10 Most Aggressive Dog Breeds: Temperament Ratings and Information

I find this test invalid as they had not studied the human interaction with these dogs. If the human does not provide proper discipline, instruction, and love, the dog will take the leadership role. If one is going to take on any dog, proper instruction should be undertaken. Basic classes should be either offered or shown as available before the adoption process. These should be as important as spaying or neutering. Please, remember these are dogs and NOT little humans. They are not your children, but your companions.

pit bulls are not mean i have one and he is the most cute and friendly dig you could ever have. people say pit bulls are mean and are dangerous are aggressive but they are wrong they are the best dogs ever and the best dog i have had

I think it would be wise to compare these breeds with others. For example, "pit bulls" (it's a blanket term, as it covers several breeds), score just as high as Golden Retrievers. I mention pit bulls because they're the most demonized breed currently (it was other breeds before...it's always some breed).

Anonymous, the reason people are getting "butt hurt" is because of misinformation & stereotypes there exists such a thing as Breed Specific Legislation (BSL). People behind this don't care how nice YOUR dog is or what YOU think, they put ALL dogs of a breed THEY consider "aggressive" under the legislation & these dogs either have to be rehomed or are destroyed!

As I mentioned, pit bulls are currently demonized. Many people wouldn't know an American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) if they tripped over it. Many people on Facebook, for example, say that the lean, smaller dogs aren't APBT's & call dogs that are actually American Bullies APBT's instead. Sorry for them, but the leaner, smaller dogs are the original APBT, NOT the bullier type you see today (an American Staffordshire Terrier would be "bullier" looking for example, but an American Bully is moreso).Take "find the pit bull" tests online; many, many people fail them, including professionals.

Even the info. in this article is incorrect. The APBT is the true pit bull, not the American Staffordshire Terrier (AST). The AST also

originated in America, not the Staffordshire area of England. The Staffordshire Bull Terrier originated in that area, thus THEIR name. They all fall under the "pit bull" moniker, but are two different breeds. The original was the APBT, not the AST. The APBT & the AST were the same breed until 1936, as they'd been bred in two different directions, the AST being a bulkier dog, not a smaller dog as the article mentions. The smaller framed dogs were first, then the larger framed dogs. APBT's weigh less than AST's, so the weight listed is even wrong. Pit bulls were also not used as guard dogs, as a matter of fact, true APBT's usually make poor guard dogs for property; they will protect the family, but if the family isn't present you can make off with the silverware. There were man biting fighting APBT's, but they were frowned upon, so not common, as the dog's owners had to wash the other owners dog before a fight (no, I don't condone it, it's just part of the past history of the breed...and no, dog aggression doesn't equal human aggression either). I mention the inaccuracies, as it's important to have the proper info. because, as I said, many people wouldn't know an APBT if they tripped over it and therefore, inaccurate identification furthers BSL.

The problem is that when a breed becomes popular, as the APBT did after a magazine's article on them that confused dog aggression with human aggression, they become overbred by people looking for certain traits, in this breed's case, "tough" dogs. German Shepherds, Dobermans and Rottweilers (as well as other breeds before them) suffered the same. Dogs also become popular due to movies. Dalmations were overbred after 101 Dalmations, Cockers after Lady & the Tramp, Collies after Lassie, etc. Golden & Labrador Retrievers, being known as ultimate family dogs, because of that being said have been overbred & are now suffering a lot of aggression issues, especially among the Labs.

I don’t get why people are getting all butt hurt yes it maybe be your dog breed getting talked about but is it your dog specifically? No. Your dog can be nice as can be and as loyal as it can that doesn’t matter. This is just simply putting the dogs lowest passed percent rate of the test that was done.

Yes it may be making people think twice about your dog breed but who cares as long as you are happy? Not everyone is going to agree on dogs behaviors due to one person may have say a pug that’s kind as can be and one person may have gotten attacked by one And now are fearful of it but oh well that’s their decision no one can change that but them. And every dog breed has there ups and downs And Some more then others because they are more common. But overall it matters what YOU think of the breed no one else don’t try to put it on others because they don’t like something you do.

I completely disagree that Dobermans are that aggressive. I know many Dobermans and they, including mine, are cupcakes.

A little stand offish at first, but friendly once he gets to know you. Poodles are WAY more aggressive.

Um staffy and pitbulls are not mean!!!!!

I own 3 Siberian husky they r loving, loyal,and protective they love everyone take them off this list they r not mean

dalmations are reallyy nice they are loyal you might think they are aggressive cause they are deaf

nice blog

There’s really one main factor when trying to determine if a breed of dog is genetically predisposed towards being aggressive. What were they bred for? Australian Cattle dogs are beautiful, but boy can they drive you nuts with the barking and attempting to take charge and herd everyone in the family! So look into the history of the breed. Don’t just choose an animal because they look adorable, or tough.

Now here are two immediate factors to consider that do not necessarily involve breed.

