Exploration of Perceptions of Dog Bites among YouTubeTM Viewers and Attributions of Blame

Bibliographic Data

ID2162114
AuthorsSara C Owczarczak-Garstecka (University of Liverpool), Sara C Owczarczak‐garstecka (0000-0001-5323-8117, corresponding author), Francine Watkins (Department of Public Health and Policy, Institute of Psychology, Health and Society, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK), Robert Christley (0000-0001-9250-3032), Rob Christley (University of Liverpool), Huadong Yang (0000-0002-8935-941X, University of Liverpool Management School, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK), Carri Westgarth (0000-0003-0471-2761, University of Liverpool)
Year2018
Volume31
Issue5
Pages537-549
Publication date2018-09-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAnthrozoös (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0892-7936 • E-ISSN: 1753-0377
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/08927936.2018.1505260
OpenAlexW2890031731
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited29

Dog bites are a human public health and dog welfare problem. This qualitative study is the first to use YouTubeTM to examine how viewers perceive risk of, and attribute blame for, dog bites. Comments underneath 10 videos, chosen to represent a diversity of dog-bite scenarios, were analyzed inductively using thematic analysis. Six themes emerged: 1) Commentators thought that dogs are inherently good-natured but wild animals and emphasized how dogs try to avoid biting people; 2) all recognized breeds of dogs were stereotyped and breed stereotypes were used to shift the blame away from the dog and onto a bite victim, unless the dog identified in a video was a pit bull type. The dog was often blamed in such case; 3) It was argued that a breed limits the extent to which a dog can be trained and controlled; 4) Owners/handlers were often blamed for bites due to their inability to control the dog, and commentators identified the need for appropriate training and socialization in order to control dogs and reduce bite risk; 5) Bite victims were also blamed for the bites when their behavior was perceived as provoking a dog. Although children's behavior was identified as causing a risk, parents of children bitten in the videos were blamed for bites instead due to their approach to child supervision; 6) Bites in a range of contexts, such as play or when viewers thought that the victim's behavior provoked a dog, were seen as well-de-served and normal. It was concluded that although comments on publicly available videos need to be interpreted with caution due to a self-selection bias, their analysis can help to identify attitudes and perceptions towards risk around dogs that could aid bite prevention interventions and policies

Animal welfare · Attribution · Biology · Biting · Blame · Companion animal · Dog bite · Pathology · Qualitative research · Sociology · Thematic analysis · Veterinary medicine · Gothic Literature and Media Analysis · Human-Animal Interaction Studies · Medicine · Psychology · Rabies epidemiology and control · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOISci-HubOpen Access