Presented by  Janis Bradley

CEUs 

Webinar Objectives

About The Presenter

Janice trained and certified more than 450 dog trainers at the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals between 2000 and 2009 where she worked directly with more than 1,500 dogs of all breeds and appearances. In 2010 Janice founded the Dog Training Internship Academy. 

For 15 years Janice helped owners with pets that had evidenced behavior problems, specializing in aggression issues. 

Janice is currently the Director of Communications and Publications for the National Canine Research Council, a canine policy think tank that conducts, reviews, and disseminates academically rigorous research which studies dogs in the context of human society. She has lectured widely on behavior at meetings of various animal control, training, and humane organizations. Janice will be presenting at PPG's Summit in November 2015 in Tampa, FL

Presented by Janis Bradley

CEUs

PPAB 1, IAABC 1, CPDT 1, KPA 1

Because the rate of dog bite injuries to children is somewhat higher than to adults, the actual risk often becomes exaggerated in peoples’ minds. This presentation will examine what is known about the risk of injury from dog bites and the kinds of interactions between dogs and children thought to be common to bite incidents.

Ways to frame messages about safe interactions with dogs to emphasize empathy building rather than fear will be presented. This includes situations that are likely to make dogs feel the need to defend themselves and the “please don’t make me bite you,” signals that can result.

Webinar Objectives

• Understand the actual risk of dog bite injuries to children
• Be able to explain non-threatening behavior toward dogs in a way that builds empathy in children

About The Presenter

Janis Bradley is the author of Dogs Bite, but balloons and slippers are more dangerous, the complete guide to research on dog bites, along with Dog Bites: Problems and Solutions for The Animals and Society Institute, and The Relevance of Breed in Selecting a Companion Dog for the National Canine Research Council.   Between 2000 and 2009, Bradley trained more than 400 professional pet dog trainers at the San Francisco SPCA’s Academy for Dog Trainers, and in 2011 founded the Dog Training Internship Academy.  Bradley is the Director of Communications and Publications at the National Canine Research Council, a think tank whose mission is to support and distribute the best current science studying domestic dogs in the context of a human environment.  She has spoken at numerous professional conferences.  She lives in Camarillo California with her rescued Greyhound.

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For decades, researchers have been producing papers that look at what can be loosely described as the epidemiology of dog bites through a variety of lenses. Generally, they conclude with well-intentioned recommendations on how to reduce the frequency of dogs bite to people. The studies themselves, unfortunately, often conflate injurious and non-injurious incidents and pathologize aggression. The academic medical literature in particular is riddled with fear mongering, while the vast majority of dog bite injuries are at the Band-Aid level, while these in turn are dwarfed by the bites that do no physical harm at all. But these papers often lead to discrimination against specific groups of dogs and alarmist responses when a pet expresses any grouchiness. Studies often have the ability to do harm in the real world, despite authors’ best intentions and earnest caveats.  Researchers have a responsibility to be mindful of this.

Meanwhile, the rate of injurious dog bites remains the same. The only reliable source of injurious dog bite data in the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Top of Form’s emergency department reporting system, shows that the rate at which dogs hurt people with their teeth remains remarkably stable. Both good science and good advocacy suggest that we might be better off admitting that we don’t know why this is so and focusing on how to find out. For example, since the ways that people live with dogs have changed considerably in the last few decades, and dog professionals have been busily making and publicizing dog bite prevention recommendations, it is possible that we don’t actually know what, if anything, would change the rate of these events.  

If we want to continue pursuing this issue at all, it is time to reconsider which research questions might yield answers relevant to human welfare. This presentation will make the case for focusing on the bites that actually impact public safety, those that cause significant injury. A better understanding of how to reduce the incidence of human injury is unlikely to be achieved as long as researchers continue to lump all dog bites into a single category regardless of severity.  

Learning Objectives:  

• Understand the current situation—things have been pretty much the same for decades. 

• Question what has been studied and how. 

• Consider more productive approaches. 

Your Presenter

Janis Bradley

Janis Bradley is the author of Dogs Bite, but balloons and slippers are more dangerous, the complete guide to research on dog bites, along with Dog Bites: Problems and Solutions for The Animals and Society Institute, and The Relevance of Breed in Selecting a Companion Dog for the National Canine Research Council.

Between 2000 and 2009, she trained more than 400 professional pet dog trainers at the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ Academy for Dog Trainers, and, in 2011, founded the Dog Training Internship Academy.

She is director of communications and publications at the National Canine Research Council, a think tank whose mission is to produce, support and distribute the best current science studying domestic dogs in the context of a human environment. She has co-authored papers regarding canine behavior for peer reviewed journals and has spoken at numerous professional conferences.