Dog Attack Deaths and Maimings, US & Canada September 1982 - November 7, 2007

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Study highlights

The combination of pit bulls, rottweilers and wolf hybrids:

• 77% of attacks that induce bodily harm
• 73% of attacks to children
• 83% of attack to adults
• 70% of attacks that result in fatalities
• 77% that result in maiming

Discussion notes:

• Pit bulls attack adults nearly as often as they attack children, a characteristic not found in any other breed. They also attack without warning. The victim of a pit bull attack may have little or no opportunity to read the warning signals that would avert an attack from a different breed.
• Traditional dog legislation allows "one free bite." On the second bite, the dog is killed. Such laws do not address the threats from pit bulls, rottweilers, and wolf hybrids. In over two-thirds of the logged cases, the life-threatening or fatal attack was the first known dangerous behavior by the animal.

1982-2007 chart:

Breed	Bodily harm	Child Victims	Adult Victims	Deaths	Maimings
Pit bulls	1194	528	424	116	654
Rottweiler	427	243	113	63	232
Wolf-dog hybrid	79	65	4	19	43
German Shepherd	70	45	19	9	42
Chow	51	34	14	6	34
Akita	48	32	14	1	39