1. Intelligence: Fact is you cannot get a read on a dumb dog. You’ll be happily petting them, and with no forewarning you’re suddenly getting bit. Intelligent dogs will give you signs that you are doing something they don’t like, or if they’re getting stressed.

2. Training/Abuse: Common sense should tell you not to run up and hug the Police dog. Abused animals also generally do not take well to being run up to. Now combine abuse and training and you suddenly get a misconception about an entire bred. For those of us old enough to remember, there was a time when Rottweilers were the breed to fear. So much so that they where banned from many places. They were the dogs used for fighting and other unsavory things. Statistics show between ‘93-‘96 the were responsible half the deadly dog bites. After it becomes difficult to own a Rottweiler, the Pit Bull filled the void. Don’t be shocked to hear that they are now attributed to half of the fatalities.

I cannot emphasize enough, before you get an animal do your research!

Someday I want to have a German Shepherd, thanks to this article.

I found this article to be very interesting. I have always thought pit bulls get a bad rap. My son has one, and he is a wonderful loving dog. I was surprised to see the Jack Russell on the list. I have never owned one, but another family member has had two of them and I haven't heard of any aggression. As you said, I think it all depends on their training, just like it does with children!

Wow interesting I never knew huskies are aggressive.

I have a 7 year old rottweiler and an 11 year old miniature dachshund so by all accounts my house should be a no go zone with snarling and snapping teeth :)

Admittedly if you are on the outside of the gate the rottweiler (Shakira) will let you know that you are not welcome, but if my wife or I open the gate and let you in personally then she immediately warms up and gives you a few good hard sniffs and you're good to go! She is very protective of our 5 year old daughter, if we are not at home and the baby sitter or even grandparents is with her she sometimes follows them both around the house or will sit outside of her room!

But all-in-all both of them are excellent family dogs, I wouldn't change them for the world and neither would my wife or daughter :)

I have a nine-year-old Doberman. She absolutely loves people and will lean on total strangers, smiling up at them, and hoping that they'll pet her. Her temperament is stellar, and she speaks "dog" fluently in any dialect. Small dogs seem to love her. They tend to follow her around. When she broke her toe as a puppy, the daycare she went to put her in with the small dogs so that she wouldn't be too active while her toe healed.

Since I've had my girl, I've met hundreds of Dobermans. One of my favorites is an eight-year-old male that loves playing with puppies and younger dogs. They're beautiful to watch, prancing around like little horses.

While most Dobermans do like to play rough, the Dobermans all seem to know their size, and they're gentle with the younger or smaller dogs and only play rough with others that like to play rough. It's fascinating to watch. I mention this because it seems like some dogs like to "torture" younger dogs, but I've never seen a Doberman do this. I have to add that some of my girl's best buds have been sweet Pits.

As for aggressive, the small Poodle mix next door goes after my girl and has bitten her on occasion. One minute he was sweet as can be, and the next thing you know, he's biting her. These days, my girl starts shaking and runs away as fast as she can when she sees him. Why aren't Poodles on the "aggressive list"?

I've seen all kinds of dogs bite other dogs, but never the Dobermans. Even as puppies, I've only known them be 100 percent respectful to other dogs. The worst offenders in my own world have been Golden Retrievers, and no one would think of putting them on an "aggressive list."

I don't personally know anyone that has a Doberman as a guard dog. I can't even imagine it because they're so sensitive, and I'm certain they'd be miserable if they had to live outside away from their families. I can say, though, that if you leave any dog outside all the time and you don't make them a part of the family, you're pretty well guaranteed to create a mean dog.

The bottom line is that whoever makes up these stupid lists of "aggressive dogs," which cause so much harm to the named dogs and their owners, should be put on the aggressive list themselves.

A well-bred husky isn't supposed to be bad with people nor dogs. Generally, they're supposed to have an even temperament and are very friendly with people. They do have a pushier playing style at times, but it's uncharacteristic of the breed to be bad with dogs. The problem is, there are so many backyard breeders that produce huskies that act almost nothing like a well-bred husky that their reputation has been harmed over the years.

I have an American pitbull terrier and he is the furthest thing from aggressive. He isn't fixed and he's never had any aggression towards anything or anyone. He's amazing with cats, kittens, puppies and children. He was recently attacked by 2 German Shepards. They snuck up on us and attacked with a pack mentality where one grabbed his back leg and the other had him by the neck. I had to fight them off him because he's so passive he wouldn't even defend himself. He's all stitched up now and will make a full recovery. I'm glad it happened to him and not his son (my 3month old puppy) because he would surely be dead.

I have American Staffordshire terrier pitbull and My dog is not aggressive stubborn he turned his nose up at different things he’s funny actin he just don’t like anything but we have found that a Chihuahua always want to bite him fight him we even have a husky another one aggressive pull in its owner but my dog just look at them and flips his tail up my dog is not aggressive stubborn he turned his nose up at different things he’s funny actin he just don’t like anything but we have found that a Chihuahua always want to bite him fight him we even have a husky another one aggressive pull in its owner but my dog just look at them and flips his tail at them and walk away except that husky he don’t trust at husky he even do not trust that little thing that comes down the street that Chihuahua that dog will sit at our front door and bark my dog to sit at the front door and look at him and hold his head sideways I wonder what is wrong with my dog why he will not bark back at the dog can you tell me back why he don’t

some pitbulls aren't aggressive

Maybe have a bigger sample size for jack russell terriers...they dont belong on this list

Pit bulls were not "designed" for dog fights. People made them do it. All of these dogs whom are mean it's because of the owners. Or if they were raised in a kennel or a pound. If people are kind and loving to the dog the dog will more than likely be kind and loving.

