Found a list of death by dogbite statistics for the US during a 20 year period (1979 - 1998) taken from page 2 of this document: http://www.dogbitelaw.com/breeds-causing-DBRFs.pdf
PUREBRED
Pit bull-type 66
Rottweiler 39
German Shepherd 17
Husky-type 15
Malamute 12
Doberman Pinscher 9
Chow Chow 8
Great Dane 7
Saint Bernard 7
CROSSBRED
Wolf-dog hybrid 14
Mixed- Breed 12
German Shepherd Dog 10
Pit bull-type 10
Husky-type 6
Rottweiler 5
Alaskan Malamute 3
Chow Chow 3
Doberman Pinscher 2
Saint Bernard 1
Great Dane 1
WHAT!???,,,No Yorkies?!?!??...;0)
Here’s a page that outlines some of the limitations of the figures from that study through 1998:
http://www.understand-a-bull.com/BSL/CDCReport/CDCReport.htm
For example, they admit there is no nationwide tracking of dog bites, so the numbers are gathered from media reports and other sources, when they happen to be reported. If the media chooses to focus on one or a few breeds and reports on those attacks more often, then it skews the figures in these type of studies. Also, they take no account of the population counts of each breed. If there are 100 pit bull attacks to 10 dalmation attacks, but 100 times more pit bulls in America, then the dalmations would actually be attacking at ten times the rate of pit bulls. The study doesn’t account for that factor at all.
There’s no doubt pit bulls can be particularly dangerous dogs, since their strength, and their attack behavior are more likely to cause serious injury or fatality than a lot of breeds. However, in most cases, I think blaming a dog for an attack is like blaming a gun for shooting someone. If the dog is provoked to attack, say by a trespasser, it’s hardly the dog’s fault if they attack. Conversely, if the dog attacks without provocation, it’s usually a clear sign that the owner has failed to properly train or care for the dog. Either way, a human usually bears a much larger share of the blame than the animal.