Four were bitten on the face and three were bitten on the hands, and in six of the cases the dog was either a family pet or belonged to a family friend. In comparison a total of 15 children were bitten in 2016 and nine in 2015.
Child Accident Prevention Jersey has voiced concerns over the number of children needing hospital treatment for dog bites and has urged parents to teach youngsters how to stay safe around dogs – even their own pets.
The multi-agency organisation is run by Family Nursing & Home Care with the aim of keeping children safe from serious injury.
Mandy Le Tensorer, co-ordinator for CAPJ, said: ‘Often people identify dogs as safe or dangerous depending on their breed but actually any dog can bite if the circumstances are right.’
As part of their work to raise awareness she said that they would continue to speak to children in schools as part of their Speak Dog and Stay Safe campaign but added that youngsters often did not see the dangers of animals they knew.
