Customer Reviews:
 Every trainer should read this book February 16, 2006
15 out of 17 found this review helpful
I wish I had gotten a copy of this to the Senator that created the 'dangerous dog' law for Oregon that just went into effect this year.
This is a book that every dog trainer needs to read so they can educate their clients.
I'm looking forward to Janis' visit to CSDogBookReview (YahooGroups) as a guest author in March. It should be very interesting!
A Great Teaching Tool January 12, 2006
24 out of 24 found this review helpful
I use sections of this book in my Critical Thinking class. Along with shark attacks, public beliefs about dog bites are probably the best example of the most common "common sense" mistakes we make about statistics, and Janice Bradley's book is a wonderful way to introduce those ideas. Engaging, clearly written, entertaining and fully of cogent analysis, this book manages to be both importantly educational and a great read.
Of course, dogs are carnivorous animals with sharp teeth, and consequently we do have a solemn duty to socialize them early and to teach them good bite inhibition, so that if they ever are pushed beyond their tolerance level, they don't do any harm. Bradley's point in Dogs Bite is simply that we need to respond rationally to dog bites, with a sense of the great good dogs bring us as well as an accurate knowledge of the real extent of the danger.
I would recommend this to anyone in a Critical Thinking course, or to anyone interested in dogs or local legislation of any sort.
 There is an urgent need to educate on DOG BITE PREVENTION - This book does not stress that enough! December 31, 2005
12 out of 65 found this review helpful
It is important to urge parents to teach about Dog Bite Prevention. Dog bites are a growing problem and kids are not getting educated. This book down sizes the actual problem.
It does not illustrate the true stories and realities about what happens to kids with dog bites. Most kids are bitten in the face and are left with permanent facial scars.
She left that part out. If people don't realize this they will not make the effort to educate their kids. People need to hear the aweful stories so they will wake up and work harder on dog bite prevention.
Lisa LeLeu |
Posted November 13, 2005
I know there are a lot of pit bull lovers out there, and it is hard for them to hear the truth about what these dogs are capable of doing if put in the wrong situation.
As Lake columnist Lauren Ritchie pointed out recently, any dog can bite, but if a pit bull decides to bite, it is not just a nip -- it's a severe clamping down and locking of the jaw and a vicious shaking, which will rip open the skin. It can more easily cause severe injury or death.
My son was bitten by a pit bull, and his cheeks were completely torn open within a few seconds. His injuries were only two inches from his jugular vein, and he likely would not have survived had the bite been a little off.
Benjamin had about 300 stitches. He has some facial paralysis, which means his sweet smile will never be the same, and he will have to live with facial scars for life.
Benjamin was bitten by a dog that its owner thought of as a nice family pet. At least that's what they told Benjamin when they gave him permission to pet their dog.
The pit bull was fine while Ben petted him in the presence of its owner's son and girlfriend. But then they tied the creature to a picket fence and left Ben with the dog for a few minutes. When the owner's son was out of sight, the dog was not comfortable -- probably not used to being around young children. She attacked without warning as pit bulls often do -- no growling.
She latched onto Ben's sweet, smiling happy face and started shaking him like a rag doll, lifting him up off the ground.
Luckily the owner's son and Ben's dad heard them and ran out to see what was going on. When the owner's son yelled, the dog let go.
The dog was a pit bull-Labrador retriever mix and a neutered female. Dog owners should realize that even with a mixed pit bull, and a neutered one at that, a dog can still behave like a pit bull.
I think that we all need to help build more awareness for the sake of children.
Kids see films, toys, and books that portray dogs as only harmless and cuddly creatures -- they need to be educated, not misled. If extension cords come with warnings, why don't dogs come with warnings?
Example: Warning: If you do not train and socialize your dog with children, your animal has a high potential of biting a child.
All the important organizations, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, admit to the great need to educate our children on dog bite prevention, yet they are not doing enough to make it happen.
We need more teachers and the parents to get together to create a strong voice so that we can build awareness and make Dog Bite Prevention Week an important part of our children's school education.
Lisa LeLeu is an author and activist in dog bite prevention who lives in Doylestown, Pa
loaded with "science sense" December 24, 2005
29 out of 30 found this review helpful
Dogs Bite is loaded - not with common sense, but with lucid, refreshing scientific sense. In a reader-friendly style, in clear layman's language, Bradley fluidly weaves in basic logic, statistics, risk analysis, evolutionary psychology, neurobiology, systems theory, evolution, ethology and behavior analysis to support her formidable argument that, as she repeats throughout the chapters in a soothing sort of mantra, "...dogs almost never kill people, and they don't actually bite us very often, and when they do we're seldom injured, and when we are, it's seldom serious."
Not many books can make you laugh aloud uproariously and at the same time teach you so much. Chapter 5, in which she examines her own childhood family's interactions with various pets, is poignant and instructive. Bradley tells about her defensive aggression toward Chipper their parakeet, and her mother's maternal aggression toward Tippy their Sheltie-cross puppy, among several anecdotes. In these incidents, she analyzes each animal's motivations and behavior (through the clear lenses of ethology and behavior analysis) and provides readers with diagnoses on the type of aggression, if any, involved. Take home point: aggression is normal across most animals, yet dogs seldom take their aggression to the point of hurting people or each other.
Bradley's chapter on the current state of research on biting dogs is incisive and scathing. One can only hope that it motivates researchers to clean up their statistical act and revise their highly suspect recommendations.
If for no other reason, every dog loving citizen should have this engaging, enlightening book on their shelf in the remote chance that a dog mauling or fatality occurs in their city. Then they can use its clear, calming data to offset the rising hysteria in a letter to the editor, to legislators, and to anyone else who wants to bridge the schism in the human brain between fear and reason. With Bradley's brilliant book, maybe we can help our cortex prevail over our ancient alligator brain!
Required reading! December 23, 2005
17 out of 18 found this review helpful
Janis Bradley's book should be REQUIRED reading for civic leaders who are busy crafting anti-dog laws.
This important book starts with after page of fascinating and very easy-to-read statistics which clearly show current anti-dog hysteria is pointless -- and in fact a waste of time on the part of our civic leaders. There are clearly more important things to do with their valuable time.
I was astounded to learn how many thousands of people and children are crippled and maimed yearly -- by ordinary household objects and other primates! Dogs are clearly at the bottom of the list of things that hurt us and our children.
Janis points out that even the definition of a dog bite used in commonly cited studies is flawed - dog bite statistics commonly include contact, that may be scary to those contacted, that doesn't break the skin!
The current hysteria is clearly fueled by fear and ignorance. Bradley's book can help clear things up!
This book is obviously recommended for dog owners, dog advocates, animal care professionals -- but MORE importantly for those who make decisions affecting our canine companions: civic leaders, doctors, lawyers, fire fighters, police, teachers, parents, landlords and insurance industry executives.
The book is packed with enough citations and reasoning to convince the most critical of thinkers ... and includes good sections explaining the whys of canine behavior -- good and bad -- and a section offering practical advice for living safely with dogs and even a discussion on how to breed and train safer dogs.
Read this book.
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