Interesting study looks at dog breeds most dumped in Australia

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Dog Dumpage

http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/this_weeks_fact_sheets/dog_dumpage

 

 

'Burke's Backyard', in conjunction with the RSPCA, has just completed an

Australia-wide (all mainland states but not Tasmania) research project

to compare the number of dogs of each breed surrendered to the RSPCA in

2003, with the 2003 registrations of births for that breed.

 

The aim of the exercise was to ascertain a satisfaction rating for each

breed. The presumption was that loved or good dogs are less likely to be

surrendered to the RSPCA. The RSPCA keeps dumpage figures by breed, as

well as the reasons for each dog being dumped. We divided the number of

dogs of each breed dumped during 2003 by the number of puppies of that

breed bred during 2003. Breed statistics were accessed from four

sources: Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,

Australian National Kennel Council, Greyhounds Australasia Ltd, and The

Working Kelpie Council of Australia Inc. This yields an index which was

used to compare 87 dumped dog breeds with each other.

 

 

Surprising result

The research indicates that the Maltese is Australia's most

unsatisfactory dog.

The Maltese is listed as the most common purebred dog in NSW yet

nationally

it is the most dumped purebred dog at RSPCA shelters.

 

Best loved of all

There were 62 dog breeds not recorded as being dumped at all in 2003.

These are in many ways the best dogs of all. Everyone loves them.

Nonetheless, many of them are very rare and may not even be recognised

as purebreds at the time of surrender to the RSPCA.

 

However, figures show that 11 undumped breeds had puppy registrations of

100 or more in 2003, making them a clear statistical choice. These are:

Afghan hound (123), Boston Terrier (225), Cairn Terrier (324), Chinese

Crested (203), Dogue de Bordeaux (201), French Bulldog (159), Griffin

Bruxellois (115), Italian greyhound (176), Japanese Spitz (159), Lowchen

(100), Scottish Terrier (174).

 

Dog breeds not dumped at all

Any of the breeds listed below have very good credentials as none were

recorded as being dumped at all.

 

 

Affenpinscher

Afghan Hound

Anatolian Shepherd Dog

Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog

Bedlington Terrier

Black Russian Terrier

Bloodhound

Borzoi

Boston Terrier

Bouvier des Flandres

Briard

Cairn Terrier

Chesapeake Bay Retriever

Chinese Crested Dog (hairless, powder puff)

Dandie Dinmont Terrier

Deerhound

Dogue de Bordeaux

English Toy Terrier (Black & Tan)

Eurasier

Field Spaniel

Finnish Lapphund

Flat Coated Retriever

French Bulldog

German Wirehaired Pointer

Gordon Setter

Griffon Bruxellois (Standard, Rough)

Hamiltonstovare

Harrier

Havanese

Irish Red and White Setter

Irish Terrier

Irish Water Spaniel

Italian Greyhound

Japanese Spitz

Kangal

Kerry Blue Terrier

King Charles Spaniel

Lagotto

Lakeland Terrier

Large Munsterlander

Leonberger

Lowchen

Manchester Terrier

Norwegian Elkhound

Norwich Terrier

Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever

Parson Russell Terrier

Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen

Pharaoh Hound

Portuguese Water Dog

Puli

Pumi

Pyrenean Mountain Dog

Scottish Terrier

Sealyham Terrier

Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier

Sussex Spaniel

Swedish Vallhund

Tibetan Mastiff

Tibetan Terrier

Welsh Springer Spaniel

Welsh Terrier

 

The 10 most dumped dogs

These are the least satisfactory, in descending order.

 

1. Maltese (ie, most dumped)

2. Australian Cattle Dog

3. Australian Silky Terrier

4. Maremma Sheepdog

5. Rottweiler

6. Fox Terrier

7. Alaskan Malamute

8. English Setter

9. German Shepherd

10. Jack Russell Terrier

 

Two other breeds, the Finnish Spitz and the Foxhound also had extremely

high dumpage rates. We left them off our most-dumped list due to their

very low overall numbers (4 and 11 respectively) which render the

statistics questionable. Nonetheless, these breeds remain suspect.

 

The 10 least dumped dogs

Of those actually appearing on the dumpage lists, these are the most

satisfactory breeds, in descending order.

