Disclaimer: This is going to be a long post. TL;DR: I don’t believe that any of the dogs on this list are actually dangerous dogs.
While reading Newsweek articles that reported on Reddit’s AITA, I came across an article from The Delight “World’s Most Dangerous Dog Breeds”. Being a dog lover and a person that doesn’t believe that there are dangerous dog breeds, but individual dogs with undesirable traits. The same thing goes for humans.
Anyway, here is their list of the world’s most dangerous dog breeds: 26) St. Bernard, 25) English Mastiff (dangerous mostly because of its bite PSI of 556, 24) Chow Chow (which has a 220 bite PSI), 23) Bull Terrier, 22) Great Dane, 21) Bullmastiff, 20) Kangal (bite PSI 743), 19) Labrador (really? really?), 18) Australian Shepherd (due to its herding instincts), 17) Mixed Breeds (umm…), 16) Siberian Husky, 15) Belgian Malinois (bit PSI 195…note the human bite PSI is 162), 14) Alaskan Malamute, 13) Akita, 12)Pakistani Bulldog, 11) Caucasian Shepherd, 10) Boxer, 9) American Bulldog, 8) Tosa Inu (banned in the U.K. and several other countries because of their potential for aggression?), 7) Cane Corso, 6) (Perro de Presa Canario), 5) Doberman Pinscher, 4) Rottweiler, 3) German Shepherd (19 fatalities over a 17 year period…that’s less than 2 fatalities per year!), 2) Pit Bull, and 1) Wolfdog (bite PSI 406).
Where do I begin? I guess I should begin and the beginning and when I reach the end I’ll stop (Alice in Wonderland reference). As I was reading/skimming the article, I felt that the author didn’t like dogs or big dogs, because all of these breeds are on the “larger” side (do with what you will with mix breeds and Australian Shepherd). Also, I don’t know if she’s ever had any of these breeds or was just doing research and came up with this list. I don’t know. It just felt biased to me. Of course, I might be biased because I have a Chow Chow and I’ve known several of these breeds to be sweeties. Take Boxers for example. I have never met a “bad” Boxer, spazzy ones, yes. Labradors? They can be a bit dense and weird, but not really bad. I guess I’ll start with the St. Bernard and end with the Wolfdog.
St. Bernards. I love St. Bernards. Growing up I had a St. Bernard/Great Pyrenees cross and he was the best dog in the world. Everyone loved him. Also, his name was Cujo, named after the titular dog Cujo. I read the book and have watched the movie and I feel the movie doesn’t do the book any justice. The movie focuses on Cujo’s aggression after the rabid bat bit him. The book does focus on that, but King also makes a point in adding that Cujo wasn’t a bad dog, but had a bad thing happen to him (I’m paraphrasing). I feel that this might have influenced the author some. Maybe not, but I just…I don’t know. I do know that a lot of these bigger dogs aren’t intentionally dangerous, they are just big and they can bowl over most people, the St. Bernard included.
English Mastiff. I haven’t been around English Mastiffs enough to judge their temperaments. However, I know of a lady and her family who have fostered many English Mastiffs and she loves them. They’re gentle giants.
Chow Chow. When people hear I have a Chow, they inform me that Chows are mean dogs. I didn’t trust Chows when I got Buddy, but I trusted that people wouldn’t bother me because he was a Chow. Buddy and I have a special relationship, but I would never get a Chow again. That being said, a well socialized/well bred Chow shouldn’t have many temperament problems. They just need to be exercised and socialized. I didn’t get Buddy as a puppy, but from what I read, Chows are chill puppies and that might be the reason why people don’t socialize them. I mean a chill puppy makes a good adult, right? Not necessarily. I think chill puppies need just as much socialization as hyper puppies, especially since chill puppies might not get the discipline that they need. I could be wrong. I’ll admit that I could be wrong about all of this, but this is my opinion.
Also, what’s with her adding PSIs? I get that some of these are “high,” but most don’t even come near some of the most dangerous animals in the world (Crocs, alligators…hippos…especially hippos…most definitely hippos…and did I mention hippos…no, I’m not scared of hippos, but…). When she mentioned the Belgian Malinois was 195, I had to check to see what humans’ PSI is. Not a big difference. The only difference I see is the type of teeth. Anyway, I digress (I’ll probably do that alot)
Bull Terrier, Great Dane, Bullmastiff. I haven’t had much experience with these breeds, but from what I can tell they’re generally sweet breeds. The Bull Terrier can have problems with OCD, but that’s because of years of inbreeding. I can see Great Danes being “dangerous” just because of their sheer size. A calm Great Dane can whip a person to death with their tail. Bullmastiffs…I don’t have an opinion either way, except they drool, a lot, and maybe people have drowned due to that.
This is only the second time I’ve heard of the Kangal so I can’t say anything. It’s a herding dog, so I get where it can be “dangerous”. I mean, these types of breeds were bred to kill big predators, what do you expect? Not dangerous on my list.
Labradors. No…just no. I know there are some bad individuals, but I’m not sure why it is even on this list. Mind you, I didn’t read the whole reasoning so again I could be grabbing at straws and trying to vouch for every breed on this list. That being said, I wouldn’t own a Lab. I find their personalities annoying. Of course this comes from the person who prefers independent breeds.
