Another terrifying dog attack video has just gone viral on social media. It shows three large bull breed dogs jumping up and grabbing onto a screaming woman in a park. It is understandable that when such videos and media reports circulate there are renewed calls to ban certain breeds. The latest is the American Bully XL, an evolution bred from the pit bull terrier, which can weigh up to 60kg. But are breeds such as this really to blame for a rising dog bite problem?
Research shows that one in four people have been bitten by a dog in their lifetime but less than 1% of bites result in hospital admission. Our research showed that English hospital admissions for being “bitten or struck by a dog” rose over a 20 year period from 1998 to 2018. This data concerns bites serious enough for hospital admission, not just emergency department attendance. Over a similar period, fatal dog bites in England and Wales averaged at about three per year.
In 2022 there were ten fatalities. It’s not clear whether this is a new trend, or whether 2022 was a tragically anomalous year.
The rise in incidence of dog bites appears to be restricted to adults, where the numbers have tripled over 20 years.
In general, men are more likely to be bitten and delivery workers are a common victim. Dog attacks on middle-aged women are increasing the fastest. We don’t know why this is, but it could be that the profile of people who own and spend time with dogs is changing.
We find higher rates in more deprived communities. The reasons for this are unknown, but similar trends are seen in other types of injuries too.
Are some breeds more aggressive than others?
There is little consistent scientific evidence that some breeds are inherently more aggressive than others. Our evaluations suggest that the breeds reported to bite are simply the most popular breeds in that region.
However, when we examine breeds involved in fatalities, it is clear that most are large and powerful. That’s not to say smaller breeds cannot kill – they have been known to. As American XL Bullies are a new sub-breed of the American bulldog, there has been no scientific study of their bite risk and bite rates were rising long before they existed.
They and the other American bulldogs and related pit bulls do feature highly in fatalities lists. Yet so do Rottweilers, German shepherds and Malamutes. Kenneth Baker, the home secretary responsible for the Dangerous Dogs Act that banned pit bull terriers admitted in his autobiography that a ban on Rottweilers, Dobermans and Alsatians would have “infuriated” the middle classes. A confounding factor here is breed distribution, as powerful breeds have long been linked to deprived communities where violence and injuries already centralize. Some evidence links these breeds to status or criminal use, but most are family pets.
The majority of dog bites are from a dog known to the victim. Often this is the family pet and bites happen during stroking, restraining or just play. The dog is often responding to discomfort, whether pain or fear.
What can we do to prevent dog bites?
Genetic tendencies in breeding lines are an important factor so when choosing a dog, it’s important to view and assess the parents of the puppy. Dogs of the same breed vary widely in their behavior. Behavior tendencies are inherited from parents.
Look for signs of nervousness or shyness around people, as well as outright aggression (barking, growling, snapping). Dogs from puppy farms in particular are prone to health and behavioral problems. Unfortunately, many puppies who come from these mass-producing unscrupulous breeders are fraudulently marketed as from a loving family home.
Banning more breeds won’t work. New varieties will fill the gap, like what happened with the pit bull.
Dog bites are a complex societal problem and we cannot expect a quick legislative fix (such as banning a breed or reintroduction of dog licenses) to solve it. Dog licensing would be prohibitively expensive to manage and without strict enforcement, would be easy to circumvent.
Clever environmental design could go a long way towards preventing people and dogs from being exposed to risky situations, for example installing external letterboxes as standard.
People often tout education as the answer. But it’s a small part of the solution. Public education needs enforcement measures and supportive policy to work. Improving people’s expectations of what good dog welfare looks like is key to minimize fearful and frustrating situations for dogs. This includes not abusing dogs in the name of training and providing sufficient exercise and space. Training methods must be kind and reward-based, as punishment-based methods are associated with reduced success and greater stress, fear and aggression.
Educational efforts should be focused on addressing the perception that “it wouldn’t happen to me” and introducing new social norms such as never leaving children alone with dogs. There are lots of resources about safe interactions with dogs on the Mersey Dog Safe website.
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking “my dog wouldn’t bite anyone”. Every day, dogs who have never bitten someone before, do.
Article written by Carri Westgarth, Chair in Human-Animal Interaction, University of Liverpool and John Tulloch, Lecturer, University of Liverpool
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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“That’s not to say smaller breeds cannot kill – they have been known to.”
