8/12/2019 Biting Dogs and Dangerous Breeds

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http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/canine-corner/200810/biting-dogs-and-dangerous-breeds

Biting Dogs and Dangerous BreedsSome breeds bite more often, but other factors are important.

Published on October 27, 2008 by Stanley oren, Ph.D., !.".S..in anine ornerIs your dog, potentially a lethal weapon? !ery time there is a media report o" someone being mauled bya dog this #uestion arises again in the minds o" many people. $peci"ically, the public is now worryingabout the possibility that there might be certain breeds o" dogs which are %bad% or at least potentiallyunsa"e to &eep in the city.

'he reasoning goes that dogs ha!e been bred "or many purposes, and some, li&e (oberman pinchers and

)erman shepherds ha!e been selected "or watchdog and guarding ser!ices. $ince these duties couldre#uire them to bite people, the concern is that they might be predisposed to bite e!erybody.

)athering statistics on dog bites is di""icult. *any bites are innocuous, such as those that result "rom ano!er-eager dog that too& a chun& o" your thumb when you o""ered him a treat. +thers are more se!ere

but may be treated at home. +" those bites that actually re#uire medical treatment, many do not end upin any accessible data ban& and are thus lost to researchers. !en when bites are recorded there is o"tenno in"ormation on the breed o" dog in!ol!ed.

ortunately, a study commissioned by the .$. ational enter "or Inury re!ention and ontrol, whichwas published in 2000, does pro!ide some in"ormation. It is based upon the one class o" dog bites that

must be registered, namely those resulting in death. 'he study spanned a period o" 1 years and "oundthat there were 238 dog bite related deaths during that time--roughly 12 per year. In many cases the

biters are mi4ed breed, so some estimate had to be made o" the breeds that went into them.'he results clearly show that certain breeds are more li&ely to do this &ind o" damage as can be seen in

the accompanying table. it bulls or pit bull-type dogs, and 5ottweiler or 5ottweiler crosses, appear as theculprits most o"ten. 'ogether these two groups account "or hal" o" all o" the dog bite "atalities.

6hile this list ma&es it clear that dog breeds do matter, the study also "ound that some other "actors areimportant--such as the dog7sse4and se4ual status. *ale dogs were .2 times more li&ely to "atally bitesomeone, and se4ually intact dogs were 2. times more li&ely to be in!ol!ed in attac&s than are neutered

dogs.

6ho the !ictim is and what he does also plays a role. $adly, more than hal" o" the !ictims o" dog bites arechildren, aged 12 or younger. 9owe!er the !ictims o" many o" these dog bites o"ten play a part in

precipitating the tragedy. In 3; o" dog bite "atalities, there was some suggestion that the dog waspro!o&ed by being struc&, po&ed in the eye, ha!ing things thrown at it etc.

'he beha!ior o" the dog7s owners was also important. (ogs that are chained, or &ept con"ined in a smallyard, are appro4imately 3 times more li&ely to "atally bite people. +ne important statistic that con"irmsthe owner7s role in their dog7s actions is that only 11.2; o" dogs that bite ha!e e!er been gi!en anyobedience training.