65+ 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 65 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 dog bans (BSL) are ineffective because many different breeds and mixes have been implicated in serious dog bite-related incidents.

dog bite-related fatality (DBRF) data

DBRF data from 2016 through October, 2022 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 given that over the years many different breeds and mixes have been implicated in serious dog bite-related incidents.
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 sources with breed information provided in Table 2 below)

1. Akita
2. Alaskan Husky mix
3. American Bulldog
4. American Bulldog mix
5. American Bulldog-Great Pyrenees mix
6. Australian Cattle Dog mix
7. Belgian Malinois
8. Belgian Malinois-Bulldog mix
9. Black Mouth Cur mix
10. Border Collie mix
11. Boxer
12. Boxer mix
13. Brazilian Mastiff
14. Bulldog mix
15. Cane Corso
16. Cane Corso mix
17. Chow Chow mix
18. Coonhound
19. Dachshund mix
20. Doberman Pinscher

21. Doberman Pinscher mix
22. Dogo Argentino
23. Dutch Shepherd
24. English Bulldog
25. English Mastiff
26. French Bulldog mix
27. French Mastiff
28. German Shepherd
29. German Shepherd mix
30. Giant Schnauzer
31. Great Dane
32. Heeler-Mastiff mix
33. Hound mix
34. Husky mix
35. Husky-Australian Cattle Dog mix
36. Husky-Shepherd mix
37. Labrador Retriever
38. Labrador Retreiver mix
39. Labrador Retriever-Great Pyrenees mix
40. Labrador Retriever-Shepherd mix

41. Leopard Cur mix
42. Malamute-Wolf Hybrid mix
43. Mastiff
44. Mastiff-Great Dane mix
45. Mastiff-Labrador Retriever mix
46. Mastiff-Presa Canario mix
47. Neapolitan Mastiff
48-51. Pitbull-Type and mixes*
52. Pocket Bully
53. Queensland Heeler
54. Retriever-Hound mix
55. Rottweiler
56. Rottweiler-Mastiff mix
57. Saint Bernard
58. Sheltie-Corgi mix
59. Shepherd mix
60. South African Boerboel
61-65+. Various mixed breeds**

* "Pitbull-type" includes at least 4 different breeds.
** Conservatively estimating at least 5 different mixed breeds implicated in the 17 incidents involving mixed breed dogs listed in Table 2.

Table 2 - Incident List With Sources

Incident date, breed(s) involved, location, and sources for the breeds listed in Table 1:
(Excluding breeds commonly included in the modern "pitbull-type" category, see "Further Information" below)

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 assumed 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-related incidents, the data and science 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 breeds commonly included in the modern "pitbull-type" category 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 dogs labeled as "pitbulls" are in fact mixed breed dogs and that up to 60% of dogs labeled or visually identified as "pitbulls" (by shelters, owners, and the media) do not have any pitbull-type ancestry and are therefore other breeds altogether; therefore, the breed data (in media reports and in unreliable statistics about dog bites) attributed to the majority of incidents describing dogs identified as "pitbulls" 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: October 19, 2022