Science The most aggressive dog breeds named in new study

The most aggressive dog breeds named in new study

Anyone who has had a small dog snapping at their feet will declare that the most dinky of pooches often are the most inclined to start a fight. Now, a new study has found that smaller dogs are almost always more aggressive than their larger counterparts. Miniature Poodles and Miniature...

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Anyone who has had a small dog snapping at their feet will declare that the most dinky of pooches often are the most inclined to start a fight.

Now, a new study has found that smaller dogs are almost always more aggressive than their larger counterparts.

Miniature Poodles and Miniature Schnauzers top the list of most aggressive dogs in a new study, published in Scientific Reports.

Larger dogs including Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers and Lapponian Herders were found to be the most docile.

Researchers from the University of Helsinki studied over 9,000 dogs to analyse aggressive behaviour, including growling, snapping and biting.

As well as breed, other factors which impacted aggression include fearfulness, age, the company of other members of the same species and the owner's previous experience of dogs.


Older dogs were more likely to be aggressive than younger, with scientists saying this could be because of the pain caused by health conditions, and male dogs were more likely to be aggressive than female. Smaller dogs within breeds were also found to be more ready to snap than larger counterparts.

"Understanding the factors underlying aggressive behaviour is important. In what kinds of circumstances does aggressive behaviour occur and what is the dog's motive for such behaviour? In normal family dogs, aggressive behaviour is often unwanted, while some dogs with official duties are expected to have the capacity for aggressiveness. At the same time, aggressiveness can be caused by welfare issues, such as chronic pain," explained doctoral researcher Salla Mikkola from the University of Helsinki.

The study investigated aggressiveness towards both dog owners and unfamiliar human beings. Dogs were classified as aggressive if they growled often and/or had attempted to snap at or bite a human at least occasionally in the situations described in the survey.

Although small dogs are more likely to be aggressive, the study found that the behaviour was less likely to be addressed by owners as they are not seen as a threat.

"Aggressive behaviour is a serious and common behaviour problem in domestic dogs," the study said.

"Aggressively behaving dogs can cause public concern by biting people and other pets, with medical or even lethal consequences for the victim."

They add: "The severity of aggressive behaviour varies from biting and snapping attacks that can even lead to the death of a victim to less severe, but more common growling and barking."

Prof Hannes Loi from the University of Helsinki added: "People who are considering getting a dog should familiarise themselves with the background and needs of the breed. As for breeders, they should also pay attention to the character of dam candidates, since both fearfulness and aggressive behaviour are inherited".

Spoiler: The most to least aggressive dogs

Rough collie

Miniature poodle

Miniature schnauzer

German shepherd

Spanish water dog

Lagotto

Chinese crested

German spitz mittel

Coton de Tulear

Wheaten Terrier

Pembroke Welsh Corgi

Cairn Terrier

Border Collie

Finnish Lapphund

Chihuahua

Smooth Collie

Jack Russell Terrier

Staffordshire Bull Terrier

Shetland Sheepdog

Lapponian Herder

Golden Retriever

Labrador Retriever

 

[NoSpiceLife]

verygayFrogs said:
Researchers from the University of Helsinki studied over 9,000

Haram Exercise said:​

WHAT 9000???

Yeah, here's the weird thing, there are only around 400 recognised breeds in the whole world, and something like 50-100% of that again, of non-recognised/in development breeds. Depending on who you ask.

I'm surprised they even know what a Lagotto is.

Normally these lists go from arsehole i.e. smartest, to take any abuse and come back for more i.e. ur dur. This list is all over the shop.

I'm betting they put all the names in a hat, and got a tranny to pull them out.

 

[TFT-A9]

Normally these lists go from arsehole i.e. smartest, to take any abuse and come back for more i.e. ur dur.

People should quit treating dogs like shit because eventually they're going to get the smart one that realizes it doesn't have to take your shit.

 

[Dysnomia]

I've never known an aggressive German shepherd. But my experience is probably painted by growing up with them. Ours nipped a kid who jumped into the yard and tormented him. Surprisingly the kid's mom said he deserved it. And he actually grew up to be a nice person.

I'm surprised rottweilers aren't there given their reputation, which I feel is undeserved. Big, scary looking dogs like that end up being used as status symbols by ghetto trash who want something different from a pitbull.

Staffordshires are actually popular with white people.

My jack chi was only nippy when he was young. As he got older he became extremely mellow and passive. Chihuahuas turned out to not be as bad as I thought they were. My grandmother's friend had a Jack Russell that I really liked and I was surprised when people said he was mean. Guess he was selective.