Pit bulls are awsome not all are aggressive do more research

I would still prefer having 10 chihuahua bite me at once than only 1 pitbull / german shepherd / husky.

I believe that if a dog is raised in a kind and loving home it will it will be kind and loving. If it is raised in an abusive and cruel home it will be aggressive and cruel. So really it’s the owners fault. *drops mic*

A lot of people have problems with aggressive dogs at a very young age. The reason to this is that younger dogs play with eachother with nips. Most people mix up play time with aggression and thats what the problem is. If you look at your dog carefully and watch their emotion (look up how to read dog emotions) they might just be in a playful mood. This can be solved with a couple months of discipline or puppy training classes. Nipping can also mean they are bored or they want attention. Hope this helped! And please correct me if my facts are flat out wrong or I’m a little off if I am I apologize I’m just getting this evidence and information from my experience with having a dog.

American Staffordshire Terrier and American Pit Bull Terrier are two very different dogs. Putting them in the same group is wrong on many levels. The American Staffordshire Terrier is more closely related to the Boxer. Both are a cross breed of the now extinct Bärenbeisser. A wild dog that was domesticated in Germany in the 1300s. Also known by the English name from the 1400s pet migration to England as Bullenbeisser. The Bärenbeisser was a big game hunter (hence the name is German for bear biter) and became extinct by crossbreeding rather than by a decadence of the breed.

Most serial killers are raised in abusive, neglected homes. Most vicious dogs are raised in abusive, neglected homes. Enough said.

There may be a high percentage of fatalities associated with the pit bull, but you can’t ignore the fact that a high percentage of people raise these animals for purposes other than just having a loving pet.

They are the most maligned because they are raised in an abusive way, and get the most bad press. You can cite the power of their jaws, and their over-all strength in destroying, killing or maiming, but those attributes only become a factor when associated with the viciousness instilled by an abusive owner.

My English bulldog could chew your arm completely off, or crush every bone in your hand with the strength of his jaws if he was mistreated or trained in that way.

Dogs are mean because people are mean. Every Pitt bull I’ve encountered, that was raised in a playful, loving home, was a playful, loving animal. Unless there is a brain anomaly, domestic canines are a product of nurture rather than nature.

Just my opinion, of course.

The German Shepherds rate hi b/c of their police dog status...this will change as they are replaced by the new Belgians

Most little dogs are mean

Yeah. It's sad. I looked up 'pit fight' on Google. It was horrible. :(

Personally, I think you are wrong because you haven't tested all of the dogs in the world. The dogs you put on the list are very misunderstood, and you can NOT blame the dog. It's 99.1% of the time 'human error'. (My guess). Most owners don't know how to train pit-bulls, or huskies, or shepherds. The Aussie is a nice dog. It's also a shepherd. Germans are not aggressive. It's mainly because of human error. Chow chows have a bad reputation but that doesn't mean it's dangerous. Have you done research on the web of these dogs?

There is no debate about what the most dangerous dog breed is. Pit bulls have a disproportionate rate of serious injury and fatality. I know they can be great dogs, but they pose a risk far beyond their numbers.

This is due to a combination of factors: they have tremendously powerful jaws, historically they were bred for aggression, and the wrong sort of people own them for the wrong sort of reason. Rotts, Chows, Huskies, Malumuts, Shepards, and Akitas contribute to a substantial number of serious injuries and fatal attacks on humans for similar reasons, but at much lower rates. Pit Bulls have higher injury severity scores than other dogs, as well as higher fatality rates. I.e. when a Pit Bull attacks, it is a much more serious injury than other dog breeds. Combined with the frequency of attacks, this adds up to real problems.

A quarter to a third of all human deaths due to dog attacks are Pit Bulls, followed by Rotts (15%) and Shepherds (10%).

This isn't a matter of "hate the breed", it is the reality of the situation. While all breeds can cause significant human injury, there is clearly a difference in the actual morbidity and mortality accounted for breed.

Pit Bulls are the 57th most popular dog breed, but #1 in fatalities. Now Shepherds and Rotts are reasonably popular dogs (#2 and #9 per AKC), which contributes to the frequency of attacks (more dogs, more dog bites). However Labs (#1) and Goldens (#3), while they do bite, sometimes seriously, don't contribute anywhere near the morbidity and mortality.

Dogs were bred for specific characteristics. It should not be surprising that fighting and guard dogs have higher inherent risk. This isn't just due to "bad breeding" and "bad owners" (which are both substantial contributors), but rather the intentional breeding over long periods of time. Nearly every Pit Bull I have met has been social and friendly. That doesn't mean the breed as a whole doesn't pose an inordinate risk.

