It takes both nature and nurture to make a dog a bully

London, April 19 (ANI): It's not just a dog's breed but also the character of its owner that makes the pet pooch aggressive, says a new study.

The study found that the owners of so-called 'vicious' dogs commit more crimes than those who do not own such a dog, reports New Scientist

For the study, Laurie Ragatz and her colleagues at the University of West Virginia in Morgantown examined whether owners of vicious dogs - those classed by the American Kennel Club as breeds with a high risk of causing injury to humans - were different in personality and behaviour to others.

Their online questionnaire of 758 students, 563 of whom owned dogs, revealed owners of vicious dogs were significantly more likely to admit crimes such as vandalism, illegal drug use and fighting than other dog owners and those without dogs.

Clive Wynne, a psychologist at the University of Florida in Gainesville, said: "It takes both nature and nurture to make a bully."

The study is published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences. (ANI)