"In every breed group there's going to be good examples of animals and bad examples of animals," said Melissa Boisvert, spokeswoman with the Edmonton Humane Society. "We don't support labeling any breed as good or bad."

Any dog is capable of attacking and the number of bites reported is far fewer than what actually occurs, she said.

With big and powerful breeds such as Rottweilers or pit bulls, an attack can be more serious and cause greater injury, Boisvert said, but it also gets more coverage and can lead to a public perception of the breeds being dangerous.

"A golden retriever attack, which does happen, is not usually as much news as a Rottweiler or a pit bull attack is because golden retrievers are perceived as nice dogs in general."

Crystal Klatt, an animal behaviourist with the Edmonton Humane Society, said it's rare that an animal lashes out without first having shown signs of aggressive behaviour. She said it's up to owners to recognize and deal with such signs.

"People have to realize they're dogs and they are going to act like an animal and it's our responsibility to make sure they're safe."

On Aug. 10, two Rottweiler-German shepherd crosses mauled a 10-year-old girl when she and three friends went into the backyard where the dogs live. One of the dogs tore into her scalp, ripping off her ear.

The dogs' owners have been charged, and the animals have been allowed to return home after a 10-day quarantine.

On Monday afternoon, two children were walking their poodle-terrier cross past a house when they saw a large Rottweiler inside banging its head against a window.

The dog shattered the window and it and another smaller Rottweiler attacked the poodle. A neighbour who heard screaming managed to separate the Rottweilers from the kids and their dog, and chased one of them out of the kids' home when it followed them inside.

The dogs were picked up from the city pound and their owner has been charged and fined for two counts of dogs running at large and one count of dog attack not causing injury. A charge of two counts of dog attack causing injury will require a court appearance.

The city's animal control officers are still pulling together their investigation and will forward their findings to city lawyers, who will decide what sanctions or restrictions to apply for in court.

David Aitken, director of Edmonton's complaints and investigations section, said there are grounds to consider a destruction order since the dogs have shown they can't be safely housed.

"They've demonstrated the ability to break through a window," Aitken said.

"It certainly warrants close review, if these animals can't be housed safely."

Aitken said the city recently went through a debate on banning certain breeds of dogs and decided to place restrictions on two types of pit bulls, including that they be kept indoors or secured if outdoors, and leashed and muzzled when off their property.

In Ontario, a ban comes into effect Monday that will make it illegal to breed pit bulls or bring the dogs into the province. Those already in Ontario will be allowed to stay on a restricted basis, provided they're sterilized and leashed and muzzled in public.

Dr. Louis Francescutti, an emergency room physician and director of the Alberta Centre for Injury Control and Research, said doctors need to start reporting every dog bite they treat to the medical officer of health so people get a better idea of how many attacks actually occur every year.

He said better reporting would allow dog bites to be followed up to determine if an animal has rabies or if other people are at risk of aggressive behaviour.

"I don't think that we're seeing the true picture of dog bites that are out there," he said. "Occasionally we'll have the fatality or a serious injury that'll make it in the newspapers, but it's the other dog bites that are happening on an hourly basis that aren't reported that I think are the bigger problem."

© The Canadian Press, 2005