Aggressiveness in Dogs

[Taemin]

This is a pretty interesting topic, being as I'm a cat person and have only ever had cats as pets. For me, dogs can be pretty intimidating, especially if they're bigger. My aunt and uncle have a golden retriever, which are known to be one of the friendliest dog breeds, from my understanding, and she's the sweetest thing ever.

Some dog breeds I think are naturally more aggressive, as it's just how they are. But I definitely think that the family that's raising the dog, will definitely help mold the dog's personality. I've heard that people who are mean to a pet dog and mistreat the dog, often have more aggressive dogs, as the dogs only know unkindness and respond appropriately. Then you can have the same breed of dog, in a loving, kind family, and it's the friendliest dog ever.

I also think that each individual dog is different. Kind of like how humans each have their own personality. Pitbulls are known to be more aggressive as a whole breed. But that doesn't mean that each and every pitbull is an aggressive dog. Some might be aggressive, some might be super friendly. I definitely think the surroundings the dog is raised in, greatly affects or alters it's personality.

I can only share my opinion from what I've seen as an outsider, as I said, I've never owned a dog, only been around them occasionally.

[vipor]

So, yet again its a case of an irresponsible owner, in this case allowing dogs to revert to their natural hunting behaviour but causing distress to others.

Yup and I appologize. I should have said most grey hounds would chase everything that is small and moving instead of all.

[Brynmala]

So, yet again its a case of an irresponsible owner, in this case allowing dogs to revert to their natural hunting behaviour but causing distress to others.

Yup and I appologize. I should have said most grey hounds would chase everything that is small and moving instead of all.

I think I might downgrade that a bit more to 'many' rather than 'most' - there's quite a lot of greyhounds that don't make it to the racetrack because they won't chase - just don't have a high enough prey drive. And there's more that just want to run in the pack and 'play'. They also end up with a very short career - any dog that takes it's eye off the hare in a race gets slung off the track never to return. That is counted as aggression towards the other dogs, and just turning a head to the side is enough for them to get removed. I've seen it happen once, the dog in question looked more like it wanted to play, but I'm sure some genuinely are aggressive to dogs they've never met before. Either way it isn't tolerated.

At the end of a race the hare (valuable!) is hidden and a bundle of rags or a soft toy is thrown to the dogs, partly to make them thing they've caught something and partly to keep them in one place so they can be caught themselves. They are all muzzled. So that guy's dogs probably thought they were right back on the track...

[AspenBear]

i havnt taken the time to read thru all of this, but ill post here what i post everywhere when it comes to dogs.

I have worked with and around dogs of all shapes, sizes and breeds for over 10 years now.
There is NO SUCH THING as a bad dog. ONLY bad owners/parents.
now dont get me wrong, there ARE mentally ill dogs.
for example.
Dobermans. They are so smart, that as they age, their brain actually will grow and swell in their head, causing it to press against their skull [this is a proven fact] to the point that it will cause the dog to snap, and possibly attack people.

but mental or health problems aside, if the dog is healthy, and agressive, then its the owners fault, NOT the dogs.
People have tried to change my mind on this, and it has never worked.
unless you dog was BORN with a problem, then its not the dog, its the owner.

[Adoptabletrash]

My grandmother had a Sharpe named Ginger. Despite the breed normally being guard dogs and not the most friendly, Ginger was the sweetest dog you'd ever meet. She never barked, bit, or growled. She wasn't trained to do this, either. Sadly, she recently had to be put down. She had horrible arthritis and problems with her vision. She lived very long past her life expectancy, and died at 14 years old.
Ginger is the reason why I think that there are no truly bad dogs, just bad owners and bad upbringings. She was bred to be a viscous guard dog, but she was the most lovable, gentle, sweet dog I've ever met.
Rest in peace, Ginger.

[Adriel]

Okay, I've not read all the way through, but I thought this was an interesting topic and wanted to share some things before I have to go study. I used to work at a dog boarding kennel (a few rescues, but primarily a place for dogs to hang out while their owners were at work or on vacation). Most of the dogs there were sweet, and those who did have issues were predictable and we knew how to avoid aggravating them. The owner of the kennel didn't like to turn down any dogs (there was only one food aggressive Retriever which was an exception to this), so we had a variety of personalities and breeds (including Pit Bulls) to work with. Among the rescues, there was maybe one who would attack with no known trigger and she was sweet about 98% of the time. It is highly probably that she was abused and dogs can sense so much more than we humans can. So when I say that we couldn't find a trigger, it does not mean that there wasn't one. So, case in point, I believe most dogs are naturally good natured.
Fast forward a couple years later when I bought my Shepinois (Belgian Malinois x German Shepherd) puppy. Belgian Malinois are used frequently by the military and police since they are hard-working, highly trainable, and persistent. They also have a reputation for being high-energy and "not having an off switch". I had grown up with Golden Retrievers and didn't have a whole lot of experience owning a shepherd, but this puppy was riddled with fleas and coccidia and needed intervention.
Through a long, trying couple of weeks of vet visits and cleaning up wormy diarrhea, she finally bounced back to health. But she had other issues, too. She would growl when we picked her up and was way too quiet and withdrawn for a normal puppy. She was very cautious about everything, the only dog she would tolerate was my aged and ailing Retriever, and she was quick to bark or growl at anything that was new to her.
I found a facility that offered "science-based" (positive reinforcement) training and shelled out hundreds of dollars hoping they could help her. The minute they heard her breed it was like, "Oh, no. Oh, no." But they took her on anyway. After weeks of running her over there and shelling out even more money, all I got was a prescription and, "This dog acts feral, she's like a wolf-hybrid, buy a muzzle, don't let anyone around her, and she'll never be a pet."
Now, about five months later, my family and I look back and laugh. I don't discount Positive Reinforcement training because I think there is a lot about it that works, but I do think they read her all wrong. She is one of the most loving, affectionate dogs I've known (and that is coming from a Golden Retriever owner). She loves to play and lick our faces, and, while she's wary around strangers (normal shepherd behavior), she quickly warms to them once she realizes they aren't a threat. She's still a little dog aggressive and I don't pick her up unless I absolutely have to, but she certainly is nothing like what they said she would be. I can see some Malinois traits in her, but the German Shepherd must have tempered that down too since she's nowhere near as high energy as I thought she'd be and a walk around our acreage is enough to tire her out. So, I think the one factor her trainers didn't take into consideration was a loving upbringing and a very dedicated family.
That being said, I do think dogs can have mental issues (I always say Leisel acts a little bit autistic in that she is hyper alert to everything all at once). As I said before, dogs are so much more sensitive to everything around them, so I don't think it's fair to jump too hastily to the conclusion that a dog is naturally aggressive. We can't factor in enough variables to assume that is always the case.
I do believe there are some situations the owner can't help, so I'm not going to automatically blame the owner of an aggressive dog. However, I think upbringing and handling definitely have something to do with it. Once again, I'm not trashing positive Reinforcement, I don't believe in handling a dog roughly or causing it pain, but I do think it is important for the owner to be the leader. Everything I saw at the kennel where I worked confirms this. Dogs do have a pecking order, whether we like to admit it or not. However, I think that, as in all leadership cases, we need to be kind and understanding. I've seen dogs who got their way 24/7 and most of them had some sort of aggression issues, so that tells me there is some merit to the theory of pack leadership.
There are also some scientific studies which refute this, so I'm not bashing any opposing opinions. However, I think a lot of problems can be avoided if an owner is firm yet kind to their dogs.