49+ Breeds Involved in Fatal Dog Attacks Since 2016
Recent dog bite incident data confirms that dog bite-related fatalities (DBRFs) and serious dog bite-related incidents are not a breed-specific issue; furthermore, the data also confirms that breed-specific legislation (BSL) is not only ineffective, but also entirely obsolete given the number of breeds involved in fatal attacks. In fact, since only 2016, at least 49 different breeds and mixed breeds have been involved in fatal dog attacks (listed in Table 1 below) in the U.S. including: Akita, Boxer, Doberman Pinscher, German Shepherd, Great Dane, Husky, Labrador Retriever, Mastiff, Pitbull-Type, Rottweiler, and many others; moreover, the number of incidents associated with each breed is more closely related to each breed's population size and its risk rate than to any "inherent risk" in a specific breed or dog type. While every serious dog bite-related incident is tragic, the number and variety of breeds implicated in fatal dog attacks is clear evidence that these incidents are not a breed-specific issue while also validating the importance of comprehensive breed-neutral regulations for public safety. Additionally, the data validates what multiple peer-reviewed studies have concluded such as breed does not determine risk and that breed-specific dog bans (BSL) are ineffective because serious dog bite-related incidents involve many different breeds and mixes.
dog bite-related fatality (DBRF) data
DBRF data from 2016 through March, 2021 confirms that:
- Serious dog bite-related incidents are not a breed-specific issue as many different breeds can cause injuries or fatalities.
- Breed-specific legislation (BSL) is not only ineffective, but also entirely obsolete because over the years serious dog bite-related incidents have been associated with many different breeds and mixes.
- Breed-neutral regulations are more effective because they address all potentially dangerous dogs, all irresponsible dog owners, and all unsafe dog-related situations - regardless of a dog's appearance or breed.
- Large or strong dogs (of any breed) should always be supervised around infants and children - almost half of the incidents listed below unfortunately involve infants and children.
Table 1 - Breeds Involved In Fatal Attacks
Breeds and mixes involved in fatal dog attacks since 2016 include:
(In alphabetical order, references to news sources with breed information provided in Table 2 below)
(In alphabetical order, references to news sources with breed information provided in Table 2 below)
1. Akita
2. American Bulldog 3. American Bulldog mix 4. Australian Cattle Dog mix 5. Belgian Malinois 6. Belgian Malinois-Bulldog mix 7. Black Mouth Cur mix 8. Boxer 9. Boxer mix 10. Brazilian Mastiff 11. Bulldog mix 12. Chow Chow mix 13. Coonhound 14. Dachshund mix 15. Doberman Pinscher 16. Dogo Argentino |
17. Dutch Shepherd
18. English Mastiff 19. French Bulldog mix 20. German Shepherd 21. German Shepherd mix 22. Giant Schnauzer 23. Great Dane 24. Heeler-Mastiff mix 25. Hound mix 26. Husky mix 27. Husky-Australian Cattle Dog mix 28. Husky-Shepherd mix 29. Labrador Retriever 30. Labrador Retreiver mix 31. Labrador Retriever-Great Pyrenees mix 32. Labrador Retriever-Shepherd mix |
33. Leopard Cur mix
34. Malamute-Wolf Hybrid mix 35. Mastiff 36. Mastiff-Great Dane mix 37. Mastiff-Labrador Retriever mix 38. Mastiff-Presa Canario mix 39. Neapolitan Mastiff 40-43. Pitbull-Type and mixes (includes at least 4 different breeds) 44. Queensland Heeler 45. Retriever-Hound mix 46. Rottweiler 47. Shepherd mix 48. South African Boerboel 49+. Other mixed breeds (various) |
Table 2 - Incident List With Sources
Incident date, breed(s) involved, location, and sources for the breeds listed in Table 1:
(Excluding pitbull-type dogs, see "Further Information" below)
(Excluding pitbull-type dogs, see "Further Information" below)
FEB/2016 | Labrador Retriever-Shepherd mix | OH | Infant | Source
APR/2016 | Belgian Malinois-Bulldog mixes | FL | Adult | Source JUN/2016 | Labrador Retriever-Great Pyrenees, Husky-Australian Cattle Dog mixes | TX | Adult | Source JUN/2016 | American Bulldog mixes | CT | Adult |Source AUG/2016 | Rottweiler, German Shepherd, Chow Chow mixes | FL | Adult | Source OCT/2016 | Doberman Pinscher | MI | Child | Source OCT/2016 | German Shepherds | NY | Adult | Source DEC/2016 | Belgian Malinois | CA | Adult | Source JAN/2017 | German Shepherd | TX | Infant | Source FEB/2017 | Mastiff-Great Dane Mix | NY | Adult | Source FEB/2017 | English Mastiff | TN | Child | Source APR/2017 | Boxer mix | PA | Adult | Source MAY/2017 | South African Boerboel | NC | Adult |Source MAY/2017 | Mixed breed dog | CT | Adult | Source JUN/2017 | Rottweiler | AZ | Child | Source AUG/2017 | Husky-Shepherd mix | ME | Infant | Source AUG/2017 | Giant Schnauzer, Labrador Retriever | TX | Infant | Source NOV/2017 | German Shepherd | OH | Infant | Source DEC/2017 | Akita | AZ | Adult | Source DEC/2017 | Doberman Pinscher, German Shepherd, Labrador Retriever, Queensland Heeler, other mixes | CA | Adult | Source MAR/2018 | Malamute-Wolf Hybrid mix | VA | Infant | Source MAY/2018 | Rottweiler, Labrador Retriever | CA | Infant | Source MAY/2018 | Dachshund-Border Collie, Dachshund-Terrier mixes | OK | Adult | Source JUN/2018 | German Shepherd | GA | Infant | Source JUN/2018 | Dogo Argentino | MD | Adult | Source AUG/2018 | Mixed breed dog | OH | Adult | Source OCT/2018 | Mastiff-Presa Canario mix | NV | Adult | Source OCT/2018 | Retriever-Hound mix | FL | Infant | Source OCT/2018 | Leopard Cur mix | TX | Child | Source OCT/2018 | Brazilian Mastiff | TX | Adult | Source NOV/2018 | Mixed breed dog | PA | Child | Source DEC/2018 | Rottweilers | NC | Adult | Source |
JAN/2019 | Labrador Retriever mixes | MS | Adult | Source
JAN/2019 | German Shepherd | AZ | Infant | Source FEB/2019 | Doberman Pinschers | TX | Adult | Source FEB/2019 | Boxer mixes | SC | Adult | Source FEB/2019 | German Shepherds | TN | Adult | Source MAR/2019 | Heeler-Mastiff mix | TX | Adult | Source MAR/2019 | Rottweilers | CA | Child | Source APR/2019 | Rottweiler | NV | Infant | Source MAY/2019 | Dutch Shepherds, Belgian Malinois | MA | Child | Source MAY/2019 | Boxer | IA | Adult | Source JUL/2019 | Husky mix | GA | Infant | Source JUL/2019 | Shepherd mix, Labrador Retriever mix, other mixes | TN | Adult | Source AUG/2019 | Mastiffs, Rottweiler, Mastiff-Labrador Retriever mix, pitbull-type | TN | Adult | Source SEP/2019 | Coonhounds | NY | Adult | Source OCT/2019 | Rottweilers | KY | Child | Source NOV/2019 | Great Danes | OH | Adult | Source DEC/2019 | Blue Heeler (Australian Cattle Dog) mixes | OK | Adult | Source JAN/2020 | Pack of mixed/unknown breed dogs | NM | Adult | Source FEB/2020 | Pack of mixed/unknown breed dogs | KY | Child | Source MAR/2020 | Pack of mixed/unknown breed dogs | FL | Adult | Source APR/2020 | Mastiff | OR | Adult | Source MAY/2020 | Bulldog mixes | GA | Adult | Source MAY/2020 | French Bulldog mix | IL | Adult | Source MAY/2020 | Neapolitan Mastiff | GA | Child | Source JUN/2020 | Belgian Malinois | SD | Infant | Source AUG/2020 | American Bulldog | FL | Adult | Source OCT/2020 | Pack of mixed/unknown breed dogs | AL | Adult | Source OCT/2020 | German Shepherd mix | VA | Infant | Source DEC/2020 | German Shepherd | MN | Child | Source FEB/2021 | American Bulldog | NE | Infant | Source FEB/2021 | Hound, Shepherd, Black Mouth Cur mixes | TX | Adult | Source |
Serious Dog Bite Incidents Are Not A Breed Specific Issue
The data, statistics, and scientific studies all confirm that serious dog bite-related incidents are not a breed-specific issue. For canine regulation, it is important to understand the differences between the two major forms of regulation - breed-specific legislation (BSL) and breed-neutral legislation (BNL). BSL is a limited, single-factor, appearance-based approach while BNL is a comprehensive, multifactorial, behavior-based approach. For public safety, BSL imposes regulations on a minority of dogs based only on their appearance or breed (regardless of a dog's behavior or responsible ownership) while breed-neutral regulations address all potentially dangerous dogs, all irresponsible owners, and all unsafe dog-related situations - regardless of a dog's appearance or breed. Consequently, multiple peer-reviewed studies have concluded that BSL is ineffective; furthermore, it is a discriminatory trend in decline evidenced by the vast majority (over 96%) of cities and towns that use breed-neutral regulations as their primary and only form of regulation because of the many advantages of breed-neutral regulations summarized on our breed legislation page. For public safety and to reduce dog bite incidents, the data and scientific studies both validate that the most effective solutions are breed-neutral and address the human end of the leash.
Further Information
- The DBRF list above may not be complete - there may be additional incidents involving other breeds that we have not yet identified through our research.
- Incidents involving pitbull-type dogs are not included as these have already been widely covered by the media and by special interest pro-BSL organizations. Furthermore, recent studies on canine DNA have determined that the majority of pitbull-type dogs are in fact mixed breed dogs and that 60% of dogs identified as "pitbulls" do not have DNA signatures from any of the pitbull-type breeds; therefore, the breed data (in media reports and elsewhere) attributed to the majority of incidents describing "pitbull-type" dogs cannot be used as a reliable or scientific source for breed information.
- The number of incidents associated with each breed is more closely related to each breed's population size and its risk rate than to any inherent risk in a specific breed or dog type.
Updated: March 4, 2021
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