Teach clients to prevent dog bites
May 16 begins National Dog Bite Prevention Week. Here's how to be part of the solution.
Next week is National Dog Bite Prevention Week, and veterinarians and veterinary team members play a crucial role in educating adults and children about what to do and not do to prevent dog bites.
The following resources can help you prevent dog bites by training dogs how to respond better to people, and people to respond better to dogs.
From dvm360.com
Veterinary Medicine offers a trio of client handouts on working with dominantly aggressive dogs, sometimes the culprits in dog bites. Click the links below to download and read the client handouts. They're fairly lengthy and in-depth, so consider paraphrasing the high points for clients who don't want homework reading.
"Desensitizing dominantly aggressive dogs"
"Teaching your aggressive dog deferential behavior"
"10 situations to avoid if your dog is dominantly aggressive"
DVM Newsmagazine in this month's issue explored the high costs of animal-related injuries in the veterinary clinic. Click here to read the story. Then click here to read up on ways to calm canines in your clinic.
From the CDC
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dedicated a Web page to dog biteslast year, and its advice is just as good today. Read their research-based advice here.
From the AVMA
If you're in the mood for deeper learning on the subject, dive into the American Veterinary Medical Association's report "A community approach to dog bite prevention."
Click here for a page listing all the AVMA's handouts and education on dog bites.…
Don't hesitate to offer your expert advice on canine safety, fear, and aggression. If you'd like to turn your knowledge into a profit center for your practice, don't miss the upcoming June 2010 issue of Veterinary Economics. Private practitioner and behavior-counseling veteran Dr. Wayne Hunthausen tells you what you need to know to make behavior counseling a pivotal part of your veterinary practice.
