A collection of medical studies examining nonfatal dog bite injuries in Level 1 trauma centers, national fatal dog bite injury studies pre- and post-Covid, government studies and reports by our nonprofit.
August 2026
Level I Trauma Center Studies Characterizing Dog Bite Injuries Across Major U.S. Geographical Regions (2013-2026)A review of 22 nonfatal dog bite injury studies from U.S. Level 1 trauma centers. In the majority of studies, pit bulls inflicted a higher prevalence and severity of injuries compared with other breeds.
March 2020
Dog-Bite Injuries to the Craniofacial Region: An Epidemiologic and Pattern-of-Injury Review at a Level 1 Trauma CenterA retrospective review of 182 patients over a 10-year period from a Level 1 trauma center in the Southeast found that pit bulls inflicted more complex wounds compared with other dog breeds.
July 2019
Pediatric Dog Bite Injuries in Central TexasA retrospective review of 102 pediatric patients ages ≤ 18-years old from the pediatric trauma registry showed that pit bulls accounted for the highest prevalence and severity of injuries from 2011-2016.
February 2019
Dog Bite Injuries to the Face: Is There Risk with Breed Ownership? A Systematic Review with Meta-AnalysisA multi-institutional retrospective review of 240 pediatric patients over a 15-year period showed that pit bulls and mixed-breeds pose the highest relative risk of biting and cause the most damage per bite.
September 2023
Number of Deaths Resulting from Being Bitten or Struck by a Dog, by Sex — National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2011–2021A weekly morbidity report issued by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracking deaths from being bitten or struck by a dog from 2011 to 2021. Fatalities more than doubled from 2016 to 2021.
January 2021
Bitten or Struck by Dog: A Rising Number of Fatalities in Europe, 1995–2016A study analyzing dog bite fatalities in 30 European countries over a 22-year period (1995-2016) using data from Eurostat showed a significant rise in incidence of fatal dog attacks from 2011 to 2016.
September 2024
Pediatric Head and Neck Dog Bites in the United States: A NEISS Database Investigation of Risk Factors and Escalation of CareA retrospective review of 949 pediatric patients drawn from a national injury database examines head and neck dog bite risk factors from 2013 to 2022, including a peak in injuries during 2020.
November 2020
The Changing Epidemiology of Dog Bite Injuries in the United States, 2005–2018Using federal, state and city dog bite-related injury data, this study provides data on the incidence of dog bite injuries in the United States, New York state and New York City from 2005 to 2018.
December 2025
Dog Bite Injury Trends, Top-Biting Dog Breeds and the Geography of Bite Incidents in New York City Pre- and Post-Covid (2015-2023)Our nonprofit analyzed 29,992 dog bite incidents collected by New York City's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to identify key dog biting trends and the top-biting breeds pre- and post-Covid.
May 2025
Rising Dog Maulings in Two Central Texas Cities (2018-2023): What Public Safety Policy Got Wrong—and How to Fix ItAn in-depth investigation by our nonprofit organization comparing severe dog bite injury occurrences in two major Central Texas cities, Austin and San Antonio, before and after the Covid pandemic.
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