What does a level 2 dog bite look like

What does a Level 4 dog bite look like? Heres What to Expect

Level 4 Bite One to four punctures from a single bite with at least one puncture deeper than half the length of the dogs canine teeth. The person or dog bitten may also have deep bruising around the wound or wounds from the dog shaking its head from side to side. At this level, the red warning flag needs to go up. The dog needs to be kept away from people and other animals until the situation can be assessed by a professional.

Level 3 Bite One to four tooth punctures from a single bite with no puncture deeper than half the length of the dogs canine teeth. At this point, the dog can present a real threat to other people and animals. The majority of my aggression cases fall into this level.

Level 4: a single bite with deep wounds

When the dog bites only once, but the wounds are deep, it will be considered a level 4 bite. The bite may cause one to four perforations which are deeper than half the length of the canine tooth. Injuries may go in both directions, caused by the victim removing their hand while being bitten or the dog shaking their head when biting. In some cases, these bites may be caused by predatory instincts. Dogs shake their heads when biting to cause maximum damage to their prey, so these are serious bites.

The cause is also often fear. It usually occurs in dogs which try to defend themselves against what they perceive as a serious threat, although they evade the situation after the first attack. Any dog which has given a perosn a fourth level bite needs to be seen by a professional trainer. As with dogs which have perpetrated third level bites, they will need either clinical or behavioral treatment methods, whichever is most appropriate.

In some canine sports such as schutzhund or mondioring, bites similar to the fourth level are actively sought after as a function of the game. However, they are directed toward people wearing a protective sleeve or suit. Dogs which are properly trained to play these sports are not dangerous and have bite inhibition. These dogs know they are only authorized to bite the protective suits and do not attack unprotected regions of the body.

However, there are too many dogs which are improperly trained for attack. They do not release their bite on command and ma not have control over their predatory instincts. These dogs are dangerous and should not be involved in this kind of training or gameplay.

Level One:

When a dog snaps at the air in front of a human or another dog, that is a level one bite. This type of bite actually has no contact with the skin, but is rather a warning from the biting dog. A level one snap like this often occurs when a dog is put into a situation where it is frightened or cornered and wants the human or dog causing this distress to back away.

Doctor explains how to assess and treat dog bites

Dog bites are no laughing matter. A Center for Disease Control study reports that every year there are more than 4 million reported dog bites in the United States alone. While many of these do not require professional medical attention, there are certainly cases that result in serious injury or illness if the dog passes along germs from the bite. Professionals often use Dr. Ian Dunbars Dog Bite Scale to categorize bites into six different types with varying degrees of seriousness. For dog bite victims and their loved ones, it is important to know what category their bite falls into.

The 6 Types of Dog Bites

Dog bites are no laughing matter. A Center for Disease Control study reports that every year there are more than 4 million reported dog bites in the United States alone. While many of these do not require professional medical attention, there are certainly cases that result in serious injury or illness if the dog passes along germs from the bite. Professionals often use Dr. Ian Dunbars Dog Bite Scale to categorize bites into six different types with varying degrees of seriousness. For dog bite victims and their loved ones, it is important to know what category their bite falls into.

Level One:

When a dog snaps at the air in front of a human or another dog, that is a level one bite. This type of bite actually has no contact with the skin, but is rather a warning from the biting dog. A level one snap like this often occurs when a dog is put into a situation where it is frightened or cornered and wants the human or dog causing this distress to back away.

Level Two:

At a level two bite, a dogs teeth will make contact with a persons skin and leave some redness or light bruising but does not break the skin. These bites, like level one, are a way for a dog to warn that there might be a more serious reaction coming if their antagonizer does not back away and de-escalate the situation. While this sort of bite causes very limited physical injury with essentially zero chance of germ passage, they can still cause trauma and instill lifelong fear in victims, especially young children. 81% of all dog bites fall under the level one or two categories.

Level Three:

A level three bite is when things start to become more serious. In this type of bite, the dogs teeth break the victims skin and leave bloody marks behind. There are two subcategories within level three to differentiate between single bites and multiple bites, but if these bites are shallower than the length of the dogs canine teeth, it falls into level three. These bites, while painful and traumatic, are not usually serious as far as physical injury goes. However, ey can transmit germs and diseases. As a result, it is best to seek medical attention after any dog bite that breaks the skin to ensure there is no chance of illness or infection.

Level Four:

In level four, a dog bites much harder, clamping down and going past the length of the canines, causing serious wounds and severe bruising. Sometimes the dog will clamp down and shake their head, causing increased tears in the victims skin. These bites are aggressive as the dog will be using most if not all of their strength. At this level, one of these bites could even kill a child.

