Which Dog Breeds Are More Likely To Kill People
Dog breeds in general have similar characteristics. Some dog breeds are more likely to kill than others and some breeds are more protective of their masters and physical surrounding than others. There has been a 20 year study to determine which dog breeds are more likely to actually kill human beings. This United States study was done for the years 1979 through 1998.
This study tracks 238 human deaths from dog attacks during a 20 year period. 24% of these attacks involved unrestrained dogs off their owners property. 58% of the deaths involved unrestrained dogs on their owners property. 17% involved restrained dogs on their owners property and less than 1% involved a restrained dog off the owners property.
Some of the conclusions of the study are not suprising. Yes, certain breeds are more likely to kill than others. Yes, deaths from dog attack are quite rare. Also it is sometimes difficult to determine the actual breed of a dog. Communities who try to ban specific dog breeds for public safety will find it difficult to define the parameters of what constitutes that breed.
Several factors interact with the dog to enhance the possibility of a human being attacked by a dog besides the breed of the dog. These factors include heredity, sex, early experience, socialization, training, health, reprodcutive status, quality of ownership and victum behavior. Additionally, this study did not look at intervening variable such as was the dog protecting his owner from serious harm or death or was the dog actually protecting himself from serious harm or death.
Male dogs are 6.2 times more likely to bite then female dogs. Sexually intact dogs,both male and female, are 2.6 more times likely to bite than neutered dogs and chained dogs are 2.8 times more likely to bite then unchained dogs.
One suprising conclusion of several studies is the fact that many varieties of dogs have been involved in a fatal human attack for one reason or another. Topping the list of deaths by dog in a twenty year period is the Pit Bull and Pit Bull mix at 66 human deaths. The Rottweiler and Rottweiler mix was responsibe for 39 human deaths. The German Shepherd dog and mix were responsible for 17 human deaths. The Husky type dog was responsible for 15 human deaths as was the Malamute responsible for 12 human deaths. The Chow Chow was responsible for 8 deaths while the Doberman was responsible for 9 human deaths. The Saint Bernard was responsible for 7 human deaths and the Great Dane was also responsible for 7 deaths. The Akita killed 4 people, the Bulldog 2, the Mastiff 2, the Boxer 2 and believe it or not the Labrador Retriever was responsible for 1 death while Lab mixes were responsible for 4 deaths. The following dogs were responsible for killing one human each during these twenty years: The Bullmastiff, Cheasapeake Bay Retriever, West Highland Terrier, Japanese Hunting Dog, Newfoundland, Coonhound, Sheepdog, Rhodesian Ridgeback and cocker Spaniel.
The conclusion that I make from this study is that almost any dog of size can be dangerous, particularly to children. Dogs must be properly trained, supervised, and care must be taken when choosing a breed with the propensity to be aggressive. Most important, keep young children away from male, sexually intact, chained dogs.
Mitch Endick
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/which-dog-breeds-are-more-likely-to-kill-people-64947.html
Why do most people think it is only pit bulls that turn aggressive towards humans.?
It is always targic when a dog of any breed huts or kills someone. If you listen to the media it seems to be only pit bulls. When my great nephew was attacked and had to have surgey to save his eye animal control did not even come out to takt a report because the dog was a lab, yes they said that. My pit bull barks at some one there here within a hour. Last year 4 deaths were chalk up to pit bulls two of which was by pit that are police dogs and saved thie partenr’s life.There are over 5 million pit bulls in this country, by far more than any other breed. If they were as bad as they are made to look there would be a least 4 deaths a day. Last year 60 peopl died in dog attacks, 4 by pit bull that makes the odds of anyone getting killed by a pit is.00015. You are more likely to get shot by a loved one, struck by lighting, attacked by a gator, killed by a shark. You need to worry more about what some kid in your childs school is up to than a pit bull attacking them.
One of you said the pits in their area mustbemore aggersive. Well that may be we have troble with labs here, Las Vegas. There as been 15 Lab attacks in the past 6 months. I hate tto sat this but Las Veags as one of the largest dog fighting rings in the US. There as not been a bad attack by a pit in 15 years and no deaths for 30 years, that includs attacks on ohter dogs, expect in the ring. I think a genic qurak can happen in a population of dogs that can make one breed seem more aggervise than others, but when you look at the whole country you can see that it is not so. My neice’s dog as K-9 rage, not sure if that is what its called and take the same meds as someone that is bi-poluor. Sorry about the spelling.
The guy who said you need to take steps to make sure your pit dose not get out or alone with ant kids is right. Always watch kids with any large dog. they are the same size and move like the prey they would hunt in the wild
Well, like you said, "…media".
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I really don’t know but everyone I know thinks that my pit bull and my chow are the meanest things but they are the sweetest and the most loveing just it takes a little time for them to love you as much as they love me!
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I owned a female pit named sadie before. She was the best dog anyone could have. I had her around my child and she never got crazy. She was potty broke and never got in the trash and she would sleep with my son every night. Now i was attacked by a german shepard when i was 9 because my foot touched the grass of the yard he was in. i had to get emergency sugeries on my face and chest. I think the fear of pits is over rated!!
