No Comment - Public Opinion on Dangerous Dog Breeds in Sweden

Debate around dangerous dog breeds has been a recurring topic in Sweden, touching on questions of public safety and owner responsibility. To better understand how people in Sweden feel about this issue, we asked 1,000 respondents about their attitudes toward breed bans, responsibility for dangerous dog incidents, safety in public spaces, and possible measures to address the problem.

Here’s what the data reveals.

Support for Banning Certain Dog Breeds

A slight majority of Swedes believe that Sweden should introduce a ban on certain dog breeds considered particularly dangerous.

• 52.4% support a breed ban.

Support varies across demographic groups. Males show higher backing for bans (59.2%) than females (45.4%), indicating a gender difference in attitudes toward regulatory measures.

Age also plays a role:

• Young adults (aged 18–24) are the least likely to support a ban.
• Support increases steadily with age, peaking among respondents aged 65–74, of whom 77.3% agree that a ban should be introduced.

Who Is Responsible for Dangerous Dog Incidents?

We also asked respondents where they place responsibility for dangerous dog incidents: on the dog’s breed, the owner, or both equally.

The majority of Swedes attribute responsibility either to the owner or equally to both the breed and the owner:

• 36.7% say it’s the owner’s responsibility.
• 36.7% say it’s both the breed and the owner.

Only 7.7% believe the problem lies only with the dog’s breed.

Attitudes differ depending on support for the ban:

• Respondents who support a breed ban are more likely to see breed-related factors (either alone or equally with the owner) as central to the issue (63%).
• Those who oppose a ban are most likely to attribute responsibility to the owner (10.7%).

Gender and age also shape these perceptions – for example, younger and middle-aged women (18–44) are more inclined than men of the same ages to say responsibility lies primarily with the owner.

Attitudes Toward Training and Ownership Requirements

There is strong agreement across Sweden on the idea that ownership of potentially dangerous dog breeds should come with additional requirements.

• 86.4% of respondents agree that owners of such breeds should undergo special training or obtain specific permits to own these dogs.

Support for training and permit requirements varies by age:

• Respondents aged 18–24 are the most uncertain about this idea.
• Older respondents (aged 55–80) are the strongest supporters, with older females showing particularly high levels of agreement.

Support for breed bans also aligns with attitudes toward training requirements:

• Among those who support a ban, 72.3% “strongly agree” on the need for training/permits.
• Among those who oppose bans, 37.9% still “strongly agree” on training/permit requirements.

Perceived Safety Around Large or Strong Dogs

We asked people how safe they feel when encountering larger or stronger dogs in public places.

Overall, a slim majority feel safe:

• 58.7% say they feel very safe or pretty safe around such dogs.
• There’s minimal difference between genders in general safety perception (females – 56.4%, males – 60.9%).

However, feelings of safety vary by age: males aged 65–74 and females aged 55–64 report the lowest sense of safety among age groups.

Interestingly, those who support a breed ban tend to feel less safe overall – just 39.9% of ban supporters feel very or pretty safe, compared to those who oppose a ban (32.65% very safe, 55.8% pretty safe).

Beliefs on the Impact of a Breed Ban

We also asked whether respondents think that introducing a breed ban would reduce the number of dog bite and attack incidents in Sweden.

• 68.1% of all respondents think a ban would reduce such incidents.
• Males are more likely than females to believe this (75.1% vs. 60.9%).

Age plays a role, too:

• Older respondents are more confident that a ban would decrease incidents, while the youngest group is less certain.

Support for a ban strongly correlates with belief in its effectiveness:

• Among those who support a ban, 92.7% believe it would reduce incidents.
• Among those who do not support a ban, only 33% think it would.

Conclusion: Nuanced Views on Dog Breeds, Responsibility, and Safety

Public opinion in Sweden on dangerous dog breeds is nuanced and multifaceted. While a slight majority supports introducing a breed ban, opinions differ significantly across gender and age groups.

At the same time, there is broad agreement on several points:

• Owners of potentially dangerous dog breeds should undergo training or obtain permits.
• Responsibility for dangerous dog incidents is most commonly attributed to dog owners or shared between owners and breeds.
• Many people believe that stronger measures could reduce incidents and improve safety.

These insights provide a snapshot of how Swedes think about this complex public safety issue, highlighting both divisions in opinion and areas of consensus.

Syno International conducted the survey through its Answers Omnibus from November 27th to December 3rd, 2025. The data was collected through online panels using a nationally representative sample of Swedes aged 18 to 80, balanced by gender and region.

No Comment is an initiative from Syno to share data from consumers’ views on relevant topics. Do you have questions or topics you’d like us to explore? Feel free to reach out to us at Syno.