Fear the Dachshund

 Unless you've been in a cave for the past few days, you've probably seen the story about the a dog bite study that was done in part by a University of Pennsylvania researcher that named the Dachshund as the biggest biter among dogs. The Chihuahua and Jack Russel Terrier finished #2 and #3 respectively.  This story has been covered virtually everywhere, in newspapers and in blogs.  Even the Kansas City media jumped on this.

No one really published the actual data behind the study, although I did finally find a copy of it here.It appears from the chart that the study covered just over 3500 dogs and tested them for aggression vs humans, their owners and other dogs.  According to the numbers, over 50% of Dachshunds showed some type of  aggression (I do not know if the numbers are mutually exclusive, so I've assumed they are for these purposes).

There are several different ways we could interpret the data.  We could take the "mad mothers" route and push to ban these dangerous dogs, known for their eating of toes and genetalia. It sure sounds ridiculous when I say that in the context of Weiner dogs and Chihuahuas, but let's face it, if we'd seen Rottweilers or pit bulls top the list, these news stories would certainly have had a different twist.

Or, we could simply ignore the numbers, citing things like small sample sizes, the reality that no body seems to have a clue about their methodology, etc and decide that this isn't really accurate and get nothing from it.  That seems like a mistake too.  So what should be the takeaway?

In total, nearly 20% of the dogs showed some form of aggression. 4.4% showed aggression toward strangers. 1.9% toward their owners, and 13.5% toward other dogs.

For starters, aggression is not breed specific. Look at the list. Every single breed (all 31) that was covered in the story showed the capability of having aggression. Every single one had at least one bite directed toward its owner or a stranger.  Every single breed showed at least some signs of dog aggression.

Dogs are generally friendly to strangers, with 95.6% of dogs being kind to strangers.  No single breed had the majority of its dogs that showed aggression toward strangers.  The highest were Dachsunds at 20.6%, Chihuahuas at 16.1%, and Australian Cattle Dogs at 9.6%.

No dog breeds were likely to bite their owners.  Beagles topped this list at 7.9%.

Dog vs dog aggression is really quite rare also, with 86.5% of the dogs studied showed no signs of dog vs dog aggression.  While a good many people perceive 'pit bulls' to be "naturally dog aggressive", over 2/3 of the pit bulls covered in this story did not show any type of dog vs dog aggression. Their numbers comparatively high, but their 30.3% number trailed Jack Russell Terriers at 30.8% as the two most "dog aggressive" breeds.  However, many other breeds had over 29% of their dogs have some type of incident, including: Dachsunds (25%), English Springer Spaniel (24.6%), Australian Cattle Dog (24.3%), Chihuahua (21.4%), German Shepherd (20.9%), Wheaton Terrier (20.4%), Boxer (20%) Border Collie (17.8%).

So what do I take away from it? I guess the same thing that I've always thought.

1) In spite of what media reports would have you believe, most dogs are not by nature aggressive. In fact the VAST majority of dogs are not aggressive at all.  And the vast majority of ALL breeds are not aggressive.

2) That said, all dogs can be aggressive if certain instances present themselves, either through heredity, lack of socialization, environment, or other learned instances.

3) Dog vs dog aggression is far from a "unique" pit bull characteristic and can carry across all breeds of dogs.

4) If we're ever going to get at the very root of aggressive dogs in this country, we're going to HAVE to quit pretending this is a breed-specific problem, and educate and demand that all dog owners take responsibility for the training and behavior of their dogs.  When we start doing that, we will start making progress. Until then, people will continue to believe "their breed" isn't a potential problem and the problem will not be solved.

Comments

[s kennedy]

There are many dog breeds that are not so good w/other dogs, one only has to look at any larger dog breed book. There were over 2,000 dogs per day entered in the 4th July dog shows in So Cal, but most owners there know how to handle their dogs. I think it would be pretty neat to see more kids start engaging in dog training/showing, even if not the infamous AKC shows.

[Caveat]

Dachshunds are 'a breed apart'. Trust me, I have one from working lines.

It's so obvious that most dogs are not inappropriately aggressive that I can't believe the media outlets haven't clued in.

If dogs were as shy and sharp, not to mention untrustworthy and unpredictable as news reports would have us believe, then they wouldn't be living in houses, sleeping on beds, hanging out with people all the time, walking around in cities and towns, blah blah blah. They'd be a special type of pet for a special type of owner - like lions and tigers and bears - oh my!

I haven't read the study yet but plan to do so.

Thanks for the good comments.

And watch out for alligators - er, Wiener Dogs!

