New Study on Aggressive Dogs from the UK

 I sent you a PM, dumdog.

From what I understand, terriers are supposed to flush prey more than attack it underground, but it depends on the lines. The harder dogs *will* dispatch prey. Softer dogs will hold it, or flush it, or run away with tails tucked

RidgebackGermansShep

thanks!

aw man, my university doesn't have access to that particular journal! oh well.

I'm not sure about your university but at mine if they don't have a journal and you need an article, you can request it and in most cases where I've done it, a pdf arrives in my mailbox within a few days.  Our service is called Illiad, I'm not sure if that's our name for it or if it's an inter-university service.  Might be worth seeing if you can request a copy of it through your university's library. 

all the standard sized doxies i've met were very nice and playful.... leash pullers... but playful none the less. never had a dog with me at the time though.

as far as little'uns go.. some friends own a mini long haired merle. he's a sweety too. the old fella nextdoor owns a smooth mini and while she acts like she'd chew you off at the knees she pretty much stays on her side of the property line when i have the bullies and other dogs out walking.

so i honestly cant tell you any bad stories about doxies. i've met a few chihuahuas that were "either/or" my cousins was a biter until she came to live with me. i managed to get her over that attitude of rushing up and attacking. dont know how she is now because i dont visit as often as i used to. she still barks her head off when you come in the door though.

my grandmothers chihuahuas arent snarky towards strangers. too many grandkids and people come and go for them to be nasty little dogs.

same grandmother also owned a few poodles. only one of those was a biatch. but she was old, and i was only two 1/2.... *shrug*

so honestly i dont think the answer lies in their "job", "Herritage" or what ever....the majority of it is training and socialising. no excuses. end of discussion lol sure there's a few odd cases, but really.... yeah i think the smallness of them plays into it.

i'm short. 5'1" on a bad day....  and i NOTICE my height a lot more when out in public or around other people and crowds. i dont like it, i get nervous, and short tempered(no i havent bitten anyone... YET)..... but i have been jostled around and stepped on in the past - not since high school though, thankfully -
still..... you cant really enjoy scenery and situations or events when you're constantly worried about being squished because no one notices you.  

i've also noticed a lot of people think they can get away with not training a small dog BECAUSE its small, and cant possible damage someone..... yeah right! they either live their lives in denial or find out the hard way.....  

The only dogs that ever tried to bite me or that I was afraid would bite me were two miniature poodles.  Protective little dogs, yappy and snarly - one was my Mom' s and the other was my friends mothers, popular dogs in the 70's.  Really cute though...

IrishSetterGrl

I too have to comment that dogs should not be given excuses for human aggression because of what they were bred for. I mean RRs were bred to ward off lions, right? And they're not high on the list that the article the OP posted refers to. Just an example.

Yes but RR's are not ankle-height   Wouldn't you feel a bit insecure in a world of giants that were 20 times your size??  Take that insecurity, and combine it with the terrier feistiness and stubborness that they were bred for, and you can end up with misdirected aggression.  Again, not making excuses, just pointing out some of the challenges that owners of these dogs face when training them that others with larger breeds might not have to deal with.

Bonita of Bwana

Ridgebacks are still a fairly new breed and have been a lessor known and thereby lessor talked about breed .  And I admit we have really enjoyed that. But they have been found by celebrities in the past decade or so, and like anything else a celebrity owns they are becoming a dog that people are now learning about and seeking.  You now find them and more advertizements and commercials.  The Sheraton Hotel Commercial pops to mind right off where the big Rhodie jumps up on his Dad when he walks into the room,  after that ad appeared on TV it was only a couple of weeks before I began getting calls about pups.

Us Swissy owners know how you feel.  Greater Swiss Mountain dogs are a really old breed went almost extinct 35 years ago.  The breed has been brought back and recently has gain popularity with the Bernese Mountain Dogs.  You see them on TV commercials and box covers all the time.  There has been several write up's in Dog Fancy and other top dog publications about what great family dogs they are and there size always sparks interest.  

Not surprising to hear.  The fact of a matter is aggression in little dogs by the general populace is more accepted.  Even a lot of the breed descriptions often describe some of the little ones a being saucy, feisty creatures.  Thankfully the damage usually isn't that severe, but sadly in that same turn it results in people letting their little dogs get away with it.  Larger dogs however who could easily kill or severally damage someone are far more likely to be culled.  That's the reason why fighting dogs were often so non people aggressive in the past.  Wouldn't serve the fighters very well if when they went to break up the dogs their dog turned and ripped their arm off.

Naturally it doesn't help with the recent overwhelming popularity of little dogs as accessories.  Poorly breed dogs with no training are going to lead to problems.

Finally, another thing I've noticed is the human stupidity factor I see so often when little dogs.  People don't respect them like they would a larger animal.  I always see members on here complaining how someone will cross the street at the sight of their large dog, but I would much prefer that then the way so many people see Kirby and want to pounce on him.  I've even had a couple people try to pick him up without asking... @__@ 

I know his happy pappy ears look so soft and squishable, but no matter how cute the dog you don't try to approach and pet it without permission.  I also see some stupid behavior amongst the small dog owners themselves.  If your 100 pound dog was agitated and stressing, you probably wouldn't wrap your arms around it and get right in its face.  Their is the old warning its not wise to reach for a collar to try and force a dog to move.  For some reason however little dog owners never got that memo.  So often when they have a problem with their dog so many just scoop them up.  No wonder so many get nipped by their own dogs.

