There is an inherited trait in cockers and other spaniels called rage syndrome. We found with my cocker that she was having petit mal seizures…as she came out of the seizure, she would attack anyone who disturbed her. I wonder if the “rage syndrome” is really an undiagnosed seizure disorder.
Once we moved from the city to our farm and she was no longer exposed to lawn chemicals, the seizures completely stopped.
Jack russels. Not just one individual, but practically every single one I’ve ever met. Both dog and human aggressive.
and there was a daschund that terrorized the neighborhood when I was a kid.
Alaskan Malamutes. Beautiful dogs but I hate them.
Hungarian Wolfhound, attacked both dogs and humans. Tried to kill my basset and if the German Shorthair Pointer hadn’t attacked the wolfhound for attacking my basset, my basset would have been dead. My basset worshiped that pointer!! As did I :;
St Bernard, tried to attack and would have killed my basset hound if we didn’t see the attack coming as it happened.
Golden Retriever, hated small dogs and would attack when given the chance
My Mom’s neighbor’s Golden Retriever. Nasty tempered thing.
I think it was a Lhasa Apso that a neighbor in an apartment we lived in had. She would tie the dog outside her door but with enough length to reach the sidewalk. It would lunge at and try to bite anyone walking by.
The last was a Jack Russell. He was owned by some friends who had been given the dog when he was nearly 2 years old. On our first visit after they got the dog, he ran across the yard to try to attack my son who was 5 or 6 at the time. It was completely unprovoked as we had literally just walked out the door with the friends. My son wasn’t being loud or running around. The dog ran past my 10 year old and husband and one of the friends to get to my younger son. Thankfully they kept him put up when people with young children came over after that.
Is there a breed NOT listed here?? Send this thread to those city councillors who are debating whether to have a ban on pit bull types.
Sorry, Wendy - we used to breed JR’s and each and every one of them had a super temperament - feisty and fun and steady. Dachies - another one we love, since we had one for 17 years, but have to admit they do vary and some are rather nasty.
[QUOTE=Foxtrot’s;7202638]
Is there a breed NOT listed here?? Send this thread to those city councillors who are debating whether to have a ban on pit bull types.[/QUOTE]
Agreed - there are bad dogs in every breed; probably at least half of them are that way because of bad owners, and the other half because of bad breeding. I think I have known/met GOOD or GREAT specimens of every single breed listed as well.
(My breed isn’t listed. 
the Brittany is pretty typically known to be so friendly they will show intruders where the treats are kept.)
I was bit by both my rescue scotties when I first got them and they were unsoccialized…but we are over that now…
I generally try not to put myself in a situation to get bit.
Interesting, SquishTheBunny, that you said you’d been bitten by a hyperthyroid cat. The two worst (well, ONLY significant) bites I’ve ever had from an animal have been from my hyperthyroid long-haired cat. She got me twice, my boyfriend once, and the pet-sitter once; it was a weird skin sensitivity thing, not aggression, she would bite herself too. And the most unpredictable aggressive cat I’ve ever met was a white long-haired tom who we bottle fed from a kitten.
Most aggressive DOG–funny the really nastiest dog I’ve ever known, I didn’t think of right off because she was never nasty to me. I was about 6 and we had a huge lab/retriever mix. She loved my mom and me and we both felt totally safe around her, and my parents let me play with her unsupervised so they must not have seen any danger, but to everyone else she was aggressive, particularly toward men. The neighbor was afraid to walk past the house and my grandfather and uncles couldn’t get out of the car with her in the yard. We finally had her PTS after she almost killed a cat. No idea why she was that way, we had raised her from a pup, trained and socialized, all normal.
I’ve met a couple of heeler/Aussie type dogs who were bitey. One was, I think, a fear biter but in a really bad way. It lived at a public stable and actually came out of a crate/doghouse in the barn aisle to bite a kid in the leg as the kid walked past. Absolutely unprovoked, kid didn’t even know the dog was there, in fact I didn’t either and I was standing right there and had been walking around that barn the whole day. Very weird.
The JRTs we’ve had have been very small-animal and cat-aggressive, but friendly and cuddly to humans. And the only pit bull I know is a total sweetie.
[QUOTE=Foxtrot’s;7202638]
Is there a breed NOT listed here?? Send this thread to those city councillors who are debating whether to have a ban on pit bull types.
Sorry, Wendy - we used to breed JR’s and each and every one of them had a super temperament - feisty and fun and steady. Dachies - another one we love, since we had one for 17 years, but have to admit they do vary and some are rather nasty.[/QUOTE]
My farrier has JRTs and they are AWESOME dogs. They are also incredibly well trained.
