Dogs are More Aggressive if Walked by Men

There is a new study out that shows dogs who are walked by men show more aggressive tendencies than if walked by women! According to study results, dogs are four times more likely to threaten and bite other dogs and act aggressively when handled by men.

Petr Rezac and his team wrote, "We propose that the occurrence of threat and biting in dogs on a walk may have some connection with aggressive tendencies and/or impulsivity in people," adding that "dogs are able to perceive subtle messages of threat emitted by another dog. Simultaneously, dogs are unusually skilled at reading human social and communicative behavior." (Full story at MSNBC)

Also found in the study - dogs on leash sniff other dogs more often than when off leash, and they also threaten other dogs more often when on leash. Apparently there is even a term for this phenomenon - it's called leash aggression, and is likely because they can't have their freedom to run around and do what they would "in the wild". 

Have you noticed a difference with your dogs if he/she is walked by a female or a male? I think in our house, this study would simply result in my husband saying that walking the dog was MY job! (Our imaginary dog, of course, as we only have kitties!) (photo from bigstockphoto.com)

--Tammy