Take Breed Restrictions Seriously
It might be tempting to lie on your application about your pets, but lying is the worst thing you can do. If a landlord discovers you’ve been dishonest about your pet, they can potentially evict you and living on the street is not an option.
Sage Singleton Sage Singleton is a freelance writer with a passion for literature and words. She enjoys writing articles that will inspire, educate and influence readers. She loves that words have the power to create change and make a positive impact in the world. Some of her work has been featured on LendingTree, Venture Beat, Architectural Digest, Porch.com and Homes.com. In her free time, she loves traveling, reading and learning French.
Legal Challenges Ontario 2007
In Cochrane v. Ontario , 2007 CanLII 9231 , Ms. Catherine Cochrane sued the Province of Ontario to prevent it from enforcing the Dog Owner’s Liability Act ban on pit bulltype dogs, arguing that the law was unconstitutionally broad because the ban was grossly disproportionate to the risk pit bulls pose to public safety, and that the law was unconstitutionally vague because it failed to provide an intelligible definition of pit bulls. She also argued that a provision allowing the Crown to introduce as evidence a veterinarian’s certificate certifying that the dog is a pit bull violates the right to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence.
The presiding judge ruled that the DOLA was not overbroad because,
“The evidence with respect to the dangerousness of pit bulls, although conflicting and inconclusive, is sufficient, in my opinion, to constitute a ‘reasoned apprehension of harm’. In the face of conflicting evidence as to the feasibility of less restrictive means to protect the public, it was open to the legislature to decide to restrict the ownership of all pit bulls.”
In 2008, both Ms. Cochrane and the Attorney General of Ontario appealed different aspects of the decision to the Court of Appeal for Ontario.In Cochrane v. Ontario , the Court of Appeal reversed the lower court’s ruling:
On June 11, 2009 the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear further appeal of the case, thereby upholding the Ontario ban on pit bulls.
Most Aggressive & Dangerous Dog Breeds
Before we get into the breeds labeled the most aggressive or dangerous, we want to point out that in almost every case of an aggressive dog, the owner is responsible for the accident. While some breeds may look scarier than others, poor training, socialization, and improper rewarding of problem behaviors will give any dog the lack of structure it does not desire to be a well-balanced canine. Lack of leadership and lack of physical stimulation means that any well-intentioned dog can end up displaying aggressive behavior.
The breeds listed below are breeds that have either been known to bite or are in the top 10 of all breeds that caused fatalities from 2005 to 2021. Causation does not imply representation. It just so happens that many awful dog owners end up owning breeds that are strong-willed. This can cause behavioral problems in their environment, leading to undesired aggression. There has long been debate over dog breeds considered aggressive, and in some areas, certain breeds may be regulated or prohibited.
We truly believe at Love Your Dog that all dogs can be trained properly and live a happy, meaningful life. But the bottom line is some breeds have a reputation. Those reputations have been handed down somewhere along the line. Lets look at the 21 most likely breeds to be labeled as dangerous or aggressive.
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Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
With a royal history and a name to match, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is a gentle, friendly, and affectionate pooch that graceful yet athletic. These dogs love to play and run outside on adventures but love to cuddle on the sofa with their family too, making them a versatile family pet. The breed almost disappeared at one point and was brought back from the brink by Queen Victoria, though they were changed radically from their original form.
The Controversy Over Banned Dog Breeds
Not all home insurance companies have official lists of restricted dog breeds. Many decide whether to cover a household with a problematic dog on a case-by-case basis.
But among insurers with banned breed lists, the lists can be found within filings made by home insurance companies to state insurance departments. Its a rogues gallery of so-called bad breeds who scare people, bite and knock kids off bikes.
The home insurers banned breeds lists are long and include dogs youd expect, like Rottweilers, some you might not expect, like German Shepherds and rarer breeds like Alaskan Malamutes. Pit bulls of all types top the list.
Many major insurers filings specifically state that coverage wont be provided to households where these dogs live. And they wont renew a policy if the presence of a vicious dog is discovered in the home.
Dog advocatesled by the Animal Defense League, American Kennel Club, Best Friends Animal Society, Humane Society and othersare fighting back.They say its wrong for home insurance companies to discriminate against dogs due to breed. In a plea to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners , they raise an even bigger question: If insurers discriminate against the dog, do they also discriminate against the owner?
The dog advocate groups want a moratorium on banned breed lists. An NAIC spokesperson said the request would be reviewed at the groups spring 2021 meeting.
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Dog Breed Most Likely To Be Involved In Attacks Against Humans
Are there aggressive dog breeds? Thats like asking if there are fat people. To date no accurate study has been done in a controlled environment to answer that question. Everything will be discussed in detail. First of all, not every canine receives specialized breeding as an attack or guard dog.
Some dogs are specifically bred for their aggression or strength. Other working dogs are bred for their intelligence and cunning.
In the meantime, the debate rages over whether the dog breed itself creates dangerous dogs, or is it really other factors like an abusive environment or poor training, or all of the above.
