National Dog Bite Prevention Week

Nearly 85 million nice dogs…but any dog can bite

National Dog Bite Prevention Week® takes place during the second full week of April each year, and focuses on educating people about preventing dog bites. The dates in 2023 are April 9-15.

With an estimated population of nearly 85 million dogs living in U.S. households, millions of people—most of them children—are bitten by dogs every year. The majority of these bites, if not all, are preventable.

• The Insurance Information Institute reported that in 2020, insurance companies paid $853.7 million for 16,991 dog bite and injury claims.
• While the number of dog-related injury claims decreased 4.6% compared to the previous year, the amount paid for these claims increased 7.1%—a record high. The average claim payment was $50,245 in 2020, up 12.3% from $44,760 in 2019.
• According to State Farm’s claim information, there were more dog-related injury claims in March 2020 than in any other month last year, with a reported 21.6 percent increase in dog bites compared to March of the previous year.

The increase seen in March 2020 was likely due to the disruption in routines at the start of pandemic lockdowns, when dogs were dealing with owner stress and more people around the house throughout the day. 

The National Dog Bite Prevention Coalition recommends the following tips:

• Make sure your pet is healthy. Not all illnesses and injuries are obvious, and dogs are more likely to bite if they are sick or in pain. If you haven't been to the veterinarian in a while, schedule an appointment for a checkup to discuss your dog's physical and behavioral health.
• Take it slow. If your dog is unused to contact with those in your family, don't rush out into crowded areas or dog parks. Try to expose dogs to new situations slowly and for short periods of time, arrange for low-stress interactions, and give plenty of praise and rewards for good behavior.
• Educate yourself in positive training techniques and devote time to interact with your dog.
• Get outside for leash training and allow your dog to socialize.
• Gradually start arranging play dates with other dogs and people, and carefully increase the amounts of time and freedom together. This will help your dog get used to being with other canine companions.
• Be responsible about approaching other people's pets. Ask permission from the owner before approaching a dog, and look for signs that the dog wants to interact with you. Sometimes dogs want to be left alone, and we need to recognize and respect that.

Learn more about dog bite prevention

Observe National Dog Bite Prevention Week® on social media

• Follow AVMA on Facebook and Twitter.
• Use the #PreventDogBites hashtag to share dog bite prevention information
• Share our Jimmy the Dog videos about dog bite prevention.

Veterinarians: Bring dog bite prevention education to your clinic and community

• AVMA members: Use our dog bite prevention toolkit to celebrate National Dog Bite Prevention Week® in your clinic. Free materials in the toolkit include downloadable client handouts, posters, social media tips and more.
• AVMA's report, A Community Approach to Dog Bite Prevention (PDF), highlights tangible steps that veterinarians can take alongside state and local leaders to implement effective dog bite prevention programs in their community.

National Dog Bite Prevention Week® is a project of the National Dog Bite Prevention Week® Coalition.​​​