Here is something interesting I found on the local paper.
Dog breeds that are considered aggressive are no more dangerous than others, study finds
Posted by MarkRobison at 1/5/2012 1:53 PM PST on rgj.com
Dogs in Spain who are considered aggressive must be licensed. These include pit bulls and dogs who look like pit bulls. Adding to the overwhelming body of scientific evidence that pit bulls are not naturally more dangerous than other dogs, a study from last year that I just learned about found the so-called aggressive breeds are no more dangerous than other dogs.
Here are the dogs affected by Spain's "aggressive dog" licensing law:
Breeds and breed crosses classified as potentially dangerous:
Doberman (Andalucia only)
Pit Bull Terrier
Staffordshire Bull Terrier
American Staffordshire Terrier
Rottweiler
Dogo Argentino
Fila Brasileiro
Tosa Inu
Akita Inu
Dogs with certain characteristics of these breeds are also classified as potentially dangerous. The characteristics are:
Strong musculature, powerful or athletic constitution, robustness, agility, vigor and endurance
Short hair
Deep chest (60 to 80 cm), height of over 50 cm and a weight over 20 Kg
Big, square, head, with a wide skull and strong jaws
Broad, short and muscled neck.
Straight, parallel forelegs and muscular hindquarters, relatively long back legs standing at an angle
The peer-reviewed study published in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior concluded: http://www.journalvetbehavior.com/article/S1558-7878(11)00008-6/abstract
Breeds classified as potentially dangerous did not show aggressiveness more often than the remaining ones.
Here is an excerpt from a story about the study by the National Canine Research Council:
http://www.nationalcanineresearchco...ed-breeds-no-more-aggressive-than-any-others/
What the study did find was that the larger the dog (dividing the 232 dogs studied into 3 size categories), the less likely it was to exhibit aggressive behaviors toward people such as barking, growling, snarling lunging, snapping or biting. Large dogs were also less likely to behave fearfully. This is particularly striking with regard to the breeds identified as dangerous according to Spanish law, since most fall into the large dog category and the rest into the medium. Thus they are disproportionately represented within the least aggressive groups the study identified. Another notable aspect of this finding is that it is consistent with a larger study conducted in Canada a decade earlier, (Guy, 2001) suggesting that this inverse relationship between aggression and size may carry over across continents and long periods of time.
In looking at aggression toward their fellow dogs, the study found that gender and age played a role. Males were more likely to show aggression toward other dogs, as were to a small degree, the older dogs in the sample, but dangerous breed identification made no difference.
Compromise, hell! ... If freedom is right and tyranny is wrong, why should those who believe in freedom treat it as if it were a roll of bologna to be bartered a slice at a time?
