A family argument

I was mauled by a dog when I was three. I had to have reconstructive surgery on my face and nearly lost my right eye. Due to the damage the dog did I may need more surgery as my life goes on. The right side of my face droops, and I have visible scars around my eye and cheek.

What kind of dog was it do you ask? A Collie. It looked exactly like Lassie.

My point is that it's really the owners that make the dog what it is. I've met Rotties and Pits that were so sweet and kind it made my heart ache. I've also met a Yorkie that tried to rip my face off (for the second time) because it was abused.

A great dane? oh that's funny, that is one of the most gentilest breeds I have ever met personally. Just because they are big or what? The one's I know are big lazy dopey dogs. That is just sad that people think the way your family does about them. I bet they have never even known any of those breeds personally.

I consider my pets to be my children too and because of that, I know that I wouldn't even consider moving back in with them if I couldn't bring my cats along.

I own a collie. She's the sweetest dog I've ever met. I agree that it's the way dogs are treated. Personally I wouldn't own a pit. But that's not about their reputation. It's about my personal preference. I love long haired breeds. I think your family just needs to meet the right dogs to overcome their fear.

Now I realize this is tricky because we're discussing your family, but I'm going to respond as if they are strangers to you...in other words, don't get upset if you feel your family is being insulted

To say that all large breeds should be exterminated is ignorance, plain and simple. It shows a laziness of thought, and it lacks depth. It is easier to make sweeping, "hard line" comments for effect rather than to actually discuss a topic, or be informed about it. It drives me crazy. It's like the people who, when talking about countries that are causing problems, say that we should "Blow them off the map". Comments like those are made in place of actual thought.

So that a bunch of mop dogs can rule the dog-kingdom???

I think not!!! When (if) I ever get a dog, I will probably get a medium-large dog. I can't stand little mop dogs, personally (but that doesn't mean we should make them extinct either)

I too was mauled by a dog when I was a very little girl.
In my case it was my leg.
The dog was a German Shepard.
To this day I'm terrifed of big dogs, but I know that what happend to me was not the dogs fault.
This dog was abused by his owners, he attacked their child 2 days before he went after me and then went after another neighbors child a week later.

If that dog had been raised by a loving, caring person he would have never done the things that he did, I wouldn't have a huge scar down the back of my leg from my knee to my ankle and I wouldn't have the fear of big dogs that I have today.

So I don't think that you can say that breeds X, Y and Z will turn while breeds A, B and C won't.
I'm sure there are very gentle German Shepards out there who wouldn't hurt a fly and that there are Yorkies who would rip off your face, I think it has everything to do with how the animal was raised and very little if anything to do with the breed.

My brother also is owned by a Bull Mastiff named Buttercup. She is one of the kindest dogs I've ever encountered. They went through a lot of training with her just due to her size, but she is an amazing animal to behold.

The breed for the most number of dog bites in Australia is the Blue Heeler. They are herding dogs and too many people get them to sit in the backyard all day with nothing to do. These dogs are bred to work and to run up to 50km a day. Without the necessary stimulation they get frustrated, bored and destructive, and their nipping and herding instincts are actually intensified. They are a medium-sized dog only - the quintessential `family' dog.

Breed Specific Legislation is a joke, and has just led to the kinds of attitudes of your family. Rottis, GSDS, Dobes and the like are beautiful, loving dogs. But they are bred to have a guarding instinct, and when mistreated or neglected will develop their instinct in a negative way more often than not.

There are no problem dogs - only problem owners. THAT is where the issues like, not with the size of the dog itself.

I have seen huskies on list of aggressive dogs that are prone to biting several times from several different sources. I have even seen the reason given is that they like other dogs such as the spitz are closer to the wolf and that is why they are prone to biting. I had a husky years ago and he was a big baby. He wouldn't even make a good watchdog because he didn't know a stranger. We knew the breeder and all his dogs were like that. He took a team of dogs to the annual race in Alaska so maybe he tried for that type of temperament in his breeding. A snappy aggressive dog certainly wouldn't work in a sled team. Siberian huskies aren't even particularly large dogs. A lot of people confuse them with Malamutes. They have the same markings but the Malamute is a larger dog with a more square type head and they rarely have blue eyes.

My Pearlie-mutt is part pit and thinks that she is a lap dog. She and Rowdy have played and wrestled together, all of their lives. Pearlie WILL protect me, as will Ike (my Dalamtian) but, if they are introduced to someone, they just want to be petted.

As for Great Danes, my parents' Brewster is a couch potato, who is afraid of kittens

Personally I love big dogs, and I think on the whole they are much calmer than most small dog breeds. My sister had a Chihuahua , who used to terrify the neighbors Great Dane. Now Spike wasn't even as large as the Great Dane's head, and yet he would go over to the neighbors house and have the Great Dane cowering in a corner.