We need to adopt measures which educate people and work hard to put an end to dog fights and breeding Pit Bulls (and other breeds) to be particularly aggressive/vicious.

I really hate when people hate the breed!! I think it is how you raise the dog! I was a shelter mom for a no kill shelter, loved it, but I do feel some of these pups came from inbreeding and that could lead to some problems! I rescued a 2 day old Australian Coolie or Koolie and his 2 brothers! They all were under 2 OZ. The 2 brothers passed within a week, heartbreaking, but we managed to save one Finn! Had his DNA done and he is half Cooli and half Golden retriever with a small amount of other breads! Finn is now 75 lbs. and very active. He is a sweet heart, but does jump and bark when he first meets people, but calms down soon! I had a Golden and he never did that! So I wonder if it could be some of his genes !

My husband has a mixed breed dog about 50lb when we got married he was keeping him outside tied to the porch. Also I found out he teased the dog from the time it was little over it's food to try to get it to bite and snap at him. He thinks it's funny I guess. At first I tried to work with the dog some but most of my experience has been with raising a dog from a puppy not taking on a full grown dog and trying to reverse bad behavior and he had snapped at me several times and it made me nervous. This winter has been very cold so he has had to come in quite a bit and when my husband is gone he will not let me put him out to go to the bathroom even for up to twelve hours. Last time I tried to make him go outside because I had to run to the store he bit me. The dog is very nervous if he accidentally bumps into anything he cowers and hides forever. I am very frustrated over this situation (I've raised two different boxers that never offered to growl snap at or bite me over anything) All night tonight while my husband is out in a snow plow truck the dog has come to the bedroom door scratching on it then going to the front door wanting out. I get up to put him out and he runs and jumps on the sofa and won't go out. I need help!

Natasha is correct, the breed of dog really doesn't have too much to do with it's behavior. The environment in which its raised as well as the human(s) doing the raising will determine the outcome of the animals behavior... Nurture over nature!

A husky won't even bark at an intruder in your home. This author isn't very well informed.

I've been caring for (adopted) an eleven year old female basenji who is with me at a friends house in Richmond, TX.

Yesterday she attacked a small dog here. Things were quiet until today. Dotty (Basenji) attached the small dog earlier.

Tonight she's attacked again. I've been nipped a bitten but

no blood. I've now given her an sedative for the night. It's NaturVet Quiet Moments Calming Aid. She's off on her Thyroid and given another Thyroid test indicating she was

fine.

Any suggestions that can be provide, I'm open to what can

assist Dotty.

Thank you, Kath

While I found this article interesting, much of your information was way off. For example, the Dalmatian dog breed was never a "rodent hunter". The Dalmatian is an ancient breed dating back to Roman times and was, and always has been, a carriage, (or even chariot) dog.

The German Sheppard, although used as a Guard Dog during WW II, was originally bred to guard flocks of sheep and other live stock against the Timber Wolf.

A writer should always write about what they know.

I know about dogs. I have been training dogs and studying dogs for over 30 years. Your article includes "barking" as an aggressive behavior.

Well, that is just silly. Most dogs will bark as a form of necessary communication and including barking as 'aggression' is a dangerous form of miss-information.

I think you should write about a topic with which you are more familiar, instead of just regurgitating something you read.

You are running the risk that your article will confuse people about their favorite dog breeds. And this could cause worthy dogs to go unwanted and un-adopted in shelters!

I have a question: if you were to breed dogs at different ages and type do u think they would actually breed because I want to breed dogs with that similar problem

the are all wrong i grew up with all the dogs on your list and never once have i ever met a dog the was as mean as you are saying unless the have be forced to fight

Yall are wrong because my study shows that dogs become how they are raised which is the same case in humans. The dog list is completely wrong because a dog is only as mean as the owner makes them to be.

I have had an amazing pit bull and she lived up to be fifteen year old and the only time she ever snapped was at a Chihuahua mix when she did't lie were he was

I really question the validity of these results. Sample sizes as small as 46 are too small to have any confidence in the results. I think that you really should go back and either exclude any breeds where your sample size was less that a thousand or gather more data.

I'm certain with a small enough sample sizes you could take the kindest and gentlest breed and make the top 5 most aggressive just because you happened to find 10 dogs on a bad day.

Not sure how Siberian Huskies made this list, I own 2 pure bred and they are the most loving dog I have ever met. Our 2 cats show them who is boss every day and they take all our goofy shenanigans without a fuss.

