The results of a 10-year study recently reported in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association sheds further light on the complexity of this issue

. It identifies preventable factors that are far more significant than breed.
 
The researchers examined the data from 256 dog bite-related fatalities in the U.S. between the years 2000-2009. They generated the following statistics for factors involved in the fatal attacks:
 
In 87% there was an absence of an able-bodied person to intervene
45% of the victims were less than 5-years old
85% of the victims had only incidental or no familiarity with the dogs
84% of the dogs were not neutered
77% of the victims had compromised ability (age or other conditions) to interact appropriately with dogs
76% of the dogs were kept isolated from regular positive human interactions
38% of the dog owners had histories of prior mismanagement of dogs
21% of the dog owners had a history of abuse or neglect of dogs
In 81% of the attacks, four or more of the above factors were involved
31% of the dog breeds differed from media reports
40% of the dog breeds differed from both media and animal control reports
Only 18% of the dogs had validated (DNA) breed identification
20 breeds and 2 known mixed breeds were represented in the attacks
 
These statistics indicate that most of the factors surrounding dog-bite related fatalities are preventable and unrelated to dog breed.
 
The first statistic shows the obvious lack of supervision in these attacks. Responsible dog and victim parental or caretaker supervision most certainly could have prevented the majority of these deaths.

https://plus.google.com/112351030174095494911/posts/M4NrLDuu3As