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| Kurt F. Suss |
There are about 500,000 dog bites reported in Canada each year; the unreported number is most likely much higher. One in five requires medical attention. The most common victims are the elderly and young children. It is estimated that there is a dog bite every 60 seconds. In my experience, a lawyer’s first task is to attempt to determine the severity of the bite. I have been asked to give opinions on and assessments of many bites and dogs. However, the situation in which the dog was involved is just as important as the nature of the bite.
This is where the complexities can arise with respect to damages. It is the occurrence and situation, rather than the physical bite and the dog itself, that can determine what really occurred. Negligence of the dog owner, as well as contributory negligence of the victim, almost always play a significant role in precipitating the dog bite. My point is — it is very rare that a dog
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Anyone who has been bitten by a dog knows how painful and terrifying it can be. Excruciating pain, sore muscles, stiches, plastic surgery, permanent disfigurement; then there’s the post-traumatic stress, which can be everlasting. Children can suffer terribly and be frightened of dogs for the rest of their lives. Then there are the bites that are nothing more than nips, superficial wounds, a sore muscle that will take a day or so to heal.
In my 40-plus years of training dogs, doing bite investigations and remedial assistance, the most troublesome and trauma-inducing is the face bite. Especially when there’s a young child involved. This seems to have a more traumatizing effect on the victim than any other style of bite. Unfortunately, this type of bite is very common.
The second most common for me is the hand bite. I have seen many individuals get crushing hand bites from dogs, some losing mobility for life. I have witnessed the severing of fingers, and on one occasion, an emergency surgeon said if the victim hadn’t arrived when she did, she would have lost the arm. There are the leg bites, arm bites, stomach bites, and once I was an expert in a case where a gardener had his jugular vein punctured by a 110-pound Akita.
All the locations and intensities of the bite can tell a story and truly can play a significant role when determining compensatory damages.
Why dogs bite is a most complex and controversial subject that can govern public safety, existence for the individual dogs and perhaps entire breeds. A canine phenomenon that is responsible for a billion dollars a year in insurance, legal fees, health costs and millions in shelter costs to keep all the unwanted dogs.
What makes a dog bite, how can we better understand the dog bite, and what can we do to prevent it?
Why does a dog bite?
If I had to sum it up in a nutshell, I would have to say a dog bites for two reasons:
1. To make you stop.
2. To make you move (so they can bite you again).
2. To make you move (so they can bite you again).
Basically, there are two types of bites: prey bites and defence bites.
The entire life and existence of a dog — any dog and every dog — is predicated upon instincts that are referred to as drives: “innate motivational instincts for survival.” Everything a dog does can be attributed to or correlated with one or more of these five basic drives (instincts).
The drives are: prey, defence, hunt, pack, food.
For the purposes of this article, we will discuss prey and defence.
All dogs have these drives. To accurately assess a dog bite, it’s crucial to determine whether it was a prey or defence bite. The defence bite is the one that causes the most severe damage.
The prey bite is more of an annoying bite; it will hurt but will be more like a pinch with the front teeth. Think of the border collie nipping at the hooves of sheep to corral them into a pen; if the sheep moves, the dog will chase and bite again. This is fun for the dog and the dog enjoys it (not so much fun for the sheep). The prey bite is initiated by movement; the more the movement, the more chase and the more bite.
‘If there is fight there is bite’
The defensive bite is initiated by fear; fear of being hurt, fear of losing pack position, fear of losing a toy or food. It is this bite that causes the most damage and pain. This bite occurs because the dog wants you to stop whatever you are doing that is causing its distress. This bite will counter any movement of the prey with very hard, incapacitating bites that “kill the prey.” These are bites with the entire mouth with all the teeth and maximum jaw pressure. For that instant, the dog may believe it is fighting for its life and will do whatever it takes to stop the threat, which would include killing the prey literally as well as figuratively. The dog that bites will not necessarily kill the human but will “kill” the hand, arm, leg or anything that is in the dog’s mouth. Movement means there is fight, and as long as there is fight there is bite. These are the “money making” bites in most litigation proceedings.
All dogs have these drives that enable the dog to bite. Factors determining the intensity of the bite include breed, lineage, upbringing, training, environment, past experiences and even the manner in which mother and siblings have interacted with each other. These all are taken into account when investigating a dog bite situation. It is very rare in my over 40 years of experience to have encountered a bite situation that has not been caused in some fashion by a human.
Many occasions, the dog bite has been initiated because the owner has inadvertently caused the bite, or the victim has unknowingly caused the bite (contributory negligence). Over time, the biting and defensive behaviour becomes conditioned. Before long, there is a serious problem, and the dog gets passed on to another home and another and another. Then it is euthanized because of problems caused by humans.
It is beyond the scope of this writing to delineate all my cases of dog bites, but if I had to, I would have to say: “Stupid people cause dog bites.”
The long and short of it is: “To understand the dog is to understand the dog bite.”
Dogs bite. That’s what they do.
The first thing to understand and accept is that dogs bite! That’s what they do, and it starts at a very young age. Survival for food, play, communication, protection — that’s what they have to do. It all starts in the whelping box with siblings: nipping, suckling, mouthing, eating and fighting for survival from the moment of their existence. Now think about this: genetics and breed have some dogs predetermined to be biters even before they are born, and they will be guaranteed to bite a human if placed in an inappropriate home. With an inappropriate owner, they are destined to be human biters. People generally purchase dogs for their appearance and the way they make the owner feel: comfort, security and the feel-good nature of having a dog around. Many acquire a dog without any understanding, training or education about the dog, let alone the dog bite!
Whether you are a dog owner, medical practitioner, complainant, victim of a dog bite, defendant or a litigation lawyer, understanding is key.
In closing, it is the opinion of this writer that this phenomenon and public safety conundrum will hardly ever begin to be understood until all societal facets begin to consider understanding their dogs. This will surely minimize dog bites.
Understanding how to prevent a dog bite begins with understanding your dog.
In my next article, I shall discuss how the dog bites, contributory negligence, and the most common bite and why it happens — from the perspective of the victim, owner and of course the dog!
Kurt F. Suss is a corrections officer with Correctional Service of Canada and a retired dog handler and trainer consultant. He is the author of Dogman: The Trials and Tribulations. He is currently at work on his second book Why Dogs Bite. He can be reached at isiscanine@hotmail.com.
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