The holidays are absolutely filled with family gatherings – and that often means visiting the homes of relatives who have dogs.
While the humans involved may enjoy the hustle and bustle of all the holiday activities, the dogs that live with them probably aren’t as thrilled. Every year, there’s an uptick in dog bites over the holiday season.
Why do dog bites increase over the holiday season?
It’s usually a combination of factors that come into play that contribute to the annual surge in bites, including:
- Too many people: Whether it’s just a few additional family members or a whole houseful, a dog can get easily overwhelmed when there are a lot of unfamiliar people in their space.
- Too much noise: Family gatherings and parties tend to get loud, and all that noise can hurt a dog’s sensitive hearing and make them irritable.
- Too much motion: People tend to move around a lot during holiday gatherings and the energy levels can really get going if there’s any alcohol involved. Dogs may get anxious with all the movement and react badly if they’re startled.
- Too much attention: A lot of people – especially children – find dogs more interesting than their human owners, so they throw their attention that way. Children, in particular, may try to hug, pet or chase a dog, which can cause the dog to feel threatened or trapped.
Finally, some dogs are just territorial. They may lash out if someone goes too near their food bowl or a favorite toy or even gives their owner too hard of a hug.
Ideally, your friends or relatives with dogs will keep all this in mind and take steps to make sure that both their pets and guests are safe and secure. However, if an accident happens and you get bit, remember that homeowners insurance is designed to cover incidents like these. Legal guidance can help you secure the compensation you need to meet your losses.