New Zealand Dog News

Reviewing the dog news in New Zealand with editors comments. Someone needs to keep reviewing how our dogs are doing in society.

April 20, 2009

Do 'vicious' dogs learn from their owners?

ARE you right to trust your instincts if you cross the street when you encounter a snarling pit bull with an equally forbidding owner? A new study suggests that the owners of so-called "vicious" dogs commit more crimes than those who do not own such a dog.

Laurie Ragatz and her colleagues at the University of West Virginia in Morgantown examined whether owners of vicious dogs - those classed by the American Kennel Club as breeds with a high risk of causing injury to humans - were different in personality and behaviour to others. Their online questionnaire of 758 students, 563 of whom owned dogs, revealed owners of vicious dogs were significantly more likely to admit crimes such as vandalism, illegal drug use and fighting than other dog owners and those without dogs (Journal of Forensic Sciences, DOI: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2009.01001.x).

It's not just a dog's breed but also the character of its owner that may make the dog aggressive, points out Clive Wynne, a psychologist at the University of Florida in Gainesville. "It takes both nature and nurture to make a bully," he says.

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