The 3 Most Aggressive Dog Breeds Revealed! – Pit Bulls? Rottweilers? You’ll Be Surprised….
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
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February 7th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
I thought and heard on Discovery channel that Rottweiler are most aggressive dogs and in some countries they are now allowed as pet.
April 3rd, 2009 at 8:02 pm
I recently adopted a female rottweiler. I find it amazing she is considered to be an aggressive dog. All she wants is a bit of my attention. We go to the dog park 3-4 times per week and she loves to run. She enjoys being the chaser not the chasee and she does not like to be in the middle of a pack. She greets all the other owners and dogs with love. This dog has been one of the most well behaved pets I have ever had. She is 2 and very easy to train, eager to learn.
April 14th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
The reason you may have heard that (I doubt it was the Discovery Channel, I couldn’t find anything to support that claim) is that most research into canine aggression up to now has focused on dog bites, but researchers said that data is misleading. Most dog bites aren’t reported, and because the bites of big dogs are more likely to get reported, they are generally viewed as more aggressive.
How many times have you seen a tiny breed dog lash out, snap, and even bite people? Does anyone freak and call animal control? Do people rush to the emergency room after such an incident? No, because all they see is this funny, tiny dog. If it were a large breed dog, especially one of the falsly accused “aggressive breeds”, in that situation then it would not be taken so lightly.
May 31st, 2009 at 2:00 am
For me, it is not the breed, it is the arse behind the leash, if there is a leash a’tall, that shapes a dog. My Brothers has a Jack Russell Terrier and she is a dear soul. Why? Because my Brother is a dear soul. Oh the circle of Karma! I am the proud caretaker of a Rescue American Staffordshire Pit Bull Terrier and she is an amazing, loving, kind, pleasant, and caring dear soul. It is not the breed, it is the people who make the choice to do bad or choose to do good. Take Care, Happy Wagging Tails, and Happy Trails!!!
Semper Fidelis,
William
June 21st, 2009 at 12:29 pm
I get so upset when pit bulls are discriminated against. I have had a female red-nose pit bull for 5 years. We have had her since she was 4 weeks old and would never hurt anything…maybe a cat and I think she got a gopher once. I find it funny because she did get into a tussle with a weiner dog, the most aggressive dog breed. She only scratched him a little bit though, and you can believe the little ankle biter started it. Guess who got in trouble though…NOT THE WEINER DOG!! Owell, I guess the world really has not come that far out of discrimination. I know that my Daisy Dot is an angel, I guess it does not matter what anyone else thinks, just as long as they leave my baby alone.
July 10th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
My daughter has a blue pit & macoy and a red nose & macoy. Their both beautiful and spoiled. They think they’re lap dogs. They love children and are very friendly. She live’s in a mobile home park (please no judgements for that) in mount morris, michigan. After living here for over a year. The park now wants her to get rid of the dogs because this breed has a bad rep. Does anyone have any helpful advise. Please someone help me help my daughter save her babies.
July 24th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Debbi- Perhaps your daughter could provide proof to the park that her dogs aren’t aggressive. She could let them meet the dogs; provide a video of them; gather letters from family,friends, and neighbors defending them; or tell the park that the dogs are not bothering the neighbors and ask the park managers to speak to the neighbors about it. However, this still may not be enough. She should do whatever she can to keep her dogs because many shelters have to euthanize pit bulls since they’re hard to place and many cities are banning them.
August 16th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
American Staffordshire Pitbull Terrier??!! unless its a mixed breed that’s impossible. Those are two very seperate breeds, I happen to own an American Staffy and am tired of being told he’s a pitbull. He’s registered with the AKC, as a staffy NOT as an APBT. There is a difference…..APBT are not even recognized as an official breed by the AKC…
What irritates me more is the difference shouldn’t matter. Pitbulls, staffies, and other bully breeds are some of the most loyal affectionate breeds. It’s unfortunate that when they bite, unlike smaller breeds, it turns into a media blitz against the dog and the breed as a whole. When was the last time you saw a news story about any sort of dog bite not attributed to one of the “Aggressive” breeds?! It’s no wonder the general public fear these animals, they see them vilified by the media every single day at 6 and 10pm.
