According to a 2008 research conducted by the universities of Pennsylvania and Taiwan it seems that our beloved akitas are the most aggressive towards other dogs.
It's although very interesting that the research doesn't mention any hierarchical social structures, leaders of the pack, dominance etc. On the contrary, they mention the purpose that each breed was bred for. This comes to no surprise for us, since humans have used dogs for thousands of years against other animals, dogs (in dog fighting) and even against other humans.
‘‘Snaps, bites or attempts to bite’’ | |||||||||
n | Stranger | % | Owner | % | Dog | % | Rivalry | % | |
Akita | 99 | 3 | (3.00) | 1 | (1.00) | 29 | (29.30) | 5 | (7.10) |
Pit Bull | 132 | 9 | (6.80) | 3 | (2.30) | 29 | (22.00) | 11 | (11.50) |
Jack Russell Terrier | 78 | 6 | (7.70) | 3 | (3.80) | 17 | (21.80) | 7 | (11.10) |
Australian Cattle Dog | 136 | 13 | (9.60) | 2 | (1.50) | 28 | (20.60) | 5 | (4.90) |
Chihuahua | 56 | 9 | (16.10) | 3 | (5.40) | 10 | (17.90) | 2 | (4.80) |
Dachshund | 68 | 14 | (20.60) | 4 | (5.90) | 12 | (17.60) | 5 | (8.80) |
English Springer Spaniel | 57 | 2 | (3.50) | 2 | (3.50) | 10 | (17.50) | 4 | (9.50) |
German Shepherd | 292 | 13 | (4.50) | 6 | (2.10) | 48 | (16.40) | 13 | (5.80) |
Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier | 216 | 9 | (4.20) | 4 | (1.90) | 35 | (16.20) | 9 | (5.20) |
Boxer | 70 | 4 | (5.70) | 0 | 0.00 | 11 | (15.70) | 3 | (5.30) |
Australian Shepherd | 177 | 11 | (6.20) | 1 | (0.60) | 26 | (14.70) | 10 | (6.50) |
Border Collie | 163 | 13 | (8.00) | 3 | (1.80) | 22 | (13.50) | 7 | (5.10) |
Doberman Pinscher | 144 | 8 | (5.60) | 2 | (1.40) | 16 | (11.10) | 4 | (3.40) |
Beagle | 63 | 5 | (7.90) | 5 | (7.90) | 6 | (9.50) | 4 | (8.00) |
Great Dane | 53 | 3 | (5.70) | 1 | (1.90) | 5 | (9.40) | 2 | (4.90) |
Airedale Terrier | 66 | 3 | (4.50) | 1 | (1.50) | 6 | (9.10) | 2 | (3.60) |
Poodle | 169 | 2 | (1.20) | 0 | 0.00 | 13 | (7.70) | 2 | (1.40) |
Rottweiler | 210 | 10 | (4.80) | 2 | (1.00) | 16 | (7.60) | 2 | (1.10) |
Cocker Spaniel (American) | 107 | 5 | (4.70) | 6 | (5.60) | 8 | (7.50) | 4 | (5.20) |
Golden Retriever | 181 | 2 | (1.10) | 1 | (0.60) | 13 | (7.20) | 3 | (2.00) |
Collie | 132 | 2 | (1.50) | 3 | (2.30) | 9 | (6.80) | 2 | (1.60) |
Portuguese Water Dog | 75 | 2 | (2.70) | 0 | 0.00 | 5 | (6.70) | 2 | (3.30) |
Mastiff (English) | 126 | 3 | (2.40) | 1 | (0.80) | 8 | (6.30) | 5 | (4.70) |
Rhodesian Ridgeback | 69 | 1 | (1.40) | 0 | 0.00 | 4 | (5.80) | 1 | (1.70) |
Siberian Husky | 54 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | (1.90) | 3 | (5.60) | 1 | (2.10) |
Bichon Frise | 65 | 3 | (4.60) | 1 | (1.50) | 3 | (4.60) | 2 | (4.20) |
Bernese Mountain Dog | 67 | 1 | (1.50) | 2 | (3.00) | 3 | (4.50) | 1 | (1.60) |
Brittany Spaniel | 66 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | (1.50) | 3 | (4.50) | 1 | (2.00) |
Labrador Retriever | 349 | 8 | (2.30) | 6 | (1.70) | 15 | (4.30) | 6 | (2.20) |
Havanese | 73 | 2 | (2.70) | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | (4.10) | 1 | (1.80) |
Shetland Sheepdog | 57 | 2 | (3.50) | 2 | (3.50) | 2 | (3.50) | 2 | (3.80) |
Whippet | 59 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | (1.70) | 2 | (3.40) | 1 | (1.90) |
Greyhound | 62 | 1 | (1.60) | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | (1.60) | 0 | 0.00 |
The research concludes that besides the hereditary reasons an important role in aggresiveness plays the environment. They also mention that these results cannot be used as criteria to prevent attacks from any breed.
The research PDF can be found here
Photo by jorunngro