It’s a joy to see kids and dogs interacting with each other
But, it worries me the risks that some people take.
On talk-back radio, a caller once asked me an amazing question “My Saint Bernard cross is mouthing my two year old son’s shoulder and head when they play. Should I be worried?”
The dog weighed 80 kilograms, the lad 15 kilograms. I’m sure I don’t need to emphasise the risk.
There have been only a small number of dog-related deaths in Australia – and one reference states there were 27 dog-related fatalities in the 10-year period from 2000 – 2010. Over the same period, 77 people were killed by horses and 16 by sharks. So dogs are safer than horses but present more risks than sharks.
Naturally, children are extremely vulnerable to dog attacks because they are often of similar height to the dog.
It is not surprising, therefore, that research at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane has shown that the face and head are the commonest sites of bite wounds in children and, where the face is bitten, the lips and nose are more often affected. Three quarters of dog attacks in children occur in boys. Toddlers of about two to three years of age and also children at about 10 years of age are also more likely to be attacked. More bites occur on the weekends and one in seventeen cases requires admission to a hospital.
The dog weighed 80 kilograms, the lad 15 kilograms. I’m sure I don’t need to emphasise the risk.