Aggression towards owners in a dominance context is a common behavioral problem in dogs. A review of 24 cases (21 males and 3 females) presented to the Veterinary Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for dominance aggression revealed that it is a predominantly male trait, and pure-bred dogs (n=21) are presented more frequently than are mixed breeds (n=3). Each dog diagnosed as dominant aggressive manifested aggression in three or more of 17 circumstances involving physical manipulation, discipline, or guarding of food, objects or resting places. A combination of techniques including castration, use of synthetic progestins, and behavioral techniques were used to treat the dogs. Three to 15 months after the behavioral consultation, 19 owners were contacted by telephone and interviewed by a person identified as a neutral party unassociated with the service. The owners were asked a standardized set of questions. Twenty-one percent of the owners reported that their dogs were 90% or greater improved, 53% reported a 70% or greater improvement, and 79% reported a 50% or greater improvement. Although the frequency and intensity of aggressive behavior was reduced and the majority of persons were highly satisfied, the dominant aggressive tendencies of the majority of the dogs were not completely suppressed.
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Line et al. (1986) studied this question.