Guess what the most aggressive dog is?

I walk our 2 Cavalier KC spaniels every day, and have done for years. We have never had any problems passing any kind or colour of a spaniel - they all seem to love each other.
Some particularly small lap dogs seem prone to barking at everyone. And we give space to staffies, rottweilers and GSD because I'm not keen on them, though they've never given us any bother. I think I find their big jaws intimidating.

When I was young we had a golden spaniel which was aggressive. It eventually bit my grandmother and had to be put down.

Someone I work with has a spaniel/ whippet cross, it’s 14 months old and has already killed rabbits and a chicken.

My friend has a cockerpoo that barks aggressively at men.

In truth, if I was looking to get another dog any sort of spaniel would be last on my list.

depends the human/had a border collie clawed my face
i became a groomer and vet tech
have or had staffies wolfdogs
34 lb cat part maine coon manx x
treat them well and they will love you forever

DH trained and occasionally bred working springers. Only dog I’ve ever been bitten by was a dachshund a couple of weeks ago!

We worked with dogs of all breeds for years and certainly came across 'cocker rage' in several golden cockers and have been bitten by one as a child.So I wasn't too surprised to see this report.I wasn't sure if it was still as much of an issue. We have springers ourselves and have had no problems. And one of the loveliest dogs we dealt with was a Rottweiler. Plus we had a staffie x who had had a terrible start in life and never showed any aggression despite that. So yes although I love dogs generally wouldn't personally get a golden cocker on the basis of my own experience.

The only dog I've been bitten by were Alsatians. Both times outside the house as a child. Not my favourite breed.

Cocker rage is still around. I know someone who runs her own dog training business and because she has also bred spaniels, she gets a lot of spaniel owners coming to her with this issue. The most vicious dog I've ever known was a Jack Russell, while the only time I've ever been bitten was by a Toy Poodle. In contrast, the biggest, softest dog I've known was a massive Rottweiler who had had the most horrible start in life and if any dog had good cause to hate humans, it was her - but she loved everyone.

Predictive text wont let me write the word for unwell!

Pleased to hear it. It is so difficult when animals are I’ll, at least with humans we can offer support and distractions.

Aldom and J52, thank you so much for your kind words about my little girl. As I said she is a lot better now, and managing pretty well on three legs. At first it was fairly awful as despite strong pain killers, she was in a lot of discomfort and seemed loathed to go far for fear of tippling over which she did quite frequently. Anyway, lots of perseverance and encouragement, six weeks on she is managing pretty well and is a lot brighter in herself.

I hope your girl makes a good recovery Jaberwok ❤️
I totally agree that dogs needed to be treated with dignity, not as toys.
The children in our family are taught that the dogs need to be left alone when eating or sleeping.

Jaberwok I'm so sorry to hear about your dog's accident and the loss of one of her legs. I hope she makes good progress and enjoys her new life on only three legs. Best wishes.

Our family black and white Cocker is the most gentle dog. He would make a good therapy dog.

“Cocker rage” was like psychosis but I thought it had been bred out of them long ago.
The idea that dogs want to be “pack leader” was discredited long ago too. It’s nonsense.

We have had four Cocker Spaniels all of whom have been an absolute delight. The are lively and can be boisterous, they do need a firm hand, plenty of exercise and lots of love. Our present little girl is a 7 year old working Cocker, golden and white who, like her predecessors is lovely affectionate girl. However, I would never ever leave her on her own with a small child or allow people to over pet her. She is dog, not a child and cannot be expected to react responsibly to strangers making weird noises and grabbing at her. She is less lively at the moment as 6 weeks ago she had a bad accident which resulted in the loss of her left front leg!! She's managing really well,but it has slowed her down!

It can be misleading to fall in with the usual "surveys" which produce a "villains list" of dog breeds, Such lists can only ever be a rough guide, as virtually any breed can become aggressive given the appropriate circumstances. Yes, there are those, as in this article, which are specifically bred and trained, often by criminals, to be viciously territorial, but they are the exception, rather than the rule. In the main, responsible owners and breeders work hard to ensure that their dogs are user-friendly, so let's keep things in perspective here. We have two Cavapoos, who can certainly deliver a nasty lick, and also owned a 35 kilo Yellow Lab who failed guide dog training because she was "too friendly". Treat dogs right, and they will repay the compliment.

Louella12

I recall reading that labradors caused the most bites. But there's a lot of labradors out there.

And people aren’t wary of Labradors so they might not hesitate to invade their space the way they would with eg a Rottweiler. I was told by a vet years ago to be wary of them and I was really scared on the beach a while back when a huge Labrador ran up to us and started barking. Its owner was a long way away and did nothing. I’m wary of all dogs even though I love them.

I recall reading that labradors caused the most bites. But there's a lot of labradors out there.

I have my second blue roan, sweet gentle girls both of them. Years ago there was an issue of poor temperament in solid colours, particularly reds. Responsible breeding stopped it. There seems to be an emerging problem with resource guarding in cockers/cockerpoos. I volunteer for a re-home charity, we see it often. I follow a couple of spaniel Facebook groups, where resource guarding resulting on the dog biting is common.
The force free/positive training approach is good but - throwing treats or bribing a resource guarder with something of higher value seems to be the only advice out there. I saw one incident where a 7 year old had puncture marks on his arm, blamed on the child for trying to get his toy back. Don’t blame the dog, train the child to leave it alone was the advice.

My husband always says that the most aggressive dog he dealt with when he was in practice was a chihuahua!

The worst tempered dog I knew was a cairn terrier! But all the other cairn terriers I knew as a child, when they were very popular indeed in the Glasgow area were nice tempered dogs, so I don't think it is a characteristic of the breed.

The spaniels I knew where all good natured, but just not very bright.

Lets remember that dogs, for all their fancy breeding, are descended from wolves. They look to a leader of their pack and the owner must train them so that they are recognised as that leader. They are not babies.

My friend had one of those spaniels. One night it went for her and cornered the children in the kitchen. The vet said it had dementia and had to be put down.

My own experience is that working collies are sneaky and will nip your heels, terriers are often aggressive, but any dog with a bad owner can hurt you, big dogs especially.

When I was in my teens we had a Springer from a pup and it was very boisterous but also very gentle. Super, super intelligent and a joy to train. Never saw any sign of aggression in it.