Post by DogGoneGood on Jan 21, 2009 20:42:36 GMT -5
National Canine Research Council
An "Epidemic" of Dog Bites?
An "Epidemic" of Dog Bites?
On average, dog bites result in 15-25 fatalities per year in the United States.
The number of fatalities can fluctuate significantly from year to year, and consequently, no single year can be used as an indicator of increasing or decreasing incidence of canine aggression:
- In 1990 there were 25 fatal attacks, and the next year, 1991, there were 16.
- In 1999 there were 27 fatal attacks, and the next year, 2000, there were 19.
Additionally, despite the claims of organizations and individuals that have recently begun to track fatal dog attacks: There has been no significant increase in the number of fatalities during this decade as compared to previous decades.
Although the year 2007 did record a high of 33 fatalities, it was a single year, and as such is not evidence of "increasing" fatalities. The number of fatal attacks from 2000 to 2007 has fluctuated significantly from year to year. However; the average number of fatal attacks during the past 8 years (2000-2007) is 24.6.
Only by examining the details of these incidents, individually and collectively, can we hope to gain an understanding of which factors appear to contribute to these tragic events.
But, before we address the dog bite "problem," it is important to get a balanced perspective of the problem by separating fact from fiction and hysteria from reasoning.
Are Dog Bites Increasing in Frequency and/or Severity?
"A number of complaints have been received by the police lately about children being bitten by dogs. There seems to be no probability that there will be a cessation of these complaints until the authorities again tackle this dog bite problem in earnest."
The above comment was made in 1901 by a frustrated citizen about the dog attacks occurring in the community. From as far back as the late 1800s, every generation has perceived themselves in the midst of a "dog bite epidemic". For well over a century, newspapers have printed editorials from both the public and authorities on how to address the "increasing" number of dog attacks.
The definition of an epidemic is: "extremely prevalent; widespread, or a rapid spread or increase in the occurrence of something".
While minor injuries from dog bites have always been a rather common event - no previous generation, nor the present generation, has experienced an "epidemic" of severe or fatal dog attacks.
Severe dog attacks have always been unusual occurrences - and fatal dog attacks have always been exceedingly rare occurrences, (especially when considering the human population, the dog population, the frequency of exposure and myriad of situations in which the two species interact).
| Year | Human Population | Dog Population | # Fatal Dog Attacks |
| 1950 | 151 million | 20-22 million | 10 |
| 1970 | 203 million | 31 million | 12 |
| 1980 | 226 million | 40 million | 15 |
| 2000 | 281 million | 60+ million | 19 |
While any case of a fatal dog attack is a tragic occurrence, the number of fatal attacks (past or present) does not support the claim of an epidemic. The small number of fatal dog attacks has increased only proportionate to the increase in the human and dog populations.
Do Certain Breeds Effect the Incidence of Dog Attacks?
"The dog in Saturday's horrible killing was, yes as almost always, a German Shepherd, commonly called a police dog.....Yet, we go on permitting this dangerous, slinky breed to multiple and to run at large. Think twice before buying a police dog. Keep a rattlesnake instead. It will give a warning at least." (The Progress, February 11, 1947)
"There should be a clause in the ordinance outlawing private ownership of German Shepherds. This may sound like an archaic or narrow-minded view, but I believe the shepherd to be an unpredictable animal. Every time you read about a child being killed or mauled, by a dog or dogs, the odds are overwhelming that the dirty work was done by the shepherd. A father in West Virginia battled a pack of shepherds with a garden hoe while they tore his two small sons to pieces. A little girl in Houston who was horribly maimed by a shepherd must go for the rest of her life wearing a wig. So far, a San Antonio kid hasn't been seriously hurt or killed by one of these dogs. But it will happen." (San Antonio Express, July 10, 1969).
There has always been a segment of the population that believes breed is the root cause of dog attacks. For whatever reasons, these people seem uninterested in examining the circumstances around the attack itself or refuse to acknowledge that the popularity and increased numbers of these breeds will necessarily be reflected in their "overrepresentation" in reported cases of dog bites.
However, history clearly bears out that when a certain breed becomes extremely popular in a given time period, and especially when the breed is used by substandard owners for negative functions, these will be the breeds found in reported cases of severe and fatal dog attacks.
The truth is - the incidence and frequency of dog attacks has remained relatively consistent over the last century, regardless of the popularity or involvement of certain breeds of dogs.
The extreme popularity of the German Shepherd during certain decades did not significantly increase the frequency of fatal attacks. Likewise, the immense popularity of the Pit Bull-type dogs and Rottweilers during the last two decades has not significantly increased the frequency of fatal attacks.
In the decade between 1966-1975*, less than 2% of all dogs involved in fatal attacks in the United States were of the breeds which today are targeted so frequently as the solution to canine aggression, (Pit Bull or Rottweiler).
* A sample year (1974) demostrates how breeds reported in fatal attacks change from decade to decade depending on popularity of breed and numerous other variables totally unrelated to the breed of dog:
FATAL DOG ATTACKS IN THE UNITED STATES: 1974
Jan. German Shepherd - OK
Jan. St. Bernard - IN
Apr. St. Bernard - NY
Apr. Northern breed - AK
May Golden Retriever - NC
May Irish Setter - TX
Jun. St. Bernard - WI
Jul. German Shepherd - MD
Jul. Malamute - AK
Sept. Dachshund - NY
Sept. German Shepherd - MI
Oct. Akita - NE
Nov. Border Collie & Labrador - IL
Nov. Great Dane - NY
source:
National Canine Research Council
Keep an eye out for it, it'll be titled something about "No Dogs Allowed".