Interesting article, and while I am a dog lover and don't generally like these types of lists, it pretty much supports my experiences. Regarding aggression, in my 55 years, I and or my dogs have been attacked 5 times. Once as a teen, I stepped into a yard where I had been before to deliver a paper and was bitten on the leg by a shepherd. In the last 5 years, while walking my leashed dogs through our neighborhood, my dogs have been attacked 3 times: once, during the day, we walked by a pick up truck and a husky flew off of it (I didn't even know it was there!) and first went after my small eskie, then when I grabbed her, she went after my big lab. As I was screaming a neighbor ran out to help at the same time as the contractor who owned the truck. He aplologized and said she had never done that before, the woman yelled at him that he was a liar. He went to pick up his husky and put it back in the truck, and she reached around andgrabbed his forearm! The second attack was by a chocolate lab who saw us from across a busy road. I stepped into the road to stop traffic thinking he was going to be hit...He bounced off of a truck that had slowed down to not hit him, then ran around the truck and went after my eskie, and then the lab. His owner ran across the street and said he had never done that...neighbors told me otherwise. The third time, we were walking on a sidewalk past a house and a Pomeranian bolted out of the back yard and started attacking, I wasn't afraid because he was so small. But then his pit mix sibling came running out and started to attack and in the fray knocked me over as well. The owner came running out and didn't even apologize, just shooed them into the back yard. As I was walking away, calling my husband to pick us up I was so shaken, I turned to see where we were on the street and she screamed her house number, " If I wanted to call the police", and I have to say, that was the straw that broke the camel's back, I called the police and they gave her a talking to. The last dog who attacked was a dalmation in my neighborhood who truly is a lunatic...aggressive toward people and animals. This is the family's second dalmation and the first was the same as this one! Is it their training or the breed? I had another friend with a dalmation who had to put her in a bedroom when anyone visited she was so untrustworthy. I was recently at a dog park where a lab and a pit were wrestling and playing very nicely and a boxer just came over and started fighting with the lab and the pit just backed away. I think we forget that dogs are animals! As much as we assign human qualities and emotions to them, they're still animals and sometimes something just isn't right with them. Not unlike some of the aggressive humans in our world.

I've owned several breeds over the years, such as Chihuahuas, American pitbulls, Akitas, and dachshunds. To be frank, the most aggressive dogs I've owned have been Chihuahuas, dachshunds, and Pomeranians. My American pitbull/akita mix was a big teddy bear.

having known that a Rottweiler is a dangerous dog breed it turns out that looks can be dieciving because the Rottweiler breed was known for it is hunting skills and is mostly a farm dog and is used for herding livestock .Having owning a Rottweiler I pick up a sudden change in his behavior he starts to fight with other dogs.Why do they fight?

Having owned German Shepherds, Doberman Pinschers, and currently owning a German Rottweiler and a Rottweiler/Rhodesian Ridgeback, I can say it is all in how they are brought up as to there aggressiveness.

Will have to disagree on Rottweilers having short hair though. Mine has long hair even though he is nearing 4 years old. His AKC parents were in the 135 to 155lb size but he was the runt of the litter and weighs in at about 95 lbs. He is very area protective and owner protective. Don't come near his pen, Petmate, or pickup truck unless bearing food if he does not know you and like you. Now to both myself and mom, he will come up and want a hug, petting or even to be a lap dog. He was never trained that way but just is the way he is.

The R/RR looks like the Rhodesian Ridgeback in color but has the body of the Rottweiler. Don't try to out run that dog. And at 110 lbs, can hurt you if he runs into you at full speed. Only to try to lick you to death.

Now why aren't Poodles on the list? I've even walked right by German Shepherds that owners say hate everyone but a Poodle is the only one that has bit. Chihuahuas suffer from big dog syndrome in most cases. Most of them turn friendly if given a chance to get on your lap.

I like your article. I am curious why the number of dogs tested for the Chihuahua and the Dachshund were so much lower than the other breeds? I feel the studies would have bore more weight if the sample sizes were more equivalent. Just curious. Thank you for the article.

This site helped me a lot with my research paper about dogs. At first I had no clue what temperament meant so i looked on google and I found this site. I would recommend this site to anyone who is researching dogs. Thank You!

Any breed of dog can and will be aggressive if not raised/trained properly or are undertrained. You also must establish dominence over your dog since they are pack animals. If you don't they will own you and they will put you or other family members in their place which can and will include biting, attacking, fighting, etc. I have owned 3 pit bulls a black lab, and a coonhound. Currently I have a pitbull and my put bulls have been the biggest love bugs. All of my animals I have ever owned have been sweet and non-aggressive even if attacked by another dog. This is a load of bs and landlords, management companies, and insurance companies shouldn't be allowed to be "breedist" or against any breed, they should be meeting the animals first to see how they behave, etc.

I rescued a yorkie. He seemed fine for about a week, then while playing, became very aggressive and bit me. I asked the rescue agency about this, they said he had trust issues. I took him to a trainer, read articles, and worked with my vet. He seemed to respond until 7 months later, I was wiping him off after rain, and he again became aggressive and bit again. Both these incidents were not things we had done before. He is 3 years old. Other wise he is very well behaved, house broken, doesn't get into anything, and is very loving. I don't understand what brings on this aggression. Any ideas?

