Things you never knew about dogs!

That's right, when it comes to even our common companion the domesticated canine, MSM and general misinformation of public opinion has jaded his image, and the facts will surprise you about some of these breeds. The first bit of real information we're going to look at, is the bite force of a few domestic dogs. Everyone knows the pitbull is strongest, right?



This is an actual clip from the testing national geographic did, which is where the information in the next article is sourced.

dog bite forces

The Pitbull has become a breed synonymous with strong jaws, biting and danger. While this dog does not have the highest bite force of the dogs National Geographic tested, it is one of the top four. The Pitbull bite was measured at 235 pounds of pressure. It is the most highly recognized breed for jaw and bite strength.

Go go pitbull! 235, doesn't sound bad to me. In the video he's a tenacious little guy, and definitely worthy of respect.

Although the German Shepherd was originally bred as a herding dog, it has been used as a guard and police dog with good reason. This is a powerful and intelligent breed. The German Shepherd's bite measured 238 bite force, just slightly above the Pitbull.

238!?!?!!! That's a little bit higher than a pitbull. What gives?

The Rottweiler, or Rottie as it is often called, has a huge head and large jaws. This breed bit with 328 pounds of pressure. The Rottweiler is considered the second most dangerous breed of dog; the Pitbull is number one.

Whoa, looks like we found the big dog in this test. 100 lbs more bite pressure than a pitbull!

Now for a few wild animals for comparison.



This video is long and not very well edited, but the star was the wolf coming in at 406 lbs of bite force. I say he's the star because I do not see it as a fair test. He just nibbled on it a bit, and was not tested by tug-o-war like the domestic dogs. I think he can bite much harder than that. The mastiff was documented in this video at 556 lbs. Now that, is a bite! Although I do think the wolf may be able to do better.

wild animal bite forces

When Brady Barr measured the bite force of various animals for a National Geographic program, a hyena again was measured at 1000 psi pounds of force. A lion's bite force measured 691, a shark 669, and a Rottweiler 328 psi pounds of force. A German shepherd came in at 238, and a pit bull's bite was measured at 235 psi pounds of force. As far as I can tell, there are no studies of any kind, peer-reviewed or not, showing canine bite force to measure more than the 328 psi pounds of force recorded by Brady Barr. If you know of any, please share.

The one that really gets me, is the Hyena. They are not a real big animal, yet they have three times the bite force of even the rotty? Simply amazing.

Let's take a look at how domestic dogs stack up as pets around children.

pets around children

Chow Chow- may not like to be touched, aloof, independent
Terriers (Rat Terrier, Jack Russell)- bred to kill vermin, often avoided due to tendency to nip, sometimes too hyper
Chihuahua- any toy breed is too small and delicate for kids, ex. breaking a leg falling off a bed, and may be intimidated and snap
Belgian Malinois- the author owns 3, but admits like many herding/protection breeds, they are too high-energy, high-drive and too impulsive to be suitable as a child's pet
Cane Corso- Large, very powerful, and may not tolerate children well
Border Collie- any herding breed is not the best choice, may try to "herd" children by nipping, some have fear/anxiety issues and may bite, very energetic
South African Boerboel- can be dominant, too over-protective, and are very large and powerful
Siberian Husky- the CDC considers them high risk for bites
Doberman- territorial, and some may be too protective over children
Shar Pei- guard dog instincts, independent

I find this list very interesting. Are these people serious? My GSD/chow mix grew up around my younger siblings, and they would hit him on the nose and head constantly because they did not know better. He was never anything but loving towards them. Not sure how accurate this list could be, or maybe it was the GSD temperament keeping him friendly.

My sister has a Jack Russel Terrier, which has never hurt her, although he has snapped at almost everyone else.

What makes a dog want to bite?

reasons why dogs bite

Biting dogs were significantly more likely to reside in homes with one or more children, ages 10 years and younger, and to be chained while in the yard. Of the 83 chained dogs, 44 (53%) had growled or snapped at visitors to the house. This same behavior, however, was reported in unchained dogs 44% of the time.

I did not see that coming. Dogs that live with children bite more often? You would assume it would be the opposite.

So, mastiffs have the strongest documented jaw strength, more than twice that of a pitbull. Chow chows and terriers are not good pets for children? The chow, I can understand. The terrier, not so much. Dogs in houses with children are more likely to bite than those without children? I wonder how often the bite victim is an overzealous child?

Moral of the story, don't anger a mastiff!

Cool bit of info there.

Got anything on Japanese Akitas?

Looking to get one at some point!

reply to post by SmoKeyHaZe


I think they were on the list I provided for so called worst pets around children. If they were not on that one, I've seen them on others. I haven't seen any testing on jaw strength.

reply to post by Evolutionsend


Oh, I saw some video on youtube that put Akitas up there with having a high number jaw strength
I can confirm they are not the best with children.

