Quick, I need a list of the "dangerous" breeds...

[Kelly]

I am debating in another forum, and someone is saying how pitties are dangerous dogs, yet huskies arent'. I could have sworn that huskies were on the "dangerous" list.

I want to make her see that pittie owners feel the same way she feels about her husky, even though they are "dangerous dogs".

Is there a list somewhere, I can't seem to find one?

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

I've PM'ed links for you.

[mulroony]

I know GSD are high on the list, from memory from most bit lists...

GSD
Lab
Goldens

Turthfully the more important statistics are who gets bitten, where, why, relation to dog... and it is overwhelmingly young boys by dogs they know in our near their home while provoking the dog and they get bitten in the face.

Adult males and females rarely get bit and usually it is on the hands/legs by dogs they know in the home.

[oc_spirit]

Yes sadly Siberian Huskies are on the dangerous breeds list but what makes it so hard is often what as claimed as a Sibe attack, usually wasn''t a Sibe at all but a misidentification of an Akita, Alaskan Malamute, GSD, wolf hyrbid, etc.

[calgal]

That's all too strange considering the number one biter is your cute little Cocker.

[richnrissa]

This is a little bit of a 'loaded' question. Dangerous according to whom? Bite statistics? BSL legislation? Insurance companies? Although most tend to have similar starting points, there is great differentiation in some lists based on 'popular belief' or 'media coverage'. Your lab or cocker is at much higher 'risk' to bite, but my pit is at much higher risk to be labeled 'dangerous'.

[sammy]

Elegy posted a great article in the media forum about this topic. If you want to check it out.

[Kelly]

Thanks, I just needed the top list. Only to show her that sibes were indeed on that list. Don't get me wrong, she's a really awesome person, we just were having a good ol' debate in the debates section of the board, and I wanted to make it clear that what she considered in her words as "loaded guns" (rotties, pits, etc) could also apply to her dog from someone else's viewpoint.

Also want to add, she is a great mommy to her sibe, so I don't feel like I need to talk down to her or anything, I just wanted to get my point across.

[rmci]

Originally Posted by richnrissa

This is a little bit of a 'loaded' question. Dangerous according to whom? Bite statistics? BSL legislation? Insurance companies? Although most tend to have similar starting points, there is great differentiation in some lists based on 'popular belief' or 'media coverage'. Your lab or cocker is at much higher 'risk' to bite, but my pit is at much higher risk to be labeled 'dangerous'.

I agree!
If you ask me, my neighbors minpin should be considered dangerous since he bites everyone, but that same neighbor will say my Baxter is dangerous since he "looks like a pitbull".

[Kelly]

^ I hate that.

So the dabte goes on in the other forum. And I have already made some progress, someone who was saying that pitties are aggressive dogs by nature, and cited me some "statistics" thought a pitbull was an actual breed. So when I explained to her that the statistics are skewed because they are calling a large lumping of dogs by the breed of a pittie, then of course bite rates will look to be ghigher. She went on to say that she agrees, if they are going to do bite statistics, they should get their facts straight. She didn't realize that a pittie isn't an actual breed.

Here was one of my replies if anyone is interested.

And what I am trying to say is exactly what Carla is saying. Pitties are not a breed in themselves. Many dogs are mistaken for Staffies. So how can one make a bite statistic on a breed that isn't really a breed, but a grouping of dogs? Of course the statisics are going to be bigger when you are grouping a bunch of dogs as one breed. I could make the staistics bigger too if i grouped a bunch of dogs together.

Say in theory that pitties account for 20% of dog bites, (keeping in mind that "pitties" are a grouping of dogs similar to the am staff and staffie), ok, now say I labs account for 10% of bites, weimeraners account for 10% and oh lets say the chesapeak bay retriever accounts for 10 % (I'm trying to think of dogs that might look similar if cross bred).

NOW, Pitties (a large group of dogs that have been lumped into one "breed") account for 20% right?

Say I decide that I think the 3 other dogs I mentioned LOOK similar, so I'm going to lump them all together as one "breed" too?

That would mean that pitties account for 20% of dog bites and this new "breed" of dogs who may look similar, especially when mixed, account for 30% of dog bites.

Of COURSE the bite statistis will be bigger when you lump a bunch of dogs together as one breed when they really aren't.

I hope that made sense, I'm sure it will to the true dog lovers of the forum.

[elegy]

just fwiw: top breeds involved in fatal dog attacks:

pit bull type dogs: 21%
mixed breed dogs: 16%
rottweilers: 13%
GSD: 9%
wolf-hybrids: 5%
sibes: 4%
malamutes: 4%
great danes: 3%
st. bernards: 3%
chow chow: 3%
dobermans: 3%

but statistically the most dangerous dog is the intact male dog living life on a chain with no training or socialization.

[mulroony]

Kelly that was a very thoughtful reply (never thought of it that way, and it probably would have been a strong point in a paper about the problems with bite statistics)

Elegy - I have a problem with using "fatal dog attacks" as the backbone for dog bite statistics... First that it is extremely difficult for a small dog to inflict a "fatal" attack where as a large powerful breed could do so with one bite. Second in the heat of a situation that is that bad I do not trust people to be able to identify a dogs breed or that they are too quick to jump to pit mix b/c it seems like it is the only group of dogs that are mentioned in the media.

[elegy]

i agree on both counts, mulroony. unfortunately there really are no good bite statistics that are "just" bites. nobody keeps track.

[GSD Keira]

Pit Bull and Pit-bull-type dogs , Mixed breed dogs,
Rottweilers , German Shepherd Dogs, Wolf Dogs
Siberian Huskies , Malamutes , Great Danes ,
St. Bernards , Chow Chows , Doberman Pinschers ,