i’m not trying to be picking on you but your first comment are these “breeds known to be vicious?”
most vicious breeds I know of are Chihuahuas and Mini-Pins
Mastiffs are usually lazy slobberers...like St Bernards or Newfies with less hair and a bit more guard instinct
what is considered vicious today centers around two things...size obviously but some big dogs are pretty harmless baring the most extreme provocation and what the dog was bred for which if it includes ratting does appear to at least make them more dog aggressive
two man human killers are Rotts and Pits in the order...and then it goes down the line....reason those two head up the list is simple... their numbers are great and they are BIG enough to kill people....the aforementioned Chihuahuas and Mini-Pins are not big enough...thankfully
after Rotts and Pits come I think Shepherds, Mastiffs and all their cousins and then mixed breed dogs and mongrels all the way down to a Yorkie who killed a newborn
the biggest factor is sheer numbers...when I was a kid it was Shepherd (RinTinTin) then Dobies and the Rotts who have held that dubious title since (I have owned two)...and of which is culture and Hollywood drive and in the case of Pits...bad culture...frequently the Drooges of our society...urban black thugs, latino gangs and redneck pot growing dog-cock fighters...(I know the latter personally...I loathe them and they know it)
In deference to Chet and his posse whom I disagree with on their fixation with Pits....the Pits and their various bulldog cousins (I own one)...Americans, Alpahahas, Ole English Bulldogge, big Staffies etc are more dog aggressive...no question of that..an uncut male of those breeds should not be unsupervised around lapdogs
and no dog of any breed unsupervised around infants or toddlers
our cats slept with our infants but I would not allow that with our American bulldog now or my Rotts or Dobies in the past...they are still wild animals possibly...you just never know...why take the chance btw....socialize, socialize, socialize.....our big bulldog is always with us... he really needs no fence when we are in the back pasture...he just stays underfoot...they are like that a hound would run off
Amen to that!
I absolutely hate chihuahuas! We had one living down the street from my family when I was a kid, and you couldn’t even walk outside without it going after you. I literally would have to jump on the hood of a car to get away from it.
It went after my Mom once and caused her to fall and hurt her knee. She sued the owners and won. They knew the little S.O.B. was nasty and did not keep it safely in the yard and away from people.
I really have to wonder what was going on with that dog to cause it to go after that little girl. There has to be more to this story.
I shouldn’t jump the gun and assume it is the dog to blame.
Rotts have the strongest bite. Shepherds, dobies, and pitts are roughly tied for second place.
Bite isn’t the only factor however. There is attitude. terriers have an innate meanness, a thirst for blood. They live to shred and destroy anything that moves or breathes, especially little furry critters.
Bulldogs have an innate tenacity to clamp onto the nose of a large adversary, like a vice, and hang on for the fun of it. They are thrill seekers...adrenaline junkies. If you really watch closely, a bulldog(old bulldog, not the current british bulldog) in action, they are not quite doing it out of meanness. They are half playing and enjoying the sport of it. It’s more like a game of tug of war with the opponents face. They will go after cattle, horses, anything that is really big. Something small will do if there’s nothing big around, but givin a choice, they will invariably go after the largest thing in their field of view. They can’t help themselves. I fully believe they would go after the snout of an elephant if allowed to...or the lower lip. The bigger the animal, the more irresistible the urge to clamp onto it. They tend to clamp on to any object in reach when they are extremely happy or excited.
Mix the two dogs together, terrier and bulldog, and you get a dog that is a potential problem. Pitbull terriers, bull terriers, etc. Also, terriers tend to be really stupid animals. Bulldogs aren’t too bright either, but at least they are loyal and make a serious attempt to please a master.
Rotts, dobies, and GSDs are highly intelligent breeds and very trainable. This makes them less dangerous. Well, possibly more dangerous if they are trained for that purpose. But certainly less unpredictable.
These are just my own personal observations. I like dogs and I watch them. however, I’m not too fond of terriers. I consider many of those breeds to be barely more than vermin. Especially the smaller ones. But I do have a soft spot for the bulldog type.
I agree but you gotta admit that "Hippo Crowd" is pretty damn funny - and points out Chets "overkill"- which can make folks numb to his "message".
I know that any dog can be vicious. But my American Cocker Spaniel was a prince among dogs IMHO.
He would guard my nephew when the infant was put down for a nap. He was always nearby later to play with the boy or cuddle stray kittens I would rescue. He really, really liked cats, which was great as we had nine of them!
At no time did we treat this dog other than as a major member of the family (pack). He was dearly loved and the hardest thing I’ve ever done was to euthanize him at 17-years of age.
There have been lots of threads about dog attacks but not all of them are driven by viciousness.
I want to remind folks that dogs are pack animals and will squabble among themselves for places in the pack. A family dog sees its family as a pack. Some will, I believe, attack family children who are seen as a threat to their place in the pack’s heirarchy. What seems like a vicious attack may in fact be something quite different but still unacceptable. None of us wants to see our children mauled.
I know of an infant killed when a German Shepherd bitch attempted to move a newborn baby exactly like she would a puppy, and accidentally punctured the newborn’s skull with her teeth. This was later determined not to be an attack but an accident. She was a really nice dog, but the family couldn’t tolerate having her in their home after that incident. She was given to a couple without children.
most vicious breeds I know of are Chihuahuas and Mini-Pins
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BUT, they can’t do much damage and don’t have jaws to do that kind of damage. I would have never had big dogs, with powerful jaws when my kids were small.