Victorian hospitals treating 10 people a day for dog bites

The rate and severity of dog bites is increasing — with Victorian hospitals treating 10 people a day for injuries. Here’s what to look for in anxious dogs, to prevent bites.

Victorian hospitals treat 10 people for dog bites every single day, with attacks increasing for the fifth year in a row.

Emergency departments treated more than 15,600 patients – including 2,348 children – for dog bites between July 2017 and June 2022, new data from Monash University’s Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit shows.

Cases increased by more than 40 per cent over the five years, rising from 2,600 patients in the 2018 financial year to more than 3,730 in the 2022 financial year.

More than one-third of patients had injuries severe enough to require a stay in hospital, with admission rising by 53 per cent — higher than the rate of ED increases — over the five years.

This suggests that while dog bites are increasing, so too is the proportion that leads to more serious injuries.

Dog attacks are on the rise. Picture: Supplied

Younger people were slightly more likely to be bitten, with one in ten emergency department patients aged between 25 and 29.

The next most common age groups were 20-24 years old (8.8 per cent), 30-34-year-olds (8.5 per cent), 0-4-year-olds (7.7 per cent) and 5-9 year olds (7.1 per cent).

Injured Victorians were most likely to be bitten on the hand or wrist – representing more than 40 per cent of all emergency department cases over the five years – followed by their head, which dogs bit in 22 per of injuries.

In rarer cases, 48 people were bitten on the neck, followed by 41 on the thorax.

What to look for, to stay safe

RSPCA Good Pet Behaviour Centre’s Dr Caroline Thursfield said the high percentage of bites to the hand, wrist and head suggested the person “was likely already interacting with the dog”.

“An easy test is to stop the interaction and see if the dog nudges you to continue or if they try to leave or turn their head away,” she said.

“If their body is tense, particularly around their legs, neck or face, then it’s time to take a break and let them relax by themselves in a safe space.”

She said a safe space could be their bed or a dog crate and would help them feel comfortable in the home — the location where more than half of all patients were attacked.

More than 35 per cent of patients were from regional Victoria – slightly above their population share — and the split among men and women was equal.

One in four admitted patients spent between two and seven days in hospital, while 14 patients — 0.2 per cent of cases — suffered such serious injuries they were hospitalised for more than 31 days or longer. No patients died.

RSPCA Good Pet Behaviour Centre Dr Gabrielle Carter said most aggressive dog behaviour was “based in fear and anxiety”, so owners need to know how to read their pet’s body language and respond.

“Signs a dog is feeling uncomfortable include wide eyes (which is often called ‘whale eye’), ears back, bared teeth, wrinkles around the mouth or forehead, frequent yawns or licking of their lips,” she said.

“It’s vital to listen when a dog tells you they are feeling uncomfortable, scared or even in pain,” she said.

She said unexplained stress should prompt a visit to the vet, in case there’s an underlying issue.

“It’s hard to be cheerful when you’ve been hurt,” she said.