In Switzerland in December 2023, there were 553'452 registered dogs in all 26 cantons (states). The number of dog owners is 455'016, of which 392'157 were single-dog owners, 50'020 were 2-dog owners and 7844 were 3-dog owners (4904 people own more than 4 of them). All dogs in Switzerland must be registered with "Amicus", using a microship to identify them, with the police and veterinary services.

With so many domestic canines present in so many homes and public places, it makes sense to ask questions and look more closely at any incidents that may logically occur between dogs and humans. Let's not be fooled, it's clear that, as with any living creature, pinches, bites and even fatal attacks can occur. Dogs are predators, and it's vital to be fully aware of this fact and not to infantilize or anthropomorphize them, as is happening more and more often ! Unfortunately, although a few data and figures are sometimes published in the media, the reality escapes public notice completely. 

National census figures for dog bites/attacks on humans and other animals are now only available on a canton-by-canton basis. The OSAV (Federal Office for Food Safety and Veterinary Affairs) has not published statistics at Swiss level for over 10 years. When last published in 2008, the figures were :

Number of dogs                       499'021

Number of registered bites        4796 (announced cases only)

The statistics, which you will find in the references, will provide you with further details on the age categories of the victims, the severity of the injuries, the parts of the body affected, the locations where the incidents occurred, the relationship between the dog and the victim, and the breeds of dog involved. It is truly regrettable and even prejudicial that a federal report, in this form, has not been published since. After all, as the saying goes, "it's not what we don't know that causes us problems. It's what we mistakenly believe to be true". The lack of publication of official data keeps the public unaware of the real risks of aggression and dog bites. And the absence of theoretical courses at federal level (an aberration when talking about a living being) and the obligation to follow practical education courses in many cantons means that the essential knowledge is not passed on effectively. All this is detrimental both to the dog's well-being (various levels and forms of mistreatment) and to human safety. This is quite serious and must be corrected - the sooner, the better !

Today, the number of dogs has risen again, as have the number of incidents. In a study carried out in 2001 by veterinarian Ursula Horisberger, 13,000 bites were recorded in eleven months (September 2000 to August 2021). By 2024, the number of dog bites could logically have risen to an average of 10'000 to 15'000 a year. According to information received during federal training, some of these bites may not be reported to cantonal veterinary services (around 40%). Indeed, it is not uncommon for victims to decide not to report an attack if the injury is not serious or can be treated without stitches or surgery. There may be several reasons for this, including the desire not to cause problems if the dog responsible for the bite is a family member or belongs to close friends. The belief that euthanasia could then be the consequence is still very much alive. We can also cite the victim's acknowledgement of having been the cause of the bite, due to a mistake he or she has made and which he or she will assume, not declaring the case. Or the fact that the injury is insignificant, not serious and not worth reporting, which is mainly the case for grade 1, i.e. pinching.

As far as the victims are concerned, they come from various age categories, but medical and veterinary statistics are straightforward : children under 10 are the main victims, in relation to their proportion in the population and and small size. It makes perfect sense. Many families have one or more dogs, and children come into contact with canines in many places (friends, playgrounds, public areas, the countryside, etc.), and are often unaware of the dog's limits, do's and don'ts, instincts and behaviour. According to 2008 statistics, the risk of a child being bitten is up to 2 times higher that of an adult.

As the risk for children is therefore higher, we would like to clarify : the dog does not identify the child, between birth and puberty approximately, as a human being. The puppy will consider it as a playmate, a congener or even, sometimes, as a toy. And an adopted or adult dog, which has not previously been familiarized with children, may also consider it as prey or a danger for him. In the latter case, any couple wishing to have a child should seek advice from a veterinary/educator during the pregnancy on the best methods to apply to the arrival of the child, in order to avoid jealousy and its consequences. As a general rule, without in-depth or professional knowledge of the dog world, we should always seek specialist advice BEFORE making any changes in the dog's life and environment ! If there's one most important rule to remember with children, it's this : never leave them alone with a dog (even one belonging to the family) and systematically monitor, with great attention, all interactions between them and the dog !

