Dogs with bad Rep?

Question

How come dogs such as pit bulls and rottweilers get such a bad rep? I know that they get alot of attention from the media about those dog maulings, but dont they know that other dogs such as Akita's, Poodles, Cocker's, Boxers, Great Danes, and Wofle Hybrids, are more likely to bite someone then pits or rotts. When ever i walk my two rott's around people are soo scared they might bite them and such, I guess people need to be educated that all dogs can bute not just Pit bulls and Rottweilers.

Answer 1

In the 6-year study published in the medical journal PEDIATRICS (Vol.97 No. 6, 891-5), Jeffrey J. Sacks, M.D. and associates reported the finding of 109 bite-related fatalities. They found that 57% of the deaths were in children under 10 years of age. 22% of the deaths involved an unrestrained dog OFF the owner's property. 18% of the deaths involved a restrained dog ON the owner's property, and 59% of the deaths involved an unrestrained dog ON the owner's property.

The researchers also found that 10% of the dog bite attacks involved sleeping infants.

The most commonly reported dog breeds involved were pit bulls (24 deaths), followed by rottweilers (16 deaths), and German shepherds (10 deaths). The authors point out that many breeds, however, are involved in the problem.
THIS ONE FROM THE CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL 2002.
At least 25 breeds of dogs have been involved in 238
human DBRF during the past 20 years. Pit bull-type
dogs and Rottweilers were involved in more than half of
these deaths.

Answer 2

A small breed dog bites and ouch that hurt! But a large breed dog like a Rott bites and you're looking at stitches. Doctors are forced to report such bites to Animal Care and Control who investigates and thus you have a status report made by number crunching fools. Small breed dog bites rarely get reported even though they are more likely to bite. I used to own rotts my whole life until two years ago when I got a Boxer, everyone thought he was a PIT. I personally encourage people to pet my dog, get involved with clubs and make a good name for such a beautiful dog. They deserve that. Remind people that it is often the working breed that is trained to protect this country with K9 cops, search & rescue and so on. You just happen to own one of the lovely breeds that are capable of great work.

Answer 3

Part of it is that they have been catergorized that way - I've heard Rotts refered to as the Cadillac of attack dogs in a dog breed book. Plus in the original movie The Omen they were demonic devil dogs. Pit bulls of course were bred (and sadly still are in some cases) to fight each other. It can work the other way too. After 101 dalamations came out I saw several turned into the humane society I volunteered at for various reasons, but mostly because people thought they would fit their family's lifestyle. Not to generalize but I have seen some Dalmations who are so aggressive it scared me - and I am very experiened with dogs.

And I think that you are correct - they don't know that other dogs can bite too.

However I think the biting thing has way more to do with the owner than the dog or breed of dog. If owners don't socialize or train their dogs or if they encourage aggressive behavior - there you go. A problem in the making.

Also, people in general need to be responsible when around dogs, and teach their kids to be cautious and have respect for animals. And also never to approach an unfamiliar dog without an adult or the owner present.

The best thing that you can do is show people that your dogs are NOT that way. Educate people about the breed.

Answer 4

Isn't it great that you have two examples of well behaved dogs to help you educate the public.

IMHO, there are two reasons for the bad reps of certain breeds:

One is because of the scale of the bite attacks. Sure a chichuahua or a golden retriever might bite, but they don't usually kill someone. Rotts and Pits generally cause more damage when they bite and some of them will strike repeatedly leading to maulings that get a lot of play in the papers.

The second reason I think they have bad reps is because of prejudice. Take someone who thinks these are bad dogs. Ask this person what kind of people would own a rottweiler or a pitbull. They honestly believe that the only people who own them are drug dealers, lowlife, and trailer trash. Who do they think those people are? Blacks and other "undesireables." So I think it comes down to a certain level of racism, or at least classism.

As with people, there is an element that believes that certain "types" are just not as equal as others. It just isn't true.

Now true, I hate pitbulls. In my area there is a large number of them being bred specifically for nasty attitudes. These dogs are sold as fashion statements to stupid men (usually) who think owning a hulking snarling brute of a dog makes them look tough. In reality it makes them look weak and laughable to me.

