Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research
Volume 2, Issue 5 , Pages 166-174 , September 2007

Spanish dangerous animals act: Effect on the epidemiology of dog bites

  • Belén Rosado, DVM, MSc

      Affiliations

    • Animal Pathology Department, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress reprint requests and correspondence: Belén Rosado, DVM, MSc, Animal Pathology Department, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Zaragoza, Miguel Servet, 177. 50013, Zaragoza (Spain).
    • ,
  • Sylvia García-Belenguer, DVM, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Animal Pathology Department, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
    • ,
  • Marta León, DVM, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Merial Laboratorios, S.A., Tarragona, Barcelona, Spain
    • ,
  • Jorge Palacio, DVM, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Animal Pathology Department, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain

References 

  1. American Veterinary Medical Association . Task force on canine aggression and human-canine interactions. A community approach to dog bite prevention. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 2001;218:1732–1749
  2. Avner JR, Baker MD. Dog bites in urban children. Pediatrics. 1991;88:55–57
  3. Bandow JH. Will breed-specific legislation reduce dog bites?. Can. Vet. J. 1996;37:478–482
  4. Beck AM, Jones BA. Unreported dog bites in children. Public Health Rep. 1985;100:315–321
  5. Berzon DR, Farber RE, Gordon J, Kelley EB. Animal bites in a large city—A report on Baltimore, Maryland. Am. J. Public Health. 1972;62:422–426
  6. Boillat ME. El informe suizo sobre perros peligrosos 2a parte. Animalia. 2003;149:48–54
  7. Borud LJ, Friedman DW. Dog bites in New York City. Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 2000;106:987–990
  8. Bradshaw JW, Goodwin D. Determination of behavioral traits of pure-bred dogs using factor analysis and cluster analysis; a comparison of studies in the USA and UK. Res. Vet. Sci. 1998;66:73–76
  9. Bradshaw JW, Goodwin D, Lea AM, Whitehead SL. A survey of the behavioral characteristics of pure-bred dogs in the United Kingdom. Vet. Rec. 1996;138:465–468
  10. Butcher R, De Meester R, Radford M. Dangerous dogs—Are we getting it right?. Eur. J. Comp. Anim. Pract. 2002;12:41–48
  11. Collier S. Breed-Specific legislation and the pit bull terrier: are the laws justified?. J. Vet. Behav. 2006;1:17–22
  12. De Keuster T, Lamoureux J, Kahn A. Epidemiology of dog bites: a Belgium experience of canine behavior and public health concerns. Vet. J. 2006;172:482–487
  13. De Meester, R., 2004. Critical review of current European legislation regarding the issue of dangerous dogs. In: Heath, S., Osella, C. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 10th European Congress on Companion Animal Behavioural Medicine, Cremona, Italy. pp. 38-42.
  14. Fatjó J. Problemas de agresividad del perro: aspectos epidemiológicos y etiológicos (Dissertation). Barcelona, Spain: Autonomous University of Barcelona; 2006;
  15. Gershman KA, Sacks JJ, Wright JC. Which dogs bite? A case-control study of risk factors. Pediatrics. 1994;93:913–917
  16. Gracia J, Labarta JI, Monreal MJ, Elías J. Mordeduras de perro en la infancia. Estudio epidemiológico y clínico de 144 casos. An. Esp. Pediatr. 1992;37:287–290
  17. Gulevich RG, Oskina IN, Shikhevich SG, Fedorova EV, Trut LN. Effect of selection for behavior on pituitary-adrenal axis and proopiomelanocortin gene expression in silver foxes (Vulpes vulpes). Physiol. Behav. 2004;82:513–518
  18. Harris D, Imperato PJ, Oken B. Dog bites-an unrecognized epidemic. Bill. N.Y. Acad. Med. 1974;50:981–1000
  19. Hart BL, Hart LA. Selecting pet dogs on the basis of cluster analysis of breed behavior profiles and gender. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 1985;186:1181–1185
  20. Hart BL, Miller MF. Behavioral profiles of dog breeds. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 1985;186:1175–1180
  21. Heath S. Why do dogs bite?. Eur. J. Comp. Anim. Pract. 2005;15:129–132
  22. Horisberger U. Accidents par morsure de chien suivis d'une intervention médicale, Suisse: victimes-chiens-situation au moment de l'accident (Dissertation). Berne, Switzerland: University of Berne; 2002;
  23. Hunthausen W. Effects of aggressive behavior on canine welfare. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 1997;210:1134–1136
  24. Johann T. Assessment of the behavior of Golden Retrievers in comparison to the behavior of dogs considered dangerous according to the DAA of Lower Saxony, Germany (GefTVO) July 5, 2000 (Dissertation). Hannover, Germany: University of Hannover; 2004;
  25. Kahn A, Bauche P, Lamoureux J. Child victims of dog bites treated in emergency departments: a prospective survey. Eur. J. Pediatr. 2003;162:254–258
  26. Klaassen B, Buckley JR, Esmail A. Does the Dangerous Dogs Act protect against animal attacks: a prospective study of mammalian bites in the Accident and Emergency department. Injury. 1996;27:89–91
