Every dog owner thinks their dog is the best pooch on earth—not unlike how most parents feel about their children. The truth, however, is slightly more complicated than what owners and parents often see through rose-colored glasses. Just like humans, dogs have personalities, and some of them tend to be more gentle and mild-mannered, while others are more prone to aggression. And according to a May 2021 study out of Finland published in Scientific Reports, when in comes to the influence of several factors, such as size, sex, owner, and environment, kind of canine is the most aggressive dog breed of them all.
According to the study's researchers: "We aimed to identify demographic and environmental factors associated with aggressive behavior toward people in Finnish purebred pet dogs." To accomplish this, they collected behavioral data from 13,715 dogs via online questionnaires completed by their owners. They then used a dataset of 9,270 dogs, including 1,791 dogs with frequent aggressive behavior toward people and 7,479 dogs without aggressive behavior toward people, to determine which breed was most prone to aggression. Read on for the full results and see if your dog made the list.
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22 | Labrador Retriever
iStockProbability of aggressive behavior: 0.07
21 | Golden Retriever
iStockProbability of aggressive behavior: 0.10
20 | Lapponian Herder
ShutterstockProbability of aggressive behavior: 0.11
19 | Shetland Sheepdog
ShutterstockProbability of aggressive behavior: 0.11
18 | Staffordshire Bull Terrier
ShutterstockProbability of aggressive behavior: 0.13
17 | Jack Russell Terrier
ShutterstockProbability of aggressive behavior: 0.14
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16 | Smooth Collie
ShutterstockProbability of aggressive behavior: 0.15
15 | Chihuahua
ShutterstockProbability of aggressive behavior: 0.15
14 | Finnish Lapphund
ShutterstockProbability of aggressive behavior: 0.17
13 | Border Collie
ShutterstockProbability of aggressive behavior: 0.19
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12 | Cairn Terrier
ShutterstockProbability of aggressive behavior: 0.20
11 | Pembroke Welsh Corgi
ShutterstockProbability of aggressive behavior: 0.21
10 | Wheaten Terrier
ShutterstockProbability of aggressive behavior: 0.22
9 | Coton de Tuléar
ShutterstockProbability of aggressive behavior: 0.22
8 | German Spitz Mittel
ShutterstockProbability of aggressive behavior: 0.23
7 | Chinese Crested
ShutterstockProbability of aggressive behavior: 0.25
6 | Lagotto
ShutterstockProbability of aggressive behavior: 0.26
5 | Spanish Water Dog
ShutterstockProbability of aggressive behavior: 0.26
4 | German Shepherd
pryzmat / ShutterstockProbability of aggressive behavior: 0.28
3 | Miniature Schnauzer
Debra Anderson / ShutterstockProbability of aggressive behavior: 0.29
2 | Miniature Poodle
Shutterstock / Lim Tiaw LeongProbability of aggressive behavior: 0.30
1 | Rough Collie
ShutterstockProbability of aggressive behavior: 0.31
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