Papers & Articles

This study was undertaken to form the basis of a public health programme focused on the prevention of dog bites. To obtain representative data, it was decided that information would be obtained from both the owners of dogs that had bitten somebody and the victims of bites inflicted by dogs not owned by the victim. MATERIALS AND METHODS Experimental design A telephone survey of people who had been bitten by either a familiar dog (owner group) or an unfamiliar dog (non-owner group) was undertaken between January 2004 and April 2005. The survey was based on questionnaires contain-ing 147 questions for the owner group and 31 questions for the non-owner group. The survey questions were based on the questionnaires of Guy and others (2001b) and on the BSAVA Canine Behaviour Questionnaire (2002). Minor amendments were made to the questionnaires after a small pilot study. The non-owners ’ ques-tionnaire (NOQ) was divided into three sections: information about the dog, details of the bite incident, and details of the bite injuries and their consequences for the dog and the victim. The owner’s questionnaire (OQ) contained an additional three sections to obtain data on the history and management of the dog; these data are not considered in this paper. When there had been more than one incident involving the same dog, the respondent was requested to provide infor-mation about the most recent incident. In cases in which the owner’s dog had bitten a non-family member, some details of the incident, the injuries and their consequences could not be ascertained; the answers to these questions were entered as ‘don’t know’. Admission criterion A biting incident was defined as when ‘a visible mark was left on the victim’s skin ’ (Guy and others 2001b). Incidents of snapping and grabbing of clothes without leaving visible marks on the skin were excluded. Data collection Starting in January 2004, a dedicated telephone number, the Dog Bite Line (DBL) was established. It was publicised in local and national print and radio media, and members of the public who had been bitten by a dog or whose dog had bitten somebody were requested to telephone the DBL and participate in the study. AGGRESSION by dogs towards people is a significant publi