But there's a right breed for you and you shouldn't get the dog you think is the cutest or coolest based on looks alone. That's where people go wrong. They get a huge dog they can't handle/don't have the room for, a dog that's too active for their lifestyle who ends up destroying furniture because they can't keep up with the dog's energy, or a dog that they fail to train properly who ends up biting people.

You can't lock an active dog like a Jack Russell or a greyhound in an apartment all day and expect a happy dog. You get something lazy like a shi tzu. Or better yet, just get a cat.

I think a lot of these aggression problems are due to people getting a dog that isn't suited to them because they saw it in a movie or their friends have one or they think it looks cute.

As for pitbulls, it's actually pretty tragic. When I look at the local animal control website it's mostly pitbulls, where the small, cute dogs and desirable purebreds end up in foster homes and rescues where it's easier to vet adoptions. If they get a small dog in and no one claims it they usually have a good chance even if they have medical problems because there are a ton of rescues that raise funds for these dogs and there are plenty of dog mommies that will gladly take on a sick chihuahua who could have lifelong medical issues or is recovering from major surgery.

When you read the profiles for piitbulls you'll often see that they were found tied to something or have recently given birth. Lots of hanging nipples and dogs with scars and open wounds. Dogs who get dumped out by the railroad tracks and have to be trapped. These dogs are constantly being dumped.

Is this like "daddy long legs" are the most poisonous spiders but can't penetrate human skin? Because any dog that I can kick in the face causing it to stay down doesn't count. No shitbulls on the list, go figure.

They will hunt down deadly spiders that can murder humans in minutes yet can't kill us. Fail.

I'm thinking that they don't want to ruffle feathers and imply that a certain type of people who get pitbulls as status symbols might be at fault for the bites and bad behavior. That would be racist.

 

[TFT-A9]

I'm surprised rottweilers aren't there given their reputation, which I feel is undeserved. Big, scary looking dogs like that end up being used as status symbols by ghetto trash who want something different from a pitbull.

Rotties can be ruined by ghetto trash which is especially sad because when they're raised right they are actually extraordinarily patient dogs who put up with a lot of dumb shit from the kids in the household (as a side note if your kid ever starts abusing a dog, smack the crap out of that kid). Any dog can be turned into an unpredictable bite machine, some take a much shorter time to get there but that's about 95 percent on the people breeding and raising them. I never had a bad experience with Dobermanns or Rottweilers, but then again I didn't make a point of associating heavily with the shitheels that like to turn them into weapons. Chows and Akitas are very spooky in my experience but I chalk at least half of that up to the owners having no business breeding and owning those dogs in the environment they had them in.

 

[NyQuilninja]

Have both a black lab and a German Shep. The former is a very good boy and the latter a very good girl. Very excellent breeds, and quite protective of their owners. Which yes, translates into "aggression" as they remind potential threats to stay away. Article writer is a fag.

I often have to remind people not to approach my dog and try and pet her. People just assume she's a mostly harmless cute puppy dog. (She realy is ) While she's never bitten anyone she's doesn't like random strangers touching her or getting near me unless I've told her it's ok. A laborer retriever has a considerable bark and she's known for scarring people or seeming aggressive. When in reality she's just letting know your boundaries are. Honestly people have a lack of comman sense when it comes to dogs.
She has 3 jobs
Guard companion and garbage disposal. She takes all 3 very seriously.

 

[Mason Verger]

They forgot to include chow-chow and shar-pei in the study. Those breeds are just massive assholes. I'd trust a pitbull before I trusted a Chinese breed.

Cant blame em. If a nickname for food is literally derived from your breed, I’d have some trust issues too.

 

[Toolbox]

Is this like "daddy long legs" are the most poisonous spiders but can't penetrate human skin? Because any dog that I can kick in the face causing it to stay down doesn't count. No shitbulls on the list, go figure.

The funniest thing about this is "daddy long legs" is a term commonly referring to the species opilliones, and they cannot actually bite you nor do any of them that I know of have any sort of venom. They're basically tiny crabs with giant legs, and they need similar amounts of humidity to exist. They aren't spiders and actually have two eyes. Cellar spiders, if it's referring to those which actually are spiders, don't have enough venom to kill a person either. It's a complete myth all around.

 

[cactus]

You can't lock an active dog like a Jack Russell or a greyhound in an apartment all day and expect a happy dog.

I've heard greyhounds are huge couch potatoes, so I don't think they're high energy, just are capable of it.