My cousin's akita is huge now (similar to the pic I posted), & once went crazy on my little brother for no reason

Most folks don't know that a dog actually scoops water backwards with the tongue rather than lapping as it looks like to the human eye.

Cool huh?

I love my dogs!
Go figure.

I have a yellow lab,she is a big girl at 110 lbs.
Then I have my little dude,a Havanese,at 15 lbs.
The dude is our alarm system,anyone comes within 50 feet of my property,he has the loudest bark,ear splitting,then any dog .
My lab,with her size,is sure to scare anyone away when she is in full defense mode.

A little info on the unknown dog....

The Havanese is not a yappy dog, but will alert its owners to approaching people. Usually acknowledging that you have heard their alert is enough to make them cease. Some have strong attachment issues, known by their owners as "velcro dogs," following household members everywhere, even into the bathroom.

en.wikipedia.org...

I hated little toy dogs til we got this one.
I have always been a big dog person,coming from living on the farm with farm dogs.

reply to post by jude11


I knew that, and I also know that cats and dogs lap their water opposite to each other.

Originally posted by kdog1982
I love my dogs!
Go figure.

I have a yellow lab,she is a big girl at 110 lbs.
Then I have my little dude,a Havanese,at 15 lbs.
The dude is our alarm system,anyone comes within 50 feet of my property,he has the loudest bark,ear splitting,then any dog .
My lab,with her size,is sure to scare anyone away when she is in full defense mode.

Yeah for sure with your lab...that's a big girl. I had a black female that was 112 lbs and when she was defensive around my little boy, you knew she meant business. Any other time she was the sweetest family dog you could want.

reply to post by Evolutionsend

A man generated 280 pounds of pressure while biting. Strange how we can bite harder than some dogs right?

reply to post by Warpthal


Not entirely. I have always had problems grinding my teeth at night, and without a bite guard I can shatter them. We can bite hard, that's for sure. Most people have a bad perspective of weight or pressure though. 235 lbs is not really a massive amount of pressure, but people still fear pitbulls anyways.

reply to post by sith9157


Our Lola,the lab,sleeps with my daughter every night since she was 5 when we got her,my daughter is now 13.
Labs are great with kids,but when something threatens that,they are ready to protect.I know,cause I trained her,and when I put on a disguise and try to approach my daughter in a threatening manner,she just about tore me apart.

I feel bad about the bad rap the pit bulls and the rottweilers get because it is all in the care,the love and the training of the dogs.
The abuse of these dogs,by training them to fight,that is what has happened to give them a bad name.

reply to post by Evolutionsend

How is the bobcat doing?
Did you decide to go through with keeping one as a pet?

reply to post by kdog1982


No. I do not want to be accused of animal neglect by everyone. No need to put myself or a bobcat through it, even if they do need a home. Better off at the zoo probably.

As a pet care pro.I can tell you these vid's are some what true,they can also mislead and omit information.There are manny factors that influance the results.Yes genetic predisposition is a huge factor,but so is a dogs surroundings,training and past history/expierences.

All dogs share some basic traits;some of these traits are naturaly stronger in some breeds.These traits can be either inhansed or "toned" down.I specialise in behavior modification for what is called "problem" dogs.Most of the time the dog is not the problem;it is the ignorance of the owner!

This topic cannot be condensed into a five min.video or a two or three paragraph post. If you are asstute enough to observe the manny different expierences other people have made on this thread you will see that like people,dogs do not fit into a box! lol

reply to post by Warpthal


Did you know a human bite can be deadly if left untreated? Its the # that is our mouth not the bite itself.

Always wanted to get a Mastiff, but dont have the money for that bears chow.

One day.

reply to post by ImmortalThought


My aunt had one, they eat a lot but they're really good dogs. I saw him scare off a pack of strays once by himself. Very brave and effective guard dog.

reply to post by Evolutionsend


I believe it and I am sure they will need a large yard, which at the time I cannot provide them in my apt living. Would feel bad if I kept him locked up.

reply to post by ImmortalThought


Actually....they're pretty happy to just sit around and do nothing. If you want to keep the dog in shape though, you have to work it. Things like hauling carts and stuff is what will keep them in good shape.

reply to post by SmoKeyHaZe


I would think twice about getting an Akita. They are notoriously hard to train, they have intense predator instincts and frequently attack and kill other animals. Akita's were originally bred in Japan for hunting large game. They are quite good at escaping yards/fences. They are sweet and loyal to their humans but very hard to handle because they just don't submit well. My mother had one years ago and it did not end well.