http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/lunatic_dogs_010109-1.html
Full Moon and Lunatic Dogs
By Robert Roy Britt
Senior Science Writer
With little scientific backing, the full Moon has forever been blamed for increased rates of violence, suicide, births and simply driving some people stark raving mad.
Even animal behavior has long been tied to the lunar cycle. One word: werewolf.
But what about dogs? Is your favorite mutt more likely to take a bite outta someone during a full Moon? The question hasn't exactly been dogging scientists forever, but it does beg for an answer, and now two separate groups of researchers have looked into it.
Problem is, they have two answers: yes and no.
In one study, animal bites were found to have sent twice as many British people to the emergency room during full Moons compared with other days. But the other study, in Australia, found Fido can be pretty beastly on any given day.
Both studies were published in a recent issue of the British Medical Journal
Bitten in Britain
In England, researchers doggedly examined the records of 1,621 animal bite cases at the emergency room of the Bradford Royal Infirmary, a public hospital. Eleven of the injuries were inflicted by rats, 13 by horses, 56 by cats and the rest by man's best friend.
Here's the real news: Not only are animals twice as dangerous during a full Moon, they seem to warm up their canine teeth (or their homologues) in the days prior.
"Altered behavior of the animals, influenced by the full Moon, might be the reason of their increased propensity to bite during the full Moon period," said Chanchal Bhattacharjee, lead author of the study.
But Bhattacharjee and colleagues could not sink their teeth into any solid reasons for the strange behavior, and said more research is needed to confirm the findings.
Another continent, another doggone result
Aussie pooches on the other hand (which they will still bite) seem to be less affected by calls from above. The study "down under" surveyed all public hospital emergency rooms, counting dog bite admissions over a one-year period.
Researchers Simon Chapman and Stephen Morrell of the University of Sydney think they've sniffed out the real truth: No positive relation seems to exist between the full Moon and dog bites, they say.
But how could the results from two studies in two countries be so different? Chapman has what he admits is a somewhat mischievous answer.
"The only hypothesis that occurs to me is that Britain is such a dull place that when they have full Moons, people get about more," Chapman said. "So there are more opportunities to bite. Australia has perfect weather most of the year, so a full Moon is no big deal."
Chapman and Morrell did find an unexplained peak in attacks centered around New Year's Day. And, for the record, Sunday is the most likely day to meet a raving Rover in Australia. Wednesday, on the other hand, appears to be the safest day to pat the head of a hound