Please tell us which “smaller breeds” have killed, because it does not happen. A chihuahua or a pack of them aren’t doing the killing. Statistically speaking, Pit Bulls kill more humans by far than all other breeds combined on an annual basis in the United States, England, and any other country that hasn’t banned them, which more do as time goes on.
Dogs shouldn’t be weapons, and unfortunately that is their breeding.
Those cocker spaniels are a real threat ! So much for science.
They forgot the ‘TM’ after ‘science’ in the headline. As usual.
Dogs are such a nuisance. And their carbon footpaw is huge. Dog barking is the number one, non-emergency police call in America. But if you have ever had to listen to your neighbor’s dog bark at 130 decibels for an hour, getting it to shut up is an emergency. Dog barking is torture. I hate them. They eat poop and are all covered in it too. They love it. They love to roll in it. So gross.
I trust dogs that don’t like people…
I don’t trust people that don’t like dogs…
The fact you brought up carbon footprint tells me 100% that you are also boosted…
Opinion discarded.
They always display their true colors, don’t they?
This article is more of “The Science” telling us what is not true but demanding we believe it anyway.
Dogs loved Hitler. Trusting or not trusting someone based on a dog’s opinion of them is complete foolishness. There’s nothing wrong with people not liking dogs, and this comes from someone who DOES like dogs. I’m just someone who is not so obsessed with them that I think complete nonsense like this. It shows you lack in common sense, really.
OK, Jonathan Swift
I agree….
At least dogs don’t kill 3 to 5 billion birds and around 3 billion small mammals a year
Nice. Cats threaten many endangered species. Good observation.
It’s called vermin control. What we need in every Blue City.
Cats do what they were designed to do.
Leftists have a much bigger “carbon footprint” than dogs, but dogs are actually valuable, loving creatures.
I’d love to meet you in a dark alley.
I had a neighbor with 4 chihuahuas that she kicked outside all day every day and incessantly barked.
I am an animal lover, but the thought of removing the nuisance permanently crossed my mind more than once.
The owner would not be reasonable and did not give one f*ck about her neighbors. Authorities said they had no process to remove the dogs or stop the barking.
I sold my house….I couldn’t take it anymore. I was going to wind up in jail.
I find dog owners to be insensitive to those around them and selfish. Will not pick up after their dogs on walking paths, refuse to keep them on a leash want to take them shopping, dining and drinking with them.
The “but science shows” doesn’t make that conclusion. The link in the article is to a single thesis from a Philosophy student (from 2012!).
The link to Wikipedia overwhelmingly shows American Pitbulls and their associated mixes to be significantly overrepresented in fatalities.
The American Pitbull variants, starting in the mid 1800s through the early 1900s, were bred exclusively to kill other dogs. OF COURSE, aggression is a selected trait for the breed. The handlers would also no doubt disregard “human aggressive” offspring because it’s irrelevant to the dog’s use (and eventual death) in dog fighting. The breed was ruined as a companion animal. That’s why 50% of fatal pit bull attacks are perpetrated on the OWNERS. What dog breed consistently kills its own owners?
Articles this shoddy are absolutely dangerous. All I ask is please reference the large, and growing daily, body of evidence against this breed and its variants. “Science” says stop breeding them NOW and reboot the breed using “companion” versions of the mix.
Thanks for your rational and informed response to this absurd and (indeed) “dangerous” article. Owners of large dogs should be required to carry significant liability insurance, and any dog owner who are found to have hidden or ignored prior episodes of violence should be jailed.
It is breed specific. Some breeds are violent some are not. You sir are a non race baiter. Africa and Indians are tribal. White people are slightly less. More ideology based war. It does not matter. We are all humans and some dogs are not docson they are rottweiler. They are more violent. What about a Johnson Bulldog or a Pitbull. The Johnson can not bite anyone. The pit will. How about a dog eating. The Rottweiler will kill children while drinking water.
As with most things, the idiots that own, cars, homes, guns, dogs, boats are the problem. Just because you can afford a thing, doesn’t mean you have the maturity or mental capacity to own said same.
absolutely spot on!
I have taken on the challenge of rescuing and raising an abandoned female pit bull. She is loving to her family however she is also ready to react to an unexpected visitor or dog in a hostile manner. Aggressive dogs should always be under the control of their owner, inside the home and outside the home.
