Question for owners of "dangerous" breed dogs..probable debate

[katerkat]

I think it's both - some breeds are more likely to be killers, what with their temperment and jaw strength. Actually, I think I read that Cocker spaniels attack more than pit bulls - they just aren't strong enough to kill that often. But if you get a dangerous breed as a puppy and raise it right, chances are it'll be a good dog. My neighbors have two Rottis and they are great with the neighborhood kids. My SIL had a German Shephard she adopted as a young adult and he had to be put down for violence issues.

 

[Skywalker]

I think there are some "bad dogs" and some "bad owners" and when you get both put together you have problems. Alter either one in the equation and things will probably be all right.

Funny, we had two dogs from the same litter and raised them both together - one was a sweetheart with everyone, the other tried to bite our children and attack the mail man, etc. etc. Same genetics, same environment...so who knows? I guess each animal has their own personality and sometimes it is just hard-wired.

 

[Donny Baker]

owners or training notwithstanding. it's the sheer strength and bite PSI of the animals that make them dangerous. not to mention the fact they are animals, and their behavior can be suspect at any given moment. the most gentle Rott can turn and kill a person if it feels he or she is threatening it's master. it's laughable and ludicrous when an owner of animal can proclaim they know what that animal is capable of. any dog breed that is capable of killing a child should be eradicated. our community doesn't allow dangerous breeds, with good reason.

 

[Kimberly]

any dog breed that is capable of killing a child should be eradicated. our community doesn't allow dangerous breeds, with good reason.

Wow, that's a pretty harsh comment there, considering a golden retriever could be capable of this.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I absolutely disagree with the argument there are no "bad" dogs - if by bad you mean that there are no dogs with a predisposition of agressiveness toward humans or other animals. Some breeds are more likey than others to posses these traits but all dogs have the possibility.

I agree with this statement.

As far as the Pit Bull story, it's likely in that horrific scenario that the Pack Mentality was in full effect. This is something that people need to be aware of when they have more than one dog. I posted this on another dog fighting thread, it was written by a dog trainer.

The incident in the tennis court is what we call a "pack situation". Whenever you have more than two dogs together and an aggressive situation occurs, it becomes a pack situation, sort of like a barroom brawl, one guy starts and the rest join in. That type of mentality is not really what the individual dog is really like, but instead is what comes about from the pack mentality kicking in during the aggressive situation. It probably was initiated by the stick (your dog probably has high prey drive) and it got out of hand).

ETA: FWIW, my two bites came from two separate Shetland Sheepdogs (miniature collies) when I was a child, and several years back DH had his hand mauled by his brother's very aggressive black lab when he went to pat him (FIL had to pry open dog's jaws to free his hand; the dog was later euthanized).

 

[Dan Murphy]

owners or training notwithstanding. it's the sheer strength and bite PSI of the animals that make them dangerous. not to mention the fact they are animals, and their behavior can be suspect at any given moment. the most gentle Rott can turn and kill a person if it feels he or she is threatening it's master. it's laughable and ludicrous when an owner of animal can proclaim they know what that animal is capable of. any dog breed that is capable of killing a child should be eradicated. our community doesn't allow dangerous breeds, with good reason.

.

And welcome to the DIS, DB.

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

We used to have a Doberman and he was the sweetest dog on earth. However, he was very protective of his owners and I'm sure he would have defended us if he needed to. But he never "turned" on anyone. I miss him so much.

 

[Tinkim]

This is really a tough question to answer. When I was growing up we had a miniature poodle. The dog preferred my father but tolerated everyone else. He wasn't aggressive to guests or anyone else though. One night he bit me in the face around my eye. I did not provoke him . . . he just lunged for and bit my face.

I have an English Setter and a German shorthair pointer. They are both very sweet but I also know under the right circumstances either of them and any dog really could bite someone. My German shorthair is not aggressive but she is somewhat nervous and tries to be protective so I worry about her the most and have to keep a close eye on her. I think she is all bark and no bite but I would never say she is incapable of it. I think any dog under the right circumstances could bite someone but you hear about the dangerous breeds more often maybe because they are powerful and do a lot of damage.

What a very sad story for everyone involved.

 

[Aidensmom]

A dog of ANY breed can have the personality to be aggressive. It is naive to say there are NO bad dogs, just as it is to say their are no bad people. However, as someone else said, there is a big difference in a Yorkie with an aggressive personality and a Rottweiler with an agressive personality. A Yorkie weighs 4 lbs, they get ornery, you pick them up and move them, a Rottweiler does and it can be dangerous.

