How and when did dogs become humans’ close companions?
And how many times they attacked?
This topic has been long debated by scientists, and recent searches come with the suggestion that wolves were the ones taking the first steps and becoming friendly to humans who offered them food.
This would be the foundation of the strong bond we share with dogs today. However, this beautiful relationship doesn’t come with any challenges. Each year, over 4.5 million Americans are bitten by dogs, and more than 800,000 require medical attention.
Particularly stronger and larger breeds seem to be the ones causing more severe injuries. Tracking serious attacks from 1982 to these days by using data from ANIMALS 24-7, there are noted the most severe incidents by breed. There are purebred dogs with 10 or more recorded attacks causing body harm and some fatalities.
Dogs may often be misidentified by their appearance, and this makes the accuracy of the attack statistics by breed more complicated.
The purpose is to be able to see what breeds can be labeled as dangerous and create specific legislation for them, even with the opposition from animal welfare groups. Our knowledge grows, and we understand that a dog’s behavior is anyway more influenced by its training and upbringing than by its breed.