I had a chihuahua mix and she never showed agression to our other dog the only time she did was because she thought that another dog was going to hurt us

Hmm. I've always known huskies to be the chillest things ever. (Haha, get it?) Also, I disagree with the pit bull being on the list. Check out Pit Bulls and Parolees on Animal Planet. Tons of evidence that pit bulls are just sensitive little sweethearts wrapped in misunderstanding.

I really liked your article, it's got a meaningful opening statement, detailed body of work and a conclusion with sources. I have to completely agree with the little napoleons. Lucky for me all dogs tend to like me. Well, maybe with the exception of that one Shih Tzu... that had to be the noisiest dog I have ever known.

I could add other dogs that I feel are much more intimidating than those you have listed. However, they are not as common as those you described. Honestly, It would be difficult to counter your conclusions with the supporting documentation. Hey, I'm impressed.

I have a 4 year old Pit Bull, I got her at 5 week's old. She has been like a baby she is so loving she loves to cuddle up on the sofa with me. The only time I ever see her get upset was when she see a mother slap her son and the boy cried. So many don't know the back ground of the Pit Bull they just hear horror stories and judge by that. But the Pit Bull was called the Nanny dog due to the way are are with children. The way I see it all is that due to a handful of people that have had Pit's and made them fight make all the other's look bad. It upsets me when I hear or see people saying Pits are bad. EVERY dog has the means of being aggressive the same as any human has that liability. I have been around dogs all my life as my father was a dog trainer it was not unusual to have seen 70 plus dog's in our kennels at one time.

I have always thought of Chihuahuas to be aggressive, since they are small.

I raised chowchows for 20 yrs. This is a bunch of bunk. Any dog will be aggressive if not trained properly. I had 7 at one time that were around all of my children and grandchildren. they used them for pillows most of the time. In all that time, none of mine ever showed any signs of aggression toward anyone except a stranger who walked in my yard uninvited and the children were outside. What idiot(s) does this testing?

Who is training these Pits that are killing humans each year to be aggressive? The owners? Hog wash. You read all the time where the gentle family pit goes off and kills the owner or one of the kids or a family member. Are you saying these Pit owners who lose a child or a family member are training their Pits to be more aggressive? lol I have to laugh at that logic. It is baseless. The breed itself is aggressive by nature without anyone needing to train them to be even more aggressive, and that is the common problem with Pit Bulls as a breed.

In fact in most of these stories about pit bulls killing a human being, we never hear reports of the owners being abusive to the dogs or that the dogs were mistreated by the owners. Why is that? No the pit bull apologists just always chalk up a pit bull death to bad ownership when that logic is baseless and not proven.

The fact that there are far more bad lab owners than pit owners and far more abused labs in the US than Pits, yet labs account for only a fraction of human deaths each year compared to Pits should tell you something. If it is the owner and not the dog then again, there should be far more human deaths from Labs than from pits. But again, the tangible statistics do not back this up.

I wonder why?

Your comments on here are borderline irresponsible regarding pit bulls with regards to being "good and patient with children". It is all pit defenders need in order to "justify" owning one of them or purchasing one.

Pits are responsible for 71% of the human deaths in the US each year yet are only 6% of the dog ownership populous.

Now to address the "pit defenders" on here that say it is a bad owner and not the dog. Labs are the most popular and most owned dog breed in the US, so if the "pit defenders" logic about being bad owners and not a breed is correct. Then there should be way more fatalities each year from Labs then pits. There are surely a lot more bad owners of Labs than pits simply because of how high the ownership is.

Yet labs kill humans at a much lower rate despite being the most owned dog compared to Pits at only 6%.

So please Pit defenders explain to me how this math works out? Explain how only 6% of the dog ownership that is responsible for 71% of human deaths is about the owner and not the breed? Explain how there are way more bad lab owners out there, but yet labs rarely kill humans?

I will be waiting for an answer. Probably wont get one though. Pit owners gonna get pits.

yeah this isnt even right. pitbulls get such a bad rap although really they are the sweetest and kindest dogs in the world with the proper training people are just so lazy and dont want to take time out their day to do it , currently i have 3 pitbulls and they are great with my 4 children and with my 13 year old cat .

I find all of the jack rusself I have met to be extreamly good with children, I have a jack Russel myself, she's great with children too! A bit iffy with other dogs but that stems from a bad experience with another dog so we are trying to socialise her more so she becomes comfortable again and not intimidated to the point of being aggressively defensive. But yea, brilliant with children but temperamental with other dogs

As s vetvtech for 15 years , I have handled every breed there is many times. I love all dogs and have no predjudive against certain breeds . Here is my list of the most consistantly aggressive dog breeds I've experienced over and over in no certain order. German shepherds, Rottweilers, chows, chihuahuas,jacknrussells,mini pins,. Nope, not one pit bull even though a large percent of our clients had pits. On a so so level, golden retrievers, English bulldogs. This is not to breed bash, it's just what I've experienced over 15 years.

Pit bulls army aggresive if they are it is the owners fault for training them that way for dog fights and such.

Dachshunds are not aggressive at all. I'm a vet, and all the doxies that come in are the sweetest dogs ever. Maybe consider changing this article?

