How to stay safe if you encounter an aggressive dog
With the weather warming up, more people are getting outdoors with their pets.
With that, the City of Saskatoon has issued a reminder about bite prevention during encounters with dogs, and some experts are weighing in with important tips.
David Magnussen is a dog behaviourist and has been doing it for most of his life.
He sees the city’s public service announcement as an important reminder for residents and adds, it’s important to understand where responsibility lies.
“It’s foundationally the dog owners, the dogs definitely are reflective of their owners,” said Magnussen, owner of Canine Connections.
The city is specifically targeting bite prevention in their latest information, and according to University of Saskatchewan dog behaviour researcher Karen Machin, children and elderly folks are most at risk.
“The largest bite risk is to children and older people because young children and older people, their behavior changes a little bit,” Machin told CTV News.
Children ages five to 10 pose the biggest concern.
“They are loud, unpredictable and they manhandle. Older people not so much, but they move differently, and children move differently, and dogs, especially if they haven’t been around that, struggle with that,” she says.
Magnussen says dog owners need to do their job by regulating and balancing their dog’s energy and being calmly in charge.
“When you’re going for walks, you’re going to have a dog that knows how to live in the environment, but it starts in the home,” she said.
The city website talks about strategies if a dog is approaching and may seem aggressive - important guidelines according to this expert.
“You just be a tree — stand still, and if they come up and sniff, don’t try to interact with them, hopefully the owner is close and calling their dog,” she said.
In a scenario where you have a dog, Machin advises to try not to let your dog be exposed to the aggressive animal. If yours is a small dog — hold them, but remain calm.
A recent fatal dog attack in Edmonton where a boy was killed in a house with two large dogs has caught the interest of many, and makes the city’s advice all the more timely.
There are many factors as to why dogs attack, and Magnussen reiterates the need for proper training. He admits he doesn’t know much about the Edmonton attack, but says keeping dogs cooped up with no energetic outlet could contribute to extra aggression.
According to Magnussen, dogs can be trained at any age and a good step is to speak to an expert.
The city’s website also has information on what to do if a dog bites you.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Ontario man loses $1,500 applying for Nexus cards on social media
The trusted traveller program between Canada and the United States is extremely popular and almost two million Canadians have a Nexus card.
NEW Facial reconstruction reveals what a 40-something Neanderthal woman may have looked like
Scientists studying a Neanderthal woman's remains have painstakingly pieced together her skull from 200 bone fragments to understand what she may have looked like.
Concerns about Plexiglas prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglas barriers.
Weight-loss drug Wegovy available in Canada starting May 6
The makers of Ozempic say their weight-loss drug Wegovy will be available to patients in Canada starting Monday.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Goring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
This Canadian restaurant just lowered its prices. Here's how it did it
A Canadian restaurant lowered its prices this week, and though news of price tags dropping rather than climbing sounds unusual, the business strategy in this case is not, according to experts in the field.
NEW Companies letting customers opt out of Mother's Day ads
In an effort to balance the profitability of Mother's Day with the pain it causes some people, some brands are offering customers the choice to opt out of Mother's Day email advertising.
NEW A mother's hopes to free her son from a Syrian prison is revitalized by a new human rights report
Just days before the seventh anniversary of the day Jack Letts was thrown in prison with thousands of suspected ISIS fighters, his mother, Sally Lane, delivered a small stack of envelopes to the headquarters of Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa.