Pit bulls aren't the only dangerous dog breeds

Recent dog attacks should serve as reminders that other types of dogs, not just pit bulls, can be dangerous.

On Sunday in Kettering, a woman was bitten by one of two rottweilers on leashes in a parking lot off East Stroop Road.

The unidentified victim reached down to let one of the dogs smell her hand, and it jumped up, put its paws on her arm and bit her, according to Kettering police records.

The woman was taken to the hospital for treatment, and police responded to investigate.

Both dogs were licensed and up-to-date with shot records, Kettering police spokesman Ron Roberts said Wednesday.

The dogs' owners were cooperative and there was no criminal violation, he said.

Pit bulls, rottweilers and German shepherds were responsible for the majority of fatal dog attacks between 1979 to 1998, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, published in 2000.

The study lists more than two dozen other breeds that caused fatalities during the same time period, including labrador retrievers and collies.

The CDC's study concluded, and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruetly to Animals advocates, non-breed specific dangerous dog laws as opposed to breed-specific legislation.

"There is no credible evidence that breed determines or predicts dangerousness," according to a statement from the ASPCA. "Dangerous dog laws should be narrowly drawn to define dangerous dogs as those who have either attacked a person or another animal without justification, causing injury or death, or those who exhibit behavior that strongly suggests the risk of such an attack."

The CDC study can be found here -- http://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/images/dogbreeds-a.pdf.

The ASPCA position statement on dangerous dog laws can be found here -- http://www.aspca.org/about-us/aspca-policy-and-position-statements/position-statement-on-dangerous-dog-laws.

About the Author