7.3.1. Temperament And Behavior Tests
Note there were 32,438 dogs of 243 breeds tested. See http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/16-6-2-temperament-tests//. The higher the tested number the LESS aggressive the dog. American Staffordshire Terriers tested as number 123, American “Pit Bull” Terriers tested as number 143, Staffordshire Bull Terriers tested as 165, the Old English Bull Dogge tested as number 173; and the English Bull Dog tested as number 205.
Some of the breeds of dogs tested that were found to be more aggressive than any breed of Bull Dog and that would probably be familiar to most of the public were as follow.
1. Bearded Collie,
2. Scottish Terrier,
3. Dachshund (Standard Smooth),
4. Chihuahua,
5. Standard Schnauzer and
6. Lhasa Apso.
Beliefs that larger dogs are most aggressive are not supported by scientific evidence or studies. On the contrary, studies consistently find that smaller dogs tend to be the most aggressive.
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.
I. Aggression directed toward strangers AND owners and dogs (ranked similarly):
1. Dachshund,
2. English Springer Spaniel,
3. Golden Retriever,
4. Labrador Retriever,
5. Poodle,
6. Rottweiler,
7. Shetland Sheepdog and
8. Siberian Husky
II. Aggression drected toward both humans and dogs:
1. Chihuahuas and
2. Dachshunds
III. Aggression directed toward other dogs (most severe):
1. Akitas and
2. Pit Bull Terriers
IV. Aggression directed toward strangers/unfamiliar people (second most severe):
1. Australian Cattle Dogs
V. Aggression directed toward owners/household members (third most severe):
1. American Cocker Spaniels and
2. Beagles
VI. Aggression directed toward unfamiliar dogs:
1. Akitas,
2. Jack Russell Terriers and
3. Pit Bull Terriers
VII. Aggression directed toward humans (strangers and owners):
1. Dachshunds,
2. Chihuahuas and
3. Jack Russell Terriers
On Page 11 and 12 of “Behaviour Genetics in the Domestic Dog” by Mia Persson at https://www.ifm.liu.se/biology/zoology/avian/phd-literature-essays/Introuppsats-Mia-Persson.pdf, it is stated,
“A fast way of behaviour phenotyping a large set of dogs is by the use of owner questionnaire surveys (van den Berg et al., 2006; Liinamo et al., 2007; Duffy et al., 2008)…. This method can provide more detailed information about the dogs’ tendency to display specific behaviours in a variety of situations during an extended time period.”
and
“An example of a behaviour that is perhaps better studied by other means than behaviour tests is aggression. In a Swedish study, dogs were tested in a standardized behavioral test called DMA (dog mentality assessment) and questionnaires were later sent out to the owners of dogs taking the test (Svartberg, 2005).”
The previously cited studies on aggression in this and the preceding sections are questionnaire based studies.
