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.
Sources: CDC DBRF data | AVMA dog bite risk | Dog bite-related studies | Recent DBRF data
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.
Source: Recent DBRF data
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).
Source: CDC WONDER data
Percentage of a dog's behavior attributable to breed, confirming that breed has a minimal impact on behavior.
Source: Science.org study
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
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 |
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
Co-occurrence of potentially preventable factors in 256 dog bite-related fatalities in the United States
Conclusions:
Source: Link to study
American Veterinary Medical Association
Dog bite risk and prevention: The role of breed
Conclusions:
Source: Link to study
Journal of Applied Animal Behavior Science
Human directed aggression in domestic dogs: Occurrence in different contexts and risk factors
Conclusions:
Source: Link to study
Journal of Veterinary Behavior
Comparison of golden retrievers and dogs affected by breed-specific legislation regarding aggressive behavior
Conclusions:
Source: Link to 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:
Source: Link to study
Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science
Defaming Rover: Error-based latent rhetoric in the medical literature on dog bites
Conclusions:
Source: Link to study
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.
Source: Link to statement
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.
Source: Link to statement
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.
Source: Link to statement
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.
Source: Link to statement
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.
Source: Link to statement
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.
Source: Link to statement
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