Been a study..... Here is an article about it:
http://phys.org/news/2014-02-aggressive-dog.html
Be interesting to read the original and see how reliable it actually is.
http://phys.org/news/2014-02-aggressive-dog.html
For the study, Rachel Casey, of the University of Bristol's School of Veterinary Sciences, and colleagues distributed about 15,000 questionnaires to dog owners regarding dog aggression toward people. About 4,000 were returned.
The researchers found that owners reported dog aggression toward unfamiliar people more often than aggression to family members.
Nearly 7 percent of owners said their dog barked, lunged, growled or actually bit unfamiliar people who came to their house. Meanwhile, 5 percent reported these aggressive behaviors when meeting people while out on walks. By comparison, only 3 percent of owners reported aggression toward family members.
The results showed that a majority of dogs were aggressive only in one of these three situations. A dog that would lunge at a strange person on the street was not likely to lunge when a strange person approached their house.
In breaking down factors associated with dog aggression, the researchers found much more than the dog's breed at work. For instance:
The researchers found that owners reported dog aggression toward unfamiliar people more often than aggression to family members.
Nearly 7 percent of owners said their dog barked, lunged, growled or actually bit unfamiliar people who came to their house. Meanwhile, 5 percent reported these aggressive behaviors when meeting people while out on walks. By comparison, only 3 percent of owners reported aggression toward family members.
The results showed that a majority of dogs were aggressive only in one of these three situations. A dog that would lunge at a strange person on the street was not likely to lunge when a strange person approached their house.
In breaking down factors associated with dog aggression, the researchers found much more than the dog's breed at work. For instance:
- Dogs owned by people younger than 25 were nearly twice as likely to be aggressive than those owned by people older than 40.
- Neutered male dogs were twice as likely to be aggressive as neutered female dogs. However, there was no significant difference in aggression risk between neutered and non-neutered males.
- Dogs who attended puppy-training classes were about one and a half times less likely to be aggressive to strangers.
- Dogs trained using punishment and negative reinforcement, however, were twice as likely to be aggressive to strangers and three times as likely to be aggressive to family members.
- Dogs obtained from animal rescue and other sources were much more likely to be aggressive than those bought from a breeder.