7.6. Breed Specific Canine Aggression Research
For almost fifty (50) years, I have been a degreed Accountant in public accounting and publicly owned and traded multi-national corporations, and I fully understand that any organization is going to be seeking the largest return for the money they are spending, i.e., the “largest bang for the buck”. Research institutions that live with grants and donations or die with the lack thereof are most aware of this fact of life.
Consequently, it would seem logical that if money were going to be spent on a study the subject of the study would be something that would be of interest to the largest segment of the population.
Therefore, it would seem logical that if a study is going to be done on dog aggression, the most aggressive dogs would be selected for the study.
On page 35, of one of the studies cited in the Peremans report it is stated,
“Ten healthy shepherd type dogs, 5 males and 5 females, aged between 1 and 9 years (mean age = 5.5; SD = 2.9), with a body weight between 23 and 41 kg (mean weight= 31.9; SD= 6.4) were studied. The dogs had no history of neurological disorders or behavioural abnormalities. These dogs were used to being handled for intravenously injections and imaging procedures. The examination procedures never resulted in excitation or aggression and were performed according to good animal practice.”
On page 50, of one of the studies cited in Peremans report it is stated,
“A 99mTc-ECD image template was created including 12 normal dogs (6 males and 6 females), aged between 12-84 months (mean: 49 months, SD: 29). The included individuals were free of neurological disease or behavioural disorders.”
On page 91, of one of the studies cited in Peremans report it is stated,
“This study reports on the whole-body distribution and brain uptake of the selective 123I-5-IR91150 ligand in four normal dogs.”
On page 111, of one of the studies cited in Peremans report it is stated,
“The pattern of the specific 5-HT2A (5-hydroxytryptamine 2A receptor) antagonist 123I-5-I R91150 was measured in 10 healthy dogs without neurologic and behavioural abnormalities.”
On page 132, of one of the studies cited in Peremans report it is stated,
“Twelve “aged” dogs, five males and seven females, all aged 96 months and older, and a reference group (6 males, 6 females), aged less than 96 months, were included. Table 1.”
The breeds of the dogs used in this study were identified, and none were so-called “Pit Bulls”.
On page 162, of one of the studies cited in Peremans report it is stated,
“In a pilot study, including 4 impulsive, aggressive dogs compared to age matched nonimpulsive individuals, a significant difference was found in 6 of the 10 brain regions examined (the frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital cortical region, the subcortical area and the cerebellum (used as a reference region)).”
The breeds of the aggressive dogs used in this study were identified, and none were so-called “Pit Bulls”.
On page 177, of one of the studies cited in Peremans report it is stated,
“Nineteen dogs (15 males, 4 females, mean age 31.5 months), showing impulsive aggression, defined as aggressive assaults without warning and, therefore, unpredictable in nature (table 1), were compared to a reference group (6 males, 6 females, mean age 49 months) of dogs which never showed this behaviour. None of the included dogs had a history of treatment with psychotropics or (tryptophane-rich) diet. None of the dogs in both groups had a history of neurological disorders. In the reference group one male dog was neutered, in the aggressive group four male dogs were neutered. Breeds varied substantially in the aggressive group (table 1). In the reference group all dogs included were shepherd type dogs. All dogs from the aggressive group were referred by behavioural consultants.”
The breeds of the aggressive dogs used in this study were identified, and one was a so-called “Pit Bull” who had more than 5 bite incidents with injuries from “no wounds” to “superficial wounds”.
On page 40, of the van den Berg study it is stated,
“The study group consisted of 83 Golden Retrievers, 55 of which were purebred with a pedigree… Fifty-three of the 83 dogs were referred to behaviour experts at the Utrecht University Companion Animal Clinic because of their aggressiveness. We consequently traced 30 family members (mainly siblings) of a number of these Goldens. Although none of these relatives had ever bitten people or another dog, 6 of them showed a problematic level of aggressiveness according to their owner. In none of the dogs was a medical problem likely to be the origin of the aggressive behaviour and none of the dogs received medication.”
The following schedule is a recapitulation of the dogs used in the studies that are suppose to support the claims made by Semyonova in her article.
Of the 174+ dogs in the Peremans and van den Berg studies that are suppose to be the support for Semyonova’s article, all were selected because they had previously exhibited certain behaviors. These behaviors were desired by the authors of the studies. Thus, they were not statistically valid random samples, i.e., dogs selected randomly from the population of all dog breeds of unknown temperament. Consequently, the application of any conclusions to a population, i.e., all “Pit Bulls” or any other breed, as being aggressive or anything else based on any of these studies is invalid.
Additionally, it would appear that the authors of the studies have tacitly acknowledged the non-aggressive behaviour of so-called “Pit Bulls” by excluding them from their studies on aggressive behavior in dogs.
In the following study contained in the Peremans report the breeds of the dogs are identified. There are no American Staffordshire Terriers and only one so-called “Pit Bull”, i.e., a Bull Terrier.
van den Berg’s study was limited to Golden Retrievers.
Note that The Netherlands repealed a 15-year-old breed ban on so-called “Pit Bulls” in 2008 after commissioning a study of its effectiveness. The study revealed that Breed Specific Legislation was not a successful dog-bite mitigation strategy because it had not resulted in a decrease in dog bites. Cornelissen, J. M., & Hopster, H. (2010). Dog bites in the Netherlands: a study of victims, injuries, circumstances and aggressors to support evaluation of breed specific legislation. Veterinary Journal, 186(3): 292-298. Found at http://nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/dog-legislation/breed-specific-legislation-bsl-faq/
Page 16 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, contains the table that follows.
It is interesting to note that the aggression studies that are listed above were done with English Cocker Spaniels, Shiba Inus and Akitas. This study included two (2) dogs that are frequently and incorrectly labeled as “Pit Bulls”, i.e., Bull Terriers and Staffordshire Bull Terriers, and involved tail chasing and not aggression.
“Pit Bull” aggression is something that is bandied about by a large segment of the general public. However, it would seem to follow that the scientists who are doing the studies and who are probably more informed than the public do not agree with the public’s assessment of so-called “Pit Bull” aggression. If they did, why didn’t they include more so-called “Pit Bulls” in the preceding or Peremans and van den Berg’s studies?
Semyonova states,
“As in the pointer, the husky, the greyhound, and the border collie, the genes of aggressive breeds have been selected so that certain postures and behaviors just simply feel good. These dogs will seek opportunities to execute the behaviors they have been bred for. Because these behaviors are internally motivated and rewarded, they are not subject to extinction. Learning and socialization do not prevent these dogs’ innate behaviors from appearing.
Environments such as the fighting pit, confrontations with tethered bulls and bears, and the pursuit of escaping slaves, for which these behaviors were selected as an adaptive response, are so extreme that there is no appropriate context for these behaviors in normal life. Functional in the pit or facing the bull or bear, these behaviors must, in all other contexts, be called pathological. Because the behavior selected for was impulsive aggression, by definition this behavior will always emerge suddenly and unpredictably.”
The Dictionary at http://www.dictionary.com/browse/pathologic states,
“1. of or relating to pathology.
2. caused by or involving disease; morbid.
3. caused by or evidencing a mentally disturbed condition: a pathological hoarder.
4. dealing with diseases: a pathological casebook.”
Is the contention that all “aggressive dogs” have diseased brains or are mentally disturbed, i.e., pathological? If so, I found no support for Semyonova’s article in the Peremans or van den Berg’s studies.
Where are the citations for studies and/or objective data that support these statements?
In my opinion, the preceding statements are ludicrous and ignorant, if not stupid!
