As a dog owner and A&E doctor the one thing I hate to see most is dog bites in children, these can be life changing events for both child and dog and the sad fact is that the very vast majority of bites are completely preventable with good supervision and proper management of interactions.
I have spent several years studying dog bites in children and trying to understand why via questionnaires to affected families and retrospective analysis of data. I feel it should be pointed out that if my facts are vague concerning numbers this is because the accuracy of data is possibly skewed. So figures in articles quoted are from nationwide statistics however, the reason I wonder how accurate they are is due to the way data is collected such as bites on the coding list when seen in A&E include cat and insect - alterations need to be inserted as free text. Information gathered largely relies on the input from the doctor and if they are not a dog owner they don’t tend to ask the right questions and so data is not always accurate and that only covers those who actually present to A&E. Anyway I digress but I wanted to make that point!
Worldwide the 2 most common breeds to bite are Dachshunds and Pit Bulls now before anyone starts messaging me about this - think about their genetics, what makes these breeds their breed? Dachshunds are feisty dogs bred to go down badger setts - I grew up with this fantastic breed and love them but the facts (even taking into account my above comment) is that these 2 breeds bite the most.
The breed most common in my own research in my local area was also bull breeds but this is skewed due to demographics as that is the most popular dog and may not be the same in a more rural area.
Children under 5 are more commonly bitten on the face, up to 12 it is the arms and then over 12 the legs. This is largely due to size but also the way children interact with the world.
Dogs can bite for many different reasons and the list below is just some of the general trends i have seen.
Food - either dogs eating or chewing or children eating so it is important to keep them separate when meals and snacks are being enjoyed.
Play - either inappropriate play, especially tuggy being a key element resulting in injuries (personally I never allow a child to play tuggy with a dog and I discourage it with the dog as it is too easy for a dog to mistake a toy doll for a tug toy and then the child gets bitten.) Unfortunately the vast majority of people playing tuggy do not have a play or a stop play cue which is why it can be a factor.
Disturbing a sleeping dog - let dogs have a space they are not disturbed and can retreat to and don't let your children climb or sleep on them!
Pain - any change in behaviour should be checked by a vet as this can make a massive impact on how a dog responds and as a dog ages too, behaviour that once a dog didn't mind soon becomes an issue if arthritis or other problems are involved.
Teasing - this occurs too much and dogs tolerate it to a point then snap. Never let a child tease a dog including using recent social media trends such as videos of hugging dogs being a case in point - many dogs don’t like to hug and you can often see in videos dogs looking stressed.
Emotional overflow - think about your moods and you snapping verbally however, with a dog they may bite and a scared and fearful dog may bite too.
It is very important to never tell a dog off for growling as this is a warning and if you scold them for a growl they may go straight to the bite next time. A growl is a warning - heed it and tell your child to do the same. Worryingly too is that in research it was found that most children thought a growling dog was a smiling dog!
The key thing to realise is that all dogs can bite no matter how loving and how used to children they are, no matter what breed or age. The very vast majority of bites are completely preventable by good management and supervision of interactions and by teaching a child how to behave around dogs. When a dog bites this does not make a dog bad, it is largely due to a misunderstanding and with work these communication breakdowns can be resolved.
Dogs Trust offer some wonderful programmes for families and I really recommend seeking them out to teach children how to behave around dogs. It is Be Dog Smart https://www.learnwithdogstrust.org.uk/safety/
They also have workshops to support families after an incident too.
In the first instance of a bite make sure you irrigate under running water if possible and seek medical aid bites can easily become infected as dogs teeth can bite deeply.
Dogs are wonderful pets and it's not for nothing that we call them our best friend but let's not forget their genetics for all the nurture we give them we can't always overrule nature.