A new study, led by academics at the University of Bristol's School of Veterinary Sciences and published online in Applied Animal Behaviour Science, has investigated the occurrence of dog aggression towards people with a survey of UK dog owners.
Nearly 15,000 questionnaires were distributed to dog owners of which 4,000 were returned and used in the analysis.
The researchers found that:
The study highlighted that the majority of dogs showing aggression do so in just one of these situations. Researchers say this indicates that the common tendency to categorise dogs as either generally 'safe' or 'vicious' is a misconception, and that most dogs show aggression as a learnt response to particular situations.
Dr Rachel Casey, Senior Lecturer in Companion Animal Behaviour and Welfare, said: "Dog owners and members of the public need to be aware that any dog could potentially show aggression if it is anxious or feels threatened, even when it has never done so before.
"On the other hand, dogs which have shown aggressive signs in one situation are not necessarily 'dangerous' when in other contexts - an important consideration in the assessment of animals, such as in rehoming centres."
The study also compared the characteristics of those dogs reported to show aggression with those which had never done so. It was revealed that factors such as training classes attended, type of training method used, the sex and neuter status of dogs, the age category of owners, and the breed of dogs were all associated with the occurrence of aggression.
Different risk factors were found to be significant in statistical models examining aggression to family members and unfamiliar people. This suggests that different factors are important in the development of aggressive signs depending on the situation.
The research also highlighted that although general characteristics, such as breed type, are significant risk factors across large populations they explain only a small amount of the overall difference between aggressive and non-aggressive dogs. This suggests that it is not appropriate to evaluate the risk of aggressive behaviour in an individual dog using characteristics such as breed type.
Reference
Human directed aggression in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris): occurrence in different contexts and risk factors, Rachel A. Casey, Bethany Loftus, Christine Bolster, Gemma J. Richards, Emily J. Blackwell, Applied Animal Behaviour Science, published online 11 December 2013.
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I would be interested to read the article, but my experience as a vet (40 years) and a dog owner (50 years) does not fit with the conclusions as presented in this report. Does my gut feeling based on seeing and working with multiples of 4000 dogs count against the results of info from 4000 dogowners?
Aggression in one situation not transferrable to other situations? Well, depemnds. A staffie which presents with owners with small children and the mother pregnant, and which then growls, tries to bite and goes for me the moment I want to see his ears, is for me a dangerous dog for the children, even though the owners say that "the children are all over him". This dog reacts to something he doesn't like with biting and active aggession and if a child would do something it didn't like it might do the same with disastrous results.
Anf breeds should not be taken into account when doing a risk assessment? First of all as vets we know how dogs of a certain breed often react to things. But more importantly, the damage done by some breeds is so much more serious than by other breeds that of course the breeds should be taken into account. If an English Bull Terrier is aggressive and bites, he/she is very likely to not let go and shake and shake and bite deeper until having had enough. Whereas a collie or a GSD will in a split second have attributed a multitude of bites.
So ok, interesting research, lets get on with a lot more research into dog aggression, but please be very scientifically rigorous and modest about conclusions and suggestions!
Mariette Asselbergs