As a dog bite expert in animal behavior who has testified about serious dog attack cases in South Carolina, I focus especially on the risk factors associated with severe dog bite attacks. Below, I share my professional insights from a well-cited, peer-reviewed study regarding this issue in South Carolina.
Animal behavior factors associated with severe dog bite attack in South Carolina
John Wright, Ph.D., a retired professor in animal behavior and expert on dog bites from Clemson University, conducted a well-executed study about severe dog bite attacks on people. Dr. Wright examined dog bite attacks from dog bite data collected from five county health departments in the Piedmont area of South Carolina between July 1979 and June 1982. (Severe attacks by dogs: characteristics of the dogs, the victims, and the attack settings. Public Health Reports, 1985, Vol. 100, 55-61).
In this study, a severe dog bite attack was not defined in terms of physical damage inflicted on the victim, as it usually is in most studies. Rather, Dr. Wright defined a severe dog bite according to the behavior of the dog. Specifically, a severe attack was defined as one in which the dog “repeatedly bit or vigorously shook the victim and the attack was extremely difficult to stop.”
Using this definition, Wright found 16 incidences of severe dog bite attacks based on his review of 5,711 reported incidences.
Significant findings were as follows:
- Stray dogs were not involved in any instance.
- 88% of the attacks occurred on or near the dog’s territory;
- 60% of the dogs had aggressive histories prior to the incident.
- Most victims were boys under eight years of age.
- The head and neck region was the most frequently bitten area on the victim’ s body.
- 50% of the incidences involved a dog who was chained or had just broken free of a chain;
- 75% of the incidences involved attacks on people who knew the dog;
- Most victims had no interaction with the dog and received no warning (e.g. growl, snarl, bark) from the dog prior to being attacked;
- Five of the 16 incidences involved pit bull-type dogs. Three incidences involved cocker spaniel-type dogs, and three incidences involved St. Bernards. Only one incident involved a Rottweiler. No incident involved a pure bred German Shepherd or Doberman pinscher.
- Severe dog bite attack on people occurred at a rate of approximately 2.8 per 1000.
Conclusions about severe dog bite attacks in South Carolina
The results from this dog bite study in South Carolina provide further insight into the animal behavior characteristics of severe dog bite attacks, at least in South Carolina and possibly particular to the counties where the data was collected. However, the findings are probably representative of other findings in the USA and also probably generalize to other European countries and Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The study is rather dated since it was reported in the mid-1980s. Nonetheless, most of the findings are consistent with more recent results about dog bite epidemiology.
The only significant change may be some of the breeds involved. Thirty years ago, severe attacks on people by aggressive St. Bernards were widely publicized and not unusual in the United States. In contrast, more recently, a disproportional number of severe dog bite attack on people (including dog bite fatalities) are inflicted by breeds known for their aggressive tendencies that have become more popular in recent years. For example, Mastiff type dogs, like the Bull mastiff, Dogo Argentenio, Presa Canario, Cane Corso, and of course pit bull type dogs.
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Dog bite expert witness, Richard Polsky, PhD provides legal support services to attorneys involved in dog bite litigation in South Carolina. He has been previously retained by attorneys in South Carolina and currently Dr. Polsky will consider assignments from South Carolina dog bite attorneys.
