The measurement is not based on any specific numbers, but instead, it is based on the amount of damage inflicted.Ī commonly accepted scale of assessing how severe a dog’s biting problem is dog was developed by Dr. A traditional method of measuring the intensity of a dog bite is similar to the scale used to measure the ferocity of a tornado. This type of bite is simply a reaction, and not an aggressive behavior on the dog’s part.Įvaluating this is done in a somewhat unusual way. Often times a dog that is completely non-aggressive may bite someone because it was surprised or perhaps unintentionally touched on a wounded or sensitive area of its body. The motivations behind why a dog may bite someone vary far and wide. While this number is very high, it does not necessarily mean that every person who gets bitten is bitten by a dangerous dog. If you take the entire population of the country into account, this means that a 1 in every 69 people are bitten by dogs annually. Out of those, about 800,000 of them require medical care. According to the CDC, 4.7 million people get bitten by a dog each year in the United States. Measuring the damage of a dog biteĪll dogs, big or small, have the potential to bite. Measurement also relevant to the assessment of different dog foods, chew toys, and dental treats.Ī dog’s bite force, along with the intention behind a dog’s bite also matters for purposes of public health and safety, so let’s now take a look at how the damage that a dog’s bite inflicts upon a person is used in determining exactly how dangerous a particular dog is. It’s also used to evaluate restorative materials that must be able to withstand the extreme pressures being exerted by the dog biting down on them. In addition to this, measuring a dog’s bite force is used in veterinary medicine to develop implants such as plates and screws to fix bone fractures. The masticatory system is looked at as one whole unit which is composed of a dog’s teeth and its supporting structures, the jaws, as well as the joints and muscles that are involved both directly and indirectly in mastication (chewing). Proper measurement of a dog’s bite force is used to determine the overall health and diagnose issues with a dog’s masticatory system. Why Does a Measuring a Dog’s Bite Force Matter?Īside from being an interesting statistic, the measurement of a dog’s bite force is actually significant to veterinary medicine. Though bite forces for all animals are approximate estimates since this calculation must necessarily be based on a number of different factors particular to each individual animal. The bite force of a German Shepherd is estimated to be 238 PSI (pounds per square inch). But exactly how powerful is the bite force of a German Shepherd? This is for good reason – they are fast, agile, and are capable of inflicting tremendous damage to an intruder. German Shepherds are widely considered as one of the best breeds for a guard dog.

Dog bite 328 psi meaning