"Dangerous dog breeds"

[DarkSean]

I think some breeds have the ability to become more agressive than others. Obv the stronger and larger the dog, the more dangerous it could be.

[AkHerps]

It could be dangerous because it could inflict more damage than say, a chihuahua. But size has nothing to do with how aggressive a dog is.

Actually, most small dogs are more aggressive than large dogs because of "small dog syndrome" Basically the small dogs have giant egos and think they are huge. But they would do way less damage than a very large breed dog.

My dog is mastiff and huge, and the sweetest thing, even though she is large and powerful.

[sarahlovesmiike]

I think some breeds have the ability to become more agressive than others. Obv the stronger and larger the dog, the more dangerous it could be.

The problem is dominance. A dominant dog has the potential to become extremely dangerous when not trained properly. This goes for ANY dog, no matter how big they are. A small dog is capable of doing SERIOUS damage, I've seen it happen. The reason these dogs have acquired this reputation is because they NEED a heavy hand. When the corrections are absent, the dominant dog becomes aggressive much quicker than a passive dog. The breed really has nothing to do with it. There can be dominant labs, and passive rottweilers. It's all in how they're raised.

It could be dangerous because it could inflict more damage than say, a chihuahua. But size has nothing to do with how aggressive a dog is.

Actually, most small dogs are more aggressive than large dogs because of "small dog syndrome" Basically the small dogs have giant egos and think they are huge. But they would do way less damage than a very large breed dog.

My dog is mastiff and huge, and the sweetest thing, even though she is large and powerful.

We have six dogs right now, between my boyfriend and I and his parents. Two mastiffs, two boxers, a GSD mix, and they have a pug who is ALWAYS the center of the rare spats that do occur. He's pushy, he doesn't know when to stop, and makes this snarly noise that makes all the other dogs want to put him in his place. They dominate him and he either stops or he doesn't, thus resulting in a fight. No one ever gets hurt, but my point is that you're absolutely right. He's the only dog that doesn't have any obedience training, he barks like crazy over nothing. He gets everyone riled up and he just DOESN'T listen. At all. One of the boxers is actually their daughters, and he has terrible dog manners. He's the smallest boxer I've ever seen. The big dogs try to dominate him because he just doesn't know when to quit. He constantly licks the inside of their mouths and jumps all over them. He sits on their faces and bites at their ankles. Twice they've gone after him, and I don't blame them. Obviously I correct my dogs, but the little jerk never gets corrected because his owner just doesn't care. So this problem will continue and get worse as he gets older. I don't blame the dog, I blame his owner.

[DarkSean]

I don't think its down to the individual dog as a whole. I think some breeds are just naturally passive and some more natually dominant. Like my japanese chins, compared to my staff.

My staf can do far more damage with her larger mouth and teeth and shes just pure muscle. Staffs tend to be rather boisterous(sp) by nature anyways, shes vocal and vigilant. My JCs are extreamly laid back smaller dogs, simply pref to be waited on hand and foot, they don't even bark, have no oral fixation(dont chew or bite anything)etc.

Not that she ever has, and most likely never will, but it would be my staff who would ever do actual harm to someone.

[sarahlovesmiike]

I don't think its down to the individual dog as a whole. I think some breeds are just naturally passive and some more natually dominant.

You're right, it's not really the individual dog. The breed does play into dominance. But it does NOT play into aggressiveness. Dogs become aggressive when they are left with no leader.

Take my mastiff, for example, he is EXTREMELY dominant. We are certainly working on him, but he is dominant by nature. He is only 7 months old and would absolutely dominate me and turn aggressive if I allowed it. Corsi, as a breed are just dominant. I wouldn't recommend one to anyone that I wasn't sure could handle one. He probably will always be dominant, just never outright aggressive. His girlfriend is very laid back but she's just as dominant as he is.

[GoingPostal]

Of course there are dangerous dogs, you don't see people breeding bad ass giant protective golden retrievers because there's no market for them but mean oversized "pit bulls" sell for big money to idiots with ego issues who encourage bad behavior and breed more unstable dogs. Most people have no idea my dogs are APBT because their idea of a "pit bull" is a 100+ pound blue dog that looks like a friggin mastiff and was produced solely for a look. Bad breeding = bad dogs and all the training and raising isn't going to change a messed up dog.

Looking at what a few decades of byb have done to "pit bulls" is horrifying, even scarier is the trend I'm seeing of actual guardian breeds (presas, filas, cane corsos, etc) heading the same way. A well bred APBT is a medium sized dog that loves people and tends to have animal and dog aggression, a well bred mastiff is a giant breed with a tendency to wariness around strangers. I hate seeing byb giant breed dogs in the hands of idiots, it's a disaster waiting to happen. I would love a molosser someday but only from a very reputable breeder, you couldn't pay me to take one from most of the "breeders" I see advertising.

[The Hedgehog]

My big scary mean pit/dobi/rottie/sharpei mix.

[dsirkle]

Of course there are dangerous dogs, you don't see people breeding bad ass giant protective golden retrievers because there's no market for them but mean oversized "pit bulls" sell for big money to idiots with ego issues who encourage bad behavior and breed more unstable dogs. Most people have no idea my dogs are APBT because their idea of a "pit bull" is a 100+ pound blue dog that looks like a friggin mastiff and was produced solely for a look. Bad breeding = bad dogs and all the training and raising isn't going to change a messed up dog.

Looking at what a few decades of byb have done to "pit bulls" is horrifying, even scarier is the trend I'm seeing of actual guardian breeds (presas, filas, cane corsos, etc) heading the same way. A well bred APBT is a medium sized dog that loves people and tends to have animal and dog aggression, a well bred mastiff is a giant breed with a tendency to wariness around strangers. I hate seeing byb giant breed dogs in the hands of idiots, it's a disaster waiting to happen. I would love a molosser someday but only from a very reputable breeder, you couldn't pay me to take one from most of the "breeders" I see advertising.

I view there being 2 types of pit bull. Those that still pretty much look like a Staffordshire bull terrier and are generally quite friendly and those that look like the Colby type more or less and are usually people friendly but may or may not be dog aggressive.
The bigger 100+ lb types I view as admixtures with pit bull being just one ingredient.
The other breeds that you mention really have unknown ingredients being added by breeders registered with less than stellar organizations.

[WingedWolfPsion]

Staffordshire Bull Terriers may still be dog aggressive--they haven't eliminated the trait, yet.

I think one thing is safe to say:

It's not 'all in' anything. It's not all in how you raise them, it's not all in the breeding, and it's not all in the breed.

It's a combination of all of those things, and probably more that we don't yet understand.

A skilled owner can socialize and train NEARLY any dog to be a good, well-behaved, and trustworthy companion. Dogs are individuals, so it takes varying amounts of effort and different approaches to do that.

[BallsUnlimited]

just like theres how many morphs of bps. theres gonna be a poop load of different lines of the bully breed. Some are game dogs(weight pulling etc) some are more of the short stocky wide chested show dogs. I know show dogs that there pups will sell for well over 7k and people buy them like its nothing. Theres always going to be the bad the good and the ugly to every animal. The media unfortunately doesnt show what a properly raised bully is like