Dog Bite Risk assessment

Structured professional judgement guidance for the assessment of dog bite risk.

The assessment of dog bite risk plays a critical part in the prevention of dog bites. Risk assessments are common across a number of contexts, including in shelter environments for the purposes of rehoming, in social care settings where dogs and vulnerable people share a home, and during criminal proceedings relating to dog bites. The DBR24© was designed to provide professionals working with dogs a science driven structure for the comprehensive assessment of dog bite risk. The DBR24© is evidence based structured professional judgement guidance, using a model well established in the field of human violence risk assessment adapted for the assessment of dog bite risk.

The DBR-T© has been developed for non dog professionals for the identification and referral of safeguarding concerns around dog bites in family homes. Informed by the DBR24©, this triage tool provides a consistent and evidence based mechanism for the reporting of safeguarding concerns, with the aim of early intervention to prevent dog bites to children.

This step change in dog bite risk assessment provides a paradigm shift towards the type of holistic approach that is required for comprehensive assessment and management of behaviour that is intrinsically multifactorial.

The DBR24© and DBR-T© provide structured professional judgement guidance intended to assist appropriately trained evaluators in the assessment of dog bite risk.