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Maybe 60 people DIED from dog attacks last year, but how many were ATTACKED????? I care more about that number than the deaths.
Way more people were shot with a gun than were killed!!
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My sister has a pit bull and he is very friendly people say pit bulls are bad just because a lot of things have happened in the past.. if you treat the pit bull with love and care it will be friendly but if you teach it 2 play rough something bad might happen. Lab bit half of a woman’s face this year while she was smoking and she had a face implant!! it’s not always pit bulls.
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Unfortunately, this is because pit bulls, as a breed, are agressive animals originally bred for fighting. Normally they are fine around people, depending on the environment they were raised in. There are only a couple of other breeds that were originally fighting dogs, and they are far less common the pit bulls. Some municipalities have actually outlawed the ownership of pitbulls, but those areas are centers for dogfights. They weren’t outlawed due to the danger they pose.
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It’s the media like you said. They use the fact that wiggers and thugs train them to be aggressive.
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Because ….."50% of the population is of BELOW average intelligence"-G.Carlin
And people just LOVE to "parrot the party line" so they can feel part of the group….whatever & however WRONG that group IS!
Ever notice how people love roller-coasters & horror movies?? Same phenomenon. Cheap thrills w/NO THOUGHT needed.
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well just because they have a bad reputation I had a pit bull and she was so nice she slept with me every nite and she always proyected me but she died from cancer. Well some owners train pit bulls to be agressive by hitting them or abusing them its not the dogs fault at all just no that I love pit bulls and plan to get another ine sorry about your great mephew!
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Because the media runs amuck with news of pitbulls that do attack on ocassion. Sadly, it is the people who are choosing to deliberately raise this beautiful dog with bad tempers, make them mean on purpose and fight them, who are doing a great injustice to the breed.
I say don’t ban the pitbull, ban the bad owners.
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It is the media and politicians that want to be able to say they are actively protecting their constituents by banning "vicious" breeds.
I’ve known some of the sweetest dogs that are pits. I know it is not the breed, but the dog, but sadly too many people don’t do their homework to realize this and others don’t properly train or socialize their dogs.
Unfortunately, breeds get notoriety and irresponsible people buy them and do more damage to the public perception of the breed.
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its just their nature that makes them easier to turn violent… and unfortunatley, many people get them for just that reason… they have a very bad rap because of very bad people. I do understand your frustration with the animal control people though, seriously you should see about filing a formal complaint against them for refusing to take a report because any breed can be a danger if they are violently aggressive…and it isnt only pit bulls that do that… believe it or not, i had to file a vicious dog report on a cocker spaniel… people always laugh when i say that, but it bit me in the leg and through my jeans…and yes, they probably asked me 20 times "cocker spaniel?" but i still made them come out and then they saw how vicious the dog was… it is harder to make some breeds turn vicious than others, but it is not impossible… pit bulls, german shepards, bulldogs, these are some that just the average personality of the breed makes them more prone to go vicious instead of cowering when treated like crap… and alot of bad people (drug dealers, pimps, ect) buy them and treat them like crap just because they are know to turn vicious easily
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okay this is wat i think i think that people think pits are bad because pits are the dogs that are mostly used for fighting and betting on and that sort of thing.i blame it all on the media because whenever a pit bull attacks or bites someone they Make the biggest deal out of it but if some other bred does it they really don’t make a public issue out of it.
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Have to be honest with you. Most of The Pit bulls Ive known where often sketchy at best. They were a little hyper and when you played with them things got rough real fast as compared to other breeds Ive dealt with.
Truth is they have a specific demeanor just like any other full bred dog. Now don’t get me wrong some individual dogs will step outside of their breeds demeanor but overall this personality type exists in full bred dogs.
I’m not saying there aren’t Sweet pit-bulls out there because there are BUT the dog(pit bull) was bred to be aggressive and Ive personally witnessed more pit bulls turn on their masters then any other breed Ive ever seen. I know of 5 cases personally where pit bulls turned on their masters(my friends) and viciously attacked them and YES these people were NOT cruel masters.
Pit bulls were bred for a specific purpose just like Labs and German Shepard’s have been. They all have unique personality traits according to breed. I know some of you guys don’t want to face this but its the truth… more often then not.
Keep your Pit locked up properly! they WILL hurt someone out of the blue and that includes children or even yourself! They believe they are protecting their territory and pure bred Pits are HIGHLY territorial, trust me. Also the difference between a PIT bull and other breeds is when the other breeds let go(release the jaws) pit bulls don’t… they keep on biting and hanging on Ive witnessed it many times. And yes there are exceptions to the rule however dont fool yourself or live in denial… your Pit will most likely hurt someone and be put down that way guaranteed.
Safety First! keep a close eye on them and keep them in a PROPER enclosure when outside, regardless of how ’sweet’ they are in the house! Anyone who doesnt know these basic rules surely hasnt dealt with enough ‘Pure Bred’ pit bulls on a ‘long term’ basis. Unfortunately some of you who are new and naive to the Pit Bull game are in for a big shock…Hope this isnt the case.
