People say that you can’t judge a book by its cover, but you may be able to judge an animal based on its appearance. Dog bites statistics paint a clear picture of when you might be at risk.
While small dogs often tend to be more verbally aggressive to compensate for their lack of size, bigger dogs may inflict more serious injuries when they attack. What role does a dog’s breed have in your risk of an injury?
Certain breeds have a strong association with bites
Research has shown that some animals are a bigger threat to the public than others. Given their popularity and reputation for aggression, most people won’t be surprised to hear that pit bulls took the top place on the list of aggressive breeds, causing 22.5% of bites. Mixed breeds were responsible for another 21.2%, while German Shepherds were responsible for another 17.8% of bite attacks.
Of course, mixed breeds could include dogs of any size and combination of breeds, which means that you really can’t judge an animal by appearance alone. Any animal can become aggressive, especially if it feels frightened or territorial.
Dogs running loose can be an issue, as can a dog at the home of someone you visit. Typically, the animal’s owner will be responsible for any injuries the animal causes, and their insurance may reimburse you for medical bills and other costs and damages.
Learning about warning signs for canine aggression and teaching your children how to spot those signs could help you and the people you love avoid a potentially traumatizing dog bite attack.