Dog Bite Risk and Prevention: 10 Dog Breeds Implicated in Serious Bite Injuries

The Animal Welfare Division of the American Veterinary Medical Association has compiled this peer-reviewed summary for your convenience.

A review of the scientific literature, while its primary focus is on that literature, may also include information gleaned from proprietary data, legislative and regulatory review (including market conditions), and scholarly ethical assessments (if applicable). As such, it should not be construed as official AVMA policy.

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Breeds Implicated in Serious Bite Injuries

According to a number of studies, the following breeds were found to be highly represented in biting incidents:

German Shepherd Dog, Mixed Breed, Rottweiler, Pit Bull, Jack Russell Terrier, And Others (Chow Chow, Spaniel, Collie,  Saint Bernard, And Labrador Retriever ).

The presence of pit bull-type dogs is more frequently observed when only the much smaller number of cases resulting in extremely severe injuries or fatalities is taken into consideration. This, however, may be related to the popularity of the breed in the victim’s community, reporting biases, and the dog’s treatment by its owner, among other factors (e.g., use as fighting dogs).

It is worth noting that fatal dog attacks in some parts of Canada have been attributed primarily to sled dogs and Siberian Huskies, which is likely due to the high prevalence of these breeds in the area where the attacks occurred.

Controlled Studies are conducted in a controlled environment.

Additionally, the prevalence of specific dog breeds can fluctuate dramatically over time, frequently being influenced by distinct peaks in popularity for specific breeds.

It appears that as some large breeds gain in popularity, there is an increase in the number of bite reports reported as well.

Among other things, there was a noticeable increase in Rottweiler registrations with the American Kennel Club between 1990 and 1995, and they appear at the top of the list of ‘biting breeds’ for the first time in studies of bites resulting in hospitalization conducted in the late 1990s and the early 2000s.

Even though other fad breeds such as Dalmatians and Irish setters do not appear to exhibit similar characteristics, any estimate of breed-based risk must take into consideration the prevalence of the breed in the population at the time and location of serious biting events.

For example, researchers can compare well-documented bite cases with households that have been matched as controls.

One study used this method to discover that the German Shepherd Dog and the Chow Chow were the breeds that were disproportionately involved in bite injuries requiring medical attention in the Denver area (where pit bull types are not permitted).

Several other studies have used estimates of breed prevalence that do not directly relate to the households where the bites occurred, such as general community surveys, breed registries, licensed dogs, or animal shelter populations, to determine the prevalence of specific breeds.

When considering the prevalence of molloser dogs in the community in Rome, Italy, where mastiffs are reputed to be the most dangerous dogs, a study found that they were not disproportionately involved in biting incidents when taking their prevalence into account.

According to these prevalence referenced studies, the German Shepherd Dog and its crosses, as well as a variety of other breeds (mixed breed, Cocker spaniel, Chow Chow, Collie, Doberman, Lhasa Apso, Rottweiler, Springer Spaniel, Shih Tsu, and Poodle) are at higher risk for canine cancer.

Breeds that are aggressive

Based on behavioral assessments and owner surveys, small to medium-sized dogs such as collies, toy breeds, and spaniels were found to be more aggressive toward people than larger breeds.

The Lhasa Apso, the Springer Spaniel, and the Shih Tsu were found to be the most likely to bite in a survey of general veterinary clientele in Canada (specifically practices in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island).

In spite of the fact that small dogs are more aggressive than large dogs, their smaller size means that they are less likely to inflict serious bite injuries, except on vulnerable individuals or as part of a pack attack, which also allows dogs to seriously or permanently injure otherwise healthy older children or adults.

Interestingly, referrals for aggression problems are more closely related to the breeds that have been implicated in serious bite attacks, perhaps because owners are more likely to seek treatment for aggression in dogs that are large enough to be potentially dangerous.

More attacks on humans and other dogs are carried out by larger dogs (regardless of their breed or size).

Certain large breeds, such as large hounds and retrievers (e.g., Labrador Retrievers and Golden Retrievers), are notably under-represented in bite statistics, despite the fact that even these breeds may have known aggressive subtypes (e.g., German Shepherds).

When it comes to German Shepherd Dogs, the results are mixed, suggesting that this breed may have a high level of variability, possibly due to regional subtypes or ownership factors.

Pit Bulls Come in All Shapes and Sizes

Owners of pit bull-type dogs are subjected to a strong breed stigma; however, controlled studies have found that this breed group is not disproportionately dangerous in their behavior.

It is particularly difficult to define the pit bull type as a “breed,” because the breed includes both pedigree breeds and informal types and appearances that cannot be reliably distinguished from one another.

It is well known that visual identification of dog breeds is not always accurate.

In addition, witnesses may be predisposed to believe that a vicious dog is of this type in the first place.

Another factor to consider is the likelihood of pit bull-type dogs being involved in severe and fatal attacks.

This is especially true in neighborhoods where young children, who are the most common victims of severe and fatal attacks are at high risk of being harmed.

Furthermore, because owners of stigmatized breeds are more likely to be involved in criminal and/or violent acts, it is possible that breed correlations are due to the behavior of the owners.

Breed Restrictions

The most serious dog bite injuries (requiring hospitalization) in the United States occur when the victim is a young child and the dog is not neutered and not unfamiliar with the victim (belonging to the family, a family friend or neighbor).

It is therefore essential to practice responsible dog ownership and supervision in order to reduce risks of dog bites in communities.

While some study authors suggest that restricting ownership of specific breeds (e.g., pit bull type, German Shepherd Dog) may help to reduce injurie, it has not been proven that imposing a breed-specific ban will reduce the rate or severity of bite injuries in the general public.

Among the strategies that have been shown to reduce the number of dog bite incidents is the active enforcement of dog control ordinances, which may include breed-specific ordinances in some cases.

Final Conclusion

Dog maulings can result in horrific injuries and even death, and it is only natural for those who are assisting the victims to focus on addressing the immediate causes of the incident. However, according to Duffy et al (2008)’s survey-based data, “The substantial within-breed variation……suggests that it is inappropriate to make predictions about a given dog’s propensity for aggressive behavior solely on the basis of its breed.

Breed does have some predictive value in and of itself, but the impact of other factors relating to the individual animal (such as training method, male or female and neutering status), the target (for example, owner versus stranger), and context (for example, urban versus rural) prevent breed from having significant predictive value in and of itself.

Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that the nature of a breed varies over time, across geographical boundaries, and across breed subtypes, such as those raised for conformation showing versus those raised for field trials.

Considering that breed alone does not reliably predict dog aggression and that pit bull-type dogs have not been implicated in controlled studies, it is difficult to justify targeting this breed as a basis for dog bite prevention.

Several large breeds, including the German shepherd and shepherd crosses, as well as other breeds that vary depending on location, would be implicated if they were to be targeted as a group.

Summary Tables

Table One

Studies on Serious Dog Bite Injuries in Different Breeds

Table Two
Studies of Serious Dog Bite Injury by Breed taking into Account Breed Prevalence