Ohio State University College of Medicine and The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center published research recently that has me shaking my head. The results of their study are flawed, in my opinion. Makes me wonder who is minding the store in academia.

A group of researchers decided they needed to determine which breeds of dogs pose the highest risk for biting and cause the most damage per bite. Allegedly, it was to help parents understand which dogs to be most cautious with, particularly when young children are around.

Hey, guess what, parents should be cautious with ALL dogs around their kids, until they know the dogs; and even then, should not leave the dogs and kids unsupervised. Dogs aren’t babysitters.

Now, anyone who has read my columns knows I have a “pit bull” mix dog (most people who look at him think he looks like a pit bull with blue eyes.)

According to Ohio State, the breeds with the biggest risk of biting with severe injury are (drum roll): pit bulls, mixed breeds, German shepherds, terriers and rottweilers.

One wonders whether a single person conducting the research saw the flaws in that list. Out of the five, there are only two named breeds. Let’s start with the obvious. Terriers? Which ones? The American Kennel Club recognizes more than 25 breeds in its terrier group. So there is a subset in the top five that actually includes 25 different breeds.

Then there is the matter of “pit bull” not actually being a recognized breed. In fact, what most Americans call a pit bull is either a Staffordshire Bull Terrier or an American Staffordshire Terrier. … Back to that terrier subset again.

Most problematically, though, is the second-place spot: mixed breeds. Really, Ohio State?

“We wanted to provide families with data to help them determine the risk to their children and inform them on which types of dogs do well in households with kids,” Dr. Garth Essig, lead author and otolaryngologist at the Wexner Medical Center, said in a prepared statement.

For goodness sake, how is that list helpful? “Mixed breeds” covers enough ground that any parents who take this list seriously might just decide to get a cat. (Psssst. Cats bite, too, and have claws they use a lot more frequently than dogs do.)

Another problem, of course, is that our animal shelters are filled with mixed breed dogs, pit bull-type dogs and terriers. (My dog is all three of those things, and he came from the shelter.)

On the other hand, Ohio State provided its bottom five list — dogs that reportedly do not post a great risk of biting with severe injury: Dalmation, pointer, Great Dane, Pekingese and spitz. (Pointer and spitz are again, odd generalizations. There are several breeds associated with each of those categories).

There have been times, of course, when both Dalmations and Great Danes were vilified the way pit bull-type dogs are, now. Remember when breeders started ramping up the puppy mill production of Dalmations after the movie “101 Dalmations” came out and there were reports of children being injured by Dalmations that had not been properly screened, and whose new owners had no idea how to train them or interact with them?

Unfortunately, insurance companies take these kinds of lists seriously. I know someone who very recently was excited to adopt a pit-bull type dog from the animal shelter, until she was told by her home insurance company that pit bulls were not an approved breed. As far as I know, that dog remains in the shelter.

That is shameful.

Here is a list that should be taken seriously. And it came from Meghan Herron, associate professor of veterinary clinical services at Ohio State’s College of Veterinary Medicine, in response to her colleagues’ research:

Bites to children often occur when a dog is resting and surprised when the child approaches (and sometimes grabs) them.

Toddlers’ erratic behavior can be frightening to dogs. Use a baby gate or crate — even if an adult is in the room — if the animal appears anxious.

Teach children to let resting dogs lie and to stay out of dog crates, beds and other resting places that are designated for the dog.

Kids should not approach a dog when it is eating. Treats should be given to dogs only when young children are somewhere else.

Teach children to find an adult if a dog takes one of their toys or snacks.

Bottom line, children and dogs have to learn to live with one another. Adults who are not confident they can provide proper training and supervision should not get ANY dog.

And meanwhile there are so many GOOD dogs –many of them of the types that are so frightening to Ohio State’s researchers — who, with proper love, training and care would be wonderful additions to a family. Sure, you can pay a lot of money for one with just the right breed type listed in its paperwork; but it is a lot more rewarding to adopt one from an animal shelter. One of the workers at the shelter can help you make the right choice for your family, no matter what guess at a breed type has been written on its card.

Christina Myer is executive editor of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel. She can be reached via e-mail at cmyer@newsandsentinel.com