PS My little gladiator was an abuse/cruelty seizure. We were his fourth home at age 2 and I knew he was snappy when I took him. He was like a heat-seeking missile for the first couple of years but through firm, consistent and kind handling he is almost trustworthy with strangers now. He's about 14 with heart failure, arthritis and recently diagnosed liver disease.

[Orlando]

I've not been around a lot of Dachshunds but how did they get on the list of being so aggressive?

The restricted breeds on most lists are Pit Bull Terrier, Bull Mastiff, Doberman, English Bull Terrier, Alsatian, Japanese Akita, Japanese Tosa, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Rottweiler and Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

I think proper training is absolutely necessary to help ensure a healthy environment especially for dogs disposed to problems such as Pits.

I agree that training should include positive rewards. Owners should always have treats with them while walking their dogs to reward positive behavior at the time of the act.

Why are dogs so angry?

[Rocky Alexander]

"In spite of what media reports would have you believe, most dogs are not by nature aggressive."

On the contrary, most dogs are in fact aggressive by nature. It's the inhibition of aggression that is learned, not aggression itself.

[Mr. Chihuahua, Teacup Chihuahua :-)]

My mother has had both chihuahuas and dachshunds. I will say, we both always had the impression that between them both a dachshund tended to be a bit...um...toothier. I've found them a touch more intolerant of strangers and often have the "don't touch me with that hand if you wanna keep it" attitude. Chihuahuas are also a little feisty, but it's so cute when something that little has so much attitude.

[Link]

Hard to believe for me cause I have a dachshund and he has never bitten anyone.

He is 12.5 yrs old. He loves pig ears and when I try to take one away from him he becomes ferocious. It is all for show though cause I pick him up and ultimately the pig ear falls out of his mouth. This is the only time he ever shows aggression....related to a pig ear he is chewing on.

He has been cornered a few times by little children and was scared but never bit.

Well I can't address the study specifically I guess; just can only say my doxie has never bitten anyone...even the time or two when somone may have deserved it...

Interesting article, thanks!

[Brent]

Link,

Like 99% of all dogs, regardless of breed, I'm sure your dog is great around people, children, and other dogs. And interestingly that's half the point.

[Chris Landes]

If the whale can kill 3 people and live, then why put the Dachsund down for a bite? They are both aninimals and the little dog felt like he was defending himself. Maybe they were being mean to him. We had a groomer mean once, and our dog died from it. We didn't put the groomer down.
Chris
Missouri

[Tasha]

The link to the study seems to be broken, but if it's the one I'm thinking of (and it sounds like it is), then "aggression" as defined as "snarling, snapping or biting". So the dachshund above would classify as displaying aggressive behaviour towards it's owner.

And just because dachshunds "top the list" doesn't mean that every one of them is going to display aggression (as Brent has already said).

Just like saying that Pit Bulls are lower on the list means that they aren't aggressive at all. As Rocky says, "most dogs are in fact aggressive by nature", which is why it's important to judge aggression on an individual basis.

The other interesting thing is any "bite" is counted as aggression when in fact there are many reasons behind a bite, as well as severity. A lot of bites occur when a dog is hurt (accidentally or deliberately), the dog feels threatened (fear), an uninhibited "play" bite (say in a game of tug of war) or as the result of breaking up a dog fight (yes, dog directed aggression and human directed aggression are different. A dog can be none, both or either). Very few bites are as a result of "unprovoked aggression" (more likely, the signals went unnoticed).

[L. Antonio]

We have a mini doxie that is really agressive. Ive owned several different breeds including pit bulls, wimeraner, and three different terriers. The only breed we have had that has bit us, and our visiting guests and other dogs is the doxie. he is a rescue, but he didnt arrive as agressive as he seems now and we've owned him for about a year and a half now. He is not the alpha dog in our house either and is submissive to our very sweet and non agressive Boston Terrier. We are not well scooled on how not to treat and react to him and his behavior either, as this is not our first dog, we've had a personal trainer and we follow all the rules. Yet, he has ripped open various parts of our bodies and caused much pain and anguish. He is cute as a button and seems to want and like our attention on most occassions. We know two other Doxies owned by friends. One is agressive-like and does not bite and the other is the sweetest dog i've ever known. So, we realize that Doxies come with variety of behaviors. In all seriousness, we are well schooled regarding his behavior and to handle and not provoke agressiveness, but still i would consider him an extremely dangerous dog. If you've ever been attacked by a Doxie, you know how different the damage is with the kind of small sharp teeth and attacking methods.

[L. Antonio]

Wanted to clarify in my previous post that we '"are" well schooled on how to treat and react to him. I accidentally typed in the word "not".

Thanks.