Edit- Wonder what our little feline house cats would rate when it comes to human aggression.  Gotten more bites and swats by random cats than all other animals combined.
 
 

jennie_c_d

I don't know why small dog owners are angry. If they'd treat their dogs like dogs, they wouldn't have this problem. A well bred, properly trained and socialized small dog is something wonderful to be around.

Let's face it, being a small dog owner is difficult.  My big dog is very well trained my pug..  not so well..

Just look at that face....

i am fast falling in love with the Pug, KNOCK IT OFF!!!  

I'm getting confused, on one hand the dog is somewhat fearful being so small living in such a big world.  Then on the other hand, they are tough, built to take on badgers.  I've had two little dachsunds act aggressively toward me out of three.  And, I don't think the aggression was because they were afraid of me. 

I have 2 doxies, & although they do well with new people, & dogs, I can definitely see why they get a bad reputation.  DH & I have quite a few friends with doxies, & I can only think of one other friendly doxie.  The others are fear aggressive.

 Willow i think of it like.... blue jays..... they are mean as hell when it comes to a nest. trying to drive you away. little dogs are about the same. they act the sh*t to run you off but if really hard pressed they'll turn and run like hell. at the very least they'll circle around to get out of reach and still come at you.. it isnt a fight drive like with other breeds.

The quote in this article (http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/06/26/dog-aggression.html) explains it well:

"Small size very likely plays a large role in the development of fear-based aggression among some breeds," Duffy explained. "Smaller dogs may feel more threatened by other dogs and people -- a perception that may be well founded." 

"There is some evidence that smaller breeds are more often the targets of aggression by other dogs," she added, "and small breeds, particularly Dachshunds, are more prone to injury due to rough handling by children, so this form of aggression among small breeds may be a learned response due to negative past experiences."

Also:

"Akitas and Pit Bull Terriers, which have "bad boy" reputations, mostly scored high for dog-directed aggression. When they did injure humans, however, the injuries tended to be more severe than those inflicted by the scrappy, smaller dogs."

jenns

IrishSetterGrl

I too have to comment that dogs should not be given excuses for human aggression because of what they were bred for. I mean RRs were bred to ward off lions, right? And they're not high on the list that the article the OP posted refers to. Just an example.

Yes but RR's are not ankle-height   Wouldn't you feel a bit insecure in a world of giants that were 20 times your size??  Take that insecurity, and combine it with the terrier feistiness and stubborness that they were bred for, and you can end up with misdirected aggression.  Again, not making excuses, just pointing out some of the challenges that owners of these dogs face when training them that others with larger breeds might not have to deal with.

Ridgebacks were NOT bred to WARD off lions. They are bred to hunt and  HOLD AT BAY, the Ridgeback is athletic and agile they dance in an out worrying the Lion until a hunter can come and dispatch it.   Two Ridgebacks will bring down a wild boar breaking bone and slashing tendon.  I held my ankle biters everybit as strict as I hold my RRS.  My Toy Poodle and My Papillion were expected to have equal manners and training.  They had no illusion that they were tiny dogs therefore exempt from excellent behavior. In fact they were giants in small bodies.  They were never allowed to be snippy, yippy , yappy or annoying.     period.     Yes a large breed will cause more significant damage in a bite, but no, the bite of a small dogs is never any less painful, frightening or WRONG.   And the arguement that the small dog is more fearful because it can be roughly handled will never wash with me either. My poodle worked the Special Olympics with me for her entire life, she understood some folks had problems being easy and knew she was never to react in a punative or fearful fashion.   My Large breed dogs are as bomb proofed as I can make them by being handled from first breath on by my 5 awesome grandkids.  I do NOT have the attitude that just because they are expensive animals they should be sheltered as pups, instead I teach my grandkids and I watch like a hawk when other children come around to assure they learn and understand the correct way to handle ANY animal.   It comes down to the OWNERS.

Bonita of Bwana

good post Bonita. thats pretty much how i see it too. everyone around here pretty much agrees that a dog is a reflection of the owner. and its never too late to train out bad habits.

when i got Amber back from friends i had to fight like hell to do it. they were adamant that she could never be around kids or other animals. but when she came home, this is what she did the first night

the most she will do is growl at my youngest son. i was distracted one day when i heard her growl... i looked down to see Shane using her as a pillow, she was flat on her back, feet in the air, and he was laying across the stomach and laughing his butt off. all she did was look at me like "Uh... mom? What i do??"
yeah it scared me, because i was distracted. i knew Amber was laying beside me, but didnt know Shane had sneaked up on us. he's usually pretty loud.

she was never raised around small kids, but i feel like i did a good job teaching her self control in spite of that - i got her when i was in highschool... i didnt know any little kids! -

still i dont push her to interact with the kids. i've taught her its ok to jump over the baby gate to escape them, and she will.