Level Five:

Level five is simply an escalation of level four, with the victim suffering multiple bites of this extremely aggressive variety. This could easily put someone in the hospital and require extensive stitches or surgery. Dogs who bite like this are extremely dangerous and while any bites that break the skin should be reported to authorities, a level five should absolutely be documented as such a dog could very well attack again.

Level Six:

Dog bites can kill, and when this occurs it is considered a level six bite. These dogs are obviously extremely lethal and proper measures should be taken to ensure there are no other victims. While level six bites are frightening and serious, one can take a little comfort in knowing that over a thirteen-year period there were only 433 deaths attributed to dog bites. While this may seem like a large number, that is less than a tenth of one percent of all dog bites. According to the National Safety Council, a persons odds of dying from a dog bite are 1 in 112,400.

Did You Suffer a Dog Bite?

If So, Call Grabb & Durando

Dog bites are serious and can be terrifying experiences, especially for young children. For more serious levels of bite, an owner should be accountable for their dogs actions, which often are a result of negligence on the owners part. If you a bite victim, you should call right away as the statute of limitations for dog bites is shorter than for other types of personal injury cases. If you or a loved one are the victim of a serious dog bite, call Grabb & Durando at 520.222.2222.

Our team of expert attorneys will help you get the compensation you deserve after a dog bite occurs.

Christine Calder, DVM, DACVB; Originally written by Sophia Yin, DVM, CAAB, MS Animal Science (1966-2014)

One way to find out how serious a bite may be is to acknowledge that different levels of bites exist. Bite levels range from minor to so severe they lead to death. Dr. Ian Dunbar first developed this bite levels system and Dr. Sophia Yin created a modified description of the levels.

Canine Bite Levels Poster

Photo Courtesy of CattleDog Publishing

Level 1 (pre-bite)

The dog snaps or air bites but makes no contact with the person. People tend to say, The dog tried to bite me but I moved away. Humans have slow reactions compared to the speed of a biting dog and dogs have good aim when trying to grab things. If the dog actually meant to bite rather than warn, it would have succeeded. This air snap indicates there were earlier signs of the dog's displeasure or fear. Owners should get help before this pre-bite behavior progresses to an actual bite. Avoid punishing warning signs or the dog may progress to biting without warning. Instead, learn the signs of fear and anxiety that the dog probably showed prior to this situation and learn to spot the common inappropriate human actions that may have contributed to the snap.

Level 2 (near-bite or highly inhibited bite)

The dog snaps and makes tooth contact on skin but theres no actual puncture. Often the dog runs up to or lunges for a person but just puts front teeth in contact with the skin in a sort of near-bite. In other cases, the dog actually opens his mouth and clamps but in an inhibited manner such that no skin is broken. Again the owners should ask, What earlier signs did we miss to warn us that this could happen? The owners should realize, the near-bite or inhibited bite could turn into a real bite down the road.

Level 3A

The dog bites once and punctures skin, but the puncture is shallower than the length of the canine tooth. Even though this bite may not be severe, it is still reportable. And painful, too. Reporting is mandatory if the victim is treated in a hospital. Once your dog has actually bitten at this level (or higher) he will always be considered a liability, even if, with behavior modification, he is 99.9% improved.

Level 3B

The dog bites multiple times leaving skin punctures shallower than half of the canine. Multiple bites generally mean the dog is in a higher arousal state. That is, the dog is reacting without thinking between bites.

Level 4

The dog bites once with punctures deeper than the length of the canine (the dog bit and clamped down) or the bite produces slashes in both directions from the puncture which indicates that the dog bit and shook his head. This type of bite is very serious. While any of the lower bite levels should act as warning signs telling the owners to seek help from a qualified and educated behavioral modification specialist, the level 4 bite indicates this has been building up and you should have gotten help long ago. Level 4 bites are much harder than level 3 bites and show no inhibition in strength. A dog biting at this level presents a liability to the owners, both in terms of money and family members because this type of bite can kill a child.

Level 5

The dog gives multiple bites with deep punctures. Dogs who bite at this level generally have had practice biting at levels 3 and 4. Some dogs are so fearful that a scary event triggers a high arousal state and they get stuck in a reactive mode, continuing to bite hard.

Level 6

The dog kills the victim or consumes their flesh. Its important to realize that even little dogs and puppies can bite hard enough to kill infants and small children. Dogs can bite this hard due to fear, but they can also bite and cause death due to over aroused play.

What Should You Do If Your Dog Bites?Now that you know dogs can bite at different levels and early snapping and low-level bites can, and often do, lead to more severe bites, you can start addressing the biting as soon as you see any low-level warning signs.