Yet all this info is ivory tower stuff when you're minding your own business walking down a public street and TWO dogs, one Rottweiler and one pit bull, are there and the Rottie is growling at you and you know that you are completely at their mercy, of which they have none.
I walk a lot, have walked a lot for more than 40 years -- ever since I was a little kid. An old, old rickety German Sheperd bit me once in the street, poor old fella felt he was doing his job and I didn't really fear him. I seriously doubt he would have KILLED me in a crazy rage even in his prime because I've never known or heard of a GS to behave that way; they protect, they don't murder, and owners can call them off. The only other time I felt threatened by a loose dog on a public street was by a mid-sized white fluffy dog, but again, that dog would have been hard-pressed to kill me; even two of them wouldn't have pulled it off.
But the Rottweiler and the pit, either one of them alone, could have made me very dead but quick. With two of them, I would have been hamburger in less time than it takes to make microwave popcorn. In all my years of walking, all those miles in a lot of different neighborhood and wilderness, the ONLY TWO DOGS that made me literally fear for my life were a Rottweiler and pit bull. AND I knew it was only a matter of time -- two weeks, it turns out -- before in my sporadic browsing of Free Republic that I'd be able to tell my story on yet another thread about some human being being seriously mauled or killed by a pit bull or a Rottweiler. I can't remember EVER seeing a thread here on FR about someone being seriously mauled or killed by a German Sheperd or any other kind of dog other than a Rot or a Pit.
I admire and understand your devotion to your dogs, and I really don't like the "solution" of yet another law or regulation. Like I said, I don't even like leash laws. But pits and Rottweilers are proven unpredictable killers, and I was almost one of their victims. Again, all your information is Ivory Tower stuff in the real world where I live.
I am glad you liked the info. I wasn't disagreeing with most of you had posted other than your general conclusion about the breed. I believe the more people understand the real problems with dog attacks the more they will come to realize what a bad rap pit bulls and rotts get. I don't want people to think I am saying all dogs of these breeds are extremely firiendly and should be approached on the street. I am just pointing out that they are good dogs as a group when given the proper training and socialization.
You definetly have to defend yourself. I just didn't want your bad experience to leave you a bad impression of the breed or owners. The good owners get more angry than anybody when they hear about irresponsible people giving all of us a bad name. You should complain on this guy for not keeping his dogs constrained or say something to him if you are comfortable. I had a German Shepherd as a child. They are great dogs but they are right up there at the top of the list for deadly attacks. I have been in situations were I have seen extremely ferocious shepherds, but I still like the breed a lot. It is really true that people can make any breed ferocious and the big dogs like pits, Rots, and GSD ar the most commonly used for these purposes because of their strength and agility. Citronella sprays developed by dog trainers would probably be the best repellant for future scenarios. Mace doesn't always work well on an out of control dog and a gun is not desirable just because the laws in your state and I think the spray would be easier to deploy and faster working.