September 29th, 2009 at 7:11 am
There should be a study done of which medium to large breeds are most aggressive. If you are a dog person, you already know the small breed dogs have the biggest attitude and are more likely to turn. I personally have a Rhodesian Ridgeback, APBT, and a Min Pin. They all are supposed to be more aggressive, but all are sweeties. Ive never had a problem with guarding, snarling, biting, or snapping. No matter where we go. I have however been severly bitten three times. 12 stitches to the back of the calf by a Golden. 4 stitches to my left forearm by a labradoodle, and 2inch gash right under my eye from a lhaso apso.
October 19th, 2009 at 2:17 am
I currently own a chocolate labrador retriever & a blue heeler/Jack russel Terrier mix. My terrier mix has always loved people,but hated any other dog other than his sister, our labrador & other small puppies. However, we tragically lost our Dixie, who was a purebred, beautiful, black and tan GSD because someone in the neighborhood that we recently moved into, shot her point blank in her own fenced in yard. She has never harmed a soul, or been out of the yard for that matter, so there was no reason for it. We caught the person who committed this heartless act & their excuse was this, “I have a 3 year old who was attacked by this breed at a young age, there is no place for them next door to me.” As I said, this dog would do nothing more than lick anyone to death regardless of the situation and had never even barked at someone passing on the street. Come to find out, the people on the opposite side of us claimed that the same person shot & killed their wonderful red nosed pit while she was let out to go potty. This person is serving community service for the murder of my “daughter” along with 5 years probation, but it seems to not even remotely justify the act. I do not have children of my own, my dogs are my and my husband’s children, & I feel that the judgement of any dog’s temperment before encountering each & every one individually is just as bad as judging a person before you have met them.
November 6th, 2009 at 5:23 am
I own a 27 month old Rottweiler named Bruno. He has never growled at anyone. He has never showed aggression towards a person or another dog. He plays with my 3 cats and our Dachshund. He licks babies and plays with kids. Bad dog owners have given the breed a bad name. Owners who wanted a “Bad ASS” dog. The owners are what made them mean. They are not genetically predisposed to aggression. They learn it from bad owners. Rottweilers are on the bottom of the scale as far as aggression tests go. The American Kennel Club lists the rottweiler as a calm and loyal breed. Aggression tests conclude that any animal can be aggressive. Certain health and mental disorders can play a role in a dog’s behavior just as in a humans. The Fact is this: “A dog is not genetically predisposed to agression and/or violence. How they are raised and treated is the major factor in their temperment”. Don’t blame the dog……..Blame the owner.
November 14th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
I have been around and worked with and loved many dogs; I found that there are sweet and well mannered chihuahuas and dachshunds, as well as ill-mannered and aggressive ones. There are loving and sweet tempered ‘bully breeds’ or ‘banned breeds’ as well as unruly ones. The only consistant was the owners: what they tolerated or encouraged in their animals. I also noticed that it’s true with people and thier kids; you see an unruly and insolent little monster, chances are mommy and daddy think it’s “cute” or don’t have the backbone to properly chastise. Kids who have manners and can behave in public tend to have parents who know when to draw the line.
These dogs need a firm and loving hand, a committed soul in their owners and the right living arrangements. If more people realized that in order to own a dog and enjoy it, you need to find the perfect match – maybe we’d have less surrenders and far less idiots buying a dog on a whim.
I am the proud mom of an APBT, a GSD and an ACD/BC mix, and have no qualms telling people. Love knows no breed or obstacle.
November 20th, 2009 at 1:31 am
Rottweilers are fantastic family dogs, in all honestly, majority of Rotty bites are at the vet. As a vet tech I love the breed outside of work, they are good dogs, and great dogs with the right training. I own a APBT, she is my 17 month old daughter’s bff, and sleeps with 2 out of my cats every night. Chi’s, Doxie’s, Min Pin’s, pretty much 97% of small breed dogs are evil, and are deemed “land sharks” in my line of work. Poodles are the exception, even tiny they’re incredibly stoic, and make wonderful little companions
November 30th, 2009 at 5:56 am
The first problem I see is that people refer to their “animals” as their babies(or kids). This is wrong on a serious psychological level and means you are an unstable person and so it goes to reason that your dog will be unstable.(according to the good owner goood dog bad owner bad dog theory you all profess) ahh Karma as one person put it. You are doomed to a serious lawsuit because in an instant some kid will lose the end of his nose or a finger at the instantaneous and “amoral” whim of your dogs
November 30th, 2009 at 6:06 am
I have a Beagle that I refer to as my “pet” or dog because I also have Kids and know the difference. I find the article enlightening because when he was young he was food aggressive and growled at the kids who were young then too. We got him because we viewed the beagle as safe after giving away our rottweiler that went psycho after she had pups(until then she was great!) She suddenly decided to protect me from the world and my kids.
