whitebread Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 From: http://digg.com/d1rs9E May 22, 2009 -- A floppy-eared, innocent-looking breed may be one of the world's most aggressive dogs, according to a new study that found English cocker spaniels tend to be more hostile than other breeds. The discovery adds to the mounting evidence that aggressiveness is an inherited characteristic, suggesting that genes and breeding practices can both help determine how a dog will behave. "In our country and according to our database, the English cocker spaniel is the breed that shows more aggression problems," lead author Marta Amat told Discovery News. Amat, a researcher in the School of Veterinary Medicine at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and her colleagues analyzed 1,040 cases of canine aggression brought to a nearby veterinary teaching hospital from 1998 to 2006. Of those cases, the majority of cases were attributed to English cocker spaniels, Rottweilers, Boxers, Yorkshire terriers and German shepherds. Interesting how there is NO mention of pit bulls -- people are always ragging on them for being "vicious" and "aggressive," yet they aren't one of the most aggressive breeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inklin Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Wouldn't have thought Yorkshire Terriers would have been there, They are only small, I have two, The female likes to bark a lot and sometimes snaps at ankles but that's it lol. The male sleeps a lot but that's because he is getting old now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WastedJoker Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 There is definitely no agenda to this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shakey_snake Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 The smallest dogs are usually the most aggressive. People just pawn off their behavior as "cute", since they can't actually hurt people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the evn show Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Interesting how there is NO mention of pit bulls -- people are always ragging on them for being "vicious" and "aggressive," yet they aren't one of the most aggressive breeds. That might have something to do with: [*] Pit bull is a term for a collection of breeds, not just one kind of dog. [*] a number of dogs are banned (including the Pit Bull Terrier and Argentinian Mastiff?commonly considered pit bulls) in the UK under the Dangerous Dogs Act. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitebread Posted May 22, 2009 Author Share Posted May 22, 2009 That might have something to do with: a number of dogs are banned (including the Pit Bull Terrier and Argentinian Mastiff?commonly considered pit bulls) in the UK under the Dangerous Dogs Act. Didn't know that.... That leaves me with no choice -- I retract my comment regarding put bulls not being on the list, but not because I think they're dangerous -- only because they couldn't be factored into the study, so their relative aggressiveness wasn't determined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEX4S Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Wouldn't have thought Yorkshire Terriers would have been there, They are only small, I have two, The female likes to bark a lot and sometimes snaps at ankles but that's it lol. The male sleeps a lot but that's because he is getting old now. My parents have 2 teacup yorkies, they were purchased through a pet broker (if that tells ya anything about my parents) - and those 2 little things are some territorial mean little muts (my mom would kill me for calling them 'muts') I have 2 american cockers, not sure how far that breed differs from the english cockers - but most cockers I have been around are pretty nice ... Not really a overall "nice" breed like a Golden Retriever (you never see a bad Golden) - but still seam to be overall pleasant. Most breeders/owners will tell you cockers arent good around small children - because they are hunting dogs - if they see something small and running - they chase it, and take it down. Its hilarious to watch my older dog stalk a prey like a cat - literally get down close to the ground and move so slow...actually never catches anything because its usually a rabbit or a bird - but funny nonetheless. Pit Bull terriers get a bad rep from rap videos, Michael Vik, and people "like" him - (yes I said that), but seem to be nice until beaten - as most animals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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