Any merit to "dangerous breeds"?

[Seijun]

Is there any merit to the idea that a dog breed can be inherently dangerous? I'm not trying to name names, support BSL, or accuse any breeds of being "bad", but if a dog can be created that will inherently hunt (aka "be aggressive to") birds, or coons, or whatever other animal chosen, then theoretically wouldn't it be possible to create a breed inherently aggressive towards humans? (For example, dogs bred to fight in wars.. Wouldn't they have been bred to be as aggressive as possible...?)

~Seij

[Guest Anonymous]

Most of the Mastiff breeds were once used as dogs of war and trained to kill or maim advancing or fleeing soldiers in the Roman Empire era and pre Roman Empire era.

[ObedienceGrrl]

I'm not sure the word you are looking for is aggression.....but maybe protection/guarding perhaps?

Take a look at my GSDs. Are they aggressive? No. If you come on my property will they bark and growl? Of course. I had them out back (before it was fenced) and a worker came around back because he saw me. The boys charged him to bark/growl and circle.

Can I tell someone who is knocking on my door to just come in? No way. My husband or I need to go to the door first and invite them in. A guy selling security systems actucally tried to push past my husband to get into our house. Jeremy had already told him no about 3 times. The more upset Jeremy's tone of voice became, the more aggitated the dogs became....and when this man tried to push past him, the boys went hysterical. Full show of snarling, hackles raised, and barking. The minute he steped back, they were fine.

Would some people call that aggression? I guess to an untrained eye it might be.....someone who knew nothing about dogs could say that my dogs are killers. But people like us know better. We know that certain breeds were meant as gaurdians. Protectors. We have now turned into 'flocks' for many of these breeds.

So I guess to answer your original question.....I don't believe that a dog can be bred to be an aggressive dog. I believe you can make one from day one of a puppy's life. No human contact, no love, no affection. No praise, no food, no shelter. Abuse and torture. That would be the recipe for an aggressive dog.

[True_Pits]

Yes its possible. Filas are bred to be very protective and aggressive, but there are also some breeders breeding more docile less aggressive Filas. But its possible to create a "human aggressive" breed, just like having aggressive lines is possible. But thats throw bad breeding, of course its still hereditary and has nothing to do with how the dog was raised/trained. You can breed a dog for just about any function, including aggression, dangerous and unpredictable. If people don't believe that they need to further research breeding and genetics.

[BuddysMom]

YOW that is so weird and horrific to contemplate a "WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION" in the form of a dog?! A creepy yet interesting (?!) thought. When I think of dogs used in WWII I immediately think of GSD (German (!) yet fighting on U.S. side...) Correct me if anyone knows otherwise but weren't they best used as messengers, not for attacking? Of course a dog WMD would have to be loyal to some people and vicious to others (?) This is just so disturbing really.

[Malamum]

Is there any merit to the idea that a dog breed can be inherently dangerous

theoretically wouldn't it be possible to create a breed inherently aggressive towards humans?

In theory I would have to say yes.

If for some insane reason we humans decided to create a breed that was habitually aggressive towards people, I don’t see why it couldn’t be done. However like any breed bred for a certain trait it would take decades and generation after generation of selectively breeding for those traits before that characteristic became a given with that particular breed.

It’s a pretty scary thought though.

[Ripley's Girl]

The Fila Brasileiro is an example of that. They were (And by some breeders, still are) bred for "Ojeriza". A well-socialized Fila isn't a 'vicious man-eater', though. They would defend themselves and their territory without a doubt, but in general I think they would just prefer that strangers leave them alone.

[ObedienceGrrl]

But isn't a Fila used for general protection? So wouldn't you say that is strictly protection/guarding and not outright aggression?

Or are these dogs known for turning on their owners because they are so people aggressive?

To me.....when I think of a dog that has human aggression, it will bite anyone, family/pack included. And for no reason. Not just strangers for being on or near their property or close to their family.

[Pumpkin the musher]

As far as a weapon of mass destruction goes, I have 10 of them-Alaskan Huskies. Yessir- these dogs are downright dangerous if you happen to be :
A: a doghouse constructed of wood
B: A dogdish made of anything less than heavy duty stainless
C: Food of any kind- still moving or not.
D: A cat
E: Really expensive wool gloves.
F: Really expensive dog harnesses.

Oh, did I mention that Alaskans love to chew? :wink:
I'm being facetious though- I guess that I have to believe that certain breeds of dogs are inherently aggressive- people brag about the hunting ability of labs, pointers and so on, the sled pulling abilities of huskies, tracking ability of bloodhounds, it stands to reason that aggression is a breedable trait. Unfortunate, but true.

[AllAmericanPUP]

Yes. but that breed is NOT pit bulls or any other "well known" breed.

i remember reading about a mastiff type breed that was actually bred to be human agressive, i dont remember their reasoning behind this and i dont remember what the breed was called(it wasn't fila's) but I will look it up later.