"Dangerous" Dog Breeds

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bonitacash08
bonitacash08 Posts: 378 Member
in Chit-Chat
I have an 18 month old pit bull puppy. Well, technically she's my boyfriend's puppy but I rescued her from being an outside dog when we moved in together 6 months ago. He had no idea how to train or raise her and I've just stepped into that role.

A little background. We live in Nevada. The desert. The weather is acceptable to be outside oh maybe 3 days out of the year. Other than that it's either too damn hot or too damn cold.

My bf got her when she was 8 weeks old and from the beginning didn't really take the necessary steps to take care of her. He didn't realize the responsibility of having her and all the work it would take to keep her. I TRIED to tell him..

Anyways, he grew up in a house that kept their dogs outside. His dad would get a couple of dogs and keep them in the backyard for a few years and then get rid of them. I grew up in a family that treated our dog like family. Tyson was/is my dad's first son and second born child. He's always inside with them. He has traveled from Okinawa, Japan to California to Nevada to Virginia to Arizona with my parents. As you can probably imagine, my bf and I have different ideas on what's acceptable for household pets.

For about a year of her life, our/my puppy spent all of her time outside. My bf put her dog kennel flush with the entrance of the doggy door, so she could come inside away from the elements but could go no further than her kennel. She never got human interaction, never got walked, never got played with. During the winter before I moved in, I put a space heater by her kennel because it was literally freezing outside and she's obviously a short hair.

Fast forward to now, I've officially made her a house dog :smile: She literally knew zero commands, and now she knows sit and lay and we're working on stay. She used to be completely hyper and anxious around people, nervous-peeing on the floor every time someone pet her. She couldn't lay down and be calm. She had to be as close as possible to you, on your lap if you let her. She's almost 60lbs lol so it wasn't comfortable for anyone. Now my girl is calm, sweet, and she tries so hard to be good and do what she thinks I want. We go to the dog parks, on walks, and I make time for her every day.

Her interaction with my kitten is HILARIOUS. My kitten is a few months younger than her but is definitely the alpha animal of the house (besides me). They play together. My bf also has a 2 year old daughter that my puppy absolutely adores.

I write this epic novella to say this: I don't think there are "vicious" or "dangerous" breeds. Any dog can be aggressive or mean. It depends on the time the owners put in. My pit was easily on the path to being "dangerous" but I turned it around.

Anyone else have stories about their dogs? Rescues? Shelter dogs?
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Replies

  • _noob_
    _noob_ Posts: 3,306 Member
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    in
  • PlayerHatinDogooder
    PlayerHatinDogooder Posts: 1,018 Member
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    You should leave your boyfriend outside.
  • iLoveMyPitbull1225
    iLoveMyPitbull1225 Posts: 1,690 Member
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    I agree with you, I have one too and hes sweeter than pie. Bad people do bad things to animals and it creates negative behavior..
  • HealthyBodySickMind
    HealthyBodySickMind Posts: 1,207 Member
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    Good for you! That is, on the proper training of your boyfriend. Dogs should not live chained to things.
  • mrs_mab
    mrs_mab Posts: 1,024 Member
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    We've raised and bred APBT for many years, they are some of the sweetest, most loyal family dogs you will ever own! That being said, they are NOT for everybody, nor are many other breeds of protection type such as rottiess, dobbies, shepherds, mastiffs, ambulls, etc.... with breeds such as these comes great responsibility, well with any breed really, but protection breeds even more. Yes, any dog can be vicious, my grandma had a Chihuahua under 8 pounds that would eat *kitten*, however the difference is 50-100+ pounds! Rarely do you hear of Chihuahua attacks, though I am sure it happens quite often, but the amount of damage they are able to do compared to a large, powerful protection breed is insurmountable....

    We have since stopped breeding after losing our beloved male APBT Brutus at age 14 several years ago, and currently do not own any APBT, but we still love the breed! We do have an 90 pound AMBULL who we rescued at the age of 8 months. When we got him, he was schizophrenic, hated men, and was afraid of his own tail and shadow. Now he is 5 and an awesome member of our family, though he still gets the crazy eyes and weirded out at least once a day, as AMBULLS are known for their aloofness. He is the best protection dog we've ever owned, but you have to be careful with him, as he is a great judge of character. If you're calm & chill, he will eventually warm up to you on his own time. If you're sketchy & shady, chances are you won't be at our house for very long. It the words of dog whisperer, Caesar Millan - "No touch, No talk, No eye contact."
  • hbrittingham
    hbrittingham Posts: 2,518 Member
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    I am so glad you were able to step in and move the pup indoors. Dogs who are undersocialized can become dangerous, mainly out of fear.

    I personally think pit bulls are fabulous dogs. I also recently trained a doberman (we do boarding training), the first one I have every really had any contact with. He was the biggest mush in the world! He looked intimidating, but he didn't have a mean bone in his body.
  • mrdk92
    mrdk92 Posts: 24 Member
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    When I was born, we had three dobermans in the house and they were never ever dangerous. I've owned many different dog breeds, generally all medium-extra large and none of them were born "dangerous".

    And I'm glad you've brought your puppy inside! Give clicker training a try, worked wonders with our dogs.
  • schaapj2
    schaapj2 Posts: 320 Member
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    APBTs used to be called Nanny dogs for a reason....protective and loyal....great family dogs. There are no inherently bad dogs-animal behavior is both instinctual and learned. When a dog is reinforced negatively, it reacts negatively.

    Love pits and staffies....:) And like all dogs, they benefit form training, routine, and consistency.
  • bonitacash08
    bonitacash08 Posts: 378 Member
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    When I was born, we had three dobermans in the house and they were never ever dangerous. I've owned many different dog breeds, generally all medium-extra large and none of them were born "dangerous".

