posted 02-16-2004 06:04 PM         

2000 thru 2002

BITE DATA CALENDAR YEAR
2000
2001
2002

AFGHAN
0
0.00%
1
0.101%
0
0.000%

AIREDALE
0
0.00%
2
0.202%
3
0.303%

AKITA (X)
34
3.266%
15
1.514%
19
1.917%

AUSSIE (X)
37
3.554%
16
1.615%
19
1.917%

BASENJI
1
0.096%
1
0.101%
2
0.202%

BEAGLE (X)
0
0.00%
1
0.101%
0
0.000%

BELGIAN TERVUREN
8
0.768%
12
1.211%
11
1.110%

BICHON FRISE
3
0.288%
5
0.505%
2
0.202%

BORDER COLLIE (X)
16
1.537%
14
1.413%
9
0.908%

BORZOI
1
0.096%
0
0.00%
0
0.000%

BULLDOG/BOXER (X)
22
2.113%
18
1.816%
16
1.615%

CHIHUAHUA (X)
14
1.345%
27
2.725%
27
2.725%

CHOW (X)
116
11.143%
99
9.990%
86
8.678%

COCKER (X)
34
3.266%
33
3.330%
23
2.31%

COLLIE (X)
10
0.961%
11
1.110%
6
0.605%

CORGI
4
0.384%
6
0.605%
8
0.807%

DALMATIAN (X)
14
1.345%
20
2.018%
13
1.312%

DOBERMAN (X)
14
1.345%
9
0.908%
8
0.807%

DOXIE (X)
13
1.249%
20
2.018%
13
1.312%

ENGLISH POINTER
0
0.00%
0
0.00%
3
0.303%

GERMAN S/H POINTER
1
0.096%
0
0.00%
3
0.303%

GREAT DANE (X)
6
0.576%
7
0.706%
6
0.605%

HOUND (X)
7
0.672
7
0.706%
10
1.009%

HUSKY/ESKIMO (X)
21
2.017%
17
1.715%
18
1.816%

IRISH SETTER (X)
0
0.00%
0
0.00%
0
0.000%

KEESHOND (X)
1
0.96%
2
0.202%
0
0.000%

LABRADOR (X)
71
6.820%
55
5.550%
75
7.568%

LHASA APSO (X)
10
0.961%
11
1.110%
6
0.605%

MALTESE (X)
0
0.00%
4
0.404%
2
0.202

MASTIFF
10
0.961%
8
0.807%
6
0.605%

OTHER BREEDS
35
3.362%
43
4.339%
56
5.651%

PEKINGESE (X)
6
0.576%
3
0.303%
26
2.624%

PIT BULL (X)
165
15.850%
149
15.035%
196
19.778%

POMERANIAN (X)
6
0.576%
6
0.605%
6
0.605%

POODLE (X)
17
1.633%
16
1.615%
13
1.312%

QUEENSLAND (x)
10
0.961%
19
1.917%
15
1.514%

RETRIEVER (X)
28
2.690%
26
2.624%
11
1.110%

ROTTWEILER (X)
63
6.052%
80
8.073%
67
6.761%

SAMOYED (X)
1
0.096%
0
0.00%
0
0.000%

SCHNAUZER (X)
9
0.865%
5
0.505%
7
0.706%

SCOTTIE (X)
1
0.096%
1
0.101%
0
0.000%

SHAR PEI (X)
15
1.441%
12
1.211%
17
1.715%

SHEEPDOG (X)
2
0.192%
0
0.00%
4
0.404%

SHEPHERD (X)
142
13.641%
127
12.815%
104
10.494%

SHIH TZU (X)
8
0.768%
5
0.505%
8
0.807%

SPANIEL (X)
8
0.768%
14
1.413%
5
0.505%

SPITZ
1
0.096%
0
0.00%
2
0.202%

SPRINGER (X)
2
0.192%
3
0.303%
5
0.505%

ST. BERNARD
5
0.480%
4
0.404%
3
0.303%

TERRIER (X)
35
3.362%
51
5.146%
52
5.247%

VIZLA (X)
0
0.00%
0
0.00%
1
0.101%

WEIMARANER (X)
1
0.096%
3
0.303%
4
0.404%

WOLF (X)
1
0.096%
1
0.11%
0
0.000%

YORKIE
0
0.00%
0
0.00%
10
1.009%


TOTAL DOG BITES
1041
83.147%
991
83.558%
981
82.715%

CATS
176
14.058%
164
13.828%
173
14.661%

OTHER ANIMALS
44
4.227%
31
3.128%
26
2.624%

posted 02-16-2004 09:27 PM         

Where were these statistics taken?

Was this data compiled by government officials or just by someone looking through records?

How was the data originally collected.... did someone with extensive knowledge of dog breeds go and identify each dog, was an ID made by animal control officers (usually more skilled at breed ID then the average person, but still can be wrong), or was it just whatever the victim (who was probably scared out out their mind at the time and may or may not remember anything clearly) or bystanders (both of whom may have any amount of knowledge of various breeds of dogs) thought the dog most looked like?

How many dog bites that occur are reported? Bites that don't require medical care are less likely to be reported to the authorities, as are (in many cases) bites by dogs belonging to friends/family. Since the majority of bites by small dogs will not cause severe damage, many go unreported, whereas bites by larger breeds will cause damage more often, and thus are more often reported.

Then, even if you do have accurate statistics as far as the above, it really doesn't weigh in much as far as proving one breed more dangerous than others... of course if there are a huge amount more of one breed, there will be more bites by them than by one with a smaller population, even if the actual percentage of said breed that have bitten is smaller than that of the breed with the smaller population.

You can look through county dog license records and get an idea of the population of various breeds, but then again you fall into breed ID problems, as well as problems caused by people not registering their dogs. People may be registering (for example) their APBT as a boxer mix to avoid problems if BSL is passed, likewise, many people may not even register their dogs if they dont want to pay a fee, etc.

It's practically impossible to get accurate bite statistics, let alone ones that actually mean something in the scheme of things. Those are just a bunch of numbers that could easily be skewed any which way someone wanted them to be.