But the poor breeding and unethical handling of these dogs is not the fault of the dogs. It's the fault of the individuals that are looking to make an easy buck breeding and fighting their dogs. (Yes they do that here.)

Still, because you never know where they came from, there's NO WAY I would have a pit bull in this area.

Answer 5

The media runs stories that get ratings. A Chihuahua biting someone is not that big of a story. But face it, if a pit bull bites someone, that person is going to need medical attention, and THAT makes a story. Especially if it is a child. Once people get the idea that a certain breed is "dangerous" they pay more attention to those stories.

My niece was mauled, yes, mauled, by a Basset Hound. She needed three surgeries to fix her at the time, and still faces at least one more, but that was never reported on the news. I don't fully understand why, but that dog was also a trusted family pet for many years. I do know that my niece, like most kids who get bit, was partly to blame. But mainly it was the adult family members who left her alone with a dog. I do know that after that happened, I stopped getting static about my pit bulls and Rotts. None of my dogs has ever bit anyone, but then I have never given them a chance. It is time to put the blame where it belongs, on the owners!!

Answer 6

i understand what you mean. Most of those dogs that maul or kill people are dogs taht were mistreated or mishandled most of their lives. You'd be amazed what a little wrong action at the wrong time could do to a dogs personna. I know first hand what you say about your Rotts.... i've owned Rottweillers, German Shepherds and Dobermans most of my life. All three dogs are intimidating just by looking at them but all of my dogs have been thoroughly trained in protection and obedience work. The look and stare they give strangers after the training is amazing and people are just scared of it, even though my dogs would never attack unless on command of they felt i was threatened in any way. I currently have 3 German Shepherds and two have coats are unfamiliar to many americans. One comes from old East German lines (yep,, east german) and is tall and muscular and if you look quickly you could mistake him for a wolf easily. I have another one that is ALL jet black. He seems to scare people the most because of the way he stares at people. But anyway, sorry for rambling... it is true... it is not ALWAYS the dogs fault. There are plenty of breeds out there that could cause a lot of damage if raised wrong. Hell, a Golden Retreiver could seriously injure a child if not raised around children young. I agree with what you say about people needing to be educated.

Answer 7

they are being ignorant... they don't see that most of the time it is the owners fault on how they raised the dogs (i don't care who says it's the dogs breed that does that, it's not!) They mainly target pitts because they were mainly bred to be trained to fight! after people started domesticating them (and not giving them proper attention or training that any dog needs) they can become mean, but that is with any and all dogs!!!
I used to work at a vet clinic, and all the larger dogs i came across (with the exception of a few) were all really nice and the worst thing they would do is LICK you to death... it was the smaller dogs you had to watch for! They would snap at you in a heart beat...

i was chased and bit as a little girl by a spitz, but they don't have any bad rep either...

i think if the media is going to talk about how dogs can turn on owners, they need to look into all dogs and get all the information before saying all these statements! it is not only a few breeds that may be capable of injuring someone, it's all of them if not trained properly!

Answer 8

Any dog will bite. They come in all sizes and colors. Particular breeds don't matter they are still dogs. Unfortunately the news media feeds off these big dog bite stories. A tiny Shih Tzu can do damage too during a dog bite but you never here about those bites on the 5 o'clock news.
My dog has 42 teeth. He is a Border Collie.
It's up to him if he decides to use them on someone. But it is up to me to be a responsible dog owner and raise him with rules, boundaries and limitations.
I love dogs and will always have them as pets. People need to be educated on how a dog's minds work. There is no dumb dog... only dumb people!

Answer 9

Pitbulls are very loving, smart dogs. They originally crossed a Terrier and a Bull Dog, which created a fighting dog. The Jaw muscles of a pit bull are really strong, and actually take up most of their head, which is why they have such a strong bite. In England, Ireland, and Scotland, where they were originally bred, the people would put the dogs in pits and actually fight the dogs. (PIT bull) They are only aggressive if trained that way!

Answer 10

I agree, my rotts are the sweetest dogs. It breaks my heart to think that some people mis-treat their pets and others are too ignorant to realize it's the owners who are cruel and not the dogs. It's terrible that the sweet angels that share my bed (seldomly if the hubby's not home) are victims of such prejudice.