16.6.1. Canine Aggression Tests
At http://140.122.143.143/yuyinghs/yuyinghsu/papers/DuffyHsuSerpell2008.pdf, a study entitled, “Breed Differences In Canine Aggression” by Deborah L. Duffy and James A. Serpell of the Center for the Interaction of Animals and Society, Department of Clinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and Yuying Hsu of the Department of Life Sciences, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan found the following.
On Page 1, it is stated,
“The present study surveyed the owners of more than 30 breeds of dogs using the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ), a validated and reliable instrument for assessing dogs’ typical and recent responses to a variety of common stimuli and situations.”
and
On Page 11, it is stated,
“The present findings should be interpreted with caution. The substantial within-breed variation in C-BARQ scores observed in this study suggests that it is inappropriate to make predictions about a given dog’s propensity for aggressive behavior based solely on its breed.”
and
On Page 12, it is stated,
“On the other hand, and in spite of these potential limitations, most of our findings were reasonably consistent with previous reports of breed differences in aggression (Borchelt, 1983; Hart and Hart, 1985; Wright and Nesselrote, 1987; Bradshaw and Goodwin, 1998; Svartberg, 2006; Takeuchi and Mori, 2006).”
A total of 5,312 surveys were collected, analyzed and the final list included only those breeds that had demonstrated aggression in all four categories, i.e., aggression towards strangers, owners or other dogs within and outside of the household (dog rivalry).
The raw data for the following schedules are found on page 12.
Put your cursor inside the frame and scroll
down to view all of the information.
The study found the following for “Pit Bull” “breed” which included American Pit Bull Terriers (“APBT”), American Staffordshire Terriers (“AmStaffs”) and Staffordshire Bull Terriers (“Staffies”). All other breeds in the study included only one breed. “Pit Bulls” consisted of at least three breeds. Also note that dogs of many other breeds are frequently and incorrectly referred to as “Pit Bulls”. See http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/12-3-dont-call-me-a-pit-bull/
In addition, it is highly probable that dogs labeled “Pit Bulls” in this study were probably NOT “Pit Bulls” since (1) no single definitive definition of a “Pit Bull” exists. See http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/10-2-what-is-a-pit-bull-terrier/, http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/10-2-1-a-dog-resembling-the-staffordshire-bull-terrier-but-somewhat-larger/, http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/10-2-2-a-dog-of-an-american-variety-of-bull-terrier/ and http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/10-2-3-a-dog-of-any-of-various-breeds-having-a-muscular-body-broad-powerful-head-and-short-coat-especially-an-american-pit-bull-terrier-an-american-staffordshire-terrier-or-a-staffords/ and (2) identification of “Pit Bulls” by “experts” and owners is unreliable. See http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/16-5-1-breed-identification/ and http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/16-5-2-can-you-identify-the-pit-bulls/ Consequently, it is likely that if the statistics were correctly broken down by APBT, AmStaffs and Staffies the number of incidents of stranger, owner and dog aggression and rivalry would probably be much less for each “Pit Bull” breed.
- Surveys. In this study, the 132 “Pit Bull” surveys represented the 12th largest number of surveys of all dog breeds in this study. There were 11 other breeds that reported a larger number of cases of aggression than “Pit Bulls”, and they included Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Golden Retrievers, Poodles, Collies, Doberman Pinschers, etc.;
- Stranger aggression. Out of the 132 “Pit Bull” surveys in this study, 9 or 6.8% of the “Pit Bull” surveys showed aggression towards strangers. This was the 7th largest number of incidents for stranger aggression for all breeds in the study. There were 6 other breeds that reported a larger number of cases of aggression towards strangers, and they included Dachsunds, Chihuahua, Collies, Beagles, Jack Russell Terriers, etc.;
- Owner aggression. Out of the 132 “Pit Bull” surveys in this study, 3 or 2.3% of all surveys for “Pit Bulls” surveys showed aggression towards their owners. This was the 9th largest number of incidents for owner aggression for all breeds in this study. There were 8 other breeds that reported a larger number of cases of aggression towards owners, and they included Beagles, Dachsunds, Cocker Spaniels, Chihuahuas, Jack Russel Terriers, etc.;
- Dog aggression. Out of the 132 “Pit Bull” surveys in this study, 29 or 22.0% of all “Pit Bull” surveys showed aggression towards other dogs. This was 2nd largest number of incidents for dog aggression for all breeds in this study. Only the Akita showed more aggression towards other strange dogs.
- Dog rivalry. Out of the 132 “Pit Bull” surveys in this study, 11 or 11.5% of all “Pit Bull” surveys showed aggression towards other dogs in the same household. This was the largest number of reports for dog rivalry for all breeds in this study.
The number of “Pit Bulls” that showed aggression towards strangers, owners or other dogs outside or inside of the household were 6.8%, 2.3%, 22% and 11.5%, respectively.
In the worst case, the “Pit Bulls” showed aggression toward strange dogs in 22% of the cases or put another way they did NOT show aggression toward strange dogs in 78% of the cases. Additionally, the “Pit Bulls” did NOT show aggression towards strangers in 93.2% of the cases or toward owners in 97.7% of the cases or towards other dogs in the households in 88.5% of the cases.
Points that should be noted are that: (1) if all of the dogs in this study had been properly socialized and trained and the owners had, at a minimum, a rudimentary understanding of dog psychology, the number of dog bites would probably be considerably less; and (2) all dogs have the capability to bite and will do so when the circumstances dictate, according to their instincts. Humans will also act aggressively when the circumstances dictate. Depending on the circumstances, those reactions are sometimes acceptable and sometimes they are not: however, when it comes to “Pit Bulls”, the typical public consensus is that it is never acceptable behavior. We disagree.
Based on our first-hand experience with dogs that are commonly and incorrectly referred to as “Pit Bulls”, we have never been bitten or attacked by any of the dogs in our care. However, while we are not “experts”, we may possess an “above average” understanding of “dog psychology” that enables us to better interact with dogs, and thereby avoid unacceptable outcomes.
We have rescued sixteen (16) American Staffordshire Terriers and Staffordshire Bull Terriers and numerous mutts that are typically referred to as “Pit Bulls” and have yet to have one bite or attack us. Our experience with them exceeds 100 dog-years, i.e., a dog-year being sheltering one dog for one year, since we started keeping records.
