Dog attacks: what could be behind the increase in deaths in Brazil

Hairdresser Maria Teresa dos Santos, 51, saw her life change after being attacked by the family dog ​​in July last year.

The resident of Taubaté (SP) was alone at home when, when she bent down to play with the animal, she was attacked by it.

“He came, put his head on my shoulder and I petted him. When I turned around, he bit me on the neck. I don’t know why he did that, he didn’t bark or growl”, he says.

According to Maria Teresa, at that moment she fell to the ground and was bitten several times by the animal, which she had been raising for four years. She reports that she tried to get up slowly so as not to scare the dog, but she was unable to do so.

The hairdresser then started screaming and asking for help from neighbors, who went to the property’s gate to try to attract the animal’s attention and thus stop the attack.

“I stayed on the ground for about 40 minutes. He bit and stopped. I thought he wouldn’t survive and I started to pray”, he recalls.

“Samu arrived to help me, but he couldn’t go in because of the dog. That’s when my boyfriend arrived, opened the door of the house and told the dog to come in, and he obeyed”, he says.

The hairdresser was rescued in serious condition with bites to her face, head and arms.

At the hospital, he had to undergo surgery — one of them to amputate his right arm. She was hospitalized for 28 days, 14 of them in a coma in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit).

“The doctors didn’t give me much chance of life, but I’m here and I’m a miracle from God. I lost one arm and when I left the hospital, I had no movement in the other. Despite feeling a lot of pain, I consider my recovery to be quick. I underwent six months of physiotherapy and now I am undergoing occupational therapy to try to regain movement in my hand”, he says.

As for the animal, the hairdresser says it was collected by the zoonosis center. After that, there was no more information about him.

The dog, according to Maria Teresa, did not have a defined breed, but was large, weighing around 50 kg. He came to the family as a puppy and was four years old at the time of the attack.

“He was very docile and didn’t find people strange. He always interacted with the salon’s clients to the point of touching them and asking for affection”, he recalls.

Last year, 51 people died in the country after being attacked by dogs. The number is the highest ever recorded since 1996, when the Ministry of Health began keeping this count.

Data from the Mortality Information System (SIM) also indicates that this number is 27% higher than that recorded in 2022, when 40 deaths from this cause were recorded.

The State of São Paulo leads the ranking of deaths from dog attacks. In the last five years, there have been 44 cases. In 2023 alone, there were 19 deaths, an increase of 137.5% compared to the previous year.

Next is Rio Grande do Sul, with 20 deaths, 7 of which in 2023 — an increase of 40% compared to 2022.

The Mortality Information System (SIM) was created by DataSUS to regulate mortality data in the country. For this survey, municipalities and states provide information on all registered deaths, whether they occurred in hospitals or not.

However, there is no national survey of cases of dog attacks that do not result in death. Municipal health departments even record cases in which victims seek care, however, in less serious cases this search for care may not happen.

“Normally people seek care when they are bitten by stray dogs or dogs they don’t know to get the rabies vaccine. But, for example, when the house dog bites the owner, he takes care of it at home”, says Richardson Zago, dog trainer and a canine behavior specialist for 25 years.

For Zago, one of the main causes of the increase in deaths from attacks is the humanization of animals.

“Today dogs are treated like children, and all the owner’s emotional burden is passed on to the animal. Furthermore, dogs are no longer having contact with other animals of their species, causing them to become unbalanced with their instincts”, analyze.

Also according to Zago, this new position that dogs are occupying means that owners are more permissive in breeding, leaving aside the imposition of rules.

“As puppies, owners allow dogs to climb on the sofa, sleep on the bed and do whatever they want. However, when this animal grows, it naturally becomes more possessive, territorial. When faced with a negative response, it becomes stressed. The accumulation This stress causes him to attack one day”, he adds.

Another factor that influences dog behavior, according to experts interviewed by BBC News, is that most people do not seek to know the animal’s behavior, such as its lineage and particularities of the breed, before it arrives at home.

“Many think that having a dog is just about offering water, food and a place to sleep. However, taking care of the animal goes far beyond that. You need to know the needs of each breed, what causes stress and what are the signs that something is wrong. the animal is fine”, says Zago.

The animal’s emotional imbalance alone or combined with factors such as a feeling of threat, fear or even pain can lead to these attacks being directed at the owner, family members or strangers.

“The animal doesn’t know how to deal with emotions, so when it becomes anxious, the attitude is to bite”, says Patrícia Saraiva, canine educator and specialist in animal behavior.

The educator also emphasizes that, when there is an attack, the only way to stop it is to hold the animal’s neck.

“When we put pressure on the neck, the dog tends to let go. This hanging can be with a cloth or with a noose,” she says.

