# Research Paper on Dog Attack Progression Over the Years.



## B i r d y (Dec 6, 2014)

So I am working on being a college major am currently writing a statistic paper due in the Spring. Mine just happens to report fatal dog attack progressions over the years. After conducting research from opinionated sites (.coms), I found out they labeled German Shepherds somewhere in the top five of on what they considered the “Most Dangerous Dog Breeds”. One site even placed the breed as the second place winner of “Dogs Most Likely to Turn on Their Owners.”

To get more in depth with theories people were making about the breed. I decided to look up specific statistics (using government approved sites like .gov/.org) that showed what years an attack occurred and what verified breed it was. I came across “Fatal Dogs Attacks in the United States”. Unfortunately, it only recorded attacks that included the death of the victim, not attacks with survivors. However, it did state some pretty good entail dated back into the 1900’s. I found the majority of the attacks were centered around the Pitbull breed, except, I did see a lot German Shepherd cases starting from 1947 from then on out. However, as I scrolled down from each year, the reported fatalities were ceasing until none were recorded in the year 2014. I have contributed a conclusion on why. 

My conclusion would be the species has become more domesticated since the breed was first introduced. With some thorough research I found out the ‘original’ German Shepherd was created by breeding various wolf-dog mixtures together to make the perfect guardian companion. But wolf bloodlines still contaminated the genes, keeping their prey drive at an accelerated high which resulted in fatal attacks in the late 40’s/50’s. The reason the numbers have lowered and eventually ceased is with each purebred offspring bred, the wolf’s gene has slowly been replaced by the breed’s own domesticated features and drive.

Anyways, this is just a little sample off of what I'm doing for the project.


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## Zeeva (Aug 10, 2010)

You should also consider that they are a popular breed to own. Therefore more likely to be reported in term of bite incidents...


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## Hineni7 (Nov 8, 2014)

I actually have a different theory... German shepherds were not introduced to America until after WW II, meaning the vast majority of incoming GSD's were military dogs trained for violence if necessary, and suffering from PTSD (yes, animals have to decompress as well). Most would not know how to handle such dogs and assume they weren't working dogs from such a harsh climate (war) and if no proper rehabilitation occurred for the dogs to be reintroduced into society, well, problems would occur. Also, GSD's are a different breed; they need a job. They weren't labs or Goldens, they are drive oriented dogs and it would take years for this to be understood and then developed within the US... Just my thoughts


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## QballK (Nov 2, 2014)

As if Retrievers don't have any drive.


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## Beverly (Nov 8, 2011)

So many factors have contributed to these statistics, including, as mentioned below, the greater number of GSD's due to their popularity. Of course, owning a GSD, with its high drive, intelligence, and work ethic, is like owning a Ferrari. Much more is required of the owner/handler in terms of socializing and training this exquisite breed, or you could crash and burn. Dog bites are often the fault of irresponsible owners. With some breeds, you can get away with it - the worst case scenario might be a fender-bender. The only dog that's ever bitten me was a Yorkie dashing past its owner to bite my ankle, as the owner said "naughty girl!" Who reports that? I didn't.


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## B i r d y (Dec 6, 2014)

Thanks, guys, for the personal information about the breed. I'm still gathering research, but any opinions/theories from actual GSD owners (other than myself) to guide me in the write direction is much appreciated.


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## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

Hineni7 said:


> I actually have a different theory... German shepherds were not introduced to America until after WW II, meaning the vast majority of incoming GSD's were military dogs trained for violence if necessary, and suffering from PTSD (yes, animals have to decompress as well). Most would not know how to handle such dogs and assume they weren't working dogs from such a harsh climate (war) and if no proper rehabilitation occurred for the dogs to be reintroduced into society, well, problems would occur. Also, GSD's are a different breed; they need a job. They weren't labs or Goldens, they are drive oriented dogs and it would take years for this to be understood and then developed within the US... Just my thoughts


I kind of like this theory regarding the introduction of the GSD in America and what it's job had previously been. Although Rin Tin Tin was popular before WWII...I believe a result of an American soldier in WWI bring the GSD back to America...so the breed had exposure in the USA well before the end of WWII. I'm not that educated on the history of the breed in the USA but I think my timeline regarding Rin Tin Tin ( the original ) is fairly close.


