47+ 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 47 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 December, 2020 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)

1. Akita
2. American Bulldog
3. American Bulldog mix
4. Australian Cattle Dog mix
5. Belgian Malinois
6. Belgian Malinois-Bulldog mix
7. Boxer
8. Boxer mix
9. Brazilian Mastiff
10. Bulldog mix
11. Chow Chow mix
12. Coonhound
13. Dachshund mix
14. Doberman Pinscher
15. Dogo Argentino

16. Dutch Shepherd
17. English Mastiff
18. French Bulldog mix
19. German Shepherd
20. German Shepherd mix
21. Giant Schnauzer
22. Great Dane
23. Heeler-Mastiff mix
24. Husky mix
25. Husky-Australian Cattle Dog mix
26. Husky-Shepherd mix
27. Labrador Retriever
28. Labrador Retreiver mix
29. Labrador Retriever-Great Pyrenees mix
30. Labrador Retriever-Shepherd mix

31. Leopard Cur mix
32. Malamute-Wolf Hybrid mix
33. Mastiff
34. Mastiff-Great Dane mix
35. Mastiff-Labrador Retriever mix
36. Mastiff-Presa Canario mix
37. Neapolitan Mastiff
38-41. Pitbull-Type and mixes (includes at least 4 different breeds)
42. Queensland Heeler
43. Retriever-Hound mix
44. Rottweiler
45. Shepherd mix
46. South African Boerboel
47+. 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)

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: December 13, 2020