Hmmmm...
Well, I guess most of my neighbors and I are dangerous dog lovers according to the list-or maybe not. Mastiff breeds are the ranch/country dog-du-jour here, because their bark is scary, they are huge and they make very good guards for livestock and humans alike. A customer’s Bullmastiff drooled all over me yesterday while I fed him treats and petted him...
I’ve been the happy owner of two German Shepherds, a Chow, my current canine companion is a Siberian Husky who is 15 years old and going strong. My daughter’s spoiled dog is an AKC Staffordshire Terrier/Pitbull Terrier-she has had the dog from puppyhood-he is 7 now.
All of our dogs have been registered, and purchased from recommended AKC kennels, except the daughter’s, purchased from a rescue agency after a puppy mill raid. They have all led long, happy lives-the Chow lived to 17-staying indoors with our cats when we are at work, and close beside us when we are outdoors-they are never, ever unsupervised-and I suppose we aren’t either...
No one has ever been bitten/attacked. Do they bark and guard? Certainly-the Chow in particular was very protective of the kids, and me-my Husky likes company a lot more than the others did. All of our dogs were raised with and like cats-my Husky has slept with our cats since we bought her as a puppy-and I’d always been told that breed of dog was a terrible cat killer...
No one I know leaves a kid under 10 or so alone with a dog-any dog-kids lack the restraint and sense of responsibility to deal with animals, unsupervised. People out here don’t leave kids alone with chickens or livestock, either-it is asking for trouble.
Hmmmm...