37+ Breeds Involved in Fatal Dog Attacks Since 2016

Recent dog bite-related incident data confirms that dog bite-related fatalities (DBRFs) and serious dog bite-related incidents are not a breed-specific issue; furthermore, the data 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 37 different breeds and mixed breeds have been involved in fatal dog attacks (listed in Table 1 below) in the U.S. including: Akita, Boxer, Chow Chow, Doberman Pinscher, German Shepherd, Giant Schnauzer, Husky, Labrador Retriever, Mastiff, Rottweiler, and many others. 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 BSL is ineffective because serious dog bite-related incidents involve many different breeds, mixes, and dog types.

dog bite-related fatality (DBRF) data

The dog bite-related fatality (DBRF) data for January, 2016 through August, 2019 confirms that:

Serious dog bite-related incidents are not a breed-specific issue, 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 involved in fatal dog attacks since only 2016 include:
(In alphabetical order, references to news sources with breed information provided in table 2 below.)

1. Akita
2. American Bulldog mix
3. Belgian Malinois
4. Belgian Malinois-Bulldog mix
5. Boxer
6. Boxer mix
7. Brazilian Mastiff
8. Chow Chow mix
9. Coonhound
10. Dachshund mix
11. Doberman Pinscher
12. Dogo Argentino
13. Dutch Shepherd
14. English Mastiff
15. German Shepherd
16. Giant Schnauzer
17. Heeler-Mastiff mix
18. Husky mix
19. Husky-Australian Cattle Dog mix

20. Husky-Shepherd mix
21. Labrador Retriever
22. Labrador Retreiver mix
23. Labrador Retriever-Great Pyrenees mix
24. Labrador Retriever-Shepherd mix
25. Leopard Cur mix
26. Malamute-Wolf Hybrid mix
27. Mastiff
28. Mastiff-Great Dane mix
29. Mastiff-Labrador Retriever mix
30. Mastiff-Presa Canario mix
31. Pitbull-Type and mixes
32. Queensland Heeler
33. Retriever-Hound mix
34. Rottweiler
35. Shepherd mix
36. South African Boerboel
37. 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 notes below.)

Serious Dog Bite Incidents Are Not A Breed Specific Issue

The data, scientific studies, and risk rates 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 (98%) 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.

Notes

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 other special-interest organizations. Furthermore, a recent comprehensive peer-reviewed canine DNA study concluded that the vast majority (98%) of "pitbull-type" dogs are in fact mixed breed dogs; therefore, the breed data (in media reports and elsewhere) assigned 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 and its risk rate than to any "inherent risk" in a specific breed or dog type.

Updated: September 10, 2019