PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. research has found behavioral or painful medical problems, rather than breed, distinguished the dogs referred to a clinic after biting a child.
The study, published in Injury Prevention, also showed two-thirds of dogs, that bit children, had never bitten a child before. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's emergency room statistics show children under the age of 14 account for 42 percent of U.S. dog-bite admissions.
Researchers at the at the University of Pennsylvania studied the circumstances surrounding 111 cases of dog bites and found young children more likely to be bitten when dogs felt food or toys were under threat. Older children were bitten more often by dogs with territorial behavior.
The researchers observed three-quarters of the dogs exhibited anxiety when left by their owners or exposed to loud noises. Half of the dogs had medical conditions, mostly affecting bones or skin.
The study authors said that demonstrable fear may signal a tendency towards biting when faced with a perceived threat and young children often can be noisy and move unpredictably -- both of which frighten an already anxious dog.
