"According to the Clifton study, pit bulls, Rottweilers, Presa Canarios and their mixes are responsible for 74% of attacks that were included in the study, 68% of the attacks upon children, 82% of the attacks upon adults, 65% of the deaths, and 68% of the maimings. In more than two-thirds of the cases included in the study, the life-threatening or fatal attack was apparently the first known dangerous behavior by the animal in question. "So while pit bulls aren't the only dogs that cause injuries they rank right up at the top. Other troublesome breeds were german shepards, chows, huskies, and dobermans.
One way to combat the problem is to charge the dog owner for the crime that his dog commits. If the dog bites someone charge the owner with aggrevated assault. If the dog kills someone charge the owner with murder. You can't just sue the owners, because most of them are judgement proof.
The study was http://www.dogbitelaw.com/Dog%20Attacks%201982%20to%202006%20Clifton.pdf
The problem is that a jury won’t convict an owner usually for this kind of thing, and also, in many cases the owner really did have little warning that the animal was dangerous. I do think that prohibiting the breed is something that should be considered. We don’t let people keep tigers or wolves. Granted that pit bulls are not tigers or wolves, but they are quite dangerous nevertheless. People who like pit bulls should just get used to liking a different breed. There are plenty to choose from.
I have heard that cocker spaniels are one breed that is likely to cause problems for mail carriers. They also look like they have strong jaws.