fatal dog attacks by breed

Fatal Dog Attacks In The U.S.

Fatal Dog Attacks

According to CDC data, there are an average of 43 fatal dog attacks each year in the United States, disproportionately affecting adults (~65%), followed by children (~25%) and infants (~10%). Since 2016, at least 82 different breeds and mixed breeds have been implicated in fatal attacks, including Akitas, Boxers, Doberman Pinschers, German Shepherds, Great Danes, Huskies, Labrador Retrievers, Mastiffs, Rottweilers, and pitbull-types, among others. Scientific studies have determined that the leading causes of fatal dog attacks stem from preventable factors such as irresponsible ownership, neglect or abuse, failure to neuter dogs, and inadequate supervision of large or strong dogs around infants and children.


Contrary to unreliable information about breed-specific risk related to certain breeds, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and numerous scientific studies have determined that a dog's breed does not determine aggression, bite strength, or its propensity to bite. While every fatal dog attack is tragic, the majority of dog bite-related fatalities (DBRFs) are the result of human-controlled factors specific to the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Dog Bite-related Statistics


Statistics & data on fatal dog attacks

82+

Number of breeds involved in fatal attacks in the U.S. since 2016, confirming that serious dog-bite incidents are not a breed-specific issue.

0.00001%

The risk of being fatally attacked by a dog (of any breed). On average every year in the U.S., insects cause more fatalities (~104) than dogs (~43).

9%

Percentage of a dog's behavior attributable to breed, confirming that breed has a minimal impact on behavior.

84%

Percentage of fatal dog attacks that involve dogs that aren't neutered. Intact male dogs are associated with higher rates of aggression.

Source: JAVMA study

Breeds Implicated In Fatal Dog Attacks

Breeds implicated in fatal dog attacks since 2016


Source: Recent DBRF Data | *Pitbull-type includes 4 unique breeds + 4 pitbull-type mixed breeds (American Pit Bull Terrier mix, American Staffordshire Terrier mix, Staffordshire Bull Terrier mix, and American Bully mix).

Breeds: 1-23 Breeds: 24-46 Breeds: 47-82+
Akita Dalmatian Labrador Retriever-Shepherd mix
Alaskan Husky mix Doberman Pinscher Leopard Cur mix
American Bulldog Doberman Pinscher mix Malamute-Wolf Hybrid mix
American Bulldog mix Dogo Argentino Mastiff
American Bulldog-Great Pyrenees mix Dutch Shepherd Mastiff mix
Australian Cattle Dog mix English Bulldog Mastiff-Great Dane mix
Belgian Malinois English Mastiff Mastiff-Labrador Retriever mix
Belgian Malinois-Bulldog mix French Bulldog mix Mastiff-Presa Canario mix
Black Mouth Cur mix German Shepherd Neapolitan Mastiff
Border Collie mix German Shepherd mix Olde English Bulldogge
Boxer German Shepherd-Golden Retriever mix Pocket Bully
Boxer mix Giant Schnauzer Queensland Heeler
Boxer-Hound mix Great Dane Retriever-Hound mix
Brazilian Mastiff Heeler-Mastiff mix Rottweiler
Bull Terrier Hound mix Rottweiler-Mastiff mix
Bulldog mix Husky Saint Bernard
Bullmastiff Husky mix​ Sheltie-Corgi mix
Cane Corso ​Husky-Australian Cattle Dog mix​ Shepherd mix
Cane Corso mix Husky-Shepherd mix South African Boerboel
Catahoula Leopard Dog Kangal mix Wolf Hybrid
Chow Chow mix Labrador Retreiver 67-74: Pitbull-Type and mixes*
Coonhound Labrador Retreiver mix 75-82+: Various mixed breeds
Dachshund mix Labrador Retriever-Great Pyrenees mix

Dog Bite-Related Scientific Studies

Studies on fatal dog attacks, breed-specific risk, aggression, & bite severity


Fatal Dog Attacks

Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association​

Co-occurrence of potentially preventable factors in 256 dog bite-related fatalities in the United States

Conclusions:

  • Breed does not determine risk.
  • Preventable factors related to irresponsible ownership are the primary cause of dog bite-related fatalities.

Breed-Specific Risk

American Veterinary Medical Association

Dog bite risk and prevention: The role of breed

Conclusions:

  • Controlled studies have not identified any specific breed(s) as disproportionately dangerous.
  • It is inappropriate to make predictions about a dog's propensity for aggressive behavior based solely on its breed.

Breed-Specific Aggression

Journal of Applied Animal Behavior Science​

Human directed aggression in domestic dogs: Occurrence in different contexts and risk factors

Conclusions:

  • Breed does not determine aggression.
  • Factors relevant to aggression include failure to neuter dogs and dogs subjected to punishment-based training methods.

Breed-Specific Aggression

Journal of Veterinary Behavior​

Comparison of golden retrievers and dogs affected by breed-specific legislation regarding aggressive behavior

Conclusions:

  • Breed does not determine aggression.
  • There were no differences in aggression between legislated breeds (e.g., Dobermans, Rottweilers, Pitbull-types) and the control group (Golden Retrievers).

Bite Severity Study

Irish Veterinary Journal

Dog bite injuries to humans and the use of breed-specific legislation: A comparison of bites from legislated and non-legislated dog breeds

Conclusions:

  • Breed does not determine bite severity.
  • There is no medical evidence of a difference between bites by legislated breeds (e.g., Dobermans, Rottweilers, Pitbull-types) and bites by other large or strong breeds.

Bite Severity Study

Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science

Defaming Rover: Error-based latent rhetoric in the medical literature on dog bites

Conclusions:

  • A selection of disputed medical studies on dog bites contained "​clear-cut factual errors, misinterpretations, omissions, exaggerations based on misunderstood or inaccurate statistics, and misinformation about the significance of breed."

Breed-Specific Legislation (BSL)


Organizations that oppose BSL as an effective approach to public safety

American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)

Animal control and legislative approaches to protecting a community from dangerous dogs should not be based on breed, but instead on promoting responsible pet ownership and developing methods to rapidly identify and respond to owners whose dogs present an actual risk.

National Animal Control Association (NACA)

Breed-specific legislation (BSL) is ineffective as it fails to enhance public safety, is expensive to enforce, and violates the property rights of dog owners. We want our communities to be protected against dangerous dogs – and we want abused dogs to be protected from reckless owners. The focus of any policy should be on the behavior of the dog and the behavior of the owners.

Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT)

The APDT opposes any law that deems a dog as dangerous or vicious based on appearance, breed or phenotype. Canine temperaments are widely varied, and behavior cannot be predicted by physical features such as head shape, coat length, muscle to bone ratio, etc. The only predictor of behavior is behavior.

Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)

There is no evidence that breed-specific laws reduce dog bites or attacks on people and they divert resources from more effective animal control and public safety initiatives. Breed-based policies are based on myths and misinformation, rather than science or credible data.

American Kennel Club (AKC)

If a community truly wants to fix the problem of dangerous dogs, then it needs to abandon the idea of breed-specific legislation (BSL). Time and time again, communities that have enacted BSL get unenforceable and costly laws, but no solution to the problem. Addressing the issue of irresponsible ownership is a much more effective method of animal control.

American Bar Association (ABA)

The ABA urges all state, territorial, and local legislative bodies and governmental agencies to adopt comprehensive breed-neutral laws that ensure due process protections for owners, encourage responsible pet ownership and focus on the behavior of both dog owners and dogs, and to repeal any breed discriminatory or breed specific provisions.

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