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With all the hype about dangerous dogs and banning certain breeds, I decided to look closer at some statistics. I was curious as to which breeds were responsible for the most dog-bite related deaths. All the statistics I came across said roughly the same story: pit bulls and rottweilers are the most “dangerous” breeds, resulting in the highest number of fatal attacks.
A 2000 report by Vet Med today listed the kinds of dogs involved in dog-bite related fatalities in the United States between 1979 and 1998. The following is the list of dog breeds responsible for the most deaths between those years. The breed listed means that was the dominant breed of the dog, but it could have been a mixed-breed. To me, that is the largest problem with statistics. Studies can list dogs as a certain breed just because someone decided that’s what the dog most resembled. Take note that third on the list is simply “mixed breed,” where the dog was not identified in any other way. My mutt would fall into this category, making him third on the list for most dangerous kinds of dogs.
Pit bull: 118
Rottweiler: 67
Mixed breed (No dominant breed specified): 47
German shepherd: 41
Husky: 21
Chow Chow: 21
Malamute: 16
Wolf-dog hybrid:15
Doberman: 13
Great dane: 13
Saint bernard: 8
Labrador retriever: 8
Other breeds were listed, including a Westie and a Cocker spaniel. I couldn’t believe a Westie actually killed someone, but a large percentage of dog-bite fatalities were children. For example, the Vet Med study reported 70% of all people killed by dogs in 1997-1998 were children. Click here for the full study.
Dogbitelaw.com also tracks statistics on dog bites. According to this site, there were 32 fatal dog attacks in the United States in 2007. Click here for the full list of fatal dog attacks for that year. The majority of these attacks were also pit bulls and rottweilers. However, the site reminds readers that the breed of dog is often misstated in the reports, especially when pit bulls are concerned.
Keep in mind that a pit bull is not really a breed of dog, but a name used to refer to certain breeds such as the American pit bull terrier (also known as the American Staffordshire terrier) and the Staffordshire bull terrier. The term pit bull also refers to dogs mixed with these breeds or dogs with similar traits. Someone writing a police report could easily identify a boxer, a lab/mastiff mix or an American bulldog as a pit bull and it wouldn’t be questioned.
So, like with any statistics, it’s important to keep in mind where they are coming from and what’s really true. Legislators who want to ban certain breeds use statistics like these to back up their arguments that certain breeds are dangerous. I’m not convinced these statistics really prove anything. What do you think?
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April 18th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
I have had people swear that my 186lb Bullmastiff (pic on my header) is a pitbull.
I think they think that any “scary” dog is a pit bull.
poor creatures get a bad rap.
Fuzzy Logic’s last blog post..Sadness
April 18th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
The problem lies in:
- Bad breeding leading to bad genetics…
- Bad owners who don’t provide training and leadership OR encourage anti-social behavior…
- Bad media and reporting stats that misreport the breed involved
Its a shame
Ty Brown’s last blog post..My article in Nuestra Gente Utah
April 18th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
The problem with those statistics is that it doesn’t take into acocunt the relative proportion of breeds in teh area. If 90% of the dog population is pit bull, and they’re responsible for 30% of bites/deaths then they’re not really that dangerous compared to the less common breeds.
Statistics that aren’t fully analysed, like those above, make more popular breeds look more dangerous, simply because there are more of them and even if there was no difference between breeds, they would show up more frequently in the statistics.
Ferox’s last blog post..The Endoscope
April 19th, 2008 at 6:51 am
Another major problem is that people don’t understand that the dog is only reacting on instinct. The instinct is not to attack a small child, but the animal thinks the child is part of the pack. When the child displays human actions that are meant to portray love the dog may misinterpret this and decide the child is trying to dominate the dog.
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April 20th, 2008 at 4:48 am
I read somewhere if you have a Dane in America its considered a dangerous breed and your insurance premiums can be increased. Its not the story here though…here ‘pit bulls’ also have a bad rap, it was a term that wasnt common , we had bull terriers, staffys..they are all just lumped together now…
The problem as I see it, is owners & breeders of these dogs. It would be nice to think all are responsible, loving people. Some backyarders keep the vicious and breed from them, some owners encourage this behaviour in their dogs.
I just had Chels spayed and have had people tell me I was mad as I could breed her with a mastiff and get ‘good money’ one of our papers has 10 ads for such a mix.
Most Danes are bred to be placid, gentle animals with generations of breeding going into this nature. I am working so hard with her to ensure that in all ways she is a responsible canine but it drives me nuts when we’re out and other dogs off leash threaten her. I used to say nothing, now I tell their owners, if they are around to train their animal and leash it. I think I will start carrying my trainers business card and handing them out…
I don’t know the answer Lindsay, I was going to say public awareness but I think the public is aware. There are many great owners of the breeds you have identified and the others are aware but dont give a damn..its a quick buck.
Abbey’s last blog post..Day 19-20
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:48 pm
I am a little surprised that Saint Bernards are on that list. For the most part they are sooo docile and loving. But as other have said, it is all in the breeding. When things go wrong, they go wrong on a HUGE scale because these dogs are soo big. My saints are more inclinded to flop on top of you and smother you than attack and kill someone… lol
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May 1st, 2008 at 3:41 am
for the most dog-bite related deaths, all the statistics I came across said roughly the same
May 7th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
I Have a merlequin looks just like your pic. Harley just turned 2 and also she had to be registered with all breed, as ack does not recognize her , even though she is a petigree, i have had so many people tell me how beautifus she is, cant understand the akc. what about a PBGB?
July 18th, 2008 at 8:46 am
hye wow i have a mixed dog of pit german an lab he is the best dog ever untill it gets to the playing part that gets really ruff i don’t know what to do..☻