1. West Highland White Terrier (least dumped)

2. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

3. Hungarian Vizsla

4. Pug

5. Airedale Terrier

6. Welsh Corgis (both types)

7. Whippet

8. British Bulldog

9. Shetland Sheepdog

10. (Equal) Bernese Mountain Dog & Schnauzer (all sizes)

 

It is interesting to note that, of those breeds dumped, the Maltese is

the most dumped, yet the West Highland White Terrier is the least

dumped. Both are small, fluffy, white dogs, yet one is heavily dumped

and the other isn't. Why?

 

 

Aggression

Aggression turned out to be the most significant reason for dumpage of

dogs when you ignore random causes such as 'owner moving', etc. Almost

all of the most dumped dogs were commonly dumped for aggression, whereas

none of the 20 least-dumped dogs showed a significant problem with

aggression.

 

Three breeds stood out as nasty pieces of work. Can you guess the three

breeds? They were the Maremma Sheepdog, Maltese and Australian Cattle

Dog. The number of Maremma Sheepdogs was small, so the title for

Australia's most aggressive dog goes to the Maltese. While it might be

acceptable for a guard dog to be a little aggressive, it is certainly

not acceptable for a lap dog like a Maltese to be aggressive. This

raises serious issues about Maltese breeders failing to select for sound

temperaments in their dogs. The single West Highland White Terrier

dumped was dumped due to its owner's bad health.

 

The 10 breeds most dumped due to aggression* are:

1. Maltese

2. Australian Cattle Dog

3. Fox Terrier

4. Alaskan Malamute

5. Rottweiler

6. Akita

7. Australian Silky Terrier

8. Old English Sheepdog

9. German Shepherd

10. Jack Russell Terrier

 

Both Maremma Sheepdogs and Irish Wolfhounds were also commonly dumped

for aggression, but the sample was rather small.

 

* To index aggression we included dumpage due to the following stated

reasons: 'dog aggressive'; 'dog bites'; 'dog attacks/fights other dogs

or other animals'; 'dog does not get on with kids' and 'dog not

trusted'.

 

Barking

A significant number of dogs were dumped due to barking. Again the

Maremma tops the list of dogs dumped for barking but the numbers of

Maremmas and also the Bearded Collie, the second-worst barker, are

rather small so we will just issue a clear warning to watch out for

these two. So again, the award for the worst barker goes to the winner

of the most aggressive category, the Maltese.

 

The breeds most dumped for barking are:

 

1. Maltese

2. Shih Tzu

3. Basset Hound

4. Australian Cattle Dog

5. English Springer Spaniel

6. Pomeranian

7. Bullmastiff

8. Australian Silky Terrier

9. Rottweiler

10. Fox Terrier

 

Don's summary

Without doubt the survey indicates that the Maltese is Australia's most

obnoxious dog: worst barker, most aggressive and most dumped at the

RSPCA. The survey also shows that a sensible buyer would purchase a West

Highland White Terrier instead of a Maltese. 'Westies' came out really

well in our survey.

 

We would recommend against the purchase of a Maremma Sheepdog as a pet.

These dogs were bred to live alone with sheep, not with a family. The

small sample suggests that they are both noisy and dangerous. Australian

Cattle Dogs would be a poor choice also. Many of them make great pets

but a lot of them are nasty and many bark too much.

 

There are so many wonderful dog breeds. Please consult our lists of

breeds with dumpage rates of zero, or our 10 least dumped breeds prior

to purchasing your dog.

 

Most breeds came out really well in our survey, so why risk your

happiness by selecting from some of the heavily dumped breeds.

 

Further information

Burke's Backyard has spent many months compiling these statistics,

nonetheless, as with all surveys, there are possible sources of errors.

 

1. Breeds may have been mis-identified by their owners or the RSPCA on

surrender.

2. Some samples are very small (ie the dogs are rare) leading to the

possibility of statistical errors

3. Some purebred dogs may be bred outside of the normal pedigree (ANKC)

system, thus they could skew results. Mind you, this could apply equally

across all breeds, cancelling itself out.

4. Breeds going out of fashion may be more heavily dumped

5. When dogs are surrendered people may not necessarily state the true

reason for dumping them.