Dachshunds Are More Aggressive - Dog Aggression Study

You may or may not have seen the dog bit study that was done by a University of Pennsylvania researcher. If you haven't, then you may be surprised at the top three dogs that are the biggest and most common to bite, and it wasn't the American Pit Bull, Rottweiler, or German Shepherd Dog.

1. Dachshund
2. Chihuahua
3. Jack Russel Terrier

It appears that the study covered just over 3,500 dogs and tested them for aggression vs humans, their owners, and other dogs. According to the numbers, over 50% of Dachshunds showed some type of aggression.

There are several different ways the data could be interpreted, and different routes that we can take. The one that comes to mind first is to take the "mad mommy" route and ban all Dachshunds, Chihuahuas, and Jack Russels before they do any harm. But, that sounds pretty ridiculous if you ask me, especially considering we're talking about such small breed dogs. But, if you think about it, if larger breeds were found on the top of the list, the "mad mommies" would all unite and have them banned universally.

Another route, is to just ignore the numbers and chalk it up to a small sample size or something saying that the research didn't have a clue about proper testing methods. We can conclude that it was all a mistake.

But, in total, nearly 20% of the dogs showed some form of aggression. 4.4% showed aggression to strangers. 1.9% toward their owners, and 13.5% showed aggression toward other dogs.

For starters, aggression is not breed specific. Look at the list, all 31 of the dog breeds that were covered showed the capability of having aggression. Every single one had at least one bite directed toward its owner or a stranger. Every single breed showed at least some sign of dog aggression.

Dogs are generally friendly to strangers, with 95.6% of dogs being kind to strangers. No single breed had the majority of its dogs show aggressiong toward strangers. The breed with the highest aggression toward strangers was the Dachshund with 20.6%, Chihuahuas at 16.1%, and the Australian Cattle Dog at 9.6%.

No breeds were prone to bite their owners. Beagles had the highest aggression toward their owners at 7.9%.

Looking at dog aggression to other dogs, this was found to be a little rare. About 86.5% of dogs showed no signs of aggression to other dogs, which is odd considering one of the biggest myth about "pit dogs" is that they are naturally dog aggressive. Over 2/3 of the Pit Bulls in the study never showed any aggression to other dogs. Dachshunds, on the other hand had 30.3% aggression to dogs, and Jack Russels had 30.8%, making the Dachshund and Jack Russel Terrier the most dog aggressive dogs according to this study.

But, in general, about 29% of dogs had some kind of incident, including Dachshunds (25%), English Springer Spaniel (24.6%), Australian Cattle Dog (24.3%), Chihuahua (21.4%), German Shepherd (20.9%), Wheaton Terrier (20.4%), Boxer (20%), and the Border Collie (17.8%).

So, what does the study say and confirm?

• In spite of what media reports would like you to believe, most dogs are not by nature, naturally aggressive. In fact the vast majority of dogs are not aggressive at all, and the vast majority of all breeds are not aggressive.
• All dogs can be aggressive if certain instances present themselves, either through lack of socialization, environment, or other learned instances.
• Dog VS dog aggression is far from a "unique" Pit Bull characteristic and can carry across all dog breeds.
• If we're ever going to get the very root of aggressive dogs in the country, we're going to have to quite pretending this is a breed-specific problem, and educate and demand that all dog owners take responsibility for the training and behavior of their dogs because until then, people will continue to believe that their breed isn't the problem.

The researchers conducted two independent surveys and each resulted in nearly identical data.

They also address the public's concern at length in the study, as many other such reports have relied upon dog bite statistics. The researchers argue that these statistics are misleading because:

1. Most dog bites go unreported unless medical attention is sought.
2. The total number of dogs of a given breed in the local community is seldom known, so the degree to which that breed is over-represented among reported dog bites is usually undetermined.
3. In many cases, the breed of dog involved in the incident cannot be identified.

You'll find that within this study, the article states and identifies that:

• To date there are currently 75 large breed dogs being targeted by insurance companies that prevent you from owning their targeted bred of dog or you pay through the bum in insurance rates. Then, the various city counsels "piggyback" on new legislation to outlaw or band those dog breeds because Animal Rights Activists are talking to the Legislators in charge.
• Small dog breeds are now being targeted so that they and their owners are to be controlled.
• Most surveys that are taken are in intended to destroy our dogs and freedoms to own them without government intrusion.
  

Summarized from the "Fear the Dachshund" by Brent Toellner from the American Pit Bull Terrier Gazette; Volume 33, Issue 1; Fall 2008