why do so many dog attacks involve Rottweilers?

Question

Are they naturally aggressive or is that that they are the preferred pet of aggressive owners, who mistreat the dogs and make them fearful and angry?

Answer 1

Rottweilers are not naturally aggressive. They are naturally protective, and were originally used as a herding dog for their strength. We own and absolutely love our rottweiler and we aren't aggressive owners at all. Our dog is very pampered and well taken care of and has had proper training. We spend alot of time with her.
I think that you hear about Rottweiler's attacking lately, but a few years ago it was Pit bulls, several years back it was German Shepherds, and before that it was Dobermans. The media focuses on one breed.
As an owner of this type of dog, you have to treat it properly. They love to have their owner's approval. They are very loyal. It makes me mad when people buy these dogs and train it to fight. The owner should be accountable for the dog. This also goes for the other dogs I mentioned. It is a pet owner's responsibility to nurture and socialize the dog not use it as a tool or a weapon.

Answer 2

I have a 3 month old rottie puppy, and before I bought him home did A LOT of research on the breed, since having him I have learnt a hell of a lot more from other rottie owners and the teacher at the obedience class i attend.

Rottie's have got a bad name, and unfortunately have all been tared with the same brush. It's a shame, but it happens. I can't change the nations opinions, but I feel that the nation have been wrongly informed. Rottie's can be aggressive, if reared to be, or even through their parents genes (why it's always ness to look into the parents before bringing home).

I watched the news this morning, and do deeply feel for the little girls parents.

Would i leave a five month old alone in a house where two (known (according to news reports) vicious dogs (breed irrelevant)) had a free run? No!

I'm not pushing the blame onto the parents at all, all blame falls onto the owner.
The owner has reared these dogs to be vicious, I'm assuming, knows his dogs well, and should have made the parents aware of the dogs temperament.

Obviously no one could have guessed what would have happened.

But the owner, knowing full well what his dogs were capable of, should have secured his dogs. Not to mention the fact that he should never have reared his dogs to act in such a way.

Answer 3

Its not the dogs its the owners, ha ha ha ha Dont see many owners chewin someones leg off, its the dogs, they just love to fight and bite, its a nature thing, thats why they have big teeth and powerful jaws. As for the Rotti being involved I would say that that would be fairly rare as a decent size one could easilly chew yer arm off and you dont hear of that much, whereas a Yorkshire Terrier can only nip, yet some of them may nip four or five times a day. And its only become acceptable because they dont cause that much damage.
All dogs can and probably will bite at some stage in their life, never trust one 100% if you do it will eventaully prove you wrong, they are very inteligent and loyal animals, but thats the keyward, at the end of the day its an animal with teeth. These are used for biting.
No Im no dog hatier either I won a wonderfull, soft as anything St Bernard called Oscar and he has fangs like sharks teeth and weighs nearly 14 stone, he has never bitten but if he ever did he is more than big enough to crush your skull in his mouth. Would he ever do it, probably 99.9% he's scared of his own shadow, but he is a big dog with big teeth and a huge mouth, wanna gamble. I doubt it.........

Answer 4

I am assuming you mean 'why' do you see so many reports of attacks by pit bull or pit bull mix dogs.... This breed has gained popularity with a number of factions that only want vicious dogs so they are being bred indiscrimanently and ignorantly. They are being owned by irresponsible owners that don't know how to train their own selves much less an animal that can out think them. So you have many dogs that will attack because they are breed ignorantly and unstable. There are representatives of the breed that are not unstable or ignorantly bred but the vast majority of those being bred and owned at this time are being poorly bred and the temperament goes by the wayside. With the rise of popularity and irresponsible owners will come these attacks. Just the way it is. add: NO it is not 'just America' - these breeds are actually banned in many parts of Europe because ignorance and irresponsibility knows no boundaries. Actually the restrictions on breeds/dogs are much more stringent in other countries than in America right now because of many serious bite incidents. Just another example of how ignorance breeds this sort of stuff.. 'just America' hahaha wrongo buddy...

Answer 5

Rotties are naturally aggressive/protective. It is also true that aggressive owners get aggressive dogs. Most attacks happen when the dog has been encouraged to be aggressive. You cannot blame a breed for what a human has taught 1 dog to do. Then again, some dogs (each must be judged on its own merits) are just aggressive and cannot be corrected.

Answer 6

A bit of both, but mostly its how the dog is treated/trained by the owner. People who want an affective attack/guard dog very often go for a Rotty because they big, powerful and have a reputation for being aggressive.

Answer 7

Its not the dogs fault but the owners most of the time, they need to be socialised from a early age and then you get a well behaved dog. I have never had a problem with any of my dogs and they KNOW who is the leader and my word goes and they are all very happy, spoilt and well looked after. A dog is very powerful especially if its a large breed and needs guidance I have 2 boxers and they are 6 stone each and I trust them but would never leave them in a room unattended with children as incidents can happen.

Answer 8

The are the prefered pet of aggresive owners who mistreat the dogs & make them mean - as were previously Dobermans & Pit Bulls. As these other breeds were vilified by the media & banned by city councils, the 'punks' moved on to Rotts - and now seem to be moving on to Presa Canarios & Cane Corsos. Until city councils deal with the REAL problem - the punks - and quit banning breeds - the problem will never go a away. This is a people problem, not a breed problem.

Answer 9

they don't, but an attack by a Yorkshire terrier wouldn't be sensational reading as the attack, although nasty, wouldn't cause as much damage. In fact there are many breeds nastier than the guarding dogs. Don't forget that these were guard dogs, and the child should never have been in an area they could have met. The parents of the child were looking after the pub while their parents were on holiday, and it would seem as though they didn't secure the dogs well enough. It's a tragedy for all those involved, including the dogs.

Answer 10

Rotties are far from being naturally aggressive. However, they are very biddable and agreeable dogs who are fairly easy to train and so, in the wrong hands, will very quickly pick up a collection of bad habits, ultimately resulting in difficult or challenging behaviour. As others have said before me, its not the dog, its the owner. Regrettably, because they are a very big strong and intimidating-looking dog, they inevitably attract those who want a dog as a penis extension (to make THEM look tough) or genuinely want a tough guard dog. Their sheer size and strength means that, when they attack, they do some startling damage. Such a shame, as in the right hands they are a gentle, loving and loyal friend.