Does the breed of a dog tell us anything about its' behaviour?

Statements such as 'that is an aggressive breed' and 'all Border Collies chase children' are often reiterated by the public and some people in the animal care profession. Do these statements hold any validity? While this question has been addressed, the reports in the literature are variable with different research projects yielding different results. Labeling certain breeds as aggressive does not hold up to scrutiny, not only due to the variability in defining what specific breeds are, but because certain breeds are more popular and therefore have a greater percentage of the dog population, and collection of actual bite statistics. The best statistics, as far as overall quantities and recording of injuries that lead to medical attention, are based on US data; which may or may not be relevant to Canada given our different demographics.  

Within each dog breed certain characteristics tend to be selected for. However, due to genetic variability some offspring display these characteristics while others do not. It is also important to consider that depending on what environment and stimuli dogs are exposed to, some dogs may display certain behaviours to a different degree than others. 

In Steven Lindsay's "Handbook of Applied Dog Behavior and Training," he discusses breed variations and says, "The important issue at stake here is not whether a dog exhibits innately prepared or instinctive behaviour, but that such behavior exhibits sufficient variability and flexibility to be modified through training."  I interpret this to mean that if we breed dogs for certain traits we also need to confirm that we breed for bidability. This will ensure our ability to train them to display the behaviours we need them to display in certain environments, such as not chasing children in an urban environment, even if they can herd sheep on the farm.  Our ability to influence our dogs' behaviour is one of the most important aspects of living successfully with our canine pals.

To conclude, there is some truth to breed characteristics, but socialization, training and individuality hold more stock as to the final behavioural outcome.

For more specific information about bite statistics please see the 'A Community Approach to Dog Bite Prevention' published by the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Barbara Walmer CPDT-KSA, CBCC-KA, KPA CTP, ACDBC