Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Report suggests popularity of dogs affects number of bites

Dogs that lead the pack in biting people in Clark County over the last seven years range from those perceived as being vicious to canines who come across as sweet and loveable.

While it is no surprise to find pit bulls, German shepherds and chow chows among the Top 20 biters, cocker spaniels, poodles, Chihuahuas and Dalmatians also made the list from more than 55 breeds monitored by Clark County Animal Control.

"It is not that pit bulls have become more vicious over the years, it is because they have become more popular, and so there are more of them out there to bite people," said Clark County Code Enforcement Chief Joe Boteihlo, who since 1989 has overseen Clark County Animal Control.

"If there are more dogs of a particular breed, that breed simply will have more bites."

The statistics were taken from records of people bitten between 1997 and 2003 in unincorporated Clark County. Las Vegas Animal Control does not keep records of bites by breed for that large jurisdiction.

The Sun compiled the county's statistics to determine the Top 20 biters. The totals for the various breeds include bites by mixed breed dogs that closely resemble those breeds, Boteilho said.

Pit bulls led the way with 1,029 bites, climbing from a low of 81 in 1997 to an all-breed local record 196 bites in 2002 and 192 last year. German shepherds were second with 835 bites and chow chows were third with 693 bites.

But the statistics also show a significant and similar increase in Chihuahua bites from seven in 1997 to 27 each in 2001 and 2002 and 23 last year for a total 122 bites and 15th place on the list.

"The reason for that is the popularity the breed gained from the dog in the Taco Bell TV commercials -- people just had to have one" Boteilho said.

He said the same can be said for the Dalmatian popularized by the 101 Dalmatian movies. The Dalmatian, with 123 bites, nipped the Chihuahua for 14th place.

Cocker spaniels (eighth with 206 bites in seven years) and poodles (18th with 101 bites) have always been popular breeds, Boteilho said.

In all, dogs bit people in Clark County 6,785 times from 1997 to 2003, with 2000 being the lead year with 1,041 bites. Dog bites have been on a three-year decline to 924 last year, the lowest of the seven years for which statistics have been kept.

By comparison, cats bit 1,128 people in Clark County during the same period, with 2000 also being the leading year at 176 bites. However, that record came close to being broken in 2002 with 173 bites and last year with 172 bites.

Other animals, including pot-bellied pigs, rats, foxes, mice, ferrets, hampsters, prairie dogs, horses, chipmunks, gophers, tigers and lions, accounted for 254 bites in seven years, with a high of 47 in 1997 and 29 last year.

Dogs that did not make the Top 20 that often are feared for their size and perception they might bite included:

The borzoi had the fewest bites with two, while the vizsla had the third fewest bites with four.

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