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Pit Bulls, Mixed Breed Dogs Have Highest Risk Of Biting, Researchers Say

BOSTON (CBS) - Nearly five million people are bitten by dogs in the U.S. every year. Many are children. So researchers at Ohio State University set out to determine which dog breeds pose the greatest risk, important information for parents who may be choosing a dog for their family.

Many kids suffer dog bites, often from their own family dog, and those bites can cause significant damage, especially to the face, which may require reconstructive surgery.

So researchers combed through decades of data on dog bites to the face and found, not surprisingly, that pit bulls have the highest risk of biting and cause the most damage, but so do mixed breed dogs and dogs weighing 66-100 pounds with wide, short heads.

But remember, any dog can bite, so tell your child not to approach an animal when it's eating or sleeping, and if you're not directly supervising an interaction between a small child and a dog, keep a barrier between them or put the dog in a crate.

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