Dangerous dog on Peckham Rye

[first mate]

Even if it were true you'd have to analyse that information carefully- how many 'Staffs'( possibly many dogs look like Staffs but are crossbreeds) there are per head in the population and how this compares statistically with other breeds ( if there are many more Staffs than other breeds the number of bite incidents might seem higher but statistically be no different from many other breeds). A staff that bites will do more damage than a chihuahua, but the actual level of aggression might be comparable- one incident might land a child in hospital the other might not.

Quite apart from all this one would also have to look at the ownership of such dogs- my hunch is that 'Staffs' are currently more abused and maltreated by unsuitable owners than other breeds. Abused animals turn bad.

I doubt a really in depth study of this has been done- I also seem to recall that in the last 10 years Daschunds topped the list as people biters, with chihuahuas and cockers both ahead of the pit bull- no sign of staffs.

[Mscrawthew]

Spot on firstmate, I think Labradors can be added to that list as well.

[first mate]

Despite what I have said above, I do not want to detract from the awful fact of what happened to Emily Drab's Woody and to reiterate that although I am reasonably well informed about dogs even I will avoid a bull breed I do not know well, because I am not prepared to risk my dog's safety. It's a real dilemma.