Just read a different article that had dobermans, Rottweilers and German Shepard in the top ten most tolerant. But in your defence that other article was based on science

No dog is just extremely aggressive. They have to be trained or beaten to become aggressive. A "dangerous" dog can be a great pet. There for a dog that has been trained to become aggressive does not care whether it attacks a kid adult elder wild or tame animal. That is why a lot of them have that reputation.

Not a very scientific study and I don't understand having different samplings of each breed. I do however, agree that the smaller dogs like dachshunds and chihuahuas are more aggressive than larger breeds

This is a very misleading article. These are not the most aggressive breeds according to the one source that is sited.

"The percentage of the test results I have included are from the American Temperament Test Society."

While the test results in the link are from April of 2016, they certainly don't represent the claims of this article.

I do agree however that the tests were not fair in that some breeds only had 1 or 2 tested. Not good science.

I agree with many of you saying that pitbulls are not aggressive.

Another article that also uses the ATTS for it's information really puts the pitbull test results on display here:

http://dogtime.com/dog-health/general/1220-america...

I hate this Pitbulls are one of the least aggressive dogs ITS NOT THE DOGS FAULT ITS THE OWNERS FAULT FOR MAKING THEM AGGRESSIVE

Golden retriever should be up there...they scored worse than the American pitbull....

Husky's are not known to be aggressive with humans. They are very friendly and social dogs. However, they were bred to hunt small animals. Instinct will kick in. They are not good with small pets, and be very careful with them around tiny infants. They may not distinguish between a baby and a small critter.

Also the comment in the article about not believing that German Shepherds are aggressive can be misleading. In the past,we have owned 2 German Shepherds. They do not actively seek out confrontation, but they will defend their territory quite violently to any real or perceived danger.

My sister ,Dorothy, 74 has a chihuahua that definitely has "Little Dog Syndrome " but I have two toy rat terriers with the same syndrome. They chase any dog, barking and running after regardless of size. Our neighbor, Ed had a Rhodesian Ridgeback. That would just stand there when our Rex bit her on the ankles. Growling and biting all-the-while, never made a defensive movement. Rex still chases any four legged animal that is twice as tall as him."Small Dog Syndrome is appealing to very small dogs. Must be aggressive, bite first, the bigger the target the greater the challenge, the greater the victory when you have ."scared him off"

This is a very good article. I hate how soften many people here in the comments still insist that pitbulls are the most aggressive dogs. The fact is that they are not. They simply have a high fatality rate because they were bread to not let go where as most breeds bite repeatedly and can be removed. You have to understand they were bread and trained for centuries to literally drag Bulls to the ground (bull baiting). All dogs bite. Some more than others. But pitbulls are not one of those others. They just have a more dangerous bite when they do. Also the only thing in the article I didn't like we're the inconsistent sample sizes.

Siberian Huskies are not really aggressive if well socialized. I have shared my life with 3 of them. Two we had since puppyhood (one was 8 weeks, the other 6 months when we got her), and the other was found roaming the streets by the police who gave her to us instead of to the pound when no one claimed her. The two we raised and socialized, Maggie and Katie were Canine Good Citizens. Both were great with kids. Katie, the one we had since 8 weeks was a Nanna Dog to my son. She was so intuitive with our epileptic Boston, she almost became an epilepsy therapy dog. Margie, the dog found running the streets seemed friendly but was aggressive. She bit people when they came on our property and we could not find anyone who would take her. She never bit my child, but she would growl at him as a warning. She attacked Katie whenever she had the chance. When we got her she was still lactating from having puppies. We advertised but could not find her owner. We tried to rehome her but the only people who wanted her, wanted to breed her. One guy sounded good until he called from the racetrack. Some people use Huskies as bait in dog fights as they will fight to the death. I think Margie was used by a backyard breeder. She was beautiful and friendly but was not used to being indoors and was half wild. She was not housebroken and hid under furniture and lurked in the shadows of a room. I did some research a few years ago, and almost all the Siberian Huskies that killed people in the last 25 or so years have been kept outside and tied on or left to run with other Siberian Huskies in a pack situation. There was a Siberian Husky in a city near us that killed a child on Thanksgiving day in 1996. The dog was kept tied on in the backyard along with a Chow Chow, which is known to be an aggressive dog. The child had been told not to go near the dogs, but it was Thanksgiving and adults were not attending to him. Witnesses say that the Chow Chow attacked first, and probably killed him, but the Husky kept it up. Huskies are beautiful because they look wild. There is still a lot of the wild in them. Even the best trained Huskies have some degree of wanderlust. When they are not kept indoors with people, especially when they are tied on outside or left to roam on a large acre property with a pack, they become wild. They are not aggressive, but they have been involved in a number of fatal dog attacks. If you study this list, the vast majority of fatal attacks involving a Husky was "Chained Dog." There was also an incident in Canada where the Husky was left to run with a pack. http://americaagainstbsl.tripod.com/fatal_dog_atta...

