7.5. Canine Aggression And Dog Bites
On Page 2 at http://140.122.143.143/yuyinghs/yuyinghsu/papers/DuffyHsuSerpell2008.pdf, in 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 it is stated,
“Dog bite statistics are potentially misleading for several reasons: (a) most dog bites go unreported unless medical attention is sought (which may be more likely with larger breeds that have the ability to inflict more serious injury); (b) 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 (Lockwood, 1995; however see Gershman et al., 1994; Guy et al., 2001b; Reisner et al., 2005); and (c) in many cases the breed of dog involved cannot be verified (Wright, 1991).”
Semyonova states,
“The Dogues du Bordeaux [47] used to guard extended farmlands in France, the Boerbulls [189] used similarly in South Africa, and the fugitive slave-chasing dogs of Latin America, such as the Dogo Argentino [151] and Fila Brasiliero [70], all were selected to specifically for a propensity to kill.”
The numbers in [brackets] represent the breeds ranking in the Temperament Tests at http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/16-6-2-temperament-tests/. The larger the number the greater the percentage of dogs that passed the temperament tests. The Scottish Terriers, Dachsunds, Chihuahuas, Standard Schnauzers and Llasa Apsos failed the tests more often than the Dogues du Brodeaux and the other breeds listed by Semyonova in the previous passage. In addition, the Dachshund, Golden Retrievers, Poodles and Chihuahuas were found to be the most aggressive toward humans in Canine Aggression Tests found at http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/16-6-1-canine-aggression-tests/.
In the years I have read research studies regarding aggressive dog behavior, I have not found anything that deals with these dogs, including the media.
Where did this “information” come from?
Where are the citations for studies and/or objective data that supports this statement? These breeds are not mentioned in the Peremans or van den Berg’s papers.
On Page 11 of the previously cited “Breed Differences In Canine Aggression” by Deborah L. Duffy and James A. Serpell and Yuying Hsu at http://140.122.143.143/yuyinghs/yuyinghsu/papers/DuffyHsuSerpell2008.pdf, 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.”
Semyonova states,
“As they selected for performance, breeders could not know exactly which physical changes they were selecting for. But research now shows that selection for aggressive performance includes consistently selecting for very specific abnormalities in the brain. These abnormalities appear in many breeds of dog as an accident or anomaly, which breeders then attempt to breed out of the dogs. In the case of the aggressive breeds, the opposite occurred. Rather than excluding abnormally aggressive dogs from their breeding stock, breeders focused on creating lineages in which all the dogs would carry the genes causing them to reliably exhibit the desired impulsive aggressive behavior.
Now that we know exactly which brain abnormalities the breeders of fighting dogs have been selecting, the assertion that this aggression is not heritable is no longer tenable. It is also not tenable to assert that not all the dogs of these breeds will carry the genes that make them dangerous. These genes may occasionally drop out through random accident, just as golden retriever may acquire the genes to be impulsively aggressive. But the failure to have these gene, in the aggressive breeds, is just that––a failure. It is therefore misleading to assert that the aggressive breeds will only have the selected genes as a matter of accident, or that most of them will be fit to interact safely with other animals and humans.”
What “genes causing them [aggressive dogs] to reliably exhibit the desired impulsive aggressive behavior” have been identified as causing this?
Where are the citations for studies and/or objective data that support the preceding statements?
On page 31, of the van den Berg study it is stated,
“There have been no studies linking specific genes to aggression in dogs.”
The implications from Semyonova’s preceding statements seem to be that aggression can be bred into a dog, but cannot be bred out. This is not supported by real scientific studies by real scientists that follow in this document. Semyonova’s statements regarding the inability to breed-out aggressive behavior appear to be contradicted at http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/7-7-can-canine-aggression-be-bred-out/
In addition, cases that follow in this document about the Michael Vick dogs and others that were rescued from dogfighting would appear to contradict Semyonova’s implication that fighting dogs cannot be “pets”, but can only be “fighting dogs”. See http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/8-1-can-fighting-dogs-become-pets/
What “research now shows that selection for aggressive performance includes consistently selecting for very specific abnormalities in the brain”?
Where are the citations for studies and/or objective data that supports this statement?
Semyonova states,
“Now that we know exactly which brain abnormalities the breeders of fighting dogs have been selecting,”
What are the “brain abnormalities” that Semyonova is referring to?
Where are the citations for studies and/or objective data that supports this statement?