SuperG


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## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

Birdy,

This may be of benefit and perhaps the bibliography will provide you with more sources to investigate.

http://www.k9behavioralgenetics.net/resources/Articles/Dog Bites to Humans.pdf


SuperG


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## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

QballK said:


> As if Retrievers don't have any drive.


These two didn't get the memo...

SuperG


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## Hineni7 (Nov 8, 2014)

You might be right SuperG, I may have my WW 's wrong  And Rin Tin Tin was a puppy when he came to America, so he didn't have the war baggage the others (military dogs) brought home may have had... Rin Tin Tin did a whole lot for the popularity of the breed, that's for sure


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## Steve Strom (Oct 26, 2013)

To be accurate, I think you need to include the other piece of the attacks. The people. Behavioral norms and people's attitudes and the way they treat dogs have changed in the last 100 or even 25 years.


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## Beverly (Nov 8, 2011)

LOL, those are great pictures! In my 30+ years of owning black labs from "Someday Retrievers" in Canada bred from field trial champions, I agree - drive comes in all forms! However, gotta admit there was zero correlation in bite grip. While my Labs had stellar retrieving and ball drive, they had the softest mouths ever. That breeder starts the pups on live birds around 5 weeks of age.


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## scarfish (Apr 9, 2013)

i don't like OP's list. GSDs aremore dangerous than rots? gimme a break. look at this list at Dog Attack Deaths and Maimings, U.S. & Canada, September 1982 to December 31, 2013 - By Merritt Clifton - DogsBite.org. rots and GSDs have about the same percent of population but look at the difference in number of deaths and maimings compared to GSDs. also there's 100X more GSDs than bullmastiffs but bullmastiffs killed more people. so if a bullmastiff attacks you, you have over 100X more chance of dying.


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## scarfish (Apr 9, 2013)

most all breeds have a much higher rate of maimings compared to deaths. husky have the same amount of maimings and deaths. that being said if a husky is maiming you, you have a 50% chance of dying. i would rather be maimed by a GSD in that case.


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## LeoRose (Jan 10, 2013)

Hineni7 said:


> I actually have a different theory... German shepherds were not introduced to America until after WW II, meaning the vast majority of incoming GSD's were military dogs trained for violence if necessary, and suffering from PTSD (yes, animals have to decompress as well). Most would not know how to handle such dogs and assume they weren't working dogs from such a harsh climate (war) and if no proper rehabilitation occurred for the dogs to be reintroduced into society, well, problems would occur. Also, GSD's are a different breed; they need a job. They weren't labs or Goldens, they are drive oriented dogs and it would take years for this to be understood and then developed within the US... Just my thoughts


Where to begin.....

The first GSD registered with the AKC was Queen Of Switzerland, (registration number 115006), in 1908, and WWII ended in 1945, so.....

As for the "they weren't Labs or Goldens", do you actually know what "drive" is? Its what makes a Lab or Golden retrieve birds from freezing cold water all day long, and still be ready to go hunting again the next day. And the next day. And the next. And the next. And the day after that.


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## Hineni7 (Nov 8, 2014)

In reference to my statement (and yes, of course I know what drive is) it was obviously in context to the difference in personality. If you want a guard dog your first thought isn't a golden, malamute, husky or lab... If you want a retriever for fowl or what not your first thought is probably not a gsd, rottweiler, doberman.. Context is everything


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## LeoRose (Jan 10, 2013)

So you just meant "drive to bite people"? I've known more than one Lab or Golden that would be happy to do that. 

Your still a bit off on your dates, though.


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## Hineni7 (Nov 8, 2014)

Lol.. Unfortunately biting isn't breed specific (or maybe that is fortunately, hmm)... I probably am off on my dates as I wasn't going by a historical record (accuracy) just personal opinion as to when the breed I'm the states began to get a 'reputation' and possible reasons why....


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## LeoRose (Jan 10, 2013)

Yeah, you're only four decades or so off. 

As for when the breed got a reputation in the US for biting, I'd say pretty much from the beginning.


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## Hineni7 (Nov 8, 2014)

But popularity is what brought it to the limelight and having a bunch of compressed dogs post war, and the popularity of breed specific TV shows (which led to horrific byb) contributed to the lore that GSD's are biters and vicious.. Which was my point


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