Dog bite and animal attack cases are an all-too-common occurrence in the United States. Every day, over 1,000 people are treated in emergency rooms for dog bites. About 28,000 people require reconstructive surgery per year to correct damage and scarring from a dog attack.
Unfortunately, the majority of dog bite victims are children – kids between 5 and 9 are most vulnerable.
Every dog is an individual, but trends do develop. Some dog breeds have physical traits that make their bites more dangerous, such as the strong jaws of a pit bull terrier or doberman, while others are simply more likely to develop aggressive tendencies.
Pit Bull Terriers
Pit bull terriers and pit bull mixes have a reputation for aggression. While pit bulls can make excellent, loving pets, the fact is these animals are more likely to attack and inflict serious injury than many other breeds.
Pit bulls have among the strongest bites of all dog breeds and, together with Rottweilers, account for 77% of all fatal dog bites despite making up an estimated 6% of the U.S. dog population.
In one five-year study of dog bite injuries at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, about 51% of the attacks were by pit bulls, by far the most common breed reported. Between 2005 and 2016, pit bulls and their mixes were responsible for 254 fatalities or one person for every 17 days.
The state of Maryland has gone so far as to determine all pit bulls are “inherently dangerous” while the U.S. Army has acknowledged that the dogs are high-risk enough to ban them from some military housing.
In 2016, 42% of dog bite fatality victims were living with or visiting the dog’s owner when the attack occurred. An estimated 77% of these fatalities were caused by pit bulls; 29% of all fatalities involved breeding on the owner’s property (either actively or recently); and pit bulls were responsible for 67% of these attacks. When family dogs resulted in the fatality, it was a pit bull 86% of the time.
Rottweilers
Rottweilers are a distant second in terms of the number of serious dog bites and fatalities reported in the United States. While pit bulls killed 254 people over an 11-year period, Rottweilers were responsible for 43 deaths. Rottweilers actually have a stronger bite than pit bulls which can lead to more serious injuries in the event of an attack.
Doberman Pinschers
A pit bull has an incredibly strong bite at 235 PSI, but a Doberman’s bite makes this seem like a sting at 600 PSI. A healthy, young Doberman can easily bite with enough strength to break a grown man’s forearm with a single bite. That’s why these dogs are considered one of the most dangerous.
Other Dog Breeds
Pit Bull Terriers, Rottweilers and Dobermans account for the majority of very serious and fatal dog bites that occur in the U.S., but any dog can attack and cause injury. Other breeds that are frequently involved in dog bite cases include:
- Labradors
- American Bulldogs
- German Shepherds
- Presa Canario (AKA Canary Mastiff)
- Akitas
- Chows Chows
- Great Danes
- Siberian Huskies
- Staffordshire Terriers