Posted on 01/10/2014 12:51:52 PM PST by Slings and Arrows
Have you ever been out in public, minding your own business, simply walking your dog, and people start moving to the other side of the street in fear? There are many dog breeds that don't deserve the bad rap society places upon them. Perhaps your dog is one of the breeds or mixed mutts that get a bad rap.
Dogs of certain breeds are not born dangerous by default. This, coupled with breed legislation, media focus on particular breeds, and the sensationalizing of certain incidents of attack have lead to an overall generalizing that ultimately hurts a dog, and may cost him his life.
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1. Pit Bull: Sadly, this breed has taken on more criticism and warnings than most other breeds in recent years. Often labeled as vicious, untrustworthy, and in possession of locking jaws, the Pit Bull tops our list as receiving a bad rap. According to the American Temperament Test Society, Pit Bulls ranked second in reliability overall. In other words: This original "nanny breed" is not the problem, but the way he is trained may be the issue.
(Excerpt) Read more at shine.yahoo.com ...
LOL, cute.
They’re trained to do a job, and by heaven, they will do it.
The are no bad dogs. It’s people that make bad dogs.
Amen.
Good point to reporters every gun is an AR-15, every vehicle is an SUV, and every dog is Pit Bull.
GS had and still have a bad rep. Not old enough to remember the stories using GS as the bad guy? For a reason - many ill-bred dogs, both because of huge popularity AND emphasis on “nerve” and assertiveness in the MIL/police-devoted breeding industry (backed at least by Schutzhund requirements in Europe). Euro-lovers will not acknowledge this, but when you breed for a certain temperament, you are bound to get those that go overboard too far and they still end up in the gene pool.
I love GS and a good 1 is better than any other dog you could ever have.
But denying the truth of what people have thought for at least 50 years does not help solve whatever problem there is. The problem isn’t huge, but there has been a problem.
There is always a smidge of truth to reputation (stereotype). Sometimes, it’s all in the past, but there is some reality to it, historical or otherwise.
This is a timely thread. We live on a corner and get a lot of abandoned dogs. The latest looks to be a Great Danebull. Friendly puppy with huge feet but already the size of our English Shepard. We’re debating keeping to keep her company and to ultimately replace her as she’s 8 or 9. She was a thrown out on the corner dog as well. We’ve had her 6 years or so.
Just wondering what kind of temperament we can expect. So far he’s very friendly and affable.
Mrs. Liberty tells me of a Dane she once had that was convinced he was everybody’s lapdog. About 150-175 pounds of love.
Foolish approach.
Animals are not mere plants or machines, capable only of what humans do to them.
They have their own built-in minds, as surely as they can move on their own.
My SIL had one of those. She’s 5’9” and when that dog stood up he was head and shoulders taller than she was. When it thundered he’d jump in the bathtub and cower. Funny. Till it thundered once when SIL was IN the bathtub. Not so funny for her anyways that time LOL.
I've known one Rottweiler up-close and personal, and that was a vicious evil creature. However, I'm not yet feeble, and there isn't yet a 60 or 70 or 80 pound canine that can beat me in a fist fight...make that a fist and paw fight. I might get chewed a bit, but the dog will go into the fertilizer business.
That Rottweiler never chewed any part of me, but he did learn humility and big time hurt. After that he was still a vicious, worthless waste of air. When I was in the neighborhood he, shall we say, cowered.
No, WWI had nothing to do with it. In fact, that is where non-Germans came most in contact with the new breed and regaled countrymen of their incredible abilities. Out of this came the first superstars of dogdom, Strongheart (a real war dog) and Rin Tin Tin (just a puppy in the trenches).
Huge popularity due to them and the real-life stories, including the wonderful feats of Buddy, the first true Seeing-Eye dog (and the following SE dogs for decades) led to ultimate poor breeding, and sometimes just plain increasing the chance you get a few poor dogs with so many.
Of course, that’s just American, but the German standards really do carry some blame for it with their emphasis on Schutzhund (the protection part) and consequent MIL/police usage. A dog so hugely popular with many bred toward hardness is bound to produce a few untrustworthy aggressors.
Any dog bred to be crazy enough to chase a badger down its hole is too crazy for me. But then I've never met a dachshund which likes me. I must smell like a badger.
Chart should have Snoop Dog and Snoopy on it.
Another comment: purebreds don’t live long? Most “large” dogs live at least 10 years but no more than 12. I’ve not encountered many that didn’t make that.
Although I am dying to know why so many American show GS are dying very young.
I think that’s what it means. They did not do a great job of explaining the table.
More to the point I think it the “discriminate” breeding by human animals to create hostile, vicious lines to assuage their need to be macho.
Literally all the Rottweilers I’ve ever met have been teddy bears. The Pits I’ve met (far fewer) have also been sweeties. I guess it really is the owners.
I think she does everyone a disservice by blaming the breeds problems on training rather than state the truth that humans have created animals that cannot be rehabilitated. Not every Pit Bull is a killer in hiding, but sadly too many have been bred to be just that. I know a lot of loving Pits but in truth 99% of those dogs come from safe lines. As much as my heart goes out to the Pits in shelters I would not take the risk with one either, and I am a supporter of the breed.
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