The most AGGRESSIVE dog breeds revealed – so is YOUR pooch on the list? 

Australia
By William

The most AGGRESSIVE dog breeds revealed – so is YOUR dog on the list?

  • Researchers found that fighting dogs are the most aggressive
  • This includes American Bulldogs, Pit Bull Terriers and Staffordshire Terriers
  • Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers and Scenthounds are the least aggressive

By Shivali Best for Mailonline

Updated:

Despite being called “man’s best friend,” many dogs have an aggressive side.

And now a new study has pinpointed exactly which breeds are most likely to be aggressive toward other dogs.

Somewhat surprisingly, researchers at the University of Helsinki found that fighting dogs are the most aggressive.

This group includes American Bulldogs, American Pit Bull Terriers, and American Staffordshire Terriers.

In contrast, Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers and Scenthounds were found to be the least aggressive dogs.

Somewhat surprisingly, researchers at the University of Helsinki found that fighting dogs are the most aggressive. This group includes American Bulldogs (pictured), American Pit Bull Terriers, and American Staffordshire Terriers

In the study, the team looked for the personality differences between dog breeds.

“The breed of the dog is the most important determinant of personality differences,” said Dr Milla Salonen, lead author of the study.

“All dogs are individuals and all breeds have different traits, but breeds differ in what kind of personality most dogs within each breed have.”

The team collected a huge dataset of behavioral studies with information on 11,000 dogs from 300 different breeds.

These were then divided into 52 groups.

The most aggressive groups of dogs

  1. Fighting dogs (American Bulldog, American Bully, American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Cane Corso, Dogo Argentino and Presa Canario)
  2. German shepherd
  3. Parson type terriers
  4. Asian primitive races
  5. Miniature Pinscher
  6. Belgian Sheepdogs
  7. Central European Shepherds
  8. Central European working dogs
  9. Jack Russell Terrier
  10. Lappish Shepherd
  11. Australian Shepherd
  12. Chinese Crested Dog
  13. Primitive greyhounds
  14. Mixed breed
  15. Brachycephalic dogs
  16. Yard terriers
  17. Northern hunting spears
  18. Bull-type terriers
  19. Pinschers/Schnauzers
  20. English Shepherds
  21. Welsh Corgis
  22. Teacup dogs
  23. Border Collie
  24. Hunting terriers
  25. Spanish Water Dogs
  26. Poodles

The least aggressive groups of dogs

  1. golden retriever
  2. labrador retriever
  3. Scenthounds
  4. Shetland sheepdog
  5. Rough Collie
  6. Whippet
  7. Different race
  8. Bernese Mountain Dogs
  9. Schapendoes
  10. European greyhounds
  11. Other companion dogs
  12. pointers
  13. Retrievers / Flushing dogs
  14. Lagotto Romagnolo
  15. Spire of the northern companion
  16. Bichon type dogs
  17. Sled dogs
  18. Smooth Collie
  19. Finnish Lappish Hound
  20. Dachshunds
  21. Mastiff type dogs
  22. Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever
  23. Livestock watchdogs
  24. German Spitz related breeds
  25. Miniature Schnauzer
  26. White Swiss Shepherd Dog

The data revealed a strong association between breed and seven personality traits: insecurity, training focus, aggressiveness/dominance, energy, canine sociability, human sociability, and perseverance.

“Dogs that score high on aggressiveness/dominance are aggressive towards other dogs, dominant and territorial,” Dr. Salonen told MailOnline.

“While low-scoring dogs are submissive, social with other dogs, and calm.”

Fighting dogs were revealed to be the group with the highest levels of aggression.

This group includes American Bulldog, American Bully, American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Cane Corso, Dogo Argentino and Presa Canario.

Golden Retrievers (pictured), Labrador Retrievers, Scenthounds and Shetland Sheepdogs were found to be the least aggressive groups

Golden Retrievers (pictured), Labrador Retrievers, Scenthounds and Shetland Sheepdogs were found to be the least aggressive groups

Also at the top of the list were German Shepherds, Parson-type terriers, and Asian primitive dogs.

At the other end of the scale, Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, Scenthounds and Shetland Sheepdogs proved to be the least aggressive groups.

Aside from breed, several other factors have been found to be related to a dog’s aggression.

Males were found to be more aggressive than females, while dogs were most aggressive at age nine.

‘Based on our research, personality traits are extremely complex and have amazing similarities between dogs, humans and other animals,’ Dr Salonen added.

WHAT ARE THE TEN GENERAL MYTHS ABOUT DOGS?

It’s easy to believe that dogs like what we like, but this isn’t always entirely true.

Here are ten things people should remember as they try to understand their pets, according to animal behavior experts Dr Melissa Starling and Dr Paul McGreevy, from the University of Sydney.

1. Dogs don’t like to share

2. Not all dogs like to be cuddled or petted

3. A barking dog is not always an aggressive dog

4. Dogs do not like other dogs entering their territory/home

5. Dogs like to be active and don’t need as much relaxation time as humans

6. Not all dogs are overly friendly, some are a bit more shy to begin with

7. A dog that seems friendly can quickly become aggressive

8. Dogs need open space and new areas to explore. Playing in the garden is not always enough

9. Sometimes a dog won’t misbehave, it just doesn’t understand what to do or what you want

10. Subtle facial cues often prevent barking or snapping when a dog is unhappy

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