CDC's 10 Most Dangerous Dogs List [you'll never guess which one is the most dangerous!]

NBC17 ^ | 1-14-04 | NBC17

[ambrose]

NBC 17

CDC's 10 Most Dangerous Dogs List

POSTED: 3:58 PM EST January 14, 2004

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Tuesday's fatal dog attack in Harnett County is not as rare as you may think. Dogs kill 10 to 20 people in the United States every year.

Last year in Orange County, 300 dog bites were reported, and 350 were reported in Raleigh.

	DOG SAFETY Stay Safe Tips For Parents Own A Dog? Been Injured By A Dog?

While national statistics show at least 30 breeds have attacked humans, 10 dog breeds are on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's most dangerous list, meaning they tend to bite the most frequently. They are:

Pit bulls
Rottweilers
German Shepherds
Huskies
Alaskan Malamutes
Doberman Pinschers
Chow Chows
Great Danes
St. Bernards
Akitas

The breeds considered most likely to kill are pit bulls and rottweilers, and the CDC says that a chained dog is more likely to bite than an unchained dog.

The CDC also says the majority of dog attacks happen at home or in a familiar place, which is why choosing the right dog for your family is crucial.

Copyright 2004 by NBC17.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[Snowy]

I suspect this is because most dogs that aren't chained ARE contained...

I think it has more to do with how dogs think. A dog that is forced to be away from their "pack" thinks it is being punished. When the dog is chained, it thinks it's behavior isn't what the pack wants. By being mean, the dog thinks it may work its way up in the pack and thus be allowed to be included.

[jpsb]

The least likely to attack dog, Maggie, a rather large Newfoundland. Maggie is the most popular dog in my little town. She gets all the hugs and kisses. Never thought my dog would be more popular then me!

[katykelly]

We had a St. Bernard that was a big teddy bear towards everybody and other dogs, except German Shepards. A kid left the back gate open, Baldy ran up the street to the police station where they just happen to be training their police dogs. He almost killed their prize winning shepard. Needless to say the police were not happy.

[arm958]

What the heck is the CDC doing dealing with dogs anyway unless they are talking about an outbreak of rabies????

Same reason the CDC attacks guns. Congress lets them.

[jpsb]

A dog is a dog. Large dogs need to be socialized just like children. My Maggie got into more then a few scraps when she was growing up. But because of almost constant exposure to other dogs, children, adults, cats, etc, Maggie learned how to be a "good dog". But I still remember some pretty ugly moments when she was a puppy and keep a close eye on her. She is a Newfoundland, famous for their gentle and friendly demeanor, but she is a dog, and a dog will be a dog.

[GovernmentShrinker]

I'm a strong proponent of leash laws, but the fact is that a lot of serious dog attacks are by dogs which are normally kept fenced and/or chained on their own property, and either escape accidentally or are deliberately set loose by young neighborhood thugs. Apparently the ones kept chianed, as opposed to just fenced in a yard, are statistically more apt to attack -- correlation, not necessarily causation.

[GovernmentShrinker]

Make sure to get permission from the cats first!

[Gabz]

Same reason the CDC attacks guns. Congress lets them.

That's an unfortunate truth. They have gone totally over board since the word Prevention was added to the name of the agency.

Although I have never figured out what disease guns cause. Unless of course you consider the apoplexy they cause the gun grabbers.

[100%FEDUP]

Pit bulls
Rottweilers
German Shepherds
Huskies
Alaskan Malamutes
Doberman Pinschers
Chow Chows
Great Danes
St. Bernards

When I was a wee lad my mom and dad taught me, if an animal is BIGGER or STRONGER than you it probably can hurt you very easily!

How interesting that the most dangerous dogs are all breeds that could weigh more and/or be stronger than than most humans!

I guess my mom and dad were right. Glad I listened to them instead of waiting all this time for the CDC's advice!

[TrueBeliever9]

Thank you for your kind comments, they mean a lot. My K was very special. He used to pray with me - yes, he did, he would tuck his head under my chin when I prayed. Some of my fondest memories are the times I took him to Camp Lejeune (when my son was stationed there on the Force Recon Team); the big Marines would hug him and talk to him. K was ministering to each of them in his special way and they needed his special love. When I drove up to the gate he would get so excited he couldn't contain himself. He would bound out of the car and run to the barracks. He loved his Marines. I love my Rottie - forever!

[TheGeezer]

LOL! My sister-in-law had a St. Bernard who hated my guts for some reason. He loved everyone else. Oh well, I guess there's no pleasing everyone. I have gotten along with every other St. Bernard I've seen!

[I still care]

I imagine any dog bred to go down a hole and bite the living daylights out of anything it runs into, would be an "attitude" dog!