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Pit bulls are dogs who are usually bought by people for entertainment, not as a pet. When they don’t want the dog around they simply ignore the dog. Being ignored is not number one on a dog’s list. When the dog gets angry it will attack a human. This, as you said, does not happen all that often, but is still sad.
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it is cuz… when they bite they have a different jaw structure soo they really latch on hard.
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my neighbor has one and she studies dogs
The media is one problem.
Ignorant people who don’t even know how to identify a breed are another. Not all "pitbull" attacks were even from a pitbull…people just automatically label a dog a "pitbull" if it aggresses.
Because pitbulls look "tough," criminals like them. Sadly, these people breed dogs to be human aggressive, which is not standard for the breed. These were never bred to be human aggressive, and those that showed aggression were killed. and never bred.
Many people think that to train a pitbull, you have to beat them and treat them bad. This is stupid and dangerous.
Because of the media, and ignorance, pitbulls are targeted for cruelty, teased, tortured, and taunted. Any dog, regardless of breed, will snap and bite some one due to this treatment. They start to fear and dislike people, and that becomes a big problem.
Thank you for sharing those statistics…I hope others will see that pitbulls are not as "dangerous" as the media makes them out to be.
http://www.libertydogtraining.com
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No,,,, people do not think that Pits are the only breed that can turn agressive, they simply belive (and I agree) that Pits are "A" breed that can turn agressive.
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Perhaps the lineage of pit bulls in our town is more aggressive than others? or not the norm? I was in the vet’s office to have stitches removed the other day..and a call came in about a sick pit bull..the vet’s assistant told the caller that the doctor doesn’t accept pit bull clients…So, then the vet came out to look at my dog, and the assistant told him about the caller..He said, I would like to help all dogs, but if it hadn’t been for my steel toed boots, I would have lost my foot to the last pit bull I tried to help..So, never again.
Then, they got to talking about the Chihuahuas that had come in earlier in the day…3 Chihuahua puppies had been in their own yard, playing with children, when a pit bull climbed the fence and killed one and injured the other 2 , one of them died at the vet’s..the 3rd one was still in ICU.
I have several local friends who have been attacked by their own pit bulls…None of them were bad owners..but the dogs just ’snapped’ and attacked…so, I wonder…Could it be that our pit bulls are just worse than those in other areas? This is a very nice resort community, and not a town of thugs.
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dog breeder since 1968
People do not think for them self’s any more. They have gotten so lazy that they let others make up their minds. More people are attacked by so called family dogs than pits and related breeds. Any dog can attack, they are still wolfs under their skins. A 6lb dog can and as killed a baby. If people do not wake up they will lose their right to Even have dogs as pets. Remember the breed of dog you love and own is one bite away from being called dangerous and banded. WE, the people fighting the bans on pits know this. List of breeds they are banning besides pit bulls are, mastiffs, German Shepard, Dodie’s, Akita’s, huskies, hunting dog in city limits, Irsih wolf hound, just to name a few. Notice most are large dogs. Dose your family have a large dog if they do is yours the next on the chopping block.
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It’s not just Pit Bulls, but when was the last time you heard of a Poodle mauling a child to death???
The breed that leads Dog Bites in the US is the German Shepard, although that may be due to them being used by Police Departments.
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BTW – where did you get your stats? Is that U.S.? I am always keeping track and I’ve never seen that 60 people died from dog bites – always around 12 per year. However – most of the dog bites reported are from Pits. 169 Pit bulls attacked humans in San Francisco alone. (non fatal)
I don’t think it is only Pits that are aggressive, but the statistics show by far that Pits and Rotts are sending more people to the emergency room. Anytime a dog gains in popularity – the breed suffers from overbreeding and people looking to make a buck. They breed the dog w/out regard to the temperment and socialization of the puppies or the parents.
Plus – the other problem with pits – especially in areas known for fighting them – when the dog doesn’t fight well – they are sometimes killed – and sometimes just turned loose. They don’t want the expense of keeping a loser. These dangerous dogs are now roaming the streets – it wasn’t someone’s pet – but it is not helping the Pit bull name.
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The reason people find pitbulls agressive are because its bred to have agressive characteristics. Uneducated people who purchase this breed because they think its cool to have a viscious dog train them to be more agressive, when really they dont need to be taught that. Its irresponsible owners who make mistakes and give this breed a bad reputation. Like I said this dog is agressive its in its blood and breed but people buy them and try to make them more agressive which they dont need to be. People look for a protective dog and misuse the purpose of the dog. I had 2 pitbulls and they were wonderful very protective, but friendly as well.
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Pure ignorance!!! It is tragic that people open their mouths without knowing what they are talking about and it is a shame that people are always willing to listen to whatever is said by this person or that, the media, and so on, rather than to do some research and find out the truth for themselves. It seems we have raised a generation of idiots that are unwilling to find out anything on their own.
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