The most important period for forming a dog’s personality is the first months of life: when they are still puppies they learn to live in the world, to interact with other dogs (and often with humans), and it is in these first crucial months that their personality is formed.
This can become a problem for all puppies who have suffered trauma: a study published in Scientific Reports shows that dogs who have a difficult childhood are more likely to become aggressive as adults – albeit with some distinctions.
Trauma more than race. The study involved almost 4,500 dogs belonging to 211 different breeds: first their humans filled out a long questionnaire to describe their behavior, lifestyle and also their past and their life as puppies. Then it was time for the personality test, a standard when studying dogs called C-BARQ and which is used to evaluate the animals’ levels of fear and aggression. The data allowed us to answer a fundamental question: does the breed or the past matter more in an aggressive dog?
Traumas in the first six months. The answer is obviously complex and non-binary, but data shows that puppies who have suffered trauma in the first six months of life are more likely to become aggressive adults (more prone to bites without reason). This is regardless of the sex of the animal and whether or not it is sterilized: trauma is the first indicator of a probable problematic adult.
difficult childhood. However, there are differences between breeds with a genetic basis. For example, huskies traumatized as puppies are more likely to become aggressive (or excessively scared) than golden retrievers: there are breeds that resist trauma better, although the study explains that there are no breeds that are completely resistant to trauma.
The answer to the question therefore is: race has something to do with it, but up to a certain point. The real distinction between aggressive dogs and non-problematic ones is the presence or absence of trauma suffered as puppies. If you have a cowardly dog, therefore, or one that is aggressive towards strangers, forgive him: in all likelihood, he had a difficult childhood.
