#1) Large and/or aggressive breed of dog.
There are particular breeds that are more likely to be aggressive - and way more dangerous IF they are aggressive. The larger and more powerful your dog - the more you need to make sure they are not aggressive and under your absolute control at all times.. which brings us to #2.
#2) Running loose, often >1 running loose.
If the dog is under your control it is unlikely that an attack will happen or progress to the point of massive injury or fatality. Dogs in a pack mentality (>1 running loose) are way more dangerous. Two dogs are not twice as dangerous - more like danger to the 2nd power. Three dogs are not three times as dangerous - more like danger to the 3rd power. If you have more than one dog, especially large and/or aggressive dogs; it is VITAL that you not allow them to run loose or be at all negligent if they can break out at will. Filling in the hole under the fence with loose dirt is not keeping your dog secure - it is inviting another incident of them running loose.
#3) Previous reports of aggressive behavior.
Usually there are warning signs that the dogs are aggressive towards humans and/or other dogs, ignore them at your (and your neighbors) peril.
#4)(THE BIG ONE.) Unreasonable expectation of passivity from the owner - often despite #3 above.
If the owner is aware of the danger they will not allow the dog to run loose EVER, they will not allow their dog around other dogs or people where they are able to attack them, they will not be the typical “we had no way of knowing our three massive aggressive dogs would climb under the fence AGAIN, go running loose, and would attack and kill a child!”
I am the former owner of a very aggressive Bull Mastiff dog, appropriately named “Fury”. #1 was already checked off the list. I never allowed her to escape alone and she was always under my direct and immediate control #2 was not going to happen. She had numerous incidents of aggressive behavior - almost always against dogs - but their owners were not exempt. #3 was already checked off the list. I was doing my damnedest to NEVER have an unreasonable expectation of passivity from her!!!
If people who owned large/aggressive dogs were more diligent - lives would be saved. I agree with the posters on this thread who think that manslaughter charges are warranted in situations like these. I figure that legally your dog is an extension of you - if your dog damages property it is as if you damaged the property - if your dog attacks a person - it is as if you attacked that person - and if your dog kills someone - you are guilty of creating the situation that killed them.
>If people who owned large/aggressive dogs were more diligent - lives would be saved.<
Amen. I had a Belgian Malinois who lived to be 15 1/2. I never, ever ASSumed he “won’t bite”. He never bit anyone, because he was never out of a family member’s control, nor was he allowed around stupid people who might have teased him.
I have no doubt whatsoever that he would have bitten, especially had someone been foolish enough to come into our home unannounced.
"Of the 41 fatal dog attacks from 2000-2001, there were 28 deaths from a single dog attack and 13 deaths from a multiple dog attack. Of the 28 single dog attacks; 26 were male and two were female.
Of the 26 fatalities caused by a single male dog from 2000-2001, it was found that 21 of these dogs were not neutered. (The reproductive status of the remaining five male dogs could not be determined)."
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"Other studies have documented that unneutered dogs are 2.6 times more likely to bite than neutered dogs; and male dogs are 6.2 times more likely to bite than female dogs." (4)
Fatal Dog Attacks: The Stories Behind the Statistics - By Karen Delise (pg. 13-14)