A record number of Victorian children are being hospitalised for dog bites, with doctors treating more than 1000 injuries over the past nine years including skull fractures and extensive facial wounds.
Last year, 133 children were admitted to the state’s largest paediatric health service, The Royal Children’s Hospital, for dog bite injuries. This is 50 per cent higher than 2018 figures.
The rise in dog bite injuries coincides with a well-documented increase in pet ownership during the pandemic. But health experts are unsure whether this is the sole driver of the spike in dog bites, which predominantly occur in the home with family pets.
Dr Cameron Palmer, an epidemiologist and trauma service data manager at the Royal Children’s Hospital, said more than 40 per cent of children seeking dog bite treatment required an admission to hospital, which was a much higher rate than other types of injuries. Around two-thirds of these bite injuries involved the face.
“Most of the injuries sustained are superficial wounds, but we have also seen face and arm fractures, and even internal injuries to the head and chest,” he said.
“Thankfully, the need for life-saving interventions is very uncommon, but even one child’s life being threatened is one too many.”
Associate Professor Daniel Wilks, deputy director of the hospital’s department of plastic and maxillofacial surgery, said preventing infection was one of the greatest challenges when it came to treating dog bites.
More significant bites need to be cleaned in the sterile environment of a surgical theatre, he said. This involves flushing out bacteria from the dog’s mouth, and damaged skin tissue might also need to be removed.
“When larger dogs bite and hold on, the shaking motion causes skin and subcutaneous fat to tear away from the underlying muscle,” he explained.
“This shearing effect disrupts the blood supply, leaving tissue damaged beyond its capacity to heal.”
He said children starting to crawl, stand or walk are at highest risk, because they can easily startle a household pet and their movements are often unpredictable.
“Dogs have a limited number of ways to express discomfort or stress, and biting is one of them,” Wilks said. “In rare and extreme circumstances involving infants, strong bites can even breach the thin bones of the cranium, risking underlying neurological injury.”
He said plastic surgery does not eliminate scars entirely.
“Any time an injury cuts through the full thickness of the skin, a permanent scar remains,” Wilks said.
“Our goal is to hide scars within natural anatomical lines and restore function, but both physical and psychological scars can persist long after the physical wounds heal.”
Clinicians at Monash Children’s Hospital are also treating a steady stream of dog bite injuries. Dr Ian Loh, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon at the health service in Melbourne’s south-east, said around two to three children arrived at the hospital every week with dog bite injuries.
Many of these patients are toddlers and infants, and most involve an incident with the family pet.
He said in severe cases, children’s muscles and nerves need to be surgically repaired after a dog latches on and shakes. They might also need multiple operations to clear out infection.
As well as physical trauma, families also have to navigate psychological trauma.
“It can impact a child’s interactions with animals in the future,” he said. “There’s also a lot of parental guilt. Often these are family dogs that have nipped the child.”
Mel Ritterman, dog trainer and founder of Cooper and Kids, helps many families navigate the fallout of domestic pet bites.
She said before resorting to biting, dogs communicate distress through subtle signs such as yawning, lip-licking, showing the whites of their eyes (or “whale eyes”), or turning away.
Ritterman warns against punishing dogs for growling, calling it a vital warning signal that can prevent an attack.
She recommends that families always supervise children and dogs, and use baby gates and playpens to create designated zones.
“If a parent steps away, even briefly, the child and pet must be separated,” she said. “If you wanted to go to the bathroom and your baby is in a playpen, I would still be bringing your dog with you.”
She said most domestic dog bites occur not because a dog is inherently dangerous, but because their subtle signs of fear is missed.
Ritterman said education is beneficial for all families with dogs, including those who are expecting.
“All dogs can bite children, regardless of their breed,” she said.
Veterinary nurse Ali Rose never expected her docile four-year-old border collie Moose would hurt her son.
But in a split second in January, as Rose was filming her son Thomas crawling towards Moose, her beloved pet sank his teeth into the baby’s forehead.
“I’ve been a vet nurse for almost 12 years now,” Rose said. “It was just so quick and subtle that I didn’t pick up on it in real time.”
While the bite didn’t puncture the baby’s skin, and only caused minor bruising, the incident rattled the Gippsland family.
Instead of rehoming Moose, Rose consulted Ritterman and learnt how to create separate zones in her home for Thomas and Moose, and how to better understand canine communication.
She reviewed video footage of the incident and discovered that Moose was exhibiting subtle signs of canine anxiety such as showing the whites of his eyes.
Her son is walking now, and Moose appears to be more comfortable with the family dynamic.
“He’s used to seeing people walking, so it’s more familiar to him, and it’s not as scary.”
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