When did they visit? Four or five years ago, a little boy in Hamburg who was outside playing during recess was killed by two American Staffordshires who jumped the fence into the schoolyard. That led many German states to ban so-called "dangerous breeds", i.e., pit bulls and their variants, outright, and to require that other large and "potentially dangerous" breeds, including Rottweilers and Dobermanns, be leashed and muzzled at all times outdoors. The owners have to pay really steep license fees (over $1,000 annually in my area), prove that they have no criminal record, and have the dog tested for aggression. That's when the statistics on dog bites started to be published. What the statistics don't tell you is that Shepherds and Dachshunds are the most popular breeds, so naturally there are more bites than, say, by Airedales or Viszlas, which you rarely see here. Ear cropping and tail docking have been illegal here since the late 80s (1987, if I remember correctly), and the Dobermanns look far less dangerous with floppy ears and long tails.Originally Posted by Loveysmummy
Its funny as when I had Dobermans (a german dog as well), and my german friends came to Canada to visit, they wouldn't even meet them.
They said that in Germany, people are always scared of dobermans as they are so vicious..I was incredulous as my two and (many dobes here) were big sucks..They were somewhat aloof to strangers but were not vicious in any way and were big sucky lapdogs
They still wouldn't budge!
I personally prefer big dogs, and think they're less apt to nip kids because the kids don't tower over them. Then again, the only small dog we ever had was a Beagle (wonderful with kids, but not so great with cats). The absolute best dog we had with children was a Boxer (he adored children, and was very protective of them), and he was wonderful with cats. Unfortunately, he was horrible with other dogs after being bitten and injured. I'm just not certain that a Dachshund qualifies as a "beginner's dog", any more than an Airedale, Dobermann, or Shepherd does, because they can have dominance issues.
For a beginner, I'd suggest a mutt, a Beagle or Fox Hound, or a Labrador or Golden Retriever. The two latter breeds are those most often used as guide or companion dogs nowadays, because of their docile temperaments and intelligence, and since they're not as prone to hip dysplasia as Shepherds. That said, my parents spent decades adopting Labs from shelters (my mom still has two), and two of the ones they adopted were great with family, but couldn't be trusted with visitors. Without exception, they all got along with cats.