I never knew a Cocker, either american or english, who had “springer rage.” (Springer spaniels sometimes have that trait. My father was given one of those.) Our family friend had a big kennel here of cocker spaniels, she showed, and she created and published the weekly cocker magazine 50 weeks a year for years way back when (Cockers Calling). None of her cockers had any rage issues. And I lived with a guy in St LOuis who had an english cocker who was very nice. Nervous and high strung, but nice. No rage.
My aunt had a pekinese who used to nip me when I bathed the dog, and my cousin had a chihuahua who nipped our heels when I was a kid. However, these breeds could not kill us, unless we had been attacked by a pack of 20 of them or more. The breeds most responsible for killing people are the pitt bulls and rotties. Statistically, it’s the facts.
My aussie would always nip, especially guys I dated, but they didn’t kill. In fact, the herding dogs are bred not to kill anything. If they kill in the flocks or herds, the dogs are killed. (I buy my aussies from the bench and herding aussie breeders,Las Rocosa. My aussies never nipped the mentally handicapped, as they could always tell if people were mentally challenged. White male dates? Forget it, they got a knee nip. And deserved it.
Dogs which are bred to fight bulls and bears are dogs which can kill you. It’s not an issue of breed bias, it’s an issue of what is a breed bred to do, and while some dogs are bred to point quail, some dogs are bred to hunt wild hogs and hold/kill them.
Here’s one we have not mentioned yet. Great Pyrenese. This was DOG aggressive, and attacked my lab. But I understand it…she thought she was doing her job. But doesn’t make me feel any better about it. She was SUPER friendly to us people.
I have a Malinois that a lot of people do not trust. But he’s super sweet. He’s standoffish to those he does not know at HOME. Social as can be outside the home. But once he sees people come more than a few times, he’s their best friend. 
Especially if they toss the ball or Frisbee for him.
I had a cocker spaniel who was a love bug, and I hate that so many are not. She would lie down at her food bowl to eat. She was that lazy. And you could pick up her food no problem (as with all my dogs). As someone else stated earlier, there is so much bad breeding of ALL dogs and bad/lack of training. It’s not surprising dogs are so messed up. It is hard work to be a responsible dog owner (parent, horse owner, etc.). Consistency and discipline are what we go by with our animals. They thrive in that environment. Well, mine do.
Oh, and I’ve been bitten a few times as a kid, and it was ALWAYS with a small mutt. I was afraid of small dogs for a long time. I think like someone else mentioned, a lot of folks don’t bother to train those small dogs, because they can just pick them up instead. So wrong.
People should have to take a test and be licensed to breed/own animals. 
A borzoi/azawakh cross I got from the pound. He was crazy-aggressive. He showed displaced aggression -biting other dogs and fences (where the dog is on the other side). He climbed my 4ft fence and the neighboring 6ft, barbwire topped chain link fence to try to kill my neighbor’s pug. The final straw was when he attacked his groomer (displaced aggression).
I put him down then. It was a real tragedy and turns out it was an issue of this dog offending in his old home (I found out much information after the fact) and being surrendered to the pound under false pretenses (they didn’t have the courage to destroy him so they just didn’t tell anyone.
Paula
I’ve met a couple of heeler/Aussie type dogs who were bitey. One was, I think, a fear biter but in a really bad way. It lived at a public stable and actually came out of a crate/doghouse in the barn aisle to bite a kid in the leg as the kid walked past. Absolutely unprovoked, kid didn’t even know the dog was there, in fact I didn’t either and I was standing right there and had been walking around that barn the whole day. Very weird.
yeah, that’s probably not really aggression, it’s HEELING. The dogs are bred to herd cattle by nipping at their hind ends. Out of control heeling, no good, but not really aggression.
Cocker Spaniel. I grew up with this dog and he was always an untrustworthy snapper as a puppy and young adult dog. He seemed to grow out of it, but I really think we kids just got older and learned to leave him alone. But, unfortunately, my parents were very ignorant/irresponsible dog owners who eventually started letting him run loose on our small acreage when he was an older dog. He ended up biting the neighbor’s toddler in the face at age 10, and was euthanized at my parent’s request. Apparently, the neighbors and their child had been friendly with the dog for months and he showed no signs of aggression at all, then attacked the kid “out of the blue.”