Australian Shepherd. Yes, they will nip your heels, but so will Heelers, Corgis, and the other breeds where that’s how they move livestock. Not good for small children, but that’s the nature of the breed. Not dangerous, just for the right family.
Mixed Breeds? I might, but don’t hold me to it, write a blog post about this. I have three mixed breeds (Clara, Luna, and Eevee) and have had several mixed breeds in the past. All have been pretty good dogs. I agree that you can’t determine the temperament of mixed breeds, but again you can’t determine the temperament of any dog. Yes, “pure breeds” have a more “stable” personality, but every dog is an individual and are influenced by genetics and environment. To put mixed breeds on this list is unfair.
To put any breed on this list is unfair. Although, let’s agree that Chihuahuas and Dachshunds are…special. I won’t call them dangerous, but they can be a bit snippy. The same thing goes for many small/toy breeds.
Siberian Husky, Belgian Malinois, Alaskan Malamute, and Akita. Working breeds. Active breeds. If they don’t get enough exercise, yes they might be irritable and hyper. That doesn’t make them dangerous.
Pakistani Bulldog and Caucasian Shepherd. I don’t know enough about these breeds to give my opinion. But they’re dogs and I love them and I don’t think they should be on this list because there’s no such thing as an aggressive breed.
Boxer and American Bulldog. I’ve never met an aggressive Boxer or American Bulldog. In fact, if Boxers didn’t have a shortened lifespan due to the genetic predisposition of getting cancer at a young age, I would have a Boxer or two. I love Boxers. They are so much fun. Their whole butt waggle is so adorable.
Tosa Inu. Banned in the U.K. and several other countries because of their “potential for aggression?” Don’t get me started…okay, I’m started. No…I’ll refrain. I don’t know much about the Tosa Inu so I can’t really say much. The same goes for Cane Corso and the Perro de Presa Canario. I don’t know enough about either breed. Yet I do know that at least the Cane Corso is used to hunt wild pigs and here in Oklahoma and Texas (it could be the whole Southwest or even the South) we have a lot of wild pigs and they are dangerous. Any breed that can hold their own against these powerful animals has my respect.
I will also take my hat off to Dachshunds. Badgers can be grumpy and Dachshunds can be feisty and can hold their own. Good for Dachshunds. Again, I digress.
Doberman Pinscher and Rottweiler. Growing up I was told that both of these breeds were dangerous. A childhood friend’s family had a couple Rottweilers (at different times) and I was afraid of them. Not because they were dangerous, but simply because they were big, playful, and could hurt us kids with even the gentlest swipe of the paw. As an adult, I’m still leery of them, but for the same reason. They’re big…says the person who wants another Great Pyrenees/St. Bernard mix. Doberman Pinschers, they’re cool and beautiful. I haven’t met too many, but they’ve always seemed sweet.
German Shepherd. The author’s fact about 19 fatalities over a 17-year period doesn’t make the German Shepherd look like a bad dog. As I said above, that’s less than 2 fatalities per year. I can’t be sure, but I’d like to think that the dogs involved in these fatalities were either untrained or ill bred or a combination between the two. I love German Shepherds. They can be divas, especially in the bathing room. Though they can’t sing like Siberian Huskies, they can be chatty.
Pit bulls. I once stopped to let a couple children pet Buddy. As they pet him, they told me that their mom told them that Chows were mean/dangerous dogs. I bit my tongue and refrained from laughing. This family owned a couple Pit bulls, both female I think and if I remember correctly they had to separate them whenever one of them was in heat because they’d fight. The pot calling the kettle black? Maybe. That being said, the Pit bulls that I’ve been closely associated with have always been sweet. I owned a Pit bull and if it wasn’t for his severe grass allergies (they were bad, all he had to do was step outside and he’d develop a rash. That was ten years ago and my then-husband and I didn’t have the monetary means to keep him well so he went back to the rescue/vet we got him from; that was a hard decision. I miss you Weber!) I would have had him for the rest of his life. I’m sure he’s no longer alive and if he isn’t Rest In Peace my dear boy.
Wolfdog. I remember a time I wanted a wolfdog. Back when I was a teenager I wrote stories about my character having a wolf dog. If I remember correctly, he was a blind, elderly wolf dog (or was he full wolf?). I was big into wolves back then. I still love wolves, but I wouldn’t own one. That being said, I’ve met wolves and wolfdogs and they require a special owner. I knew some people who had a wolfdog puppy. I think he wanted one and someone in his family had had one. They weren’t able to keep him past eighteen months. He was a digger and was restless in the city. I think they sent him to a home in the country. I don’t remember the whole story. I just remember that I once offered to train him and take him for walks and they told me they had to give him up. What was I talking about? Oh yes, wolfdogs, l don’t believe they’re dangerous, but I do believe they need a special type of owner who understands the needs of both the wolf and the domestic dog and provides for both needs.
Whew, that was a lot of typing. Until next time: give your good boy or girl and belly scratch and a kiss.