Fatal attacks are rare exceptions

At least 36 breeds of dogs have killed a human in the United States since 1965.

But no other breed killed as often as the pit bull, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which studied fatal dog attacks 1965-2001.

"It's usually a perfect storm of a bad owner with an unsocialized dog and an unsupervised child," says Randall Lockwood of New York-based American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Experts say the number has more to do with the popularity of a particular breed among people who want the dog for a negative function (attack dog, guard dog, noisemaker in the front yard).

Dog attacks among the 73 million canines living in the United States are rare, experts say.

You have a greater chance of dying from a car wreck, drowning or falling off a bicycle than you do of dying from a dog bite, according to the National Safety Council.

And it's even more rare that a well-treated, properly socialized family pet did the killing.

"People hear 'pit bull' and they think monster, but to blame the breed just lets man off the hook," said Karen Delise, author of "Fatal Dog Attacks."

Delise finds that fatal dog maulings have a pattern of happening once every 10 to 15 years in big cities.

She notes that there hasn't been a fatal pit bull attack in Denver since the city banned the breed in 1989. But there also hasn't been a fatal dog attack in Dallas or Portland since 1986 and neither city banned pit bulls.

There hasn't been a fatal pit bull attack in Memphis since Betty Lou Stidham was mauled by her neighbor's pit bulls in 1990 even though there's not a ban on the breed.

After studying fatal dog attacks for more than 20 years, Delise said what she finds most amazing is the number of pit bulls that are mistreated, unsocialized and abused that never bite a soul.

"These poor dogs withstand unimaginable abuse and neglect, live their whole lives chained up and never hurt anyone. To me the question is not why they attack, but why they don't attack more?"

-- Cindy Wolff: 529-2378

Fatal Attacks

A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studied 436 known fatal dog attacks 1965-2001 and found pit bulls killed more often than other breeds.

Pit bulls: 90
Mixed breed: 71
Rottweiler: 54
German shepherd: 40
Siberian husky: 21

Source: CDC as cited in the book "Fatal Dog Attacks"

pit bull jaws

Their jaws Do NOT Lock. I read an abstract of a study published in the journal of american veterinary medicine which lists the bite strength of a pit bull at about 238 psi - around the same as a cocker spaniel or a lab, and less than a human's 270 psi. It also stated that there is NO enzyme, jaw structure, hormonal vehicle, or other way for the dog's jaw to lock.

I have a 3 year old intact male pit and play tug-o-war with him on a regular basis. There are two VERY important things to remember: 1. You ALWAYS win. never let him win, you winning means you are in charge. Even if you have to "cheat" and "win" by commanding him to "drop it". 2. Make sure the dog knows the release command. It's a good command for any dog to learn. Some of these dog bite incidents would be much less severe if the dog had been well-trained to release on command.
If you are leary of playing tug, play Fetch instead, but still work on the release command, it's a good one to keep practicing!!

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Pits

Bitbypits comments are totally inaccurate. This person has absolutely no idea what he/she is talking about. The statistics used are NOT even remotely correct, nor is the remark about the type of damage Pit bulls do during an attack.
Total garbage written by someone who obviously sits in front of the computer and collects pit bull urban myths.

Actually

Other breeds in fact do inflict as much damage as a "pit bull type" dog can. A pomeranian killed an infant, same with a daushand. A Jack Russell killed an old lady. A white collie mix sent people to the hospital after it mauled the guys dog. A Mastiff sent a girl to the hopsital after biter her head. A Dobe killed an young child. A toddler and her grandmother was hospitalized due to a Boxer attack, and a Lab was resposible for a woman getting the first facial transplant and yes other breeds have killed people.

http://www.understand-a-bull.com/Articles/OtherBreedBites/AllDogsBite.ht...

Another thing, most people can not identify a pure bred American Pit Bull Terrier let alone a mixed breed mutt which with no pit bull blood. A test was done to see how accurate visual identification was. Only 2% of the people tested correctly identified the APBT with out also incorrectly identifying another breed. They had to take out all mixes, including lab/boxer mixes due to almost 100% false identification. It was found that almost 80% of America's dogs can be lumped into the "pit bull type" catagory. Of special note, this test found out that every one who reported a dislike for the APBT could not correctly identify the APBT. They went for larger breeds like the Dogo, ext. Some people even said other breeds including Labs, Jack Russells, ext were an APBT. No wonder why their bite and fatality numbers are up.

http://canineresearch.net/breedID.pdf

They also are shown in the news alot more. Fear sells and right now any dog that looks like a "pit bull type" dog scares people. No one wants to hear about a lab attack. "A fatal attack by an unremarkable breed is not as newsworthy as a non-fatal attack by a pit bull." ~Karen Delise.

http://animalfarmfoundation.org/topic.php?id=5&topic=96

AGREED!

