Beware of the dog

Abstract

In 2018, there were 8.9 million dogs in the UK, 6.6 million UK households own a dog, and between 1981 and 2015 there were 78 human deaths from dog bites in England and Wales. Surgical challenges include infection, dealing with arm and nose injuries and when to close a wound. Effective legislation derives in part from appropriately robust studies, but some lack sufficient scientific rigour. Dog breed identification in the absence of DNA analysis is unreliable and reward-based dog owner interaction is superior to punishment-based training. Legislation that is based on the targeting of specific breeds should be abandoned.