I am Los Angeles dog bite lawyer Michael Ehline. I used to train large dogs like Rottweilers, powerful dogs like Pit Bull and Akita, and various guard dogs. I have extensive experience breeding purebred dogs and cats since my youth.
As a child, I was attacked and bitten by a loose, smaller dog breed that was mixed, commonly known as a mutt. To help me deal with my fear of dangerous dogs, my father, a two tour USMC combat vet, decided to embed me with a neighbor who was a dog trainer.
I learned animal behaviors, breeding, and how to take control of an otherwise dangerous dog. As a lawyer, I took my dog education full circle, mastering civil and administrative dog bite law claims.
Bsl: Breed Specific Legislation
Insurance companies arent the only ones engaging in dog breed discrimination. States, cities and even local municipalities have their own lists that are often different and even contradictory to one another. Its called Breed Specific Legislation or BSL.
BSL began in the 1980s in response to several fatal dog attacks, according to PetPlace, an information website. These laws equate the qualities of a dangerous dog with certain breeds, and ban or restrict them based on group, not on any offense the individual dog committed.
They make no concession for therapy dogs, assistance dogs or search and rescue dogs, notes PetPlace.
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Final Thoughts On The Most Aggressive Dogs
Training can make a huge impact on nature.
In no way are all dogs of any breed bad. Many in fact, most small dog breeds can become aggressive due to small dog syndrome, yet we rarely hear about these breeds because theyre simply incapable of causing the type of damage that a German Shepherd can.
The unifying factor when it comes to aggression is training.
Training should take place from an early age, if possible. Be consistent, firm, positive and repetitive.
Training is continual its never done. Continually refresh your dogs training and socialize them as often as possible to help prevent aggression toward other animals and people. Ultimately, training can save your dogs life.
Teach your children how to properly handle having a dog in the home, and watch your dog for body language that indicates distress, fear or discomfort.
The Takeaway: Is Training The Right Solution
No dog breed in the world is inherently vicious or aggressive. It all comes down to how well a dog is trained. In the right hands, every dog breed will be docile, caring, and great family pets. The most aggressive dog breeds can be tamed with proper socialization and positive reinforcement training. It all comes down to how properly trained they are and how much effort you will put in to raise them into well-rounded pets.
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Study Cohort And Demographics
We studied factors associated with aggressive behaviour in Finnish pet dogs with an owner-completed online questionnaire and collected a cross-sectional convenience sample of 9270 dogs, including 1791 dogs in the high and 7479 dogs in the low aggressive behaviour groups. The mean age of the dogs was 4.6 years and 53% of them were female. The number of dogs in different breed, sex, and aggressive behaviour groups are shown in the Supplementary Table . We have a manuscript about study participants in preparation.
Journal Of The American Veterinary Association Bite Fatality Study
Keeping in mind the above-discussed variables, JAVMA conducted their study using this data set. But they focused on bite fatalities over 20 years. Their goal was to determine the most dangerous dog breeds according to the most people killed. As imagined, most of the dogs on their list are included in our results. Like the CDC numbers, we have to remember these are the most popular dogs, so more of them will kill when purely looking at the numbers as opposed to purely the dog breed.
None of the studies considered factors like early socialization and training when labeling one among the most dangerous dog breeds. Remember, dogs come from animals with a high prey drive, wolves. So bad behavior must be curbed at a young age, or every dog can be a bad dog.
THINKING POINT: Pit Bulls have become very popular in Los Angeles neighborhoods, with its high crime and Draconian gun laws. Their intimidating appearance makes them popular with property owners as a deterrent. So remember, Pit Bulls will be involved in more attacks in the inner city than, say, a less popular dog like an English Fox Hound.
Next, consider that Mastiffs are generally a very large dog breed. So by sheer weight and size, they can accidentally hurt a grown man, let alone a small child or slender female adult. Dog care and training should always be first and foremost when considering the safety of others as a first time pet owner in particular.
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Are Aggressive Dog Breed Restrictions Legal
It’s a touchy issue to classify an entire breed of dog as aggressive and dangerous, but it happens. This means no matter how friendly your pup is, they’ll have this stigma hanging over their heads, and people may be afraid before they even meet your fur baby.
Breed-specific legislation exists for safety reasons. It looks at breeds that have a higher tendency of attacking humans or other animals and responds accordingly. Often, when an apartment community has breed restrictions, it aligns with the list within existing legislation.
Certain states are taking a different approach, though, doing things on a more individual basis. Rather than call out an entire breed, states like New York, Texas and Illinois favor laws that track and regulate specific dogs based on their actual behavior rather than a proposed threat. These states prohibit breed-specific legislation.
Since there’s no real evidence that breed restrictions make a community safer when it comes to pets, hopefully, the trend will shift away from this fully exclusionary policy when it comes to certain breeds. But for now, it’s actually legal to discriminate against pups based on their DNA.