    And I'm glad you've brought your puppy inside! Give clicker training a try, worked wonders with our dogs.

    You know what? I will.. I've heard so many positive reviews about it..
  • simplyciera
    simplyciera Posts: 168 Member
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    I had a chow chow/akita mix growing up. Categorized as an aggressive guard dog. We got him from the SPCA as a puppy. He was a darling. He loved children. never bit. wasn't territorial, but he DID guard. Like when he was older, he'd sleep in front of the front door. When my mom was sitting down, he'd sit at her side like a guide dog. He'd bark when someone came to our porch, but every dog does that. He was just excited. Since he was typically an excited dog that liked to jump and lick, we sent him to obedience classes & he did well.

    It's all about the owners and how the dog is treated. We treated our dog like a person. He had his own couch, heater and space in the house. He stayed in my bed until I fell asleep and then went to guard the house. He loved kids...and kids are rough. They'd pull his tail and smush his face. Never even a yelp. He was amazing. I could never replace such a good dog.
  • Chaosrose8
    Chaosrose8 Posts: 39
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    I have a bullmastiff and an American bulldog. My husband and I have worked hard to train them well. They are both sweet, loving dogs and are a part of our family. :)
    They are large dogs (about 130 lbs and 100 lbs) so we wanted to make sure they would be well behaved.
  • juliemouse83
    juliemouse83 Posts: 6,663 Member
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    I remember reading about your baby several months ago. :) I'm glad she's an indoor doggie now.

    I am a firm believer that there are no bad dogs - just bad owners.
  • kingtermite
    kingtermite Posts: 82 Member
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    I write this epic novella to say this: I don't think there are "vicious" or "dangerous" breeds. Any dog can be aggressive or mean. It depends on the time the owners put in. My pit was easily on the path to being "dangerous" but I turned it around.

    Anyone else have stories about their dogs? Rescues? Shelter dogs?
    Great story! I agree 150% that no breeds are "vicious" or "dangerous" by nature. Dogs are like people....raise them right and they'll be great; raise them wrong and they'll be nothing but trouble.

    My wife and I volunteer at a local shelter and hear stories like this all the time. I see those "vicious" pit bulls that want nothing but love and hugs and wouldn't hurt a flea.

    I'd say you did a great job training the dog....now you need to train the bf much better, it sounds like he needs a wake up call.
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
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    I'm glad you stepped in... Why have a pet if you aren't going to take care of it in every aspect?

    We have a dog, but not a shelter dog... ours isn't an "agressive" breed (Sheltie)... but I have been around "agressive breed" dogs most of my life... and I hope one day I will be able to get one because I have always gravitated towards those breeds because of the ones I have grown up around.
  • Megs081211
    Megs081211 Posts: 150
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    Please Please Please, remember pitbulls don't generally hit full maturity till 2 or 3 years of age and can develop problems after that point. I say that having worked with various animals and myself owned a pitbull. I loved that dog, she was the best dog we owned, and the the most gentle. Many people don't realize when they hit full maturity but it's something you have to constantly watch for.

    And for the no dangerous dogs I have to disagree. I would say a chihuahua lol. I've worked in a shelter for 8 years (yes we've had animal aggressive pits in) but the only dogs I'd ever been bit by there were chihuahua's. lol
  • Ashley_Panda
    Ashley_Panda Posts: 1,404 Member
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    Our super vicious/dangerous bully baby. Her name is Poena and was a rescue. She had a litter of puppies and just like always everyone wants the pups and not the mama. I wanted the mama. She's the biggest sweetie on the planet, awesome with our two babies, and loves to play with our cats and other dog.

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  • amandapye78
    amandapye78 Posts: 820 Member
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    I believe it was the owners do BUT I think breeding plays a huge part it in. If you breed dogs that have a tendency towards aggression the puppies are more likely to have aggression issues too,.. BTW this was a comment against irresponsible breeding not individual breeds. I had a shih tzu we had to put down. I put everything into that dog and even paid a behaviorist to help us but the dog was so aggressive we could do nothing with him ( I got him as a 2 month old puppy), he had circuits that were misfiring somewhere and he came from a puppy mill before I knew any better. It was the worst thing ever.
  • 1shauna1
    1shauna1 Posts: 993 Member
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    I never really understand people who have dogs and keep them outside all the time like that. My two dogs are my family! I just adopted my second from a rescue group and he does have some issues (mainly barking and some aggression with other dogs). I don't know his background, but we're in dog training class and he's very smart! I totally think that there isn't a "dangerous" dog breed; frankly it's the owners who are more dangerous due to lack of training or bad training. Any dog can be a vicious dog, even a toy breed.
  • bonitacash08
    bonitacash08 Posts: 378 Member
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    My bf isn't a bad guy. Some people just don't see animals as family. He's definitely come a long way since he first got her. He plays with her now and hangs out with her now that she's better behaved. He just got overwhelmed with training her and decided to resort to how his dad treated animals because it was easier.
  • rem10210
    rem10210 Posts: 40 Member
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    You should leave your boyfriend outside.

    THIS!

    Thank you for rescuing this little one from a life of misery and probably becoming mean.

    I have 3 big dogs (all 100% inside), volunteer with a local rescue group, and am an advocate for humane treatment of animals. There is a ton of research out there on why it is safer and healthier for dogs not to be inside.
    I think the "dangerous" breed deal is a load of bull! Dogs learn dangerous behaviors from their owners. Any dog can attack it isn't treated properly. Sure individual dogs can end up with more aggressive personalities without any mistreatment, but that isn't breed specific.
    I highly recommend crate training and look into the "Nothing In Life is Free" method of training.

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