In 2007, "pit bull type" dogs are responsible for 69% of human fatalities. The closest rival is the rottweiler at 12%. In too many of these instances, victims suffered egregious soft-tissue loss. Other breeds DO NOT INFLICT these types of injuries.

Top this off with the fact that most states have terribly inadequate dog bite laws and you end up with victims with 1 million dollar medical bills, and no civil or criminal recourse! By politicians not effectively addressing this massive social issue, criminals and irresponsible dangerous dog owners win.

It's up to us -- United States citizens to DEMAND changes that support public safety.

http://www.dogsbite.org

Locking Jaws

That is an urban myth. Pitbulls or Pitbull type dogs do not have locking jaws. The only reason they dont let go is because of their gameness, which was bred into them back when they first originated to bait bulls. Basically to hang on to a bulls nose with out letting go.
http://www.understand-a-bull.com/PitbullInformation/Urbanlegends.htm
Also my pitty uses a spring pole. It does not foster aggression. My neighbors labs use it as well. Its a good way for your dog to use up excess energy and play tug o war with itself. I actually read something about competitions with springpoles. But as a precaution, i wouldnt let your pitty bite you, even in play, cause that tells them its ok and a light bite you to might not be that light to a young child.

I completely agree with you

I completely agree with you Stephani. I have a pitbull and she is just as sweet and gentle as a golden retriever. yet, when we take her to the park, most parents dont let their children come up and say hi to her, because of her breed. But if they want to be ignorant and not really consider that them hating her because shes a pit is like being racist.

Also, Im not possitive but i am pretty sure that pitbulls jawa can lock to whoever said they couldnt. It is best that if you own a pitbull, dont teach him/her the tug-of-war game because that will strengthen their jaws and teach them just how powerful it is. Its a just-in-case type of thing. Sometimes my pitbull likes to say hi to me by licking and lightly biting my arm, but as she gets older she has been biting down harder =/

Just something to be aware of you know?

So what you are saying is

So what you are saying is that since I own a "pitbull" I should then not be allowed to own a pet? That is honestly a very arrogent narrow minded thing to say. I own an American Pit Bull Terrier that I rescued from an animal shelter. She was previously used as a bait dog. She has all her shots, spayed, microchipped, and a good canine citizen, meaning obedience trained. She does heel when off a leash but I would never take that chance. As a matter of fact, a German Shephard can do the same amount of damage as a "pitbull" and till the recent rise in the amount of "pitbulls" German Shephards attacked more people, so honestly what is your reason for being so against this breed who used to be a national icon.

Read UPDATED stats & information

Karen Delise, Author of Fatal Dog Attacks

new website: http://www.nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/

**Pit Bull Terriers** Prepared by Al W. Stinson, DVM

Do Pit Bulls have Locking Jaws?? Prepared by Al W. Stinson, DVM

Do Pit Bulls have locking jaws?
NO! The pit bulls jaws are the same as any other breed of dog! Any Veterinarian can verify this is simply a myth. Pit Bulls have been bred to not let go, however, their jaws are not locked.

Prepared by:
Al W. Stinson, D.V.M.
Director of Legislative Affairs, Michigan Association for Pure Bred Dogs, and the Michigan Hunting Dog Federation, and a Member of the Board of Directors of the American Dog Owners Association

The following quote was sent to me from Dr. Howard Evans, Professor Emeritus, College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University, Ithaca New York. We were colleagues in the veterinary college for four years. He is the author of the textbook, ANATOMY OF THE DOG, (the world's definitive work on the anatomy of the dog). His statement was in a letter addressed to me on March 26. 2002. His quote was: "I have spoken with [Dr.] Sandy deLahunta (the foremost dog neurologist in the country) and [DR.] Katherine Houpt (a leading dog behaviorist) about a jaw locking mechanism in pit bulls or any other dog and they both say, as do I, that there is NO SUCH THING AS "JAW LOCKING IN ANY BREED.

We all agree that the power of the bite is proportional to the size of the jaws and the jaw muscles. There is no anatomical structure that could be a locking mechanism in any dog." As a Professor Emeritus from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Michigan State University, I agree completely with their conclusion.

Pit Bulls have a 1800 PSI Jaw Pressure. Wrong again. Working with author Karen Delise (Fatal Dog Attacks) we have researched the references used for this data and have found there is no factual research to support this claim. This myth stems from an article published in the 1989 The Journal of Trauma "Mauling by Pit bull Terriers: A Case Report" by Bret R. Baack, M.D., John O. Kucan, M.D., Gerland Demarest, M.D and E. Clyde Smoot, M.D. On Page 519 it states: "Pit Bulls bite with greater force than most dogs (up to 1,800lb/in2) (4).

