Purdue Professor Says Some Dogs More Dangerous
 
June 25, 2007 05:44 PM CDT
By Mary McDermott
News 8 @ 6:00
 
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A professor from Purdue's School of Veterinary Medicine weighs in on whether some dog breeds are more dangerous than others.
 
Alan Beck is professor of animal ecology and director of what is called the Center for the Human-Animal Bond. He said research suggests one breed is more likely than others to injure or kill when it attacks because for more than a century in this country it has been bred to fight.    
 
A number of different breeds of dog have caused injury and death in Indiana the past few months. Police say a Rottweiler mix attacked an 18-month-old boy in Marion County earlier this month, chewing up his leg and bruising his forehead. Police say a chow-labrador mix attacked its owner last week in Connersville killing her. But Beck said another breed is most likely to cause serious injury or death with its attacks.
 
"When a breed-specific behavior is fighting and attacking, it's a more serious issue," Beck said. The pit bull, because of its fighting genes, holds on and then pulls. So even though it's a medium size dog it does an incredible amount of damage to both the dog or the person that it bites."
 
Beck said pit bulls came to America about the same time Purdue was founded, in the 1860's. He said they showed up here after they were banned in England.
 
"The pit bull dogs of which they have different names over time, were specifically bred for well over 100 years for being fighters," Beck said.
 
Those who feel pit bulls are unfairly singled out have disagreed strongly with Beck. They say pit bull attacks are over-reported and that other breeds have been targeted in a similar way in the past. They also say breed specific bans do not work.
 
Beck supports a type of ban that would allow people to keep their pit bulls, but not replace them. Mayor Bart Peterson has also spoken out recently in favor of a pit bull ban in Indianapolis.
 
This year, Indianapolis Animal Care and Control started keeping statistics on dog bites by breed. So far pit bulls are responsible for 14 percent of those bites, a greater percentage than any other single breed.