The 3 Most Aggressive Dog Breeds

[RoseMary]

i thought this was really interesting, hope it wasn't posted already.

Quote:

The 3 Most Aggressive Dog Breeds Revealed! - Pit Bulls? Rottweilers? You’ll Be Surprised…. July 8th, 2008 by Dan With Breed Specific Legislation acts being brought forward in more and more areas across the country, dog like Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, Doberman Pinschers and other “scary” looking breeds are in danger of loosing their homes and even their lives. These breeds are often touted as being extremely aggressive - however a new study released this week in the journal of Applied Animal Behavior Science provides some statistical facts on what breeds actually ARE the most aggressive - and the answers may surprise you! Photo by Artamnesia The study involved researchers from the University of Pennsylvania as well as 6,000 dog owners. The number one aggressive breed out of the 33 dogs surveyed? The Dachshund. Yes - the wiener dog. The study found that “one in five dachshunds have bitten or tried to bite strangers, and a similar number have attacked other dogs; one in 12 have snapped at their owners.” Photo by This Year’s Love Number two on the list is an even more diminutive breed - the Chihuahua, while Jack Russells came in third. The researchers say that the bite statistics that have been released in recent years are skewed because most dog bites are not reported. Big dog bites are more likely to require medical attention, but this does not mean that those breeds are doing the majority of the biting. One of the teams researchers, Dr. James Serpell, believes that smaller breeds may be more genetically predisposed to aggressive behavior than their larger counterparts. Serpell says, “Reported levels of aggression in some cases are concerning, with rates of bites or bite attempts rising as high as 20 per cent toward strangers and 30 per cent toward unfamiliar dogs.” Pit Bulls and Rottweilers scored average or below average in the aggression study. Breeds that scored on the low end are Basset Hounds, Golden Retrievers, Labradors, Siberian Huskies and Greyhounds. Photo by Brokenwolf

[JSH812]

Interesting. What's more interesting to me is that they didn't split the study into sections like weight range or size of dog, males and females, age, etc.

But I imagine this thread could perhaps open up a can of worms......

[Sharkbait]

Yeah, aggression and bite stats are always so whack, because you have to weight everything in relation to the overall dog population, mixed breeds, etc.

But overall, I've found most people are ignorant about dog aggression and dogs they think are "aggressive." My dog plays rough and wrestles. I've had people at the dog park say he's aggressive when he is clearly playing. They just don't know. Or the contrast, they think he's a sweetheart and then why they find out what he was bred to do (hunt lions), they are taken aback and get nervous, even though 15 seconds before, they had their hands all over him. Just like they think pit bulls were bred to fight people. Not true either. I just use these opportunities, when they occur, to educate people about breed natures and how critical proper training by people is.

That said, my dog has been attacked twice - both by golden retrievers.

[lizavet8]

As someone who works with dogs all day-I have to agree that Jack Russsels tend to bite! (This dosen't mean I don't like them- I do!) But truly, all breeds are capable of biting; sometimes it's the way they're raised, and sometimes, well, just like us, there are just plain aggressive dogs. ( I would put Heelers in the Want To Bite The Vet category-and I have two of those!)

[JSH812]

And.... just for the record - my vet was telling me he had to euthanize a Basset Hound a few days ago, the hound was 15 and bit him as he was administering the meds.

(And I have 2 Bassets so I'm not picking on them - just thought this story was relevant)

[stephc005]

i'm actually not that surprised. small dogs IMO are feisty and nippy, and it can get out of hand if not corrected. small dogs get away with things big dogs would never be allowed to do. i know there are a lot of factors, but i do prefer big dogs- they're more independent and chill IMO. small dogs always seem so clingy and needy to me. my sister's friend has a dachshund and she said he is HORRIBLE. he would bite like crazy whenever someone walks through the door. really odd for something so cute and little!

[Mia Bella]

First of all, the dachshund in that picture is TOO CUTE.

And second: Dachshunds are the #1 instigators of the dog world. I own 2 so I know this to be true, unless someone else can say otherwise which probably means their doxie is a MUTE.

Neither of my dogs (or my childhood doxie) have ever attacked a dog AND they wouldn't EVER bite a human. I think it all comes down to environment and the way the pups are raised. If you teach them to respect you and others then there shouldn't be any problems.

ETA: The only dog I've ever been bit by was a poodle. I believe she was senile though so......y'know, I didn't blame her.

[he432]

Totally agree with stephc. My family has extremely large breeds and they are spoiled but do not get away with anything that would be considered bad behaviours; our neighbour has a miniature poodle and that dog gets away with murder.