Reference (4) cited for this fact is: "Dog bites in children: Epidemiology, microbiology, and penicillin prophylactic Therapy but Douglas A. Boenning, M.D., Gary R. Fleisher, M.D., and Joesph M. Campos, PhD.

However, neither the topic of bite pressure nor pit bulls is addressed or even mentioned throughout the entire article.

This case report is promoted by many people as fact, yet it's not substantiated anywhere.

On the other hand, here is scientific evidence proving this myth is an urban legend:

Dr. Brady Barr of National Geographic (Dangerous Encounters: Bite Force, 8pm est 8/18/2005) – Dr. Barr measured bite forces of many different creatures. Domestic dogs were included in the test.
Here are the results of all of the animals tested:

Humans: 120 pounds of bite pressure

Domestic dogs: 320 LBS of pressure on avg. A German Shepard, American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) and Rottweiler were tested using a bite sleeve equipped with a specialized computer instrument. The APBT had the least amount of pressure of the 3 dogs tested.

Wild dogs: 310 lbs

Lions: 600 lbs

White sharks: 600 lbs

Hyenas: 1000 lbs

Snapping turtles: 1000 lbs

Crocodiles: 2500 lbs

Pit Bulls are born to be mean. Not True! Pit Bulls like all other breeds, are not born inherently mean or bad! They can, like any other breed, become mean through lack of training, abuse, neglect and irresponsible ownership and breeding.

(From ACF) There is no scientific proof that Pit Bull's, or any other breed of dog is dangerous. The Foundation's collective experience and research has found the American Pit Bull Terrier is a "terrier." All terriers have animal prey
drive, but this does not make them dangerous or vicious. The Pit Bull type dog comes from Europe and evolved from some Mastiff based breed such as with some Bulldog blood either in a pure form or to a variation of any of the many terrier and hound groups beginning with the now extinct Black and Tans Terriers and Olde English White Terriers. English and Irish immigrants imported the dogs. Unfortunately, it was discovered in the late 1800's that if trained, the dogs could be used in the inhumane sport of dog fighting. Due to federal laws passed in the 1970's prohibiting dog
fighting fewer dogs are now trained for the illegal sport.

The American Pit Bull Terrier is shown in the American Kennel Club
(AmStaff), United Kennel Club, American Dog Breeders Association, Canadian Kennel Club, and the American Rare Breed Association . The American Pit Bull Terrier is shown in the conformation and obedience ring. This breed competes in weight pull events in the ADBA, UKC and International Weight Pulling Association. The American Temperament Test Society (POBox 4093, St Louis, and MO 63136 Phone 314-869-6103, in the 24 years of testing over 185 breeds of dog, rates the Pit Bull at 83.1%. This is higher than the national average for all other breeds of dog. This means the Pit Bull has the best overall temperament. The American Pit Bull Terrier also rates high in the
Canine Good Citizens Test. The Pit Bull is used for Search and Rescue and as
a Therapy dog. Our Foundation uses them along with other breeds for bite
prevention and responsible ownership classes in the Washington School
Districts. Two US Presidents owned Pit Bulls and countless famous people
own them. In our country more families own the Pit Bull than any other dog
breed in existence. (WAFAmicus Alabama 2002)

From American Canine Foundation:
Since 1936 there have been an estimated 4.8 million registered American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers and Staffordshire Bull Terriers that have been selective bred for companionship and conformation dog shows. These dogs are not bred for dog fighting and HSUS estimates 200,000 thousands Pit Bulls are used for illegal activity. There is no proof that the 4.8 million APBT's are included in this figure, because the registries AKC/UKC/ADBA that register these dogs prohibit illegal dog fighting. If it could be proved that any of the registered APBT's were involved in illegal activity, it would be less than 4 percent out of 4.8 million. There is an estimated 52 million dogs in the United States and the American Pit Bull Terrier takes up 9.6 percent of the dog population and that does not count unregistered ones. There is no such dog called a Pit Bull Type Dog, it would be a mix breed. (ACF2003)

Dr. Cornelia Wagner DVM, an expert on canine behavior from the University of Wisconsin, states: BLAMING THE GENETIC MAKEUP OF THE DOG IS WRONG. (Fedderson-Peterson, D.U.(2001) Zur Biologie des aggression des Hundes, Disch Tierarzil, Wschr 108 (3),94-101, environmental and learning effects are always stronger than genetic influence. Although certain dog breeds such as the Rottweiler and American Pit Bull Terrier have the reputation of having stronger jaws than other breeds, valuable scientific studies showing significant differences in jaw strength among breeds does not exist. In summary, the classification of dog breeds with respect to their relative danger to humans makes no sense, as both the complex antecedent conditions in which aggressive behavior occurs, and its ramifying consequences in the individual dog's ecological and social environment are not considered."

