phone at (613) 941-9918 or by FAX at (613) 941-9927.