Essay by Eric Worrall
Whenever I think alarmists have hit peak stupid, someone always manages to set a new milestone.
Dogs could become more ‘hostile’ to humans as the planet heats up
By Charlotte Elton • Updated: 21/06/2023 – 12:58
Dog attacks could become more common on hot and polluted days, troubling new research has warned.
Climate change could make dog bites more common, new research has warned.
Dogs are 11 per cent more likely to attack people on days with higher UV levels, according to Harvard Medical School research.
Previous studies have linked high temperatures and air pollution to increased aggression in humans, rats, and monkeys.
Now, it appears warming weather could turn ‘man’s best friend’ against us.
“Dogs, or the interactions between humans and dogs, are more hostile on hot, sunny, and smoggy days,” the study authors conclude.
…
Read more: https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/06/19/dogs-could-become-more-hostile-to-humans-as-the-planet-heats-up
The abstract of the study;
The risk of being bitten by a dog is higher on hot, sunny, and smoggy days
Scientific Reports volume 13, Article number: 8749 (2023) Cite this article
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Abstract
Humans commit more violent crimes when temperature and air pollution is higher. Here, we investigate if also the day-to-day rates of dogs biting humans is influenced by environmental factors. 69,525 reports of dogs biting humans, sourced from public records on animal control requests and from ER records, were analyzed. The impact of temperature and air pollutants were evaluated with a zero-inflated Poisson generalized additive model, while controlling for regional and calendar effects. Exposure–response curves were used to assess the association between outcome and major exposure variables. We find that the rates of dogs biting humans increases with increasing temperature and ozone, but not PM2.5 exposure. We also observed that higher UV irradiation levels were related to higher rats of dog bites. We conclude that dogs, or the interactions between humans and dogs, are more hostile on hot, sunny, and smoggy days, indicating that the societal burden of extreme heat and air pollution also includes the costs of animal aggression.
Read more: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-35115-6
What is the heat hypothesis?
Hot years and serious and deadly assault: empirical tests of the heat hypothesis
C A Anderson 1, B J Bushman, R W Groom
Affiliations expand
- PMID: 9418277
- DOI: 10.1037//0022-3514.73.6.1213
Abstract
Two archival studies examined the relation between year-to-year shifts in temperature and violent and property crime rates in the United States. Study 1 examined the relation between annual average temperature and crime rate in the years 1950-1995. As expected, a positive relation between temperature and serious and deadly assault was observed, even after time series, linear year, poverty, and population age effects were statistically controlled. Property crime was unrelated to annual average temperature. Study 2 examined the relation between the average number of hot days (> or = 90 degrees F) and the size of the usual summer increase in violence for the years 1950-1995. As expected, a positive relation was observed between number of hot days and magnitude of the summer effect, even after time series and linear year effects were statistically controlled. For property crime, the summer effect was unrelated to number of hot days.
Read more: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9418277/
Sadly the full study is paywalled. But in my opinion this study doesn’t pass the smell test.
If dogs were especially vicious in hot climates, nobody in hot climates would own dogs. But pretty much every house on my hot climate street owns dogs – they’re a great deterrent against home intruders and burglars, and great with kids.
A more likely explanation for any weather related difference in the rate of attacks is people are more likely to be enjoying the beach or parks on hot days, creating more opportunity for vicious dogs owned by stupid people to attack. Obviously anyone who owns a dog so vicious they’re at risk of attack should have it re-homed with someone who can handle it. But we know in practice, that doesn’t always happen.
As the owner of a couple of excitable, bouncy staffies, I can assure you that with normal dogs, all hot days do is make the dogs want to play ball more – but get tired quicker. Then 5 minutes later they’re up again, having totally forgotten how overheated they got.
I admit they sometimes give me hurt looks when I insist they wait until later in the day for their walk, until the molten pavement has cooled enough to re-solidify.
Take a close look at those strong jaws and huge mouths full of teeth – more than enough dog to convince most burglars to move on to their next prospective target. But with family and friends, they’re unfailingly our loyal, loving companions.
Correction (EW): h/t Izaak – I inadvertently pasted in an old study on the heat hypothesis, rather than the latest study on dog bites. Both studies are now in the above article.
I guess that is why the hot times of the year are called the “dog-days of summer” 🙂
Clearly, these researchers have never heard of Noel Coward
Published in 1931, long before CO2 was the killer molecule, Noel Coward observed:
Because on warmer days more people stay inside with dogs rather than go out and enjoy the conditions…..
It’s a correlation looking to attach itself to pretty well anything.
I have zero respect for scientists now. The fact this dogs*** study could be performed let alone published shows you how fraudulent the whole system is. The number of confounding variables that could exist, it isn’t explored, is enormous. On top of that, the absurd leap to climate change is mind boggling. UV is going to increase? How? It’s going to be more sunny? Isn’t the whole point CO2 back radiation?
These aren’t scientists – scientists, by definition, follow the scientific principle – these idiots are just making stuff up for the hell of it.
From their abstract:
Once again, fools assume simple associations are correlations which to them means causation.
N.B., these fools didn’t even bother to identify numbers of human/dog interactions, instead preferring to believe warm/hot weather’s greatly increased human/dog interactions are all caused by some conditions identified by their confirmation bias.
e.g., PM 2.5, that is, Particulate Matter 2.5 microns size. A specific PM size where America’s EPA was unable to accrue any evidence proving PM 2.5 as harmful. And this is after the EPA was caught purposely exposing people to inhaled PM 2.5 in abundance.
Dogs do not sweat, they cool off by breathing through their mouths, panting.
Part of a process similar to sweating in that hot dry air is inhaled and hot muggy air is expelled to help cool off the canine.
Overworking dogs on hot days is a possibility, especially if the pooch doesn’t have access to plenty of water. Shade would be nice too.
My English Setter comes inside on hot days and immediately runs to the dining room and it’s marble floor where he completely splays belly down on the cool marble. Afterwards, he goes to his drinking bowl and drinks heartily.
I once babysat a friends Golden Retriever while she and her hubby were on holiday for a few days.
While I rototilled my garden, On a 93°F (33.9°C) hot summer day, I threw a branch for the dog to fetch, for 3 hours.
We had a plastic kiddie pool filled with water for some ducks we owned. At that point in summer, the pool was green from algae. Ducks not being known for keeping water clean.
After 30-45 minutes of fetching, Sky would jump in the pool, stick and all on his way back to me. He’d laze in the water long enough to cool off, then trot over to me and offer me a slimy stick.
As long as I could throw the stick, Sky would fetch it. He never once tried to growl or bite me.
Yes, I washed the dog off before returning him. Otherwise, I might’ve been bitten or excoriated by his owner.
I have lived most of my life in the tropics and the middle east,,, and this utter BS,,, the dogs lie down in any available shade in the heat and pant…. and they avoid humans who can be quite nasty at all temperatures…