Bad Dogs and Dangerous Breeds by Rod Pennington, September 2007

With Michael Vick and dog fighting making headlines, a growing number of communities are banning ownership of certain breeds of dogs that are perceived as dangerous. The "bad dogs" that earn the ban are usually pit bulls and rottweilers. This begs the question, Are some breeds really more dangerous than others?

Each year nearly 5 million people are bitten by dogs. Just under 20 percent require stitches at the local emergency room. Tragically, every year there are a handful of bite victims who
die from being mauled by an aggressive dog. In addition to pit bulls and rottweilers, German shepherds, malamutes, Great Danes, Dobermans, chow chows, St. Bernards, huskies, and Akitas have all been involved in fatalities in the past decade...

As would be expected, the larger the aggressive the dog the greater likelihood it would have the strength and size to inflict fatal wounds. A Chihuahua may be just as aggressive as
his larger cousins but lacks the heft to inflict much damage. A study by the American Veterinary Medical Association, the CDC, and the Humane Society of the United States, analyzed dog bite statistics from the last 20 years and found that the statistics
don't show that any breeds are inherently more dangerous than others. The study showed that the more popular a large breed dogs was at the time, the great the likelihood that breed would be involved in a fatal mauling. For example, the Doberman pinscher was the pit bull of the 1970s. Highly popular at the time and with its size and strength made it a formidable watchdog. In the 1990s, the Doberman disappeared from the backyards in rough neighborhoods and were replaced with the pit bulls and rottweilers. In the 1950s and 1960s, the aggressive breed was the German shepherd.

Dogs can be aggressive or non-aggressive depending on the owner and how the breed was trained. If the owner abuses the dog or rewards aggressive behavior, then the likelihood of having a biter goes up dramatically. It has often been said that some people, a quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons immediately comes to mind, should be banned from ever owning a dog.

Here are a few commonsense ways to prevent you dog from going bad.

1. Restrain your pet. Eight out of nine fatal dog bites are inflicted by an unrestrained dog.

2. Socialize your dog. Let your pet mingle with other dogs and people. Start early. Take your puppy with you to every where you can and let him develop normal, non- aggressive habits. A dog that has been chained in the backyard its entire life is much more likely to bite someone than a canine who spends every afternoon at the park.

3. Spay or neuter your dog. Listen to Bob Barker. Four out of five fatalities are caused by male dog that have not been neutered.

4. Train your dog not to bite. Start early. Do not allow your puppy to chew on you or growl at members of the family. Chew toys are for chewing, not people. Reward good behavior and make it clear to your dog what is and what is not acceptable.

5. Keep an eye on your dog's behavior. Dogs don't become aggressive overnight. It usually starts early and there are many warning signs. If your dog exhibits any of the following
behaviors, it's time for obedience school. They would include growling or snapping at family members; growling or snapping at strangers; or extreme fear of strangers.

The best dog in the world can still bite someone if it feels cornered or threatened. Remember the civil action risk. The first time your dog bites someone, you have no risk of being sued since the dog has never bitten anyone before. The second bite can cost you your house and your car since you knew the dog had a history of biting and you didn't prevent it.

Rod Pennington - Over the last 30 years, Rod Pennington's byline has appeared hundreds of times in publications around the world. More of his incisive writing on dogs and German Shepherds can be found at: http://www.germanshepherdsmire.com