Hope that challenge isnt your last
In the United States, the pit bull breed is responsible for two thirds of all dog attack fatalities, far more than all other breeds combined. This is a FACT. Make of it what you will.
I taught a Russian Blue cat to come to me when called, to respect the property line and never cross it, to sleep soundly with me at night, to use the cat door, to never bite, scratch or hiss at people, etc, then why can’t people train their dogs? Dogs are supposedly more obedient than cats. At age 68, having lived in multiple states, I can attest that most people don’t know the first thing about training a dog.
Most “people” can’t behave themselves, let alone train dogs to behave.
This article is what happens when an inconvenient truth is glossed over by woke snowflakes. Alternative scientific research without unsubstantiated opinion shows that pit terriers are responsible for about 70% of human deaths in the US while only representing about 5% of our dogs. US national institutes of health death certificate documented cause of death data is a hard truth to sweep under the rug. When over 500 babies, children and adults have been killed by pit terrier mixes, breed may not be everything but it isn’t certainly not nothing. There is pit terrier snap change of demeanor in pit terriers at between 8 months and two years where your cute puppy lap dog tears someone’s throat open… normally a family member…
Bingo, 100%. I would have loved it if this article’s author mentioned that young woman whose 2 pit bulls snapped and ATE HER BODY
Agree. The willful ignorance on display on this article confirms that this is not an objective, factual look at the data. The author conveniently ignores the fact that roughly 70% of the deadly attacks are from bull terrier mixes …yet, the author waves their hand and dismisses this obvious fact.
This article, and conclusions, are farcical.
What study was listed? What science related information was used in this article? “Our observations” is scientific?
What a poorly written propaganda laced unscientific joke.
The headline should read: Pit bulls are sweet and harmless. If you think otherwise you’re a bad person and science agrees with our observation.
This comment is insane
‘it’s wrong to blame breeds’ – wrong! Both dog owner and dog breed in most of the cases are equally responsible for dog’s aggressive behavior. If popularity of some breeds and their size are the factors, so why Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, Poodle, or Poodle cross are not on the top of the list?
Dog bites in underserved communities is unclear. How about there are more pitbulls in those communities and they don’t train their dogs to be friendly pets. Dog fighting, gangster life. See Nordstroms, that’s the owners who can’t control themselves let alone another life form.
this article is lying to you
all pitbulls should be euthanized
Yesss!
Pitbull advocates = pitophiles 🤭🤭
Never gonna happen fortunately 🙂
Keeping cozy with my rescue and has saved the life of a person from their aggressor. Imagine that.
We’re going to keep rescuing and training them as loveable and obedient dogs they can be. So get out of our way.
There is nothing in this article saying it’s wrong to blame breeds. As a matter of fact, it mentions several breeds likelier to be involved in fatalities. The fact that there is little consistent scientific evidence that some breeds are inherently more aggressive does not mean that there aren’t. It might just mean that it hasn’t been studied enough. Of course there are exceptions, but of course some dogs are more aggressive and more dangerous.
blah, blah, blah……same old thing but nothing has changed. It is always a Pitt Bull of some kind and the owner is ALWAYS a minority or redneck. Trying to say it’s not the breed of dog is absurd. “The dog attack was by a Golden Retriever”…..hahaha, not! Both Pitt Bulls and their owners should be put down.
It’s obvious it’s climate changes fault
I am almost 80 and grew up on a farm with Bird Dogs, hounds, herding dogs and catch dogs (American Bulldogs). As adult I have always had at least one dog covering at least ten breeds. Anyone who believes there is no difference in propensity to bite between breeds is not qualified to write about dogs.
Oh sure that vicious chihuahua will rip your throat out. STOP. Threat Potential, is that a new term? Study Finds Hype-by-Omission to be the number one epidemic on the internet.
“It’s not the breed.” My ass. Pitbulls make up 6% of the dog population and are responsible for 60-70% of dog bites/attacks. They are trash dogs and only trash people buy them because they want to act tough.
The same people who deny Pit Bulls are inherently aggressive and a general nuisance also deny that a certain ethnic group accounts for woefully disproportionate murders, rapes, robberies, etc. That ethnic group is also typically a big fan of Pit Bulls.