Will a pit bull that shows aggression towards a dog, go after people next.? No animal aggression and human aggression are 2 completely different things! There are many types of aggression in the canine world and they are all very different.

Pit Bulls attack more than any other breed. No, the statistical data on dog bites and attacks are inaccurate. Many dog bites are never reported. There is nothing in place to track dog bites in the US accurately.

There are 25+ breeds that are commonly wrongly identified as pit bulls, Those of us who have been involved with the breed for years have trouble identifying them 100% of the time, so, we certainly can't expect inexperienced people to be able to properly ID a dog. That said, it leads us to believe that many of the bites that claim to be from pit bulls are in fact, inflicted by other breeds.

Here are a couple of links to tests, you try to pick the pit bull!

http://members.aol.com/radogz/find.html

http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html

"Identification of individual dogs is possible on the basis of inherent and

acquired markings, the possibility of error can never be excluded.

Unmistakable identification is possible on the basis of definition of blood

groups respectively polymorphous protein and enzyme systems (Schleger and Stur 1986), on the basis of DNA- fingerprints (Jeffreys and Morton1987

Georges et al., 1988) as well as with microchip identification (N.N.,1993)

Based on blood groups, polymorphous protein- and enzyme systems as well as DNA -fingerprints respectively canine micro satellites, the verification of

an indicated lineage of two specific parent dogs is possible in an

individual dog (Morton et al., 1987; Binns et al., 1995; Fredholm and

Wintero, 1996; ZAJC and Sampson, 1996).

Identification of a particular breed affiliation is nevertheless only

possible based on exterior markings which are defined in the breed

standards; however in an individual case the undoubted affiliation of a dog

to a breed is only partially possible.

Of course, based on canine DNA markers one can execute genealogical studies about the genetic distance between breeds or populations (Fredholm and Wintero, 1995; Okumara et al., 1996; Pihkanen et al., 1996; ZAJC et al.,

1997) but affiliation of a single dog to a certain breed or the

determination of lineage of a mixed breed dog of certain breeds based on

canine markers is not possible according to current scientific standings

(Templeton, 1990)." (Stur 2001) (ACF 2003)

FATALITIES BY BREEDS OF DOG (ACF 2003)
A study at the University of Washington (Bandow, 1966) shows a comparison
between the shares of breeds in bite incidents in comparison with the
recorded numbers. In this study, no statistical insurance regarding the
deviation of breed dispersion resulted. The breed statistic, moreover, is
according to the testimony of the author, to be viewed with reservation.
Breed association is based on testimony of the victim who can not always in
an accident situation correctly identify the breed of attacking dog, or
based on the testimony of the owner who does not always state the correct
breed.

As for statistics used to support the idea that some breeds are more
dangerous, the numbers are misleading, said Anthony Pobderscek of the
University of Cambridge Veterinary School. "There's a problem getting
records," he said. "Golden Retrievers bite, Labrador Retrievers bite, but
don't get reported." Dr Wagner presented the results of a study on the
"dangerous dog" laws of Germany earlier this week at the meeting of the
International Society for Anthrozoology in Davis, Calif.
Although they look different, dog "breeds" have no more scientific basis
than do "races" among humans, said canine researcher James Serpell of the
University of Pennsylvania. According to RIECK (1977), the biting dog is typically male, younger than two years, and belongs to a working dog breed (e.g. Shepherd or Rottweiler), or is for instance a Cocker Spaniel, or a Chow Chow, and originates in mass breeding in which temperament or other desired qualities of a dog are not considered in breeding. The author quotes a statistic about deaths through dog bites. In 34 death cases in 1989 to 1990, 10 cases were caused by Nordic breeds like the Husky, Samoyed or Malamute, 10 further cases were caused by Pit Bull type (mix) dogs uncertain of positive identification. Seven deaths were caused by German Shepherds, 3 by Dobermans, 1 by a Rottweiler, and 4 by other breeds.

To claim one breed is more responsible for human fatalities is impossible.
Some would chose to single out the Pit Bull , due to the fact there are
estimated statistics and the type of dogs that resemble the Pit Bull are
such a wide variety that we find Amercian Bulldogs, Boxers, and Mastiff's
labeled as Pit Bulls. It is impossible to compare different breeds of dogs
versus human fatalities.

