A dog you can trust or a dog that will kill?

Sure breeds have traits... just like horoscopes type people... eg.. scorpios are hard headed and stubborn...

Horoscopes aren't real. Breed traits are. People spend decades breeding in or breeding out specific traits. Terriers, for example, have been bred to be tenacious hunters. I've had terriers nearly my whole life, until my last one died nine years ago. They all have their own *personalities,* but they also most certainly do have specific traits. Does that mean every terrier in the world is stubborn? Of course not. Just that they're more likely to be stubborn than a dog who wasn't bred to hunt that way.

In the end, though, it still comes down to what people have done to dogs, i.e., deliberately breeding in or out specific traits. And to my knowledge, no dog has ever been bred specifically for aggression. That said, sloppy breeding of so-called dangerous breeds is what's gotten us here. While responsible breeders are breeding to improve lines, BYBs aren't. They're in it for the money, and they'll use any dogs, regardless of temperament or traits, and what you end up with are poor examples of the breed. Mix that with a bad owner, and you get an aggressive dog.

Any dog bred to truly guard is going to have to have some aggression in its nature. Just barking to warn won't always cut it.

Any breed trained to go after something bigger than itself (especially lions, bears, or other predators) is going to have aggression-the willingness and confidence to attack a dangerous creature much larger than itself and bring it down.

And poor pit-bulls, I figure they are less likely to warn with barking and growling first (if what I read is true) because they were bred also by cruel idiots using them for sport. No point in barking or growling at a bull or bear trapped in a pit in hopes it will turn and flee and present an easier target. Might as well just charge right in. How many pitbulls come from that particular breeding line though and how many come from the line used in general to hunt or guard livestock? No telling. But they were sometimes set upon their bear or bull victims in packs, so that also might make them more likely to be pack aggressive.

Anyway, watch out for those dachshunds. A vet study shows that small dogs are the most aggressive, with wiener dogs topping the list. So if you see one, run! They're toothy, short legged little missiles fueled by pure hatred! What we really need to fear isn't pit-bulls, it's the day some breeder gets it into her head to cross breed dachshunds with irish wolfhounds until they get the ultimate, leggy killing machine. :laugh:

Somethings missing..

She was eating, and they attacked? were they hungry? was she teasing them?

As others have said, it's in the breeding, the socialization they get at birth, a LOT of factors weigh in here.

Not all dogs are bad, just like not all dog owners are idiots, there is always the exception to the rule.

It's not the breed, it's the owner.

My pitbull is an absolute doll with my 3 year old. He can do whatever the F*** he wants, she will ignore him. If she's had enough she will walk away.

I can't help but laugh at the idiots that are afraid of my 30lb puppy because she's a "pit bull'. The most damage she will do is walking up you to lick your face off.

i would NEVER leave a big dog with a small child

my grandparents have a doberman, a huge doberman named Herman. hes the sweetest big dog ive ever met. hes giant but hes very very gentle, hes GREAT with my uncles 3 year old baby girl and she plays with him and he appears to be absolutely no threat.

but would i leave him alone with the kid? absolutely not. because you just never know what could happen.

No breed is a bad breed when trained correctly.

No dog should be left alone with a small child.

And children need to be educated about how to act around dogs. I love my dogs to death and I would do anything for them. I trust them and they protect me or alert me to potential danger. However, I will not ever mess with them while they eat and I have taught my 8 y/o the same. I dont attempt to touch their bowl or anything around it. I love them but Im not dumb- they are still animals with instincts.

No breed is a bad breed when trained correctly.

No dog should be left alone with a small child.

And children need to be educated about how to act around dogs. I love my dogs to death and I would do anything for them. I trust them and they protect me or alert me to potential danger. However, I will not ever mess with them while they eat and I have taught my 8 y/o the same. I dont attempt to touch their bowl or anything around it. I love them but Im not dumb- they are still animals with instincts.

