Aggressive Dog Breed Myths?

Question

When did our society become so fearful of working breeds? Before the advent of media ratings, the Pit Bull, the German Shepard, Rottweiler, St Bernard, and others were honored members of the home! We used to know that breed did not make a dog "mean" and we used to think that it was very normal to raise children and large dogs together. Anyone know what is going on?


Happy mother of young children and working dogs!

You have obviously never MET a pit bull. Mine is dog-submissive, getting down low to even meet chihuahuas. A pit bull is no more aggressive than any other breed, and research on the breed will teach you this.

See another ignorant person... "i got bit by a pit bull so all pit bulls are aggressive." YEah... My pit bull got attacked by a Jack Russel when she was a puppy... are all JR's mean and vicious? Jeez I wonder what racial stereotypes you have!

Answer 1

it is all in how they were raised. in the early 1900's these dogs were valued members of society. great for hunting, herding, police work, also great companions, and perfect playmates for kids. but then they fell into the wrong hands of SOME people and now ALL dogs of their kind are bashed as being aggressive, mean, terrible monsters. my uncle has a st bernard and its true that gus will bark at strangers, and it is true that when u come to his house gus will tackle u to the ground. but gus tackles u so he can lick ur face up and down and all around. these dogs r great. none of them deserve the reputation that they were given. gus has gotten the rep of the "evil cujo dog" at my school and i absolutely hate it. we can help these dogs. all it takes is talking sense into people. i recently did a speech about the real side of pit bulls. the sweet caring affectionate side. i took a room filled with 30 pit bull haters and made them fighters for the breed. if we dont help the breeds now, no one will be there for them in the future and they will be gone


EDIT: my aunt used to have a rottie named Molly. Molly was a PERFECT example of what this breed really is. she would let us sit on her back and she would walk around my aunt's farm and just give us rides. she never pushed us off. we would always clench onto her back and fur and she never got mad. she was a great dog. she had the right training. she was a great example of the breed. she will be missed

Answer 2

Thanks to the media things get so blown up out of porportion. In Ontario here in Canada the idiot that thought up the breed ban couldn't even pick out a Pit Bull from a photo lineup. Now Am. Staff's, Pitty's, & Staff's are all lumped together & I love all of them.

Somehow I doubt they'll outlaw German Shepherds because then what are they going to do with the police & service dogs? I bet people will freak out & just like Pitty's & staff's, they'll pick on Belgian Malinois too because they look Shepherdish. What about Labs & Golden Retriever's? I've been bitten by a couple of nasty Golden's but will they ban Golden's? I don't hate Golden's because of those couple.

Personally I'm terrified for my own breed too. Australian Cattle Dogs (& this goes for Border Collies & Aussie's too) were bred to be no nonsense kind of dogs & most will nip heels. It's all in the owners. I am shocked at some of the nasty ACD's I see but then I look at the owner. That is why my waiting list for one of my pups is more selective than it wa even a year ago. My puppy owners have all been great but now I'm paranoid.

I remember when I was a kid I was raised with a German Shepherd, our friend had a Rottie, our other friend an Irish Wolfhound, our neighbour a Pitty, our other neighbour had a Cane Corso (very rare in those days.) Guess what dog I was bitten by!! The other neighbour's toy Poodle.

My sister in law raises Springer's & since they know nothing about raising a proper dogs their dogs have bitten anyone who has ever been invited into their home. I have been bitten 5 times by those pieces of crap but that doesn't mean I hate Springer's. They are one of my favourite breeds.

I wish people would stop believing all the hype & media attention & get a grip!!!

Answer 3

The working breeds are my favorite breeds. I hear a lot of people say "I have had a bad experience with a pit bull, or rottie, or GSD, so now I don't let my dogs or kids around any these types of dogs..." I work at a vet clinic, and if I had the same mind set as these people then I would be out trying to ban Golden Retrievers, Labs, Jack Russell Terriers, Dachshunds, Poodles, Shih-Tzus, Great Danes, Siberian Huskies.... I have met all different dogs of all different breeds who are aggressive, and My point is that a dog's breed does not determine if it is going to be aggressive. It has to do with responsible breeding and responsible ownership. And I don't think any dog breeds should be banned. Instead we should remove dogs who are in unstable homes with irresponsible owners.

As for being with kids, I don't have kids, I don't want kids. But I think that only certain parents should be able to have both dogs and kids. I think it is a big responsibility, I don't think that kids and dogs should ever be left alone unsupervised.

Answer 4

One of the things that is happening is the information hiway. Word gets around so much faster now than by UPI or the town gossip.

Another thing that is happening is that people are having fewer children and hold those children much more precious than in previous generations. Miscarriage and child mortality have decreased tremendously in the past few decades. Therefore, anything that might harm a child is cursed and derided more.

Bad breeding is another. Inbreeding and puppy mills have caused more rotten apples in the barrel if you know what I mean. Careless and irresponsible breeders who are looking for the easy buck have made a bad name out of some of these breeds.

Bad owners. Pit bulls do not become aggressive or bad if the have good owners. Rotts are the same - bad breeding and bad ownership. More dogs than ever are having to be put down because of those two factors. And don't forget the fights. Dog fights and people like Michael Vick have put this topic into the headlines.