Two-thirds of the time, the biting dog is known to his victim, or part of his close circle. At present, the dog breeds with the most incidents with humans are the most common breeds : Shepherds, Retriever, etc. Contrary to popular belief, it's not the so-called molosser breeds, which are no more dangerous behaviorally speaking (with the exception of the influences of bad owners, who use them for scare tactics or dog fights, with possible abuse - molossers have a powerful jaw and can do more damage), that are proving to be more problematic, but rather the breeds that are unanimously praised because they are labelled "family dogs", the most popular ones. It's about time to stop using this kind of denomination for dog breeds, we now have to be clear and concise : a dog is neither nice nor nasty, it's a canine governed by his phylogenetic and ontogenetic behaviors, his own character & personality, the environment in which he evolves and his physical/emotional state, among other things. It is therefore totally false, and even very dangerous, to think, as we still do, that all individuals of the same breed or species will necessarily have the same behavioral characteristics, or that what applies to one can be applied to all the others in the same way, with the same results. This is one of the biggest mistakes we make in managing living beings, even within our own species. 

Regarding the body parts affected in the majority of attacks, it depends on the age category concerned and the action at the time of the bite. Unsurprisingly, in children, the two parts most often bitten are the head/face (very logical given the size of this age group) and the lower limbs. In adults, we find the lower limbs, upper limbs and hands.

And what about the degree of severity of the injuries and the potential physical and psychological after-effects ? Bites are normally classified into three grades, described as follows :

Grade 1        Pinching, biting without skin perforation
Grade 2        Skin perforation without muscle tear
Grade 3        Skin perforation and muscle tear (massive)

If the the first grade requires little or no treatment, the next two require medical examination, and the consequences can be far more serious for the victim. The majority of bites recorded are grade 2, followed by grade 1 and then grade 3.

In grade 2 and 3, the physical after-effects (scars, varying degrees of disability, etc.) and above all the psychological consequences (fear, anxiety, phobia, etc.) are very frequent and can ruin the lives of the victim and those close to them. Moreover, dog bites often leave more psychological scars, which are often overlooked by the general public, but remain a serious problem that can last, sometimes for a lifetime, without adequate desensitization treatment.

SIGNIFICANT FACTS AND FIGURES

A study carried out at the "Armand-Trousseau" Children's Hospital (Paris), between 2002 and 2010, on 77 children bitten by a dog on the face, produced the following figures : 55 children suffered multiple dog bites to the face (71.43%), affecting the central area. The bites were deep in 59 children (77%), with amputation or extensive loss of substance in 24 of them (31%). Healing time was 10.54 months. Nearly a third of the children (22 out of 77) required multiple surgeries; 32 children had aesthetic (41.56%) and functional sequelae; 27 children had psychological disorders (35.1%).

Between 2009 and 2010, a study by Cécile Ricard, bringing together eight French hospital centers (Annecy, Béthune, Blaye, Fontainebleau, Le Havre, Limoges, Marseille and Verdun) dealt with the severity factors of dog bites in emergency rooms. It is uplifting and worth reading it : FULL STUDY (in french only) ! We use the table below, which shows the number of bites and their degree of seriousness in children, between 0 and 15 years old. These figures are only for one year and only concern 8 hospital centers out of more than 1,355 in France.

In Switzerland, Ursula Horisberger's study (2002) revealed the following results : out of 13'000 dog bites, 2860 patients treated in hospital underwent anaesthesia (22%). Their injuries were classified as "serious". It was mainly head and hand injuries that proved to be "serious injuries" (5980 & 2990). 975 patients were hospitalized (7,5%) ; those with head injuries were the most frequently hospitalized (23%). Generally speaking, children - the group with the most head injuries - suffer more often from serious injuries, and are also more often hospitalized.

