Currently the UK's Dangerous Dogs Act lists just four "banned" breeds:
- Pit Bull Terriers
- Japanese Tosas
- Dogo Argentinos
- Fila Brazilieros
Of these we suspect you probably have only ever heard of one or maybe two on the list. However a recent survey carried out by Animal 24-7 entitled "Dog attack deaths and maimings, US & Canada (September 1982 to December 31, 2014)" provides a more comprehensive and perhaps familiar list of "Dangerous Dogs". The survey and its implications are considered in full in an article on insidermonkey.com but the list (in reverse order is): 11. Mastiff – Number of attacks 28 10. Great Dane – Number of attacks 37 9. Labrador Retriever – Number of attacks 56 8. Chow-Chow – Number of attacks 61 7. Boxer – Number of attacks 64 6. Akita – Number of attacks 70 5. Husky – Number of attacks 83 4. Bullmastiff – Number of attacks 111 3. German Shepherd – Number of attacks 113 2. Rottweiler – Number of attacks 535 1. Pit Bull – Number of attacks 3,397 Says dog bite solicitor and personal injury specialist James McNally"
This is an interesting list and while one compiled by using US statistics there are a lot of breeds on here which we are hearing of more and more when our client's tell us the type of dog they were bitten by. Certainly the breeds like the Akita and Husky we are hearing of more and more and because of the specialist care and training they need and their strength and power they can be prone to sudden attacks resulting in really devastating, life changing injuries. There are other breeds like the Collie, Jack Russell and Dachshund which are perhaps a lot more aggressive then many on this list but as they are small don't inflict injuries of the severity of something like a Rottweiler. Similarly there are breeds like the Labrador which might not be prone to bite but are heavy set muscular dogs who commonly cause very serious injury if they barge into someone when allowed to run free off the lead.
James McNally is one of the UK's leading dog bite solicitors and has recovered compensation for many many dog bite victims over the years. If you have been the victim of a dog bite attack he can be emailed on [email protected] or phone for initial free advice on 0808 1391601.