February 2nd, 2010 at 12:41 pm
Certain dog breeds were created specifically to be used as guardian’s or for fighting. Pit bulls fall into this category and as such will have a natural instinct to attack other animals (especially dogs) and this will be a strong instinct around their territory. They were also bred to NOT be aggressive to humans as owners of dogs about to fight would need to inspect the dogs pre-fight to make sure that spikes, blades, etc… hadn’t been somehow affixed to the dogs. Rottys are agressive of their territory and family. Outside that they will rarely attack anything. You simply need to know the breed, it’s history, its natural instincts and adjust accordingly. Few, if any dogs, should naturally have aggression towards humans and the way they are raised will be the biggest defining factor in how they act. But just like people individuals vary widely. Know your dog and treat it right, for its safety and for yours.
February 15th, 2010 at 3:45 am
I applaud(sp?) the creators of this site. I am in the process of being certified by the state of Kansas as a large and “aggressive” breed rescue. My entire life has been full of beautiful and misunderstood dogs that we were always given due to their “aggression” (rottweilers, Great Danes, Dobermans, etc). Yet neither my parents,brother, myself or the other dogs we owned ever had to worry about being attacked or injured. I am a FIRM believer that EVERY dog has a chance at reform. For those who think that we are fools, let me tell you a story:
When I was 12, we recieved a German Rot named Baronus Von Stoval who was aproximately 4 years old. My father brought him home and told us that Baron was fearful of strangers and that we were not to approach him for a while, until he became used to us and his new home. He had been given to my father as a last ditch effort to save his life because the county that he had come from wanted him put down due to previous aggresive acts. After exactly one week of him being with us, I came outside to what I thought was his attacking my father. The noise to a 12 year old was extremely frightening. As I came into view of the dog I stood back in amazment and watched my father laying on the ground, tossing this VERY large dog back and forth like a rag doll and LAUGHING! Baron would stand up each time and crouch in typical puppy form with his butt in the air and his stump wagging. Then would pounce on my dad and proceed to roll his head all over my dad’s chest, almost as if begging for more. We were fortunate enough to have this dog for several more years without ANY negative acts to blemish that first wonderful memory. He was put down at the age of 10 due to a cyst that had formed on his spine which rendered him paralized in the back and was the last of that breed that my parents could ever stand to own. the love that he gave and was given by our family ranked him as a MEMBER, NOT a pet.
I have personally been training and rehabilitating dogs for over 15 years( I am over 30 now and began helping my father at 13 because of Baron)and have said for those same number of years that I concider smaller dogs to be more of a threat as far as biting and aggression (not damage) than larger breeds. I too consider my animals my children, and just like my children they need discipline mixed with LOTS of love. I hope that any future readers will take this true story as a sign that there are no bad animals, just rotten owners.
February 28th, 2010 at 11:58 am
I have a nine month female German Shepherd. She is very calm, gentle and loyal – which is what I have grown to know about German Shepherds. We bred this breed for sixteen years and all of the pups were of this temperment. I agree that the owners behind the leash are the reason the dogs have a bad rap. I purchased her from a breeder that in my mind is one of a kind. My girl is as I said 9 months old and over 80 pounds so needless to say she is going to be very large for the breed. Am I afraid of her – No No. Have I been training her – Yes Yes. She picks up very easily because of her natural intelligence. The breeder was and does belive in hands on when the pups are born. The are raised for the first 6 weeks with the family – small children. Please everyone understand if you are aggressive – your dog will pick up on that and be aggressive. There are no bad dogs – just bad owners. Happy dog owning.