These figures, which only concern 9 French hospitals (over 1 year) and a single study in Switzerland, are highly worrying and they should give politicians and wolf haters serious pause for thought. They are constantly predicting wolf attacks, insisting on the real danger hanging over our children but, in fact, they are totally ignoring the disturbing reality ! And the incidents continue, hidden in the shadows and without any political movement, which is also highly reprehensible ! And, as far as heads of state are concerned, this inaction is contrary to their mandate, which is to ensure the safety of the population.

At cantonal level, we provide you with the statistics for Valais, one of the cantons with the highest wolf population by the way. They show that cases of dog bites are on the increase, by more than 50% since 2019 :

Year Number of bites

2018        226                                                     
2019        155
2020        177
2021        229
2022        307
2023        314

In French-speaking Switzerland, at the end of 2022, cantonal reports from the veterinary services of the 6 cantons showed a total of 1,273 dog bites on humans. Once again, these are just the reported cases.

If we then venture a small extrapolation of the number of domestic dog bites on humans in Switzerland, over a period identical to John Linnell's report (2002-2020) and taking a slightly lower average than the figures provided above, here's what it might look like:

Average annual bites in Switzerland        4000
Duration                                               18 years (2002-2020)
Total in Switzerland                                72,000 injuries / 2 fatalities

Although this figure is only an estimate and applies only to Switzerland, it is unfortunately underestimated. Unfortunately, dog bites and the physical and psychological problems they cause are rarely mentioned in the media. Indeed, it's far less polarizing than the "Big Bad Wolf" (as it is known in fairy tales), at a time when it's all about having the best story to maximize sales. Publicly, therefore, there is little or no mention of what leads to aggression, of the human "rate" of responsibility, of solutions to avoid it, or of any broad-spectrum preventive measures.

This chapter would not be complete without mentioning the fatal outcome of dog attacks. According to some estimates, there are no fewer than 25,000 dog-related deaths worldwide every year. The main cause is, unsurprisingly, rabies, mostly in countries with precarious conditions. But in France, over the last twenty years, thirty-three people have lost their lives in offensive attacks : 21 of them were under 15 years of age, and 16 of them were under 5 !
 

In Switzerland, in 20 years, two people has been killed, one was a 6 years old boy. When you consider that a dog weighing 20 kg can kill prey weighing 80 to 100 kilos, it's clear that we're dealing with a predator, and it would be wise not to forget this in our approach to domestic dogs. And this should, if we were sensible and if safety were our main concern, lead to a revision or even a tightening up of the conditions for obtaining a dog license, through compulsory theoretical and practical courses and even possible further training. All in the interests, first and foremost, of the dog and his physical and psychological well-being. What follows will give you a deeper understanding of the extent of the problem in our relationship with dogs, and the various forms of mistreatment that our current "flexibility" engenders !

In Switzerland, since 1995 (i.e. 29 years), we would like to point out that there have been no reported bites or incidents between wolves and humans/children. Although this can happen, as we have already seen, it is advisable to always consider the whole subject, the statistics & data as well as the real facts, before expressing oneself publicly or seeking to influence political decisions by using fear as the only argument. Acting on prevention, maximum information and good faith would be far better for the public, but also for dogs and wildlife in general.

Dictionary

Ontogenetics      Behaviors specific to the individual, from birth to death. Interaction between genetic inheritance
                         and the environment. These behaviors vary according to the situation, are influenced by the
                         environment and, above all, OWNED by each individual.

Phylogenetic       Inborn behaviors, more commonly known as "instincts", which arise from the development of
                         a species through evolution and gene transmission. They can influence behavior, but not
                         dictate it. They develop without any visible influence from the environment.

NEXT CHAPTER : ASSAULTS/INCIDENTS - WHAT OR WHO CAUSES THEM ?

Photos : Martina Osmy, OSAV, SCAV, LaruSanson & illustration