Of course it’s not 100% always because of their owners. But it can certainly be influenced by the owners. A pit bull is a dog that is inherently more powerful than most others and they require a skilled trainer in order to not pose a threat. For instance, the dog must always comply and drop whatever is in its mouth (well not even put it IN their mouth), due to the locking on nature of a pit bull’s jaw. The dog must heel to not run up and startle a kid. Etc.
Most if not all dogs were bred down from wolves. All of them have certain amounts of natural instincts left behind. Some more than others – like herding dogs, such as a border collie I am looking to add to my farm to help me out with the sheep. Others are much more domesticated and wouldn’t hurt a fly. But you can never trust that they won’t revert back to instincts, and as an intelligent owner you must be prepared for that situation and resolve it immediately.
Only recently was I introduced to the NILIF method of training – nothing in life is free. It basically amounts to making it clear to the dog that you are the alpha dog, as such the dog embraces its roll as beta dog and doesn’t even attempt misbehaviour. I think this will be the approach I will take with my working dog. As much as he will be my friend and partner, he is also a tool that can cause damage. The last thing I would want to happen is for either him or anyone else to get hurt as a result of wanting to be “kind” or “soft” on the dog and choosing to not train him to be compliant of my wishes about situations instead of thinking and deciding for himself. Such as with managing the sheep – I am the shepherd, I know what the next step is, his job is to help me round them up or separate a certain sheep, not to play with them and choose what ones to pick out himself.
Domestic dogs are a bit different but they all benefit from knowing who is the alpha dog. I’m pretty sure this is one of Cesar Milan’s key principles in dog training, letting the dog know you are the alpha and he is not. Once the dog knows this, they comply, it’s their nature as a pack animal. While it might be cuter to have a dog that jumps all over you when you walk in the door, there is something to be said for a dog that is calm and content and sits patiently while you portion out his meal, and only eats it when you say “Go ahead”.