The Washington Animal Foundation did a survey on human fatalities by dogs in 2001 and came up with these figures, Rottweiler (6); Labrador (2);
Pomeranian (1); German Shepherd (2); Chow (1); Wolf-Hybrid (1); Akita (1); Doberman (1); Beagle (1); Presa Canario (2); Pit Bull (1); mixed breeds (6). When comparing these figures with the human fatalities from 1975-80 by Pickney & Kennedy, Traumatic Deaths from Dog Attacks in the United States, the report identified the following as responsible for human fatalities during the study period from May, 1975 to April, 1980: German Shepherd (16); Husky (9); St. Bernard (8); Bull Terrier (6); Great Dane (6); Malamute(5); Golden Retriever (3); Boxer (2); Dachshund (2); Doberman Pinscher (2); Collie (2); Rottweiler(1); Basenji (1); Chow-Chow (1); Labrador Retriever (1); Yorkshire Terrier (1); mixed and unknown breeds (15). One would question the accuracy of human fatalities by dogs from current reports and especially the statistics on the Pit Bull. When looked at from a more realistic point of view one would find Shepherds and other working dogs rate higher in fatalities. However, given the increasing population of dog breeds at any given time, it is impossible to compare one breed to another.

20% of deaths involve unrestrained dogs off the owner's property, 70% involve
unrestrained dogs on the owner's property, and 10% involve restrained dogs
on the owner's property. Unrestrained dogs are responsible for a high number
of dog bite reports and attacks to other animals. Over 30 breeds of dogs
have been involved in 400 human deaths in a 30 year period.

In researching dog bite incident reports for the year 2000 in Pontiac
Michigan, our Foundation found a high number of mixed breeds biting but no
human fatalities. Chow Chows were the dogs biting unprovoked more than other breeds. We found a high percentage of teasing or tormenting of dogs which in turn caused them to bite. We found Sight Hounds responsible for deaths to other animals, yet the breeds you hear about in the media did not rate high. We find, because of the media attention focused on specific breeds such as the Pit Bull, that the real statistics are never brought to the attention of the general public or the politicians, which in turn does nothing to protect the safety of the public. This misinformation affects the political pressure concerning the passing of breed bans instead of focusing on passing strong dangerous dog laws that target the irresponsible owners of all breeds of dog.

Pit Bull Ban

Your email was excellent. In hopes that it will be printed in LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, please send your email to hotbutton@commercialappeal.com. I had no idea the US has that many dogs.

DRush

Pit Ban Bull

there are 73 million dogs in America
there are 4.7 million Pit Bulls in America
there are 20 human related dog bite fatalities annually
Why do we only hear about Pit Bull attacks ?
Could it be called propaganda ?
330,000 people visit ER annually
the number two cause for ER visits
Maybe you're right we should ban all dogs
Of course if we're going after the number two offender, shouldn't we also go after the number one offender
Let's ban BASEBALL/SOFTBALL too
since they are the number one cause of emergency room visits
it only seems logical to me
More people get killed by baseball bats than Pit Bulls
More people drown in their own bathtub, 350 annually
More people get killed by falling coconuts, 150 annually
More people drown in 5 gallon pails, 20 annualy
Killed by Pit Bulls, 3 annually
Killed by Drunk Drivers, 17,000 annually

For every Pit Bull that attacks
there are hundreds of thousands that don't
Punish the Deed, Not the Breed

3 Factors Contributing to Fatal Dog Attacks

Karen Delise, Author of Fatal Dog Attacks

"In reviewing and studying over 448 cases of fatal dog attacks in the United States, it is apparent that the three most critical factors that contribute to a fatal dog attack are: function of the dog, owner responsibility, and reproductive status of the dog. There is NO DOCUMENTED CASE where a single, neutered, household Pit Bull was the cause of a human fatality.”

http://www.fataldogattacks.com/

misleading title, misleading article

This is a misleading article. There may not have been fatal attacks in Memphis since 1990 - but what about my neighbor in Eads who had an unexpected tracheotomy from a pit bull and survived? What about the man who lost his arm? I don't know anyone who has to speak through a voice synthesizer because of any other breed.

Blaming the owners is all well and good - because in most cases the type of person who buys a pit bull shouldn't be allowed to own a pet in the first place. But please don't overlook the fact that these dogs are not like other dogs. They are substantially more powerful. They don't just bite people, they remove parts of their bodies. Even nice, socialized ones, like the one my neighbor owned, can be dangerous when they have accidentally gotten out, feel insecure, and know they are being "bad."