I have had a lot of dogs in my day, some were very protective of me and therefore aggressive towards others, some were the sweetest animals on the face of the earth. There has to be a little more to it than the owner's treatment of the dog if I could have two dogs at the same time with completely different tendencies.

That being said, if you know you have an aggressive dog, it is your responsibility as an owner to make sure it is not in a situation where it could attack someone. I had a Lhasa Apso for 13 years. He was an extremely loving dog, however he was also extremely protective of me. When he was 12, I had a baby. There is no way in the world, as much as I loved that dog, that he was going to be around my baby, because he would have been too jealous and predisposed to attack him. I got baby gates so I could keep the dog always in another room from my child, and I bought a dog kennel for him to sleep in so I did not have to worry about it at night.

We now have a Jack Russell who is the absolute sweetest dog in the world. But I have taught my son to not ever do anything to provoke the dog (hitting or tail pulling, teasing with toys, taking away food) because ALL dogs have the propensity to bite.

 

[Planogirl]

I think that certain breeds have the predisposition to be more vicious than other breeds but all dogs in general can be taught to be well-behaved. Plus I'd also rather deal with a small vicious dog (and have!) than a huge snarling brute of any kind.

However, I personally err on the side of caution. I tend to go the other way when I see a pit bull out. I have nothing against the dogs as a group but I don't know the individual that I see and would just as soon not take any chances. Unfair? Maybe but so be it.

 

[OzFan]

My dad always told me "if it has teeth, it can bite." I also feel a dog of any breed needs to be socialized with all types of people. if you own a dog and it has shown signs of aggressiveness, then YOU are responsible for keeping that dog away from any situation that can cause harm. The local news stated tonight that some of the neighbors were afraid of the dogs, while one of the men that helped fight off the attack was very surprised the dogs turned. I love my Rottie, and knowing him and his temperment, it is hard to look at him and think that he could ever hurt anyone. aw:

 

[Aimeedyan]

I agree with the pack mentality - they got out (falls at the feet of the owner) and became a pack. We had a pack of toy sized dogs in our neighborhood! They roamed in a pack running the neighborhood - they were finally all caught and I would bet that individually they would be great pets but all together, they ruled the neighborhood even though none of them were over 20 pounds!

It makes me wonder why he was breeding... sounds like a backyard breeder at first glance, which is troubling, but at least he did have crates in the home (though why were the dogs not in them?) and the dogs were kept inside. Those are good signs. I will never say that all of one breed is dangerous because that's obviously not true and is an ignorant statement. ALL animals can be provoked to bite - they are animals. Anyone who owns an animal is responsible for educating themself on the life they are now caring for and that includes behavioral training.

What a terrible incident!! So very sad for all involved...

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

The only dog I've been bitten by? A dachshund.

I am totally with you on your dachshund take!!

At our dog run, the dachshund's are always the ones starting trouble, regardless of owners. They all seem to be little aggressive bark machines and but for a few exceptions, most that I have seen are quite vicious and snap at other dogs, regardless of size. We have 2 Boxers and they love playing with the doxie's because all of the barking is fun, until one snaps and suddenly things can get ugly. Our female Boxer doesn't bite, but she will growl, knock down and stand on your dog if it tries to attack her. Of course, she looks like the "bad guy" because she's all muscle and the poor little doxie's so small. The nature/nurture dabate will go on forever, but regardless on that, it's up to the owners to control their dogs, whether they are agressive or not!

 

[DarkSideMoon]

any dog breed that is capable of killing a child should be eradicated.

anything from a corgi to a st. bernard can kill a child. are you proposing that we should kill all dogs, cats, deer, and living creatures? because, after all, a child could get killed.

 

[Chicago526]

While breds have general traits bred into them, you also have to remember that dogs, like people, are individuals. Just like there are people that just "up and snap" one day, there are dogs that will do the same. The differance is that when a little dog does it, it does damage but is rarely leathal, while when a big dog does does it, a full grown adult male can be killed in an instant.

In other words, it's a combo of dog breed, dog size, the individual dog and the owner. There are wondeful dogs with bad owners that stay wonderful. There are wondeful owners with seemingly good dogs that go bad one day. There are wondeful owners with wondeful dogs that stay that way forever. It's an almost endless combination.

What should be done? I honestly don't know. It's a shame to denounce a whole breed of dogs, but at the same time, how do you keep these attacks from happening?