A dog that is normally tame is more likely to attack if it is in pain — caused, for example, by an injury or a chronic illness that often has not yet been diagnosed.

Previous trauma also causes animals to attack. For example, an animal that was rescued from aggression may be frightened by some movement that reminds us of that past and then bite.

No matter the situation, experts are unanimous in stating that animals always show signs of anxiety before an attack.

“They may lick their lips, yawn, pull their ears back or become more isolated, showing that they are not comfortable with the situation. Due to the rush of everyday life or even lack of knowledge, many owners do not detect these signs. When the attack happens , many think it’s out of the blue, but it never is”, explains Saraiva.

According to experts, these anxiety symptoms begin months before an attack.

Attacks caused by animals of the pitbull breed tend to attract the attention of the population and often place the breed as the villain in the situation.

In a recent episode that gained national visibility, writer Roseana Murray, 73 years old, was attacked in Saquarema (RJ) by three dogs of the breed. After the attack, on April 5, Murray was hospitalized for almost two weeks and lost an arm and an ear.

The owners of the dogs were identified, were temporarily arrested and are facing charges of animal abuse, negligent bodily harm and failure to take care of animals.

However, there is little consistent scientific evidence that some breeds are more aggressive than others.

In a 2022 study by researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP), the authors concluded, after analyzing questionnaires filled out by dog ​​owners, that there are many factors that influence an attack.

“Rather than targeting a single factor common to specific species or breeds, our results reinforce how individual behavior, combined with dogs’ genetics, physiology, life experiences and particular environmental contexts interact. […]”, concluded the authors.

“Our assessments suggest that the breeds reported in bite cases are simply the most popular breeds in that region,” said Carri Westgarth and John Tulloch, professors at the University of Liverpool, in the text.

However, researchers acknowledged that when it comes to deadly attacks, most of the breeds involved are “large and powerful” — such as American bulldogs and pit bulls, but also Rottweilers, German shepherds and malamutes.

Experts indicate that the severity of the injuries is more related to the animal’s strength than to the possibility of it being more aggressive or not.

“The pinscher, for example, is a breed that bites a lot, but because it is small, it is easy to control it, and the injury is also small. The same does not happen with large dogs, which are strong, weigh like a adult and one bite can often kill”, explains Zoca.

When choosing a dog, it is important to pay attention to the animal’s genetic tendency, analyzing the behavior of its parents and siblings. This is because much of behavior is inherited from parents.

Experts also advise that dogs are trained to comply with the rules and to avoid possible attacks. Training can be done at any age, but the earlier it starts, the faster the animal learns.

For training, the reward method is recommended, as those based on punishment are associated with greater stress, fear and aggression on the part of the animal.

For the research, released last year, 69,525 cases of dog bites were analyzed, which occurred in eight cities in the United States between 2009 and 2018.

According to researchers, the likelihood of dog attacks increases by 11% on days when ultraviolet (UV) radiation is highest. Furthermore, high temperatures increased the probability of attack by 4%.

“Just like us, dogs also feel uncomfortable in the heat and this can lead to irritability. On hot days, it is important to be extra careful and not leave them in too little clothes, in very hot environments or exposed to the sun”, he says. Hail.

There is no federal law that determines the rules for using a muzzle on dogs. A bill on the subject has been pending in the Chamber of Deputies since last year.

In it, the author of the proposal, Marcos Soares (União-RJ), calls for mandatory muzzles when driving large dogs or breeds considered dangerous in public places or open to the public.

Despite the lack of federal law, several states and municipalities have created their own legislation to regulate the use of protection.

In the State of São Paulo, which leads the ranking of deaths from dog attacks, for example, the law was created ten years ago.

“It is mandatory for dogs of ferocious breeds to wear a choke chain, a short leash (up to 2m) and a collar in public places. In shopping centers and parks, it is mandatory to use a muzzle. If they do not comply with the law, owners of dogs of the Neapolitan mastiff breed , pit bull, rottweiler, American staffordshire terrier are subject to fines”, says the law.

The fine applied in case of non-compliance is R$353.60.

In Rio Grande do Sul, the second state with the most attacks, there is also legislation that restricts the movement of animals without muzzles. In addition, all owners of dogs of the American Pit Bull Terrier, Fila, Rottweiler, Dobermann, Bull Terrier and Dogo Argentino breeds must officially register the animal.

“The dogs specified in this Law may only circulate in public places, internal circulation routes of condominiums, as well as in areas close to those where there is sheep and goat farming, if led by capable people and with a short leash – maximum 1.5m – and a muzzle, which allows the normal breathing and perspiration of the animal”, says an excerpt from the legislation.

Failure to comply with the rules may result in punishment, which is defined by the municipal administration.