You should be able to touch your dogs food bowl, and so should your children. My dog won't even go near her food bowl if I'm even in the vicinity, and if she's eating when I walk into the room, she will back away from her food. It's not that she is afraid of me, it is out of respect. I could also set my own plate of food on the floor, leave her alone with it for any period of time and know that it will be untouched when I return.

that's so sad, i feel terrible for that family.

i'm very lucky i have such a sweet dog, who i've taken the time to train, and who respects me and my position as leader of our "pack".

however i don't think i would ever have more dogs/animals than people in a house. i just wouldn't be able to give them all the love, care and consistent training they need. seeing such a tiny backyard for four huge dogs may explain why they were so aggressive and energetic. i know my dog 70% ignores me when he's with other dogs, until he becomes tired then he wants to snuggle and be pet.

a tired dog is a good dog

I have a Lab/Rottie mix and a St Bernard I don't leave kids alone with either of them.
Not that I don't trust my dogs but kids are brats.

Which is why when my husband had his old dog and had small nieces and nephews he made sure he "pulled" her tail and ears and did everything a small child would do to a dog to get her used to it and it worked. She never bit, snapped at or did anything to his kin but when she was tired she sure as heck let them know with a low, menacing warning growl.

I can't imagine pulling on my cats' ears (or my dogs', when I had them) just to get them used to kids. I'd rather stay on top of the kids until they learned to act right.

It wasn't like he was yanking on them hard and being mean. He was doing what any normal kid would do. She was the sweetest, loving dog out there but he didn't want to risk her snapping at a child because they got a little aggressive with her. You can't watch a child all the time.

yesterday, a 2-year old toddler was mauled and killed by her family's 7 pit bulls.

The family said there has never been an issue with the dogs before and they never felt the child was in danger with them, although they admitted at least one of the dogs killed a cat one time.

http://www.live5news.com/story/21816646/2-year-old-girl-killed-by-seven-pit-bulls-in-ellabell

yesterday, a 2-year old toddler was mauled and killed by her family's 7 pit bulls.

The family said there has never been an issue with the dogs before and they never felt the child was in danger with them, although they admitted at least one of the dogs killed a cat one time.

http://www.live5news.com/story/21816646/2-year-old-girl-killed-by-seven-pit-bulls-in-ellabell

Oh this is the one. I live just outside of Ellabell.

It's all about the training. I have a Shorkie, whom is supposed to be sweet and great with kids. Guess what? He's not. It's my fault because he was not properly socialized. I have now enlisted a professional trainer and we are working on his issues.

There are some KIDS that I would not trust around any breed of dog.

I have been bitten by 3 different dogs all cocker spaniels. Cockers spaniels hate me !!!! LOL don't know why.

That being said I believe breeds do what they have been bread to do. Beagles were bread to chase rabbits let a beagle go in the woods and it will chase some animal. Retrievers naturally want to fetch. Pitts and Rotties were trained to fight they are going to fight quicker than say a retriever.

They have a quicker temper and I don't trust them just like I don't trust a human with a short temper.

Hmm A sensitive subject for me being a lover of bully breeds. Any dog can bite~ that's just the facts. Too many people own big large dogs but they don't properly train them and that leads to so many problems for the dogs (and subsequently the owners). I myself have been bitten by a Chihuahua/Pomeranian mix on my face, as a child my brother was attacked by two beagles and a few other smaller dogs if I remember correctly (he has bad luck lol) and I have a wiggle-butt of a pit mix that would probably lick someone to death if they let her. This is the first bully breed I've owned and I went into it full-well knowing that she would require extra training even if merely because of her size and strength (which are oblivious to her since she thinks she's a tiny lap dog lol). Also, the problem with the term "pit bull" used to describe dogs is that many times it's based simply on the appearance of the dog. There are so many types of dogs and mixes of dogs that resemble "pitties" that they all get lumped together and causes major confusion for most people. I just don't care what type of dog attacks, they should be judged on an individual basis~the same way we do for crimes that humans commit. Could you imagine if we started prosecuting entire chunks of the population of people based on individual crimes that one or two people committed? Punish the DEED, not the BREED!

Edited to add: I just remembered during a hike last weekend with the chi/pom mix mentioned above and my pit mix, we came across lots of dogs. The only "mean" dog we encountered was a golden retriever~ yes, the media's vision of the perfect family dog. The owners were responsible enough to pull the aggressive dog off the trail FAR away from us before we even got close to us and our dogs because they knew she'd attack. Just goes to show, you never know what type of dog can attack.