Just sharing what was sent to me by my behaviorist friend who works with K9s who have issues, especially aggression.  It is a 2009 study.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090521112711.htm

"Much worse, techniques such as pinning the dog to the floor, grabbing jowls, or blasting hooters at dogs will make dogs anxious, often about their owner, and potentially lead to an escalation of aggression."  While I agree with this, and most of us have/had and train dogs that would absolutely escalate their aggression when this is done.  After all, I looked all over the country for dogs who would have a high fight drive if challenged by a bad guy.  However, do NOT agree that asserting leadership is counterproductive or increases aggression at ALL.  I have three intact high drive males and if I did not excercise calm and fair leadership there would be chaos and horrible fights instead of relative harmony and three dogs that can eat together within a few feet of eachother.  Though the science says that wolf packs, for example, dogs do not remain static in rank there IS leadership.  Anyone who has ever handled high drive dogs knows that.  I can guaruntee if they come and try to grab my dogs jowels or alpha roll them there will be blood but also that if they had my dogs and failed to excercise leadership (each dog is diffeerent in the manner that works) they would have three males fighting to the death or serious injury, instead of the well ordered pack that walks, lives, eats and sleeps together.  They are too big, too strong and too driven and would not back down from eachother so that is where leadership has come in.  I don't know what type of dog were used in the study and also what bonding took place but owning the kinds of dogs we have, a lot of us, without leadership is a disaster.     

...and to add to your hmmm, I saw this article from the same site.... LOL

Disagreeable People Prefer Aggressive Dogs, Study Suggests

ScienceDaily (May 22, 2012) — Aggressive dog ownership is not always a sign of attempted dominance or actual delinquency. A study carried out at the University of Leicester's School of Psychology has found that younger people who are disagreeable are more likely to prefer aggressive dogs, confirming the conventional wisdom that dogs match the personality of their owners.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120522084326.htm

I think that explains why there are so many poor pitbulls. In the dog pounds.
Stupid people that think they are going to have "a bad ass dog", get a pit, and then instead of that being the case, they get a dog with a true pit bull temperment and personality,(loving,licking and jovial), and off it goes, either to the pound or the streets.

@kitkat-I wholeheartedly agree. I've got a pit bull that I've had since she and her mom/littermates were rescued from a bad environment. she is now 6 years old, has been nothing but a loving sweet girl, has spent her life sharing her (our) home with various sizes of other dogs, several cats and she has not once shown one bit of dominance or aggression. It is how they are raised and treated, imo

Yes, I'll second (or third) Kitkat and CMills on the the pitbulls. And actually, I never really thought of it that way either. Interesting. I have always thought, most of the "bad ass" looking pits are most likely the most lovable of all. But, their owners have some spiked collar around their neck with some huge chain leash. Cracks me up.

I wished I could agree about the pit bulls;  however we just had a lady killed by a pack of pit bulls in Fallbrook.  She was feeding them for her neighbor and they killed her and they did not find her for a short while and they ate parts of her.  We are all saddened by this incident around here then we find out an adult male pit has moved in around the corner from us all that is lunging and growling at people and other dogs and people walking with or without dogs.  Very scarey and unnecessary and the people are too stupid to correct the issue and have him on an expando lead when walking him and sometimes younger kids are walking him.  That is how they get into trouble.

Yes but Nans, over many years in the UK we have had similar tragedies
with other breeds - including GSDs.

We also have the same problems with antisocial behaviour and the keeping
of fierce looking breeds or mixes, often a pit or stafford or rottie or mastiff cross.
And dog fighting.

Here in the UK ppl who care about such things have a slogan:  DEED NOT BREED !

I agree, it's the deed not the breed or in many cases, it's the human not the dog.....

Thanks Mindhunt.  It started when the Dangerous Dogs Act first
came into Britain, trying to get rid of Pits  (and of the ppl who fight
them).   A complete balls up - we've had Amendments since then,
but we still get folks' Boxer or Staffordshire Terrier - or mixes with
similar 'bull' features - being dragged away because someone or
other says they are 'of the Type' (ie Am. Pit Bull Terrier type), and
many ppl have lost their perfectly behaved, friendly and innocent
dogs because they could not persuade the courts to give them
back.  And yet there are still real Pits and Pit-crosses around;
and still criminal activity around dog-fighting.