How did hot dogs appear in America?

What’s up with America and dogs?

• Good day, The following numbered points I?d like to receive an answer to. I appreciate your help in advance. 1. Is there any official statistics on breeds of dogs that are dominating in United States. Any historical data? 2. A source listing ?incidents? that appeared to cause home insurance to exclude from consideration various breeds (such as: akita, alaskan malamute, canary dog/presa canario, chow, doberman, german shepherd, pit bull, rottweiler, siberian husky, etc)? Again, historical data such as (starting year XXXX so many insurance companies in these and these states no longer accept participants who have these and these breeds). And lastly, you?re personal opinion the trend, and it?s direction. [my personal situation: A Rottweiler owner in Boston area] Will Americans be limited to Golden Retrievers in the near future?

• Answer:

  <Dog Breed Statistics. The American Kennel Club has detailed statistics for the numbers of each breed registered for the years 2003, 2004 and 2005. 2005 and 2004 figures http://www.akc.org/reg/dogreg_stats.cfm 2004 and 2003 figures http://www.akc.org/reg/dogreg_stats_2004.cfm This report gives the rankings for 2002. It also looks at which dog breed was most popular in the past. Cocker Spaniels 1940- 51. Beagles 1953-9 Poodles 1960-83 Cocker Spaniels 1984 ?90 Labrador Retrievers 1991 to today. Source: AKC. http://www.akc.org/pdfs/press_center/press_releases/2004/jan/2003_Reg_Stats.pdf 1995 figures for the top 10 are available here (see Table 2.2) The top nine remained the same as 2003. Number 10 in 2003 was Border Terrier and in 1995 was Yorkshire Terrier. Source: AKC. Mintel (2004) also gives the top 5 breeds whether pedigree or not. Labrado Border Collie German Shepherd dog Yorkshire terrier Jack Russell. http://www.english-nature.org.uk/pubs/publication/PDF/649.pdf Analysis of breed discrimination. The problem of breed discrimination affecting homeowners? insurance first came to light in 2003. During 2003 and 2004 the media exposed breed discrimination. At this time numerous insurance companies were denying coverage to homeowners based on the breed of dog owned. This report gives details of highly publicised Pit Bull attacks are given and studies into dog bite fatalities. The insurance industry has defended its position in part on a series of studies from the Centers for Disease Control ("CDC"), which the industry claims as support for the proposition that certain breeds have a propensity to bite. However even the authors of the CDC studies have stated that breed discrimination is wrong and is not supported by scientific evidence. The industry has also pointed to the large amount of money that has been paid out in recent years for dog bite claims. The Insurance Information Institute ("III"), a trade group of the insurance industry, stated that in 2002, $345.5 million was paid out in dog bite liability claims, up *15 from $250 million in 1995. The group argues that dog bite lawsuits are on the rise and juries are awarding larger claims. [FN77] They claim, therefore, the need to curtail their risk. The industry's cost statistics are misleading, however. The III states, "[d]og bites now account for almost one quarter of all homeowner's insurance liability claims costing $345.5 million." Some perspective is in order. For every $100 in premiums, insurers spend $77 paying claims. Of that $77, the overwhelming majority ($72, or 93.5%) is spent on paying property damage claims. Liability claims only amount to $5, or 6.5%, of total claims. Even then, dog bites only constitute a percentage of that figure. Put into perspective, the money paid out in dog bite claims is negligible when compared to the overall amount of money paid out for other types of claims. Damage due to lightning, fire, and mold all individually account for more claims payouts than all liability claims combined. In October 2003 Nationwide will now insure all dog owners and will exclude dog bites from coverage. State Farm's national representatives have repeatedly stated that the company does not practice breed discrimination. However the author of the report says that he was denied coverage due to the breed of dog owned. A number of states are considering legislation that will stop breed discrimination. A New Hampshire bill would prohibit non-renewal or cancellation of a policy "based solely on the insured owning a certain breed of dog." Source: The Case Against Dog Breed Discrimination by Homeowners? Insurance Companies. Larry Cunningham. http://www.animallaw.info/articles/arus11conninslj1.htm The Humane Society of Atchison, Kansas, reports that the numbers of rottweilers relinquished because of insurance coverage has jumped 40% within the past year. http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/insurance_companies_unfairly_target_specific_dog_breeds.html The HSUS is collecting information about dog breed discrimination. http://files.hsus.org/web-files/PDF/insurance_incident_form.pdf Breeds of dogs involved in fatal human attacks in the United States between 1979 and 1998. This study looks at the breeds of dogs involved in fatal human attacks. http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:nvs7Tbl77BYJ:www.cdc.gov/ncipc/duip/dogbreeds.pdf+%22dog+registration+statistics%22&hl=nl&ct=clnk&cd=8 Study: Dog breed discrimination by insurance companies is unjustified. FIREPAW, Inc., a national research and education foundation focusing on animal welfare recently conducted a study on the controversial issue of discrimination in homeowner?s policies by insurance companies based on the breed of dog homeowners have. The study was funded by The Toby Fund and sought to answer the question ?Does it make economic and financial sense for insurance companies to deny coverage or greatly elevate premiums based on dog breed?? The results indicate that even high-risk breeds present only a very minor risk to insurance companies and the practice of large premium changes or outright cancellation of insurance coverage over such a relatively minor risk is unreasonable. Research highlights. Dog bites are a minor cost relative to many other homeowners insurance hazards. ? Even pit bulls, the most maligned breed, do not have a risk high enough to justify a premium increase of more than 5%-10%. ? The research most commonly cited by insurance companies to justify breed discrimination is inappropriate to be used for this purpose as indicated by the authors themselves. ? Applicable research studies show that "high risk" breeds have only 2 to 5 times the bite risk. When combined with insurance financial data, this implies these breeds only have a risk of 6 cents per dollar in premiums. ? Dog bites liability costs have increased less rapidly than insurance premiums. ? Insurance companies typically fail to address other equally important bite risks such as spaying/neutering of dogs or address some risks inappropriately (chaining). http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:JYGlwIMglvEJ:www.firepaw.org/BreedDiscriminationStudyPressRelease.pdf+%22breed+discrimination%22+insurance&hl=nl&ct=clnk&cd=3 According to this article some states are considering barring ?breed discrimination. Source: 11 dogs that could raise your insurance costs. By Kay Bell. Bankrate.com. http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/insurance/bad-dog-list1.asp Will Americans be limited to Golden Retrievers in the near future? It would appear that the current trend is for small dogs. Since 2000 four of the top ten most popular breeds have been small dogs. Breeds showing the most significant rise since 1994 include the French Bulldog (increase of 252%), Brussels Griffon (234%), Chinese Crested (134%) and the Papillon (122%). http://www.akc.org/news/index.cfm?article_id=2477> <Search strategy:> <"dog registration statistics"> <://www.google.com/search?hl=nl&rls=GGLG%2CGGLG%3A2006-12%2CGGLG%3Aen&q=%22dog+registration+statistics%22&lr=> <"humane society" dog breed insurance> <://www.google.com/search?hl=nl&rls=GGLG%2CGGLG%3A2006-12%2CGGLG%3Aen&q=%22humane+society%22+dog+breed+insurance&lr=> <"most popular breeds" "dog breeds" 2000> <://www.google.com/search?hl=nl&rls=GGLG%2CGGLG%3A2006-12%2CGGLG%3Aen&q=%22most+popular+breeds%22+%22dog+breeds%22+2000&lr=> <Hope this helps.>