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What about the breeds implicated in BSL?
There has never been a breed so maligned as the group of dogs lumped into the generic “pit bull” heading. Now wait... When I was a child, pit bulls were rarely ever heard of, the dangerous breeds were German Shepherds, St. Bernards (thanks Cujo) and Doberman Pinschers. I remember as a child growing up with horrible myths about the breed that were taken as fact. My favorite one was the Doberman brain outgrows the skull thus putting pressure on the brain and causing the dog to go mad. Hmmmm... I thought the dangerous Dobes a few streets over were dangerous because they were horribly neglected and being forced to be aggressive dogs. Most Dobes I knew were great companions, excellent show dogs and wonderful working animals. But gee, I was a child, what did I know? Well I knew that breeding for heightened aggression causes issues. Temperament is part heredity and part what you do with it. Doberman and GSD breeders have been working for years to return the breeds’ reputations.
Now, the breeds to be aware of are the pit bull and Rottweiler according to most BSL. However, Akitas, various Mastiff/Molosser (molosser simply is a classification of breeds whose origins trace to what is often referred to as the Mastiff family of dogs, Molosser is an FCI classification) breeds, many livestock guarding breeds, etc. are being implicated as inherently dangerous dogs. When my children are older, what will be the dogs deemed dangerous? It could be the Dalmatian, maybe Great Danes, German Pinschers, Cocker Spaniels... Who knows? I do know one thing: all the dogs will have in common an owner not properly doing his job and/or a breeder that is irresponsible in regards to breeding for correct temperament.
For the sake of this site, I am going to begin with a quick look at the breed most often called for to be banned: the generic pit bull. Please read the next two selections for some general information on Pit Bulls and is a breed really a risk?
Unwrapping Pit Bulls
Clear and Present Danger: assessing the risk a breed poses
Breeds Causing Fatal Attacks & Serious Maulings
Over the years, many breeds and crosses have been determined the cause of fatal attacks and serious maulings. In the past two decades (give or take) the following breeds have been implicated in a fatality or a mauling. They are in alphabetical order (and chances are this list is not complete!)
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Akitas
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Australian Shepherd
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Beagles
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Bulldog (English)
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Bullmastiff
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Cattle Dogs (generic)
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Chesapeake Bay Retriever
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Chow Chows
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Cocker Spaniel
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Collie
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Coonhound (unknown what type)
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Dachshunds
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Doberman Pinschers
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German Shepherd Dogs
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Great Danes
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Hounds (generic)
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Labrador Retrievers
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Lhasa Apso
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Malamutes
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Mastiff (English)
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Mixed Breeds (unknown crosses)
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Newfoundland
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Pit Bulls (generic term)
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Pomeranians
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Presa Canario
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Rhodesian Ridgeback
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Rottweilers
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Saint Bernards
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Sheepdog (unknown what type)
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Siberian Huskies
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Terrier (generic)
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West Highland White Terrier
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Wolf-Dog crosses
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Yorkshire Terrier
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(data gathered through various sources including Fatal Dog Attacks: the stories behind the statistics, Karen Delise; Goodpooch.com, Endangered Dog Breeds of Australia (EDBA) & Dr, Stephen Collier).
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