Replies

“Pit bulls and rottweilers account for over half of the deaths caused by dogs. But nowhere near half of the attacks.”

Yep. I own a Rott/Shepard mix myself. She’s a great dog, friendly to everybody that comes to our house.

But put a hand on anyone in our family, and it takes about half a second before she’s between you and the family member, one Very Loud bark and a look on her face that says ‘You’re obviously insane, and I’m going to hurt you if you don’t let my pack member go...”

She’s never once bit anyone - outside of the accidental ‘nip’ when she and I are playing.

Its not the dog, its the owners, folks.

Some will tell you they got a pit bull or Rott or GShepard for ‘protection’. And for some weird reason they get it into their pea brains they have to make the dog ‘mean’ to protect. Nothing could be further from the truth. These dogs are Pack Animals, and you are the leader of the Pack.

You get accosted, they’ll respond EXACTLY as they would in the wild. They’ll attack the aggressor. You don’t have to ‘teach them’ to do this, and thats probably the single biggest mistake a inexperienced dog owner makes with the larger breeds in particular.

If that study is to be cited then the conclusions of the sudy should be noted.

“Conclusions—Although fatal attacks on humans
appear to be a breed-specific problem (pit bull-type
dogs and Rottweilers), other breeds may bite and
cause fatalities at higher rates. Because of difficulties
inherent in determining a dog’s breed with certainty,
enforcement of breed-specific ordinances raises constitutional
and practical issues. Fatal attacks represent
a small proportion of dog bite injuries to humans and,
therefore, should not be the primary factor driving
public policy concerning dangerous dogs. Many practical
alternatives to breed-specific ordinances exist and
hold promise for prevention of dog bites. (J Am Vet
Med Assoc 2000;217:836–840)”

And if any one is interested, from the Discussion section of the study...

“Another concern is that a ban on a specific breed
might cause people who want a dangerous dog to simply
turn to another breed for the same qualities they
sought in the original dog (eg, large size, aggression
easily fostered). Breed-specific legislation does not
address the fact that a dog of any breed can become
dangerous when bred or trained to be aggressive. From
a scientific point of view, we are unaware of any formal
evaluation of the effectiveness of breed-specific legislation
in preventing fatal or nonfatal dog bites.

An alternative to breed-specific legislation is to regulate
individual dogs and owners on the basis of their
behavior. Although, it is not systematically reported, our
reading of the fatal bite reports indicates that problem
behaviors (of dogs and owners) have preceded attacks in
a great many cases and should be sufficient evidence for
preemptive action. Approaches to decreasing dangerous
dog and owner behaviors are numerous. The potential
importance of strong animal control programs is illustrated
by our data; from 1979 through 1998, 24% of
human DBRF were caused by owned dogs (typically
more than 1) that were roaming off the owners’ property.
Some deaths might have been averted through more
stringent animal control laws and enforcement (eg, leash
laws, fencing requirements). Although the bite prevention
effectiveness of such animal control ordinances and
programs has not been systematically evaluated, freeroaming
dogs and dogs with menacing behavior are
problems that need to be addressed even if they do not
bite (eg, causing bicycle or car crashes).

Generic non–breed-specific, dangerous dog laws
can be enacted that place primary responsibility for a
dog’s behavior on the owner, regardless of the dog’s
breed.17 In particular, targeting chronically irresponsible
dog owners may be effective.18 If dog owners are
required to assume legal liability for the behavior and
actions of their pets, they may be encouraged to seek
professional help in training and socializing their pets.
Other options include enforcing leash laws and laws
against dog fighting. We noticed in the fatal cases, that
less than one half of 1% of DBRF were caused by
leashed animals off the owners’ property. Subdivisions
and municipalities that outlaw fences or limit fences to
heights insufficient for controlling large dogs may be
increasing the probability of children interacting with
unsupervised dogs. Scientific evaluations of the effects
of such regulations are important.

Education of dog owners can address several issues:
(1) understanding breed profiles19,20 may assist owners in
selecting the appropriate dog for their lifestyle and training
abilities, (2) convincing owners to seriously consider
the sex and reproductive status of their dogs is important
because male and sexually intact dogs are more likely
to bite than are female and neutered dogs,12 and (3)
teaching owners about the importance of socialization
and training may decrease their likelihood of owning a
dog that will eventually bite.

Veterinarians play a key role in educating pet owners,
but because many dogs that bite may not be seen
by a veterinarian prior to the bite incident, programs
that encourage responsible ownership must also be
presented through other venues. Public education
strategies should include school-based and adult educational
programs addressing bite prevention and basic
canine behavior, care, and management. Programs
should strive to ensure that dogs receive proper socialization,
exercise, and attention; that they are given adequate
food, water, shelter, and veterinary care; that
they are neutered if they are not maintained for legitimate
and responsible breeding purposes; and that they
are trained humanely and confined safely. However,like breed-specific legislation, all these approaches
appear formally unevaluated for effectiveness.

Targeting and evaluation of prevention efforts
requires improved surveillance for fatal and nonfatal
dog bites. Dog bites should be reported as required by
local or state ordinances, and reports of such incidents
should include information about the circumstances of
the bite, ownership, breed, sex, reproductive status of
the dog, history of prior aggression, and the nature of
restraint prior to the bite incident. Collection of data
on the entire dog population (eg, breed, age, sex)
would help resolve comparative risk issues and may be
accomplished by combining paperwork on mandatory
rabies immunizations with registration of breed and
sex. Only with numerator and denominator data and
with formal evaluations of the impacts of strategies
tried by various communities will we be able to make
science-based recommendations for decreasing the
number of dog bites. In the interim, adequate funding
for animal control agencies, enforcement of existing
animal control laws, and educational and policy strategies
to reduce inappropriate dog and owner behaviors
will likely result in benefits to communities and may
well decrease the number of dog bites that occur.”