No

by Melissa Arnold

Created on: September 28, 2010   Last Updated: September 29, 2010

Thousands of viewers each day watch Cesar Millan broadcasted on televisions around the world teaching us about Dog Psychology and repeatedly reminding and proving to us that there is no aggressive dog breed. Each day more and more people realize that behind every dog’s behavior, is an owner instigating or feeding the behavior thanks to Cesar Millan who has reached out to thousands of dog owners.

The world is starting to understand and accept that there is indeed no such thing as an aggressive breed of dog. There are far less articles on the internet listing ‘Aggressive Breeds’ in the past few years and more articles defending breeds. Unfortunately dog breeds are still being banned, or bans upheld. The breed targeted most is the Pit bull.

So why did we come to the conclusion that there were aggressive dog breeds in the first place?

Whether from friends, family, the news, movies or from magazines – we will always hear about dog attacks. The media especially focuses on the powerful breeds such as Pit bulls, Rottweilers, Dobermans, and German Shepherds to name a few. What we don’t hear as often are the smaller breeds that tend to have a far higher bite to bite ratio and are often more aggressive, such as the Chihuahua and other toy breeds.

Why? The size and power of the bite is everything. We tend to overlook the ankle biters when putting a list together of the most ‘aggressive breeds’. Rottweilers, Dobermans, Pit bulls and other large breeds have the potential to seriously maim and kill, but toy breeds do not. There is more at stake with an angry Rottweiler than a toy poodle.

For example, one Chihuahua may bite every visitor who enters its home, a Rottweiler may only bite that ‘one’ visitor out of many because of a bad vibe. The difference is that one single bite from a Rottweiler has the ability to snap bone, whereas the Chihuahua may only scratch the surface of the skin.

Many owners will pamper and cuddle their aggressive Chihuahua as it snarls and snaps at visitors, but the Rottweiler may end up locked up in a cage and the owners become fearful. The Rottweiler may very well be the better behaved dog, but it will ultimately be branded as one of the most aggressive breeds and not the Chihuahua.

What makes certain breeds more prone to aggression?

Aggression is often a learned behavior in a dog, not something the dog was born with. As Cesar says, dogs are born balanced, the way they behave as they grow older are behaviors they learn from their Pack and environment.

Sometimes these aggressive behaviors are taught by accident, and other times they are taught on purpose, but it is not the breed that makes them aggressive. Within breeds there are certain drives that are bred into them, such as hunting, tracking, and protection to name a few.

It is only fair to point out that breeds labeled as “Aggressive Breeds” are generally not the breeds that were actually bred to kill. Breeds that were bred and trained to kill are the Terriers who were taught to kill pests such as rats, mice and other rodents. Rottweilers, Dobermans, Mastiffs, and German Shepherds have been known to be great protection dogs and some of them were indeed bred that way while others were bred as Herding dogs such as Rottweilers and German Shepherds. These two breeds used their protective nature to protect their herds against wild animals such as coyotes and wolves, so it is natural of them to be cautious of strangers and be known as very loyal breeds.

Dogs bred for protection means that these are cautious dogs, wary of strangers and very protective of their Master and family. This does not mean they are bread to fight or kill. They were bred with their natural instinct to defend and protect the pack which means they often form very strong bonds with their family and their Master. German Shepherds for example, have been known to bond with one or two people of the pack very strongly and though they may be shy on their own, but when it comes to defending the Pack German Shepherds have the courage of a lion.

These breeds make amazing pets, but the problem is – humans never receive training before they are allowed to own a dog, even one of these powerful breeds. Shouldn’t that be what Dog Licenses are all about?

Sadly, many irresponsible dog owners have one of these powerful breeds and have not trained or socialized their dog which has made them dangerous. Even a Golden Retriever that has not been socialized or trained can be just as deadly as any of these powerful breeds, but you will not hear about a Golden Retriever biting a neighbor in the news, only the breeds that have been labeled aggressive gain media attention.

Dogs heard about in the news give the rest of the breed a bad name, despite the circumstance in which the bite occurred. Pit bulls make great and loyal pets, but the media would have you think otherwise. There are many owners who love the bad reputation of a Pit bull.

Most importantly, many Dog Owners teach their dogs aggression to intimidate and awe their friends or enemies. These Dog Owners may go so far as to teach their dogs to attack other people whether by command or simply by abusing the animal. Sometimes we teach our dogs aggression accidentally by teaching them to ‘rough play’ with games such as ‘tug-a-war’ or ‘rough housing’. Another thing to consider is that not all Dog Owners genuinely care and treat their animals with love. Dog abuse can be hidden from neighbors and friends, but will cause a dog to become aggressive and distrustful of humans. One case of constant abuse towards one man’s German Shepherds lead to a divorce as the wife become more and more afraid of the dogs as they started to become aggressive. Three months later the man was found in his house torn apart. Finally the dogs had turned on him from the abuse. These once gentle giants – man’s best friend, had been so abused that they were no longer safe dogs and had to be euthanized.

As you can clearly see, dogs suffer the consequence of our own actions.

Aggression Prevention

Unknown too many dog owners, powerful breeds need dog obedience training and constant guidance from a knowledgeable handler. Powerful breeds need constant socialization so that they can tell the difference between a good person and a bad person, or they become wary of everyone who steps onto your property.

This does not mean that if a bite does happen, it is always the dog’s fault. Sometimes we fail to consider the actions of the one that had been bitten. Many people today forget or fail to realize that you cannot simply approach another’s dog without permission, nor can you reach out and pet the dog like it has already known you. Consider the fact that you as a person could not walk into a restaurant and simply pet the head of the nearest woman and expect her to accept your affection. Neither will a dog. A dog that does not know you can feel just as violated as that woman would have and while a woman may slap you, the dog may bite.

Knowing all breeds have the potential to be aggressive and that aggression is not limited to any specific breed, Cesar’s method of ‘no touch, no talk, and no eye contact’ is the perfect method for approaching strange dogs. Even dogs become nervous and defensive around strangers who make strong eye contact and approach them. After all, a dog should have the right to defend itself against a perceived threat just as much as we do.

Reading this article, you can conclude that it is indeed not the breed that makes a dog aggressive as there are many great and friendly Dobermans, Pit bulls and German Shepherds. It is how we approach a strange dog and the Owner that is responsible for the behavior of their dog, including a dog’s aggression. A dog learns its behavior through its Pack and environment.

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