Interest list of dog breeds. I was surprised to see dalmatians on here, but then I am not familiar with any of that breed. Not surprised by the rest listed. I would much rather have a large dog breed, and a German Shepard it at the top for me. Having had a few, I know they can be protective and I like that. Aggressive and stupid for now reason, no way.

Hi All

Unfortunately your list is confused. You report the percent as percent failed when it meets your a priori assumption about specific breeds, and present those same data as percent passed when when convenient. German Shepherds for example "PASSED" 84% of the time. This is very high as the highest rated breed listed was Labrador retrievers at ~90% (http://atts.org/breed-statistics). But dont just take my word for it, use the link!

It is critical we use these data appropriately as this can lead to misinformation.

To address the concern about deaths caused by particular breeds, one can not simply look at the number of deaths as it does not take into account the actual number of animals in the system (ie how many German shepherds are there vs Rottweilers). In addition, one could also ask if there is bias in reporting attacks. There is good reason to believe that folks attacked by pitbulls report attacks more often then attacks by Chihuahuas because of the severity of the injuries. Powerful breeds can muster powerful attacks.

Train all dogs well and expect happy mentors (you...) and neighbors!

Cheers

Damon

This obviously slanted & biased opinion piece just proves that what they say about opinions is definitely true.

The list is great I even liked how you mentioned Pit Bulls are great with little kids. They are very sweet loving dogs but that is a double edged sword. I had a Chow who was the smartest dog I have ever seen. Realistically they are so smart they don't see why pleasing their owners is that big a deal. Like he would take a few pats on the head so you could feel good then walk a step away. He still loved us as completely as any family member could, he was just independent, and content with himself internally. One old guy next door had fed him egg yokes every morning for several years before he thought he could pat on Bears head. He nipped his hand without hesitation. The ratio of width/depth/height of his mouth and the heaviness of his back molars is nothing like any dog I have seen. Plus his natural obsession with patrolling and watching every door and window for intruders was his all encompassing passion. He would get out sometimes once in particular a huge yellow lab made the slightest little grr as he was walking near him(away from me of course). And without the slightest warning he had flipped the dog like a world champion Judo master. He started the lunge impossibly low and then exploded with power into the throat of the Big lab driving him up enough to then perform the complete head over heals flip. It was quick and I honestly could barley see how it happened, but I was close enough and adrenaline surged enough to lift bear off the dog. The lab was on his back with all four legs pointing straight up and bear was on his chest with the dogs throat in his mouth. I do love this breed but it can seriously hurt someone or someones pet.

Chiwaguas are territorial. My sister has three but toy. They have never bitten. Some bite others don't. Depends on treatment,training, and socializing other people. I have duchhound with chiwagua. Demanding,jelous, and,hyper, and yes had not good behavior. Had to train her. Those dogs sometimes have to show who is boss.

To the people saying Pit Bulls shouldn't be on here or they "have bad press for no good reason"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatal_dog_attacks_in_...

This is a very inaccurate representation. Pit Bulls should not be on this list; they scored higher on the American Temperament Test than Beagles (80.0%), Cardigan Welsh Corgis (80.0%) English Springer Spaniels (84.9%), and even Golden Retrievers (85.2%). There is no mention of breeds such as the Bearded Collie, for example, who only scored 54.3% on the test. Of course, how a dog is raised is what really matters, but Pit Bulls really don't need the bad press; they get more than enough already, and for no good reason.

Why would you include the American Pitbull Terrier and Staffordshire (which, by the way, are not the same breed), the Husky and not include the Golden Retriever for that matter? The Golden Retriever scored lower in the test, according to the American Temperament Test Society. By those standards, shouldn't they be in your Top Ten? Even before the AMPT, Staffy and Husky?

Hey just bit of info a an American pit bull is a different bread to an American staff they look similar but are different breeds also were not originating from England The Staffordshire bull terrier does ant that's the base of both breeds

Hi new hear. Wow just adopted chiwaweenie best of both words chihuahua with duchhound. She was streetdog. Yes their more aggressive. But they are misunderstood dogs. Usually bond one or two people. And of trainned can help aggression. She was 11 months but when turned 1 became aggressive. Because of heat . Body changes i have trainned her she respects me. I dont let her take control. Those dogs become more aggressive from bordom jelously or illness. I have learned a lot i love her regardles of the way she was and sometimes i still have put her in check. Barks excessivly also at strangers. Need alot attetion

Was shoked to see the Chihuahua as #1 was expecting German shepherd

I came back for another visit. I didn't realize the German Shepherd breed started in Karlsruhe, Germany. I knew it was Germany but not Karlsruhe. I use to live in Karlsruhe.

We never let him off the leash. He would be gone in a minute. He is attached to me. He likes my husband but when they walk in the door he looks for me.

We just adopted a Chihuahua. He is so cute and love people but when we take him for a walk in meadow and woods if he thinks he smells another animal he kicks his back legs and acts like he's ready to fight. I have no doubt he would go after the bear if one comes in the yard. He's cute as a bug. Enjoyed your hub and pinned it voted up.