BTW, the most severe injury I've ever had personal experiance with? It was when an 8 pound CAT bit her owner after becoming frightend by an electronic toy that went off near the cat. The cat freaked out, bit my friend on the hand and the bite went all the way to the joint of one finger. She was hospitalized for several days, the bite wound became instantly infected and she could have lost her finger!

Both cat and owner are doing fine, now! My friend got rid of the toy and since she's single, doesn't need to worry about the cat being near children. But it just goes to show you, it' doesn't have to be a large dog to pose a threat, any animal can be dangerous!

 

[DarkSideMoon]

While breds have general traits bred into them, you also have to remember that dogs, like people, are individuals. Just like there are people that just "up and snap" one day, there are dogs that will do the same. The differance is that when a little dog does it, it does damage but is rarely leathal, while when a big dog does does it, a full grown adult male can be killed in an instant.

In other words, it's a combo of dog breed, dog size, the individual dog and the owner. There are wondeful dogs with bad owners that stay wonderful. There are wondeful owners with seemingly good dogs that go bad one day. There are wondeful owners with wondeful dogs that stay that way forever. It's an almost endless combination.

What should be done? I honestly don't know. It's a shame to denounce a whole breed of dogs, but at the same time, how do you keep these attacks from happening?

BTW, the most severe injury I've ever had personal experiance with? It was when an 8 pound CAT bit her owner after becoming frightend by an electronic toy that went off near the cat. The cat freaked out, bit my friend on the hand and the bite went all the way to the joint of one finger. She was hospitalized for several days, the bite wound became instantly infected and she could have lost her finger!

Both cat and owner are doing fine, now! My friend got rid of the toy and since she's single, doesn't need to worry about the cat being near children. But it just goes to show you, it' doesn't have to be a large dog to pose a threat, any animal can be dangerous!

exactly, and thats why the poster who said we should eliminate all breeds capable of killing children would mean wiping animals off the face of the earth. a squirrel can kill a child.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

We love our pets. It is weird to think they can kill and we keep them. I do think about that.

We have 2 puppies and I am well aware of the danger of animals.

I think alot of people don't like cats for that reason. They kill birds, mice, baby bunnies, etc..

 

[Tigger&Belle]

A few years ago, a highschool friend of mine lost her daughter to a Rotweiler attack, she was 3 years old. I am terrified of these dogs. I wish they were considered weapons and only used by police.

Our pet sitter has a rottie (her second). This dog is the biggest baby! She would like to introduce our dogs to each other so she can bring Bailey with her when she watches our dogs, but I don't trust one of my dogs (the lab mix). Her first rottie was friendly to us, too, but wasn't the wuss that her current dog is. And I mean wuss in the nicest way.

I think that each breed brings it's own set of challenges, but how an individual dog behaves is a combination of the personality of that particular dog and the way it was raised.

We've had to work with our lab cross and part of it was the way that she was socialized as a pup (we got her when she was 1 1/2 years old). She was raised with 3 other dogs, one without a doubt the alpha dog and didn't hesitate to show it. Those dogs barked at everything that went by and they taught Sheena some not so good traits. Sheena was never walked and did not know how to behave with other animals. She has improved somewhat and she gets better the more I work with her, She is wonderful with children, though and also with our other dog (and with our cats).

 

[VSL]

I have a cross between a Scottish Border Collie and a Lab (He has the pattern of the Collie, but has short hair like the Lab).

He's a doll, but he just doesn't like children. Whenever there is a child in the house, he makes an effort to avoid them. He won't even look at them. It is only when the child persists that he will growl/show his teeth (so my parents just put him out the back when visitors come).

I think all dogs have their own personalities (much like humans), and it may be related to breeds

I do not agree with the idea that we should make certain breeds extinct though - who are we to play God?!

 

[BeNJeNWaFFLe]

Its not always the owners fault for how a dog behaves. Dogs can sense a lot of things humans can't. There are some people that dogs just don't like for whatever reason. Just because a dog is a rottweiler or a pit bull (etc.) doesn't mean that it is a nasty dog. I had a rottweiler/shephard mix. She definitely looked like a rottweiler. To our family and friends that we introduced to her, she was sweet and a mush. I could do anything to her, rub her belly, touch her tail, open her mouth, and she wouldn't care.

My dog now is of a belgium breed. They are typically bread to be police dogs. They jump, bite, growl, all that good stuff. She is large and very strong but she is a sweet heart. She loves everyone and loves to play and lick. I have never seen her bear her teeth or even growl at anything. She even is gentle with my 3 cats, 1 of which torments the dog. (My rotty also loved the cats and never once tried to hurt them) Then there is a family's dog that is the total opposite but we won't go there.