The best dog I ever owned was a Great Dane. I still mourn for him. He would NEVER hurt anybody. I own a St. Bernard now. She's the sweetest dog I ever saw in my life. That's why I was surprised one time when I looked up dog bites and found Danes and St. Bernards to be in the top ten list of fatal attacks. Here's the list:
1. Pit Bull
2. Rottweiler
3. German Shepherd
4. Siberian Husky
5. Alaskan Malamute
6. Doberman Pinscher
7. Chow Chow
8. Great Dane
9. Saint Bernard
10. Akita
Unneutered males are the worst offenders.
My neighbors own a Siberian Husky and I've fed it table scraps over the years because our dog is fat enough. The Husky likes me and the neighbors occasionally ask me to feed him while they're gone. I have no problems with Ivan but I would never allow my children to go feed him by themselves. He's a little unstable and is never walked or socialized. They protect their little grandchildren from him.
I do have problems with the thought of this boy's parents, presumably knowing those dogs had killed before, not escorting him to feed the dogs.
Of course, the real problem is the owner, knowing that the dogs could be vicious.
We also have an easygoing male chow, Bear, that T-Bone was jealous of. (Bear lived with us first.) We had to keep them apart, but one time T-Bone got to Bear and nearly killed him, pinning him down, and going for the jugular. Bear bled and couldn't free himself. Only his fur, and my mother beating off T-Bone with a broom, saved Bear. The dogs were always kept separated after that.
As well-behaved as T-Bone was around the adults, though, when my two-year-old niece went to bother T-Bone, (as all little kids do to dogs), T-Bone gave her a warning growl....you never saw me jump into action so fast to pull that kid away from the dog. I was surprised at this. She was always supervised around the dog after this. T-Bone is gone now, he liked to chase cars, and a pick-up got him.
Aside from that, I have a question out there for anyone who can possibly answer. Is it OK to have a pet German Shepherd around a newborn baby? I wanted to originally get a Pomeranian, but toys are not good around little kids, and often bite little children when they are bothered(ours did). I was going to get a Shepherd puppy when the time comes, so the dog gets used to the baby, and get a neutered male from a reliable breeder. As much as I would like to get one from a pound, I thought that this would be too risky since I would be unsure of his inherited disposition. Any comments on this from Freepers?
Keep in mind that the key work there is fatal. All of those breeds are very capable animals. Dog attacks happen all the time but most people dont report let alone lie around long enough for a chihuahua attack to become serious.