In hindsight, this dog was textbook for rage syndrome that is known to exist in the breed. My parents bought him at the height of the Cocker Spaniel breed mania of the 1980’s, and these dogs were being bred very indiscriminately and in very large numbers to supply popular demand. My parents combined this increased genetic potential for aggression with very bad management practices, and the result was disaster. This dog didn’t have a chance. Terrible situation.
FWIW, I do not remember this dog having a sparkling personality at all, even outside of the rage episodes, so not much to recommend him. I quite reasonably chalk this up to his poor breeding and ownership experiences, and keep an open mind.
[QUOTE=freshman;7202863]
Cocker Spaniel. I grew up with this dog and he was always an untrustworthy snapper as a puppy and young adult dog. He seemed to grow out of it, but I really think we kids just got older and learned to leave him alone. But, unfortunately, my parents were very ignorant/irresponsible dog owners who eventually started letting him run loose on our small acreage when he was an older dog. He ended up biting the neighbor’s toddler in the face at age 10, and was euthanized at my parent’s request. Apparently, the neighbors and their child had been friendly with the dog for months and he showed no signs of aggression at all, then attacked the kid “out of the blue.”
In hindsight, this dog was textbook for rage syndrome that is known to exist in the breed. My parents bought him at the height of the Cocker Spaniel breed mania of the 1980’s, and these dogs were being bred very indiscriminately and in very large numbers to supply popular demand. My parents combined this increased genetic potential for aggression with very bad management practices, and the result was disaster. This dog didn’t have a chance. Terrible situation.
FWIW, I do not remember this dog having a sparkling personality at all, even outside of the rage episodes, so not much to recommend him. I quite reasonably chalk this up to his poor breeding and ownership experiences, and keep an open mind.[/QUOTE]
Solid color cockers appear to have more problems with rage syndrome than parti colored. It is believed that it’s related to an epileptic problem and is genetic. And you’re right, at the height of the cocker craze, and due to really poor breeding (those damn backyard breeders who breed what they’ve got to what they’ve got with no thought towards bettering the breed) you get rage syndrome.
It’s still unusual though.
I did get bitten once, enough to draw blood. He was a rescue collie type and had become extremely worried about having his petticoats hairs pulled or accidentally tweaked. Can’t say that I blamed him, really. He was under the table and I may have moved my foot. The owner should have put him in another room with so many strangers around, knowing his temperament.
One of my students just came in with stitches in her nose from their rescue Sheltie. Had the dog for nearly a year and they don’t know why he bit…
The most aggressive dog I have known was a Chessie. Part breeding, part lack of training. Big Italian family who bought him and put him on a chain in the back yard. He got loose and bit (minor bite) a neighbor. Grabbed me when I picked up the chain he was dragging but didn’t bite down. But the cold, considering look I got from him was chilling. Family said “Oh, yeah, he bites sometimes, but it had all been in the family before” Eventually the hospital reported that he bit the earlobe off a family cousin. Family response “He’s a boy - he doesn’t need an earlobe” They quarantined at vet and asked vets advice. Vet said euthanize. He had one more bite before they were forced to do it.
Another friend had a Chessie which was well cared for. He was never trustworthy with strangers but as he got older he became aggressive even to those he know. Owner euthanized when he threatened her -his person.
Sad to hear about Goldens. Twenty five years ago it was almost unheard of to have a truly aggressive Golden!
A collie gave me a nasty bite in the calf when I was a teenager. Chomped on and would.not.let.go. even though I was screaming and beating it on the head. So much for the Lassie-Come-Home image!
Recently my dog and I were charged by a good-sized bull-breed type dog. We were on the pavement walking, the dog was loose, and it didn’t make a sound. Just ran right at us, in what I assumed was attack mode. Luckily owner was there and called it off. He didn’t say a word.
I say “bull-type” because it had the characteristics of many “bull” breeds. I won’t say a definite breed because I’m not sure what it was.
Which is why the AVMA does not support breed bans. All dog breeds can be aggressive.
Personally, I would take a dog aggressive dog over a people aggressive dog any day! My dog doesn’t like all other dogs. He’s not leash reactive, but just doesn’t like dogs in his space. He has some dog friends. When he comes to people, he loves them all! That’s even including children. O and hes probably a pit mix, but really I have no clue. ( what do you think he is? http://instagram.com/p/evWsr2ECcE/ http://instagram.com/p/VXxTaRkCd1/ )
My friends have dogs who love all other dogs but it see a child or a black person and loses its cool. Its actually a very common trait in the island dogs here to not like the locals which is weird.
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