Do you agree that there is no such thing as a bad dog, just bad owners?

Question

why or why not?

Answer 1

dogs are pack animals and they need an alpha dog hence their human. they will do anything to please their leader. so yes there are no bad dogs just bad humans because the dog is gonna do what it is trained to do. just like wild dogs.

Answer 2

Yes.....
Dogs are wanting to please us no matter what it takes, even the dogs that are neglected or abused.

After 9-11, I was reading an article (can not remember what magazine I saw this on) but a search and rescue team was having a difficult time searching for the people who have passed on in the rubble, the dog was depressed and so was the handler, the handler knew he needed to do something for his dog that was on a positive beat so his dog will go back to finding the ones that passed on. This handler brought his dog to some children in a school, the children of course wanted to pet and hug the dog, the handler of course let them do this, with in 24 hrs from the dog being around the children, the dog was back to his old self.
What I am trying to get at is that dogs have feelings and when a dog is unfortunate to have a "bad" owner, that dog does feel the sorrow of wanting to be wanted.
Dogs need good guidance and they need to be told that they are wanted and very much loved.

Answer 3

I'd say the majority of the time, it's a bad owner.

But you can't entirely overlook breeding. Aggression CAN be bred into dogs, just like other traits are bred in, such as herding instinct.

Partially nuture, partially nature.

I read an excellent analogy a few months ago "Nature (breeding) is the sheet music, but nuture (training) is the conductor."
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Answer 4

No! While there are plenty of bad owners out there, there are bad dogs!
I work at a rescue and have seen 1000's of dogs adopted over the years, Some by perfect pet owners, and very dog "savvy" people, and some (though not many) turn out very bad.
I once had a foster puppy that came in at 4 weeks old (already growling) He was fostered by me for at least 6 weeks, he was always sassy. He was adopted by the most perfect of families. He was always headstrong. They took him to Vets, dog trainers, dog psychologists, you name it they did it. He finally bit someone when he was just a year old
He was of course euthanized. The signs were there at 1 month old. ( He was a black Lab)

Answer 5

No. You also have to consider genetics. If you breed dogs with bad temperaments, sometimes nurture just doesn't make a bit of difference. That's why the good breeders only breed dogs with good temperaments, they won't breed dogs that are very aggressive, or shy or nervous to the point of being neurotic.

Usually it's bad owners, but no way is it always bad owners.

Answer 6

No - I don't agree. Pit bulls have been known to be peaceful for years, and then unexplicably go wild and attack. Same with German Shepards, Weimeraners and a few others I can't think of their names.

You can't relate bad dogs to bad childred: "There's no such thing as a bad child ... just bad parents". I agree with this premis, but not as it pertains to dogs.

Answer 7

I agree 110%. Dogs do not think and reason as we do. They only know what they have been trained. And if they have not been trained they resort to instinct, which traces to wolves. I look at it this way, we brought dogs into our lives, our societies, and we are responsible to teach them our ways. It would be like us going to a foreign country, not knowing any of their customs or language. We may do things and act in way that is wrong for that society. It would not make us bad people just ignorant or uneducated. It is the same for dogs, if they are not trained, and socialized to our ways they do not know that they do wrong when they bite ( wolves bite out of fear, protection dominance etc) and that is what the unsoialized and untrained dog would do. The dog is not responsible to teach themselves our ways, we are.

Answer 8

Well, yes and no.

I don't think any dog is inherently "bad." I think people like to put human behavior tags on dogs too often. A "nice" dog; a "mean" dog... Different breeds have natural tendencies and instincts. Some are more aggressive by nature, but this doesn't mean that they cannot be trained to behave appropriately. And, likewise, you can "train" a dog to be fearful of humans and more likely to react negatively.

Answer 9

For the most part, yes. I do NOT completely agree, as sometimes there is the occasional dog that has aggressive tendencies due to bad breeding, or health problems (such as seizures).

Answer 10

No dogs have their own personalities. They can all be taught and trained. They can turn on you just like any other animal can. Some of the best trained and well behaved dogs have turned on their owners for no reason.

Answer 11

Yes i agree that is no such thing as a bad dog,bad owners yes.Why should a dog be bad when he or she is born without any aggrievesity.HAPPY HOLIDAY.Take care.That's my opinion.