I hope that while Vick is in prison that he is given the same treatement that he and his cousin gave those dogs and may he be forever cursed.

Answer 5

I don't know what's going on. They have it ttly wrong! From my experience, those dogs are SOO loving, caring and loyal. It's tottaly up to the breeder/owner. People say Pit Bulls and Rottweilers, because they were used in fighting and have strong jaws and bodies.

I went to a website and they were reported dogs that bite the most frequently:

Pit bulls
Rottweilers
German Shepherds
Huskies
Alaskan Malamutes
Doberman Pinschers
Chow Chows
Great Danes
St. Bernards
Akitas

Can you believe that list?? People have gone crazy, those are like my favorite dog breeds!! It's not the dog/breed it's the people who own them and don't know how to train a dog.

Answer 6

Bulldogs were also known to be aggressive at some point, but it's since been bred out of them. Once we get all dog aggressive pit bulls out of the breeding pool, it'll be hard for people to give them a bad name, won't it?

Don't get me wrong, I love pit bulls as much as I love other dogs (which is a lot). It's sad that some fighting lines of these dogs and some abusive owners have given a lot of great family pets a bad name.

Answer 7

Want a real candid and honest answer to this one? I think that it is obvious that the Animal Rights (AR) movement wishes to rid society of pet ownership particularly ownership of carnivorous animals as the AR movement is backed by stringent Vegans who do not approve of eating meats or using any animal products. Therefore they cannot approve of the keeping of pets which eat other animals (remember these are the same folks who want to save chickens from Kernel Sanders and YOUR dinner plate LOL. Well these folks who include Peta and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) run by Wayne Pacelle himself a vegan, and others have amassed a great deal of money from the public under the guise that they are "protecting animals". They are protecting domestic animals into extinction so they don't suffer at the hands of man. After all to our old friend Ingrid Newkirk head of Peta a boy is a pig is a chicken is a whatever... The point being that the animals used as meat products in your pet's food should not suffer death to feed your pet or you. In fact Peta recently presented an argument to raise a tax on meat in a ridiculous attempt to stop global warming whilst I am sure adding a huge deficit to our own human diets. Anyway with the 120 million that HSUS spends and the 30 some million Peta spends annually these folks have gotten hold of our media and presented a bunch pf false bunk to scare the public. Fear dogs! LOL That is about the lamest thing I ever heard but they are smart little buggars and they are selling their bunk. Unfortunately people don't realize that all this hype about mistreatment and aggression is actually only to serve a special interest group that does not approve of the domestication of any animals. Period. Not as pets. nor as food sources nor even as producers of wool for clothing.
I guarantee you that after the pit they go after all the other breeds until either we as a society wake up and see what they really want or we are completely pet less.

Answer 8

The "pit Bull, american staffordshire terrier as well as some of the other named used to describe the Basic "pit bull" breeds have a reputation Because of ignorant idiots like the most recent case with the football player, of being used in DOG fighting rings, Terriers are stubborn and tenatious, although sweet and loving, Until They Are "trained" to fight and kill... many rescued dogs of these breeds are the most loving of pets, as klong as you dont get into any situation with them.... In many areas They are illegal to have in counties and states for the same reasons.. the can look sweet and if provoked rip your are or leg nearly off..not a dog to casulally walk down Main street with anymore, You'll be asked by every 3rd person... Rotties are great for protecting the home and family in the home, they dont allow anyone in outside the "circle" who live there.... vI dont care if Yo ucame to my home every day for 4 years, Every of those days , I would have to "control" that rottie, Until you were accepted "that day"
Most Germain shepards are feircely loyal TO a single person, and might or might noot allow the family to breath, if "daddy says so.." I you visited either home and had these last behaviors displayed to you,, you would realize If "daddy" has a cardiac dont even try to touch him...lol non dog peeps see this and freak...lol St Bernards are playful, stubborn and slobber a lot, depending on the individual dog... they wowwuldnty harm a hair on anyones head, Unprovoked, but would prolly protect any threat .. if felt...most think they are dumb but St B's are Very smart, but can be slow and lumbering , Its media and events like thid dog fight / Bic case and ones like em, people only see the media , they dont get indepth

Answer 9

Well, I know why people were scared of Rottweilers. Overbreeding and abusing owners made a small amount of Rotts very mean and ferocious. Rottweilers, when raised right, are very nice and beautiful dogs. I loved mine when I was younger. Basically, any dog who is abused can be fearful and mean. I'm not saying all of them act mean, but a majority do.

People get scared when this happens to dogs that are able to do serious bodily harm.

Answer 10

Because we are becoming more and more a society that does not want to take responsibility for our own actions. We don't want to admit that people intentionally make dogs mean, breed dogs with inappropriate temperaments to make a quick buck, or are to lazy to properly train and socialize dogs so there for its must be the dogs fault. Our working breeds are powerful dogs that can inflect serious injury more so than some other breeds, also quite a few were breed for guard and protection work (either people, property or livestock) making them more prone to have those natural protective tendencies run wild if not properly socialized, so they take the heat.