You and I FRiend, agree totally. I didn’t misinterpret what you meant.
In this wretched apartment complex where we reside, we at one time had the manager and her husband living across the way from us and they had a 140lb white lab. Beautiful dog, but scarey, as the dog would come up to you but stay a leap away and growl. The guy had the dog in the complex OFF the leash while they walked toward the woods. When his dog did his one leap away growl thing at me, I let him know that if his dog tried to bite me, he would be shot in the head. Both of the people tried to reassure me the dog would not bite. I didn’t care for the reassurance, I wanted the dog on a leash, or I wanted to have the contact information for her employer.
People need to keep their dogs completely under control, and if they cannot manage that, they need to get rid of their dogs.
Not most, but a great portion of the men I have seen with pit bulls have convinced me they need the dog to compensate for something, and they want folks to believe they are tough guys with bad-ass dogs. Wearing their undersize t-shirts with their weight lifting muscles showing, perhaps trying to attract attention from the kind of people that are impressed with that sort of pose. It’s pathetic, really.
Most dog owners have no understanding of the psychology of dogs, much of which varies between breeds. But they get a dog and think that feeding it, letting it poop and *occasionally* walking it is sufficient.
For example, one of my “grandogs” is a Rhodesian Ridgeback. Nice temperament, Uber laid back. He never gives much, if any, attention to other dogs unless, and this is key, they are loose while he is leashed. Then he gets very protective because he sees the lack of a leash as aggression on their part. They are a potential threat to him and his master. This is not uncommon for dogs. How many of these numbnut owners know that?
Some breeds have no issue with looking at you right in the eye when up close. A Ridgie will not look you in the eye up close, to him this is a sign of aggression and he won’t do it unless he is angry at you.
The other grandog is a pit bull mountain cur mix. Sweet and affectionate, this is a people dog, she likes to get up close and look you in the eye. Just love me and be near me is all she wants (except for squirrels and cats LOL). She also pays little or no attention to other dogs, *except* as we discovered, really small dogs. She goes berserk at a Chihuahua for example. We believe that is because she doesn’t see it as a dog, but as prey like a rodent or such. Point being she is not dog aggressive, but it might appear so to the un-knowledgeable person.
It is endless.