Parents shouldn’t buy a dog until
children reach school age, a study
suggests. “School-age children can be
trained successfully in precautionary
behavior when approaching a dog,”
author Johannes Schalamon, M.D.,
and colleagues wrote in the journal
Pediatrics. They looked at the cases
of dog-bite victims ages 17 and
younger treated in an Austrian hospital
from 1994 to 2003. The study showed
that whether a dog bites a child may
depend on the dog’s breed, the child’s
age and the behavior of dog owners,
children and parents.
Children ages 1 and
younger were most likely
to be bitten. Attacks on
children fell as age rose.
Most children were
bitten by dogs they
knew, often after they
unwittingly provoked
the dog.
Parents shouldn’t buy a dog until
children reach school age, a study
suggests. “School-age children can be
trained successfully in precautionary
behavior when approaching a dog,”
author Johannes Schalamon, M.D.,
and colleagues wrote in the journal
Pediatrics. They looked at the cases
of dog-bite victims ages 17 and
younger treated in an Austrian hospital
from 1994 to 2003. The study showed
that whether a dog bites a child may
depend on the dog’s breed, the child’s
age and the behavior of dog owners,
children and parents.
Children ages 1 and
younger were most likely
to be bitten. Attacks on
children fell as age rose.
Most children were
bitten by dogs they
knew, often after they
unwittingly provoked
the dog.