Like every dog, they just have to be trained to know the rules. The girl who lived upstairs from me had the meanest doxie I ever met, well, it was pretty clear to me she made it that way.

I swear, the dog would growl and show his teeth at people and her reaction was , "Oh, isn't that cute?"

[hotpotato]

The westie is a breed that has a higher rate of cogenital deafness than other breeds.

Wrong. You contradict yourself by claiming it's a genetic trait for white coated dogs (you obviously don't understand the genetics) but claim westies above all other white breeds as the highest rate of congenital defect for deafness.

You go on to futher contradict your claim about westies having a higher rate of congenital defect than other breeds with this:

But its not as bad as dalmations or bull terriers.

Here is a table which illustrates dog breeds with reported congenital deafness

You also need to understand the genetics involved in the congenital defects for deafness. As you can see, it is not an issue of simply "white dogs." The explanation is complicated but can be found at:

Hereditary Deafness in Dogs and Cats: Causes, Prevaalence, and Current Research

These alleles are listed in order of decreasing dominance. Although the specific allele responsible for white pigmentation is not known for many breeds, the Basenji and bloodhound are examples of homozygous Irish spotting, the beagle is an example that is usually homozygous piebald, and the Dalmatian and white bull terrier are examples of homozygous extreme-white piebald. Because these alleles are recessive they must be present in pairs to produce their white pattern, but it is possible for a dog to carry one copy each of two of the recessive alleles, as may occur with Boston terriers that are normally sisi but that may on occasion be sisp or sisw (Ref 13).

I've been personally involved with westies for almost 13 years and have been directly associated with show, obedience, agility and earthdog and rescue westies as well as am a member of a major westie club. The only deaf westie I encountered was a rescue who lost his hearing due to high fever caused by craniomandibular osteopathy (and let me say, a better pet no one could have and his new owners couldn't possibly love him more). He was a rescued puppymill puppy. In these westie groups, there is much discussion about any chronic ailments of westies, especially with concern to hereditary defects because good breeders are interested in breeding healthy dogs. This is the link to the Westie Club of America's list of problems most commonly found in westies (which are generally known to be pretty healthy dogs). Though the list is extensive including rare conditions, deafness is not one.

Westie Club of America - Health concerns

Also, the Westie Foundation of American is an organization that conducts research on the most common ailments that afflict westies and deafness is not listed.

Westie Foundation of America

Unfortunately, puppmills exist and don't care what type of breeding occurs and are not looking after your best interest or the puppies or their breed dogs. It's about money. So we continue to see a lot of hereditary defects that could be, if not completely, at least primarily eliminated. I will finish with stating that I have two rescues and two from reputable breeders and I love them all.

[hotpotato]

The Irish Terrier group used to buy the dogs whenever they saw one at a pet store from bad breeders and spay or neuter it so that it couldn't pass on the gene

Your Irish Terrier group had that kind of money?

btw, buying pupppies from petstores help to keep puppymills in business. I find it hard to believe a responsible breed group would do this.

[duffer]

We have a collie St. Bernard mix. The nicest dog in the world. Duke is really relaxed around people And if you lie down on the floor he will come over and rest with you. Loves to chew on your arm really slobbery.

[Crusher138]

I have a Basset Hound named Rufus.

He is a drooling, f*rting piece of furniture. He does have a tendency to eat underwear. Not chew it. Not shred it. He swallows it whole. We've never actually caught him in the act, but we discover the barfed up evidence about a week after he eats them.

He is only motivated to move when he wants to eat or relieve himself.

He is wonderfully lovable and docile. The only time you have to worry is if you are trying to take food away from him. Anyone other than me would draw back a stump.

[hotpotato]

He does have a tendency to eat underwear.

Uhm, you might want to take action to prevent that. Intestinal blockage can be an extremely serious as well as deadly matter:

If the blockage interferes with the flow of blood to the bowel, intestinal strangulation will occur, and the bowel will start to rot within a few hours. Abdominal x-rays are needed to properly diagnose the cause of distress and locate the blockage. Surgical removal of the blockage is required immediately, and the rotting bowel must be resected to the living bowel.

It's a lot simpler (and cheaper) to pick up underwear.

[MPJackal]

Didn't you see Cujo?

[MPJackal]

"I lost her twice...the second time she came back pregnant. She loved chasing cats"

I think she loved chasin' more than just cats.

Just teasin ;-)

[AgentEcho]

Border Collies are very smart but are not really family dogs.

I know 3 dogs where the families purposely cross-bred a Border Collie and a Black Lab (3 litters w/ 1 male lab 2 different female border collies)

Not only are these dogs some of the easiest to train, but they are absolutely the smartest dogs I've ever seen and the best behaved, even as puppies.

2 are with families and 1 is with an older couple.

Æ