  27. Knobel H, López JL, Serrano C, Hernández P. Mordedura por animales. Estudio de 606 casos. Rev. Clin. Esp. 1997;197:560–563
  28. Kuhne F, Struwe R. Dangerous dogs in Berlin in comparison to the dog population—ways to reduce the dangerousness of dogs. Berl. Munch. Tierarztl. Wochenschr. 2006;119:445–455
  29. Ledger R, Orihel JS, Clarke N, Murphy S, Sedlbauer M. Breed specific legislation: considerations for evaluating its effectiveness and recommendations for alternatives. Can. Vet. J. 2005;46:735–743
  30. León M. Agresividad canina: epidemiología en la Comunidad Valenciana e implicación de los sistemas serotoninérgicos (Dissertation). Valencia, Spain: University Cardenal Herrera-CEU; 2006;
  31. León-Artozqui, M., Palacio, J., Rosado, B., García-Belenguer, S., 2004. Epidemiological study of dog bites in the province of Valencia (Spain). In: Abstracts of the 12th Annual EUPHA Meeting. Urbanisation and Health: New Challenges in Health Promotion and Prevention, Oslo, Norway. Eur. J. Public Health 14(suppl 4), 105.
  32. Lockwood R. Humane concerns about dangerous dog laws. U. Dayton L. Rev. 1988;13:267–277
  33. Mathews JR, Lattal KA. A behavioral analysis of dog bites to children. J. Dev. Behav. Pediatr. 1994;15:44–52
  34. McNicholas J, Collis GM. Dogs as catalysts for social interactions: robustness of the effect. Br. J. Psychol. 2000;91:61–70
  35. Méndez R, Gómez M, Somoza I, Liras J, País E, Vela D. Mordeduras de perro. Análisis de 654 casos en 10 años. An. Esp. Pediatr. 2002;56:425–429
  36. Mikkelsen J, Lund JD. Euthanasia of dogs due to behavioral problems: an epidemiological study of euthanasia of dogs in Denmark, with a special focus on problems of aggression. Eur. J. Comp. Anim. Pract. 2000;10:143–150
  37. Mills DS, Levine E. The need for a co-ordinated scientific approach to the investigation of dog bite injuries. Vet. J. 2006;172:398–399
  38. Morgan M, Palmer J. Dog bites. BMJ. 2007;334:413–417
  39. Nordhaus T. Evaluation of canine aggressiveness on the basis of the outward appearance, the breed of dog and visual signals (Dissertation). Berlin, Germany: Free University of Berlin; 2001;
  40. Overall KL, Love M. Dog bites to humans- demography, epidemiology, injury, and risk. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 2001;218:1923–1934
  41. Palacio J, León M, García-Belenguer S. Aspectos epidemiológicos de las mordeduras caninas. Gac. Sanit. 2005;19:50–58
  42. Sacks JJ, Sattin RW, Bonzo SE. Dog bite-related fatalities from 1979 through 1988. JAMA. 1989;262:1489–1492
  43. Sacks JJ, Sinclair L, Gilchrist J, Golab GC, Lockwood R. Breeds of dogs involved in fatal human attacks in the United States between 1979 and 1998. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 2000;217:836–840
  44. Schalamon J, Ainoedhofer H, Singer G, Petnehazy T, Mayr J, Kiss K, et al. Analysis of dog bites in children who are younger than 17 years. Pediatrics. 2006;117:374–379
  45. Scott JP, Fuller JL. Genetics and the Social Behavior of the Dog. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press; 1965;
  46. Spanish Dangerous Animals Act, Ley 50/1999, de 23 de diciembre, del Ministerio de Presidencia, sobre el Régimen Jurídico de la Tenencia de Animales Potencialmente Peligrosos. BOE 24/12/1999. No. 307, 45306-45310.
  47. Spanish Dangerous Animals Act, Real Decreto 287/2002, de 22 de marzo, del Ministerio de la Presidencia, por el que se desarrolla la Ley 50/1999, de 23 de diciembre, sobre el Régimen Jurídico de la Tenencia de Animales Potencialmente Peligrosos. BOE 27/03/2002. No. 74, 12290-12292.
  48. Svartberg K. Breed-typical behavior in dogs—Historical remnants or recent constructs?. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 2006;96:293–313
  49. Takeuchi Y, Mori Y. A comparison of the behavioral profiles of purebred dogs in Japan to profiles of those in the United States and the United Kingdom. J. Vet. Med. Sci. 2006;68:789–796
  50. Thompson PG. The public health impact of dog attacks in a major Australian City. Med. J. Aust. 1997;167:129–132
  51. Thrusfield M, Ortega C, de Blas I, Noordhuizen JP, Frankena K. Win Episcope 2.0: improved epidemiological software for veterinary medicine. Vet. Rec. 2001;148:567–572
  52. Trut LN. Experimental studies of early canid domestication. In:  Ruvinsky A,  Sampson J editor. The Genetics of the Domestic Dog. Oxfordshire, UK: CABI Publishing; 2001;p. 15–41
  53. Wake AAF, Stafford KJ, Minot EO. The experience of dog bites: a survey of veterinary science and veterinary nursing students. N.Z. Vet. J. 2006;54:141–146
  54. Wells DL. Domestic dogs and human health: an overview. Br. J. Health Psychol. 2007;12:145–156
  55. Wright JC. Canine aggression toward people. Bite scenarios and prevention. Vet. Clin. North Am. Small Anim. Pract. 1991;21:299–314

PII: S1558-7878(07)00202-X

doi: 10.1016/j.jveb.2007.07.010

Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research
Volume 2, Issue 5 , Pages 166-174 , September 2007

Article Tools

* Image Usage & Resolution