Why Do Dog Bites Spike During Summer?

Hyderabad: Dog bites incidents are a recurring menace as doctors blame it on the scorching heat. Narayanguda Institute of Preventive Medicine is seeing a huge influx of people for the dog bites treatment. “On an average, we treat 250 to 300 victims of dog bites daily and in summer we receive around 400 to 600 victims,” the IPM officials said. 

As per the leading Psychology Today magazine, “There is now evidence that dogs are not immune to temperature effects.” It said, similar to humans, the tempers of dogs are more likely to flare during scorching summer heat and consequently dogs become aggressive. The dog's aggression is attributed to the unavailability of food and water. Since more people take shelter under a tree or in a garden to save themselves from scorching heat, a dehydrated stray dog is likely to bite more people. 

It’s not just stray dogs that get aggressive, according to a US-based research firm, the pet dogs account for 27 per cent of all dog bites in the summer. According to experts, 34 percent of dog bites were found to be on the head, neck, cheeks, lips and in 21 per cent case, the canines attacked a person’s nose and ears in 8 per cent case. Most dogs bite the feet and ankles of victims. The canine experts say the average size of a dog bite injury is 7.15 centimeters. So, the next time if you notice a stray or pet dog getting aggressive, you know what to do – shoo it away!