that is the name of the above blog post - which has gone viral....I will provide a link (at the bottom of this story), but I don't want to encourage or perpetuate ?this nonsense.
The post begins:
"We wish we could say that all dog breeds were safe.? We wish we could say that every time a dog attacks a human, another dog, or another animal wasn?t said dog?s fault.? But remember folks, dogs are animals first and foremost just like we humans are.? And some animal species are inherently more dangerous than other species.? It?s just the way it is.? We?re not posting this article to discourage you from buying these dog breeds.? We just want to make you aware of the statistics out there.? The Journal of the?American Veterinary Medical Association?conducted a twenty year study on the most dangerous dog breeds, and here are the top 10 most dangerous dog breeds based on the amount of fatalities they have caused.? *We should also note that NONE of these breeds are really all that dangerous and don?t be afraid to purchase any of them."
I have several comments:
A study of dog breeds involved in fatal attacks over two decades (1979-1998) published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (Sacks et al.) in 2000?revealed that approximately 50 percent (out of 238 attacks) were caused by pit-bull-type dogs and Rottweilers. However, 29 other breeds or mixes were responsible for at least one fatal attack. These included Cocker Spaniels, West Highland White Terriers, Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, Boxers, and other breeds with a reputation as friendly family pets. Moreover, a recent study, which surveyed veterinary-behavior-referral centers (in St. Louis; Toronto, Canada; and Sydney, Australia), found that Jack Russell Terriers, Labrador Retrievers, and Golden Retrievers were the breeds most commonly seen at referral for aggression problems.
The distribution of dog breeds implicated in both fatal and nonfatal incidents suggests that breed alone is not ?predictive of the risk or likelihood of occurrence of aggressive behavior and that dogs and owners must be looked at individually. Also, more popular dogs more often implicated; there are merely more of them.
The AVMA (and no other reputable organization that I know of) has ever come out with a 'Top-10" list of most dangerous breeds.
The Centers for Disease Control did once tracked the breed thought to be involved in fatal dogs - long ago they stopped doing so because so often the breed was misidentified. Besides the breed (or mix) involved is irrelevant. What matters is why a dog attack occurred in the first place. The CDC does keep tabs on the suggested causes for fatal dog attacks (breed is not suggested as one).
Regarding dog bites in general (unlike fatal dog attacks. which number about 12 to 24 annually) - no one even knows how often dog bites occur, let alone the breed involved.
According to the?U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 4.7 million complaints of dog bites are registered annually across the country, but some numbers from other sources are higher while others are lower. Approximately 800,000 bite victims per year are treated at doctors' offices, and close to 6,000 more require hospitalization. Many bites (no knows how many) do happen within homes, but because there is no serious injury - they don't get reported.
Some insurance companies do keep their own numbers (state by state) of the breed involved in a bite or alleged breed, but as mentioned, but one problem is that the breed is often misidentified. And obviously they only know about bites where an insurance carrier may be involved.
Bottom line there is no current top ten list of 'bad breeds,' or 'breed most likely to bite.' It doesn't exist. The data used for this bogus blog story is dated, and by admission of the source cited in the piece the data use for this piece only offers a snapshot at best and is not accurate. And if it were accurate, does it say more about generally who may own these "dangerous" dogs than the dogs themselves?
Note: I have not re-published the list of most dangerous dogs listed in this blog post, just because there is no need. As a reporter, I still feel compelled to offer the source: ?That questionable blog post.
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Filed under: American Veterinary Medical Assocation, Dog Attack, dog behavior, dog training, dogs, Pit Bulls
Tags: American Veterinary Medical Association, AVMA, dangerous dogs, dog attacks, Dog breeds, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Pit Bulls, Steve Dale, Steve Dale archives, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Source: http://www.chicagonow.com/steve-dales-pet-world/2013/10/most-dangerous-dog-breeds-no-such-list/
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