Dog Attacks: The Breeds that Bite
Roughly 4.5 million Americans are the victim of dog attacks every year in the United States. This equates to about 1,000 each day who need medical attention or hospitalization, most of whom are either children under five years old or senior citizens over 65 years of age. What's more, is that dog bite or attack victims have grown some 85 percent in regularity over the past 16 years. Approximately one out of every 50 Americans will be bitten or attacked by a dog, to some degree, within a lifetime.
Dog bites are serious issues, with the most severe leaving more than just a temporary bite mark, but permanent scarring, risk of infection and possibly even psychological trauma that stays with a person throughout the course of their life. There are various ways to prevent becoming the victim of a dog bite attack, but arguably the best means of doing so is not to associate yourself with the dog breeds known to show more aggressive behavior. Yes, there are those who stand by the "nature vs. nurture" debate, and while that may be true in a variety of dog bite cases, the stats don't lie.
So, what breeds of dogs are most likely, statistically speaking, to attack? The answer is Pit Bulls, Rottweilers (and mixes of the aforementioned two) and Wolf hybrids. In fact, the combined breeds have:
Induced bodily harm in a shocking 77 percent of their victims.
Made over 75 percent of its victims children.
Pit Bulls
Pit bulls are the most synonymous dog breed with dog attacks, so much so that many municipalities have passed legislation to keep pet owners from having them or restrict them from owning them to some extent. In fact, between 2005 and 2011, almost 130 people in the United States were killed by pit bulls. Historically, pit bulls were bred for dog fighting purposes and are characterized by having exceptional jaw strength, making their bites inflict more damage than other dog breeds. Pit bull owners and proponents will say that it's all in how the animal is raised and that the dog breed gets a bad rap from the general public. While this is up for debate, the numbers don't lie; pit bulls bite more people than any other breed.
Rottweilers
Rottweilers are big, powerful dogs with the potential to inflict much damage. For this reason, they've often been used as guard dogs and police dogs. The breed is reportedly the second most common breed of dog to attack, right behind pit bulls. Rottweilers are commonly perceived as junkyard dogs and portrayed as mean and nasty. While this isn't always the case with the breed, the negative attention that they've garnered has been enough to put them high on the list of feared dogs.
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Wolf Hybrid Dogs
Wolf-dogs are the result of a wolf mating with a dog. There's about 300,000 hybrids in the United States and they are characterized as a type of exotic pet. They have extremely unpredictable behavioral patterns, which leaves them more prone to attack. Remember, while dogs are domesticated, wolfs aren't. So it's a risk anytime you encounter one of these dog-wolf hybrids and more so to own one.
Others
While we've gone over the breeds that are most likely to attack, keep in mind that there's a certain degree of "breed unpredictability" as well. For instance, in 2000, a 4 lb. Pomeranian dog was responsible for killing an infant. Pomeranians are hardly the first breed that comes to mind when you think of a "mean" dog. Alaskan Malamutes, German Shepherds, Doberman Pinschers and St. Bernards are also on a very short list of respective breeds of canines that have been responsible for human deaths. Years ago, Doberman Pinschers were perceived similar to how pit bulls are now. This lends a lot of credibility to the nature vs. nurture argument in that even dog breeds known for loyalty, friendliness and being good family dogs have been responsible for severe bites and fatality.
As we previously mentioned, some breeds are of such a concern to city and government officials that legislation has been passed in communities to outlaw or greatly restrict such animals. A proposal for a breed restriction often comes about following a violent or deadly attack. For instance, in the state of Washington, pit bulls are banned in 20 cities. There are several other states around the nation that follow similarly. So, the question is, do bans work in reducing the number of bites and attacks? Statistically speaking, not necessarily - dog bites and attacks have still risen in frequency some 85 percent from what they were over a decade ago. But breed bans and restrictions, perhaps more so than anything, help raise awareness to the more dangerous types of dog breeds. The publicity that these proposed laws generate, even if they don't pass, are enough to keep people in the know about the "more dangerous" breeds of canines.