America’s Most Dangerous Dog Breeds
Over the years, studies into fatal interactions between canines and humans have proven fiercely controversial, given the myriad of circumstances behind different attacks. In the mid-1990s, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a broad analysis of dog breeds involved in fatal attacks in the United States between 1979 and 1996. Over that period, the Pit Bull was identified as the breed/type of dog involved in 60 incidents, ahead of the Rottweiler in 29 and the German Shepherd in 19.
These days, dog attacks still regularly make news headlines and according to more recent research conducted by a national victims’ group dedicated to increasing awareness of the problem, the breeds responsible have not changed too much. DogsBite.org’s 13-year fatality report identified breeds of dogs involved in U.S. attacks between 2005 and 2017, as well as victim age groups, the number of dogs involved and whether the incidents resulted in any criminal charges.
*Click below to enlarge
Breeds of dog involved in fatal attacks on humans in the U.S. from 2005 to 2017
Statista
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Aggressive Dogs Lists You Just Have To Live With Them
While not all insurance companies will deny you coverage if your dog falls into their aggressive dogs list, they will probably charge you elevated rates.
Theres no getting around it.
If you already have one of the dogs listed above, you should contact your insurance company immediately to make sure you are covered.
If you dont have one of the dogs listed above, you should check with your insurance company before adopting one.
Aggressive dogs lists are an unfortunate part of the insurance coverage process, so it pays to do your homework and know your risk of premium hikes or outright denial of coverage.
Have you ever been denied insurance or had your rates hiked up because of any of the dogs on this aggressive dogs list? Tell us your experience in the comments.
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Prey Drive Vs Aggression
Prey drive can also be confused with aggression. While aggression is normally triggered by fear, a dogs prey drive is simply an extension of its natural hunting instincts. Prey drive can lead to dangerous behavior toward small animals, including cats and other dogs, but doesnt make a dog inherently unsafe.
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Understanding The Results Of The Temperament Test
I would take the percentages provided by the American Temperament Test Society with a grain of salt because the number of dogs tested per breed is not the same. For example, when conducting the aggression test on the Rottweiler breed, over 5,000 Rottweilers were tested, while only 46 Chihuahuas were put through the same test. Since the sample sizes differ dramatically, the resulting percentages may not fully represent each breed’s aggression levels.
International Dog Day : 6 Most Dangerous Dog Breeds In The World
International Dog Day is celebrated on August 26 every year to celebrate and respect every dog breed and to encourage dog adoption. No one can win our hearts as dogs do. We’ve compiled a list of worlds 6 most dangerous dog breeds, so if you see any of these listed dogs in angry mode, just stay away and behave calmly.
International Dog Day is celebrated on August 26 every year to celebrate and respect every dog breed and to encourage dog adoption. No one can win our hearts as dogs do, and as the saying goes, ‘Dog is known as a man’s best friend.’
Dogs are not just playful, friendly, loyal but they are dangerous too. Depending on the animals upbringing and temperament, any dog breed can be a threat to humans. They descended from wolves, were bred by humans, and consequently became one of the most loyal and dangerous animals.
We’ve compiled a list of worlds 6 most dangerous dog breeds, so if you see any of these listed dogs in angry mode, just stay away and behave calmly.
1. American Pit Bull Terrier
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What Is The Most Dangerous Dog Breed
There are many dog trainers who, when asked what the most aggressive dog is, will not respond with a specific breed. Celebrity dog behaviorist Cesar Milan is one such opponent of breed-labeling. Milan strongly believes that “the most dangerous dog in the world is the one that has been made that way by a human.”
His view reflects the importance of seeking out the truth beyond mere numbers and statistics. Anyone who has owned a pit bulla breed that has become notorious for viciousnesscan attest to the pit bull’s gentle, if not overly affectionate behavior when it is raised with love and care by its owners.
Dogs are a reflection of their family environment and training. So if a certain breed is commonly considered to have an “aggressive” personality, this could point to the type of person who tends to own that specific breed .
Practical Advice For The Dog Owner
Some insurers ban certain dog breeds, while others provide wiggle room for pets already in the home, and still others will simply ignore the issue for rich clients who bring good business, according to the dog advocate groups. Others, like State Farm, allow all dogs provided theres no bite history.
The APCIAs Collins advises you to contact your home insurance company before bringing a dog home. If you face a loss of coverage because of your dog choice, You can shop around for a different insurer or consider a different breed, she suggests.
Both homeowners and renters insurance policies generally cover dog-bite legal expenses, with typical liability coverage ranging from $100,000 to $300,000, according to the Worters at the Insurance Information Institute. In addition to that, she recommends purchasing a personal umbrella insurance policy, which in todays litigious society is an important thing to have. These policies provide an extra $1 million and up of protection.
PetPlace provides a state-by-state list of banned species laws. Some states do not allow insurers to ban breeds. For example, Vermont does not allow the exclusion of entire canine breeds. Many other states have introduced similar legislation and home insurers are required to obey each states laws.
Passing the Canine Good Citizen test from the American Kennel Club could also help your effort to keep you properly insured.
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