Dog expert settles debate on 3 ‘worst’ breeds for families – 1 ‘bites kids’

A dog expert has shared the three worst breeds for families – including one that has “no off switch”. Will Atherton is a canine behaviourist and owner of Will Atherton Canine Centre and Will Atherton Training Academy with more than a “decade of experience, specialising in helping rescue centres with extreme behavioural cases”.

He also shares tips for owners online on his popular Will Atherton Canine Training YouTube channel, which has 1.23million subscribers. In a short video on the channel, he shared the breeds he believes are the least suited to families, highlighting the potential risk to children. “My job is helping fix dogs when they’ve gone terribly wrong,” he said, highlighting the breeds “I see that happen most often to” which families “might want to steer well clear of”.

His first pick is the Belgian Malinois, sometimes referred to as Belgian Sheepdogs or the Chien de Berger Belge. The breed has long been a popular herding dog across Western Europe, and are known for their tireless work ethic and intelligence.

They’re famously used by Belgium’s police for detecting drugs, explosives, and apprehending suspects.

Will says the working dogs are “capable of crazy feats of obedience and training, but that does not mean that they’re suitable for families”.

“They bite children, they herd children, they have no off switch, and they want to be go, go, go all the time.

Next up is the Caucasian Shepherd, “or frankly, for that matter, any of the giant livestock guardian breeds”.

Caucasian Shepherd Dogs, also known as Caucasian Ovcharka, originated in the Caucasus region. They have long been used by people in the mountainous regions Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Daghestan to protect homes and livestock from predators.

“Yes, they can be protective of the family, but they’re much better suited to live outside on a farm, and if you try and bring them in the home, they might not have the patience or the ability to get away from children that they find frustrating,” Will explained.

He says this “often does lead to bites on children”.

His final choice is the Dogo Argentino breed, which originated in the central Argentinian city of Cordoba.

Emerging around the 1920s, bred from a mix of various fearsome breeds, and designed to hunt big game like boar and pumas in packs.

Unsurprisingly they’re known for their incredible strength and relentless energy, which can make them difficult to train and control.

Will says he love Bastiff breeds, but of all them “this is the one that I hear going wrong with children the most”.