Aggression in Dog Breeds
Over 10,000 viewers voted for what they thought were the most aggressive breeds
Those nine, in no particular order:
- Alaskan malamute
- Boxer
- Chow chow
- Doberman pinscher
- German shepherd
- Great Dane
- Pit bull
- Siberian husky
- Rottweiler
(Of course, the pit bull technically isn’t a breed.)
Apparently, when it came time for Millan to say which breed he thought was the most aggressive, he said “none.”
Oddly enough, by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania had nearly completely different results, skewing toward smaller dogs.
That survey found that dachshunds were the most aggressive, followed by Chihuahuas and Jack Russell terriers. It found that rottweilers, pit bulls and Rhodesian ridgebacks scored average or below average for hostility toward strangers. Lowest on the aggression scale were Basset hounds, golden and Labrador retrievers, Siberian huskies and greyhounds.
I guess the difference is that between two dogs with the same amount of aggression, it’s the bigger one that will cause more damage.
This list has many of the same dogs on the Dog Whisperer survey list (boxer, chow chow, doberman, malamute, husky, German shepherd, rottweiler and pit bull) and adds dalmatians and Presa Canarios.
Types of Aggression and Biting in Dogs and Puppies include:
- Aggression caused by pain
- Aggression caused by fear or self-defense
- Aggression resulting from tethering your dog
- Reactive aggression
- Dominance aggression
- Conditioned aggression
- Associative aggression
- Displacement aggression
- Trained aggression
- Physical problems like epilepsy can cause aggression
To stop your dog from biting and stop dog aggression, first of all, determine what type of aggression is causing your dog to bite. Does he have fear aggression/submissive aggression, dominance aggression, territorial aggression/food aggression, etc.?
Some will argue, of course, that its all about training — that a dog is aggressive or not because of its upbringing. But it’s hard to deny that some breeds are more inclined toward hostility than others. Do you agree/disagree?
