My study of
dog bite - related
fatalities occurring over the past five decades has identified the poor ownership / management practices involved in the overwhelming majority of these incidents: owners obtaining
dogs, and maintaining them as resident
dogs outside of regular, positive human interaction, often for negative functions (i.e. guarding / protection, fighting, intimidation / status); owners failing to humanely contain, control and maintain their
dogs (chained
dogs, loose roaming
dogs, cases of abuse / neglect); owners failing to knowledgably supervise interaction
between children and
dogs; and owners failing to spay or neuter
dogs not used for competition, show, or in a responsible breeding program.
As advocates, we are all too familiar with the
dog bite fatality report that was published in 2000 titled «Breeds of
dogs involved in fatal human attacks in the United States
between 1979 and 1998.»
United Kingdom (Ban on four types of
dogs since 1997)--
Dog bites increased by 50 %
between 1997 and 2007, and a number of
fatalities involved non-banned breeds.
«Despite these (breed identification) limitations and concerns, the data indicate that Rottweilers and pit bull - type
dogs accounted for 67 % of human DBRF (
Dog Bite Related
Fatalities) in the United States
between 1997 and 1998.