[dallas]

Originally Posted by stephc005

i'm actually not that surprised. small dogs IMO are feisty and nippy, and it can get out of hand if not corrected. small dogs get away with things big dogs would never be allowed to do. i know there are a lot of factors, but i do prefer big dogs- they're more independent and chill IMO. small dogs always seem so clingy and needy to me. my sister's friend has a dachshund and she said he is HORRIBLE. he would bite like crazy whenever someone walks through the door. really odd for something so cute and little!

I agree.

I think that small dogs seen as "cute" when displaying behaviour that, in larger breeds, would be deemed aggressive/dangerous. Perhaps the attitude is "s/he's so tiny, how could they possibly do any damage?"

I don't believe in dangerous breeds, but I do believe in dangerous owners.

[Irishgal]

[quote=dallas;10799868]I agree.

I think that small dogs seen as "cute" when displaying behaviour that, in larger breeds, would be deemed aggressive/dangerous. Perhaps the attitude is "s/he's so tiny, how could they possibly do any damage?"

I don't believe in dangerous breeds, but I do believe in dangerous owners.

Spot on Dallas.

[aaallabama]

Originally Posted by JSH812

And.... just for the record - my vet was telling me he had to euthanize a Basset Hound a few days ago, the hound was 15 and bit him as he was administering the meds. (And I have 2 Bassets so I'm not picking on them - just thought this story was relevant)

^^ oh nooooooooooooo, the dog was euthanized because it bit the vet (?)...how bad was the bite & is that common practice (?)

[bonchicgenre]

I have a boston and he is aggressive towards any dog that lunges at me or jumps on me, it doesn't matter if he knows the dog or not. We are trying to break him of this but I think he tries to protect me. He has never bit but I know he doesn't care for children so I do my best to keep him away or introduce him to the child before they try to pet him. I often think it has to do with the owner not just the breed.
Very interesting article, I actually have only met one dachsund that was nice.

[MarneeB]

Irishgal, what a perfect comment! Poeple do believe a tiny dog could never 'really hurt me'! I own 2 chihuahuas-one is 2 1/2 lbs (pictured) and the other is 3 lbs. I also have four 100+ lb rottweilers. I admit, I do let my little chi's get away with more. Why? Not sure, maybe because they're so tiny? Guess which of my dogs are more likely to bite? My smallest-2 1/2 lb chi! In fact, she's the only one that has growled & showed her fangs at someone. I corrected her immediately so she's better now. But she still has her 'I'm the Queen' days! My rotties are big, loving babies that don't cop an attitude like the chihuahua feels is necessary.
By the way, the only dogs I have been bitten by were small: poodle and chihuahua! I think it's horrible how certain larger breeds are lumped together as aggressive.

[MarneeB]

Originally Posted by JSH812

And.... just for the record - my vet was telling me he had to euthanize a Basset Hound a few days ago, the hound was 15 and bit him as he was administering the meds. (And I have 2 Bassets so I'm not picking on them - just thought this story was relevant)

How horrible! Maybe this poor dog was in pain & scared! (not to mention the age of this dog!) I wanna bite people that hurt me, too. Hmmm...I would change vets if I found out mine euthanized for a reason like that.

[stellamaried]

Originally Posted by dallas

I think that small dogs seen as "cute" when displaying behaviour that, in larger breeds, would be deemed aggressive/dangerous. Perhaps the attitude is "s/he's so tiny, how could they possibly do any damage?" I don't believe in dangerous breeds, but I do believe in dangerous owners.

Agreed. There are two maltese dogs who are walked a lot in my area, and their owners allow them to lunge/bark/growl at people and other dogs (they even stop walking them so the dogs can stand there and lunge). It's obscene. I've also noticed that small dogs are more likely to be allowed to jump up on people, get mouthy etc., though I know plenty of misbehaved larger dogs who do the same thing (and mine still slips up sometimes!).

Also, "aggression" can be based on so many different things. There is fear aggression (i.e., the basset that bit the vet -- I really hope the poster didn't mean to imply that the dog was PTS for biting a vet!!), dog aggression and human aggression. Human aggression is never, ever acceptable in my opinion, but both fear aggression and dog aggression can generally be managed. While dogs like American Pitbull Terriers and Jack Russell Terriers are more likely to be dog aggressive than, for example, a lab or a shi tzu, they're no more likely to be human aggressive than any other dog, and therefore no more dangerous to humans IMO. /end rant.