why do rottweilers have such a bad rep.?

Answer 1

Rottweilers have a bad reputation because they are TRAINED by humans to be vicious animals. While dogs all have predatory instinct in them that can come out at terrible times, rottweilers are no more "inherently evil" than any other kind of dog. Their powerful bodies, sharp teeth, and claws allow them to be good attack dogs, and so they are trained that way.

Most of the rottweilers I've known have been nothing but giant puppies. Of course, when a dog that weighs 110 pounds thinks it can jump into your lap and lick your face, you have a whole new set of problems... It's why I have a cat.

Answer 2

Because they were the breed people who had fought Pit Bulls before switched to when city councils started banning Pit Bulls. Until people in authority accept that breed bans will never work (as these people are the problem, not a breed) and pass & enforce generic dangerous dog laws, there will always be this problem of a breed getting it's reputation ruined by them. Now that the city councils have banned Rottweilers in many places, the idiots seem to be moving on to Presa Canarios...what's next?

When I worked for vets, we had so few when I started there in the early 80's, but by the late 80's we had many, and only then did we see 'mean' ones - who were attached by a leash to a 'mean' owner, every time.

I have owned several Rottweilers over the years. I got my first one in the mid-1980's, and most people didn't even know what he was. By the early 1990's, people would cross the street when I walked my Rott. Sad. The town I live in now has a ban on them. They can be wonderful dogs from a good breeder, with proper socialization & training. Many are therapy dogs that visit the ederly & hospital bound. I wish these kind got more media time.

Answer 3

This breed is not one I would chose as a pet. They are bred to be aggressive and worse they can be very unpredictable. They simply most rule the house. I am sure with the proper training and conditioning they can be a wonderful pet and friend. I feel it would take a very responsible pet owner to take on the challenge of raising one of these wonderful dogs.

It is important that they establish who is pack leader. That takes hours and hours of training starting at puppy age to get it worked out. They are a large dog and when not handled properly can be set off to attack at any occassion, even when you would think they have no reason to attack. I have seen this dog do strange things in the name of aggression. Any breed can get a bad reputation quickly, like pit bulls for example. The people responsible for the animal are usually to blame, though sometimes the dogs inherit breeding can completely take over.

Rottweilers have been known to badly injure people and even kill children, though very rare. They kill other animals such as cats and other unknown dogs rather well. They are superb killing machines, if NOT trained and handled properly. That is why their reputation as a breed has gotten such a bad "rep".

Every Rottweiler is an individual, just like every person. Just because one or two have been so awful doesn't mean they all are. However, I strongly recommend that if anyone wants to get one as a pet they are prepared to spend the neccessary hours to make this animal a safe, happy and reliable friend.

Best of Luck

Answer 4

They are a created breed - they are meant to be guard dogs etc. Its mostly because they were bred for function and form, not for pets, therefore aggressive dogs were used for the features instead of excluding the dog for the behavior, if that makes sense. I have known many lovely rotties that are total push overs, so it does depend on the owner, though it seems no matter how good the dog in the first years, as the dog gets into old age and closer to death, they seem to get a bit crabby and prone to biting. I've never been around an older one, though not long after I moved away an ex of mine had his put down for snapping at his younger brother, though for 9 years the two slept together and did everything together like some sort of pampered poodle.

Answer 5

Because according to some studies rottweilers along with some other breeds of dogs such as German Shepherds and Pitt bulls attack people more often than other breeds of dogs.I think this is stupid because any dog can attack wether it be a Lab or a Golden Retriever or any other dog breeds.

Answer 6

Because of ignorance and people making assumptions on what they either see on TV shows or by their appearance. It happens unfairly to a lot of breeds and it is humans that turn dogs into monsters. Most of these picked on breeds will do absolutely ANYTHING to please their owners even if it is attack. Rottweilers are great dogs for the right person, and far to many times the wrong people get the wrong dogs. Rotties love their masters and are very protective over their families, they are guard dogs but they are also used in therapy. It all depends on their training.

Answer 7

Look it's getting old hearing everybody bash one dog or another for this or that in my opinion these people who do this are just as racist as a skinhead in their way of thinking....Let me give you some facts about pit bulls for one about the time they got all the really bad press back in the 80's that year dog bite statistics showed for that year that the dog with the most recorded bites on humans was the cocker spaniel but you don't hear about those sweet creatures in the papers biting children and adults that is not news cause people don't breed them to fight and especially cause they have been in a disney cartoon...People need to get over their my dogs better than your dog mentality...Also think about this for a minute once the pits are all killed off and the rotts and so on who do you think they will be after next that's right your little weeny dogs and cute little dogs cause they the haters will need something to hate think about that for awhile

Answer 8

Because we have people in this world that think it is cool to train a dog to be agressive and then the dog ends up biting someone being quarintined put down and then put on a bad rep for all other rotties just like pitt bulls and NOW no rotti nor pitt can be adopted in certain states because of this also people use them for fighting so now they are called bad dogs.

Answer 9

Rotties have a bad rep due to the way ppl use them. Most rotties are sweet dogs, a lil overprotective at times, unless trained to be mean. Rotties are portrayed as bad in movies, which doesn't help the breed any. Several junk yards etc use them as guard dogs, due to their protective nature. It isn't hard to train a rottie to protect something with it's life. But, if you get one at a young age, and don't exploit those tendencies, you can have a perfectly friendly rottie. There are rottie's who are used in old people homes as therapy dogs etc, so they can't all be mean. Rotties, like pit bulls, have the bad rap because of how they have been used in the past. Dobe's have been used as guard dogs too, and can be just as vicious, but they don't have the rap that pits and rotties do. I assume this is because society doesn't exploit them like rotties and pits.

Answer 10

It is because of bad owners....yes those dogs were trained to be agressive but they are not that way as puppies....they have to be trained to bring that agression out or as with any breed no trainning at all or lack of love and kindness can lead to agression. There are no such thing as bad breeds.....JUST BAD OWNERS. I have several friends who own Rotts and they are some of the best dogs I know....but they are loved and well cared for.