I had a German Shepherd, and she was my very special love. Such a sweet dog she was. I showered her with love and she loved me back with a devotion that was unbelievable. I know she would have protected me, if she would have had to, but mostly she was such a big loving goof ball who played with my cat, and used to have him covered in dog slobber most of the time. One day, when I was at work, my brother let her out to go potty in our unfenced in yard, (something I would have NEVER allowed had I been home), and even though she didn't leave the yard, some people from down the street came by in their truck, saw the German Shepherd, and came into our yard and purposefully hit her 3 times, until she was dead. The neighbor across the street saw it all, but didn't go out to help, sadly. I later learned that the people who killed my Liebe had a vendetta against large dogs, especially German Shepherds and had killed several German Shepherds in the neighborhood.

When I came home from work and found my beautiful, beloved Liebe dead, I thought I was going to die. It was several years ago, and I still can't think about it, without crying.

I have a yorkie and she is very protective of me and she is small dog aggresive,.,,she was a rescue

I also grew up with a 125lb GSD who hated men( abused by my father) yet allowed cats to eat his dinner...

It is the owner not the dog ...

There is a joke among husky breeders, and owners..

if a robber comes into your house and you have a husky they are much more likely to show the person where the fine china is, than bite them or chase them off. Huskies are wonderfully friendly dogs.

anyone who makes blanket statements about any kind of dog..is not smart IMO

Hope, goodness, what a dreadfully sad story. I know the love of German Shepherds and I cannot begin to imagine your pain. Your dog's name even meant `love'. My heart goes out to you, those terrible people will get their just desserts, don't you worry about that

One of the problems is that a pit bull, or other large muscular dog, is simply stronger. I once met a REALLY nasty chihuahua at a place where I did babysitting. Actually, it was the meanest dog I ever met. Or course, it's footbal sized, so I could get out the oven mits, grab it, and put it into the other room. You can't do that with a pit.

Not that I'm for that kind of litigation. A lot has to do with the individual dog. There are two pit mixes in my extended family. Pit mix A is so friendly that his best friend is a stray orange tabby cat that wandered in one day. He plays gentley with the cat, and the cat bites his ears! He is great with even really little kids that pull his tail. Best kid dog ever; he takes all kinds of abuse and just keeps wagging his tail. He couldn't care less if you reach in and take his bone away; he'll just wait for you to hand it back.

However, Pit mix B is no longer allowed to be near other dogs or small children, as she has attacked another dog without instigation. She's secluded in the home in a back room when strangers come over. She's still sweet as pie to all her human family members, but we just can't trust her.

This is just being a responsible owner. We know the temperment of both dogs, so one runs around freely and the other stays confined.

Personally, I think there should be litigation about ALL dogs, not just specific breeds. Other countries have stronger laws about pet ownership that protect both people and animals. People need to be more responsible for their pets. If they have a dog with known aggression problems, they need to take measures accordingly, regardless of breed.

When Pearlie was a puppy, my DIL was teaching preschool and took Pearl to work with her. She loves running and playing with kids. Living with me, Pearl has been spoiled, petted and pampered - so much for the "bad-@$$" dog.

Over the past 4 years, I have watch Rowdy and Pearl play, nuzzle and lick each others faces. At any time, this powerful 60-pound dog could snap this 10-pound cat in half but, its not going to happen. The only reason that I supervise their playtime, is to keep my house from being wrecked in their romps

Breed specific legislation attacks the wrong side of the leash.

Like most on here, I've never had a problem with large dogs. In my neighborhood alone we have a black lab, a GSD, at least one Pit, a Lab/Greyhound mix (mine, Karma), a Newfoundland/Lab mix (mine, Buddha), along with a few other unidentified large mix dogs. Never had a problem. Actually, our problem is with all the dogs being TOO friendly. The first time we found out about my neighbors Pit was right after we got a fence and let our dogs out for the first time. She spotted my dogs and came running over to the fence like a mad woman. Once she got there, she wagged and wiggled so hard she flopped over on her back and tried to play with my two through the fence. Such a sweetie.

In my old apartment complex there were Huskies and Malamutes and Great Danes, at least 10 Pits, and I believe at least one GSD. One day while walking Karma a Pit who had never seen us before was outside with her owner. Her owner accidentally dropped the leash and the Pit came running toward us, sat down at our feet and started licking Karma to death. I just grabbed the end of her leash and handed it back to her owner... no problems.

My aunt used to have huskies.... and while yes, they are quite hyper they were also the sweetest dogs ever.

I once had a friend who lived a few towns over from me. The first time I ever went to his house I met his Pit. An hour later, the Pit and I were curled up on the couch watching a movie and she let me use her as a pillow.

Or then there was the GSD my mom's old boyfriend had. The went out to a movie and left me alone with the dog and it was the first time I had met that dog. We spent the entire time curled up on the floor watching tv while I scratched her belly.

Or - my absolute favorite story - when I was first taking Karma to obedience class there was a gorgeous Pit in there (along with a rottie, a duck tolling retriever, a jack russell and a few others) She was beautiful. Her colors and markings were so lovely.... but you couldn't help but notice she was covered in scars. When I finally got brave enough to ask the owner what happened, I found out she was a bait dog in a fighting ring that he has rescued. At first the little cutie was terrified to have other dogs near her face (Wouldn't you be if you were her?), but by graduation she was the class clown and wanted to play with everyone.

Yeah, ok. Vicious dogs. And I could go on forever.

Any dog will be mean if you treat it improperly. When I was three and playing outside on my front lawn, the neighbors dog ran over, knocked me down, stood on my chest and started growling and biting at my face. It was a Shih Tzu.

Dogs don't just "turn on you" for no reason. Unless your family planned on beating her (which I'm sure they wouldn't... just saying) or keeping her chained up in the back yard for hours on end, I really don't see how you would have any problems. It's misinformation put out by the press who found out about a handfull of dog fighting rings and ran with the story labeling all Pits mean. It's a bunch of bull.

I'd also like to point out that the statistics on dog bites which the press is using are skewed due to the popularity of certain breeds and the statistics show that no one breed is more likely to bite than any other. I can't post the article (copyright stuff), so go here http://www.healthypet.com/library_view.aspx?ID=16&sid=1 and look at "Breed Characteristics"

I also forgot to post this. Buttercup (the Bull Mastiff) who weighs about 110lbs is TERRIFIED of Sassy. Sassy is a 10lb Tonkinese that swatted her across the noise.

I was attacked (although, thankfully not badly as my friend's dad came running out of the house and pulled the dog off me) by a dog as a child as well. Because of the intervention, all that needed to be done for me were a few stitches on my leg and some rabies shots (dog was an outside dog who had never been vaccinated and there had been a documented case of rabies within like 5 years in the county).

This dog, however, was a yellow lab. A happy-go-lucky yellow lab that someone had neglected or mistreated into being an attack dog.

I think it has everything to do with the dog, not the breed. The issue DOES exist thatbecause of their breeding, APBT's can physically do more damage with that jaw when they ARE mistreated or neglected into become vicious. I will give the breed-banning people that one, but all that means is that adopters need a lot of resources so that their dog will be well-adjusted and trained and happy, and the families need to commit to this every single day, no matter WHAT kind of dog they have.

I don't know anything about dogs (and what everyone here is saying makes perfect sense to me), but just wanted to say hello to another member of the Black Sheep of the Family Club.

Cheers, from
SwampWitch

Many of you know I work around alot of stange animals ( mostly dogs)... i have been nipped only twice and both were chiwauas (sp) .... The pitts evan the abused ( formerly) either run up and nearly knock me over or avoid me if afraid ...

Our friends adopted a German Shepard/Lab mix puppy about a year and a half ago (or maybe a year).

The dog had an abused background, to the point where the only time she would nip at you or bite you is either how you approach her to pet her (palm has to be faced up - if its down, you're in trouble) and also umm...errr the type of ethnic background.

I don't know if dogs really judge based on ethnicity or if the scent of human. But she would only attempt to attack a certain group.

Once our friends moved from that neighborhood, into a new one, she hasn't been in her attack mode since

I don't know either, but I think it might be possible...

My first dog was a dalmatian who was just as sweet as pie. She was a 70(ish)lb lap dog. Well she was really a house dog who romped in the backyard and hadn't really been off the property much, so the only people she knew were my family, but was always very accepting of strangers.

Well one day my cousin brought her fiance over and he was an african american man. Well just as he got to the doorway to go into the kitchen Melody (the dog) crawled under the table with her tail between her legs and started growling... not really a mean growl... more of an "I don't know what to make of this situation" growl. (Erm... you know what I mean) Now, we got her as a baby... we never taught her this... she had never been abused. This may sound rude (and I really don't mean it to be) but I think she was just surprised because she had never seen a person that... well, dark, before.

Luckily he laughed it off and said "What are you growling at? You're half black yourself!" and it was so weird! It was like Melody understood him because she came right out from under the table and started licking his hands and face like the sweet puppy we all knew. It's part of the reason I now think socializing a puppy is important... not only with other dogs, but with other people. We were novice dog owners at the time and didn't know better. If we had, this probably would have never happened.

They were great friends after that

This is wrong, very wrong and it angers me that people feel this way. I know how you feel about the media, they are useless and are a BIG cause of all the misunderstanding on animals. Trust me, with my exotics, I hear it all the time. "Your cats are dangerous, they are killers" yada yada yada, the same old lies told by the media and people who have no clue as to what the real truth is. ANY animal can cause injury if it isn't raised right. Just ask the 5 year old boy who lives in the same county as I do, that was bitten in the face by a golden retriever. Did this make the news? HARDLY!! Had that been a pitbull or rott, that would have made the news all across the country. The media IS to blame for all this nonsense.