aggressive breed dogs

[dancudayo]

Just curious, I have been thinking about getting a rotweiler but I'm nervous about any aggression in the breed. I'm not trying to ruffle anyones feathers, I love all dogs and have a yellow lab, he is so gentle. But what does everyone think about these kind of dogs as well as some of the other ones with a bad rap, like pit bulls? Is it really the environment they are raised in? I think that plays a big role but I still think that since that is what they have been bred for that it is a gene that is there and with the right/wrong stimulus it can be triggered? Also, I have heard that some insurance companies won't cover you if you have one of these types of dogs is that true? Just bored and wanted to see what opinions might be floating out there. Dan

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: aggressive breed dogs

Hey Dan, I have both.
Rotts and a Pit.
Let me state that these dogs have been raised with/around me and the wife since pups.
I have never seen any type of aggressive behavior from none of them, be it strange people or animals.
I can not talk for other people and their dogs, just mine.
You can make any dog mean if you want.
Mine have been raised like kids and like I said, no strange dogs, cats, or people sets them off.

You will get all the obvious answers as to they are mean and all of them should be put down, etc.
My homeowners insurance company is well aware of what dogs I have.
Also aware of the cats and parakeets I have too.
They have said nothing about not covering my stuff.

With all that said, I can not guarantee what would go on if someone broke into my house while I was gone.

 

[Caveman Charlie]

Re: aggressive breed dogs

I had a pit bull lab cross. He was a gentle and great dog.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: aggressive breed dogs

Here is Butch.

About a month ago at 5 months.
He is now going on 7 months and not quite the man he use to be.

 

[thefairlaneman]

Re: aggressive breed dogs

I had a yellow lab for 12 years. Wonderful people loving dogs that dont like to be left by themselves. Ive seen some rotties that scared me and some as gentle as the lab, I guess if you get a dog from known stock and he isnt too old and learned bad habits or has a history of abuse is the best way to go.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: aggressive breed dogs

I have owned rotties before.They are a very dominant breed.
Like Spinner said though,its all in how they are raised.
They need plenty of exercise and take them for walks.Any dog that is cooped up in a fence or house can get aggressive.
If you get them as pups and raise them right i don't think they are worse than any other breed..
I have 2 Boxers now and the male is 85 pounds.He looks like he would rip you apart but he is just a big lap dog..He Loves kids and gets along with most other dogs.

 

[SgtMaj]

Re: aggressive breed dogs

The only problem with pitt bulls is that occasionally, and let me just say that it is RARE, they will just "snap" even though they were treated well and babied their whole life.

I breifly attended college with a guy that had several pitt bulls, and he took good care of them, but one day one of them snapped and attacked his pregnant wife. Now both his wife and the baby survived, but it did put her in the hospital for nearly a week, and it caused him to drop out of college. So the question is, even if it is only 1 in 50,000 dogs that snaps like that, is it really worth the risk to you or your family? That's a question you'll have to answer for yourself. They are, after all, a beautiful breed of dog.

Rotweilers on the other hand, I have not seen any evidence that they have the same problem. They are just big intimidating dogs that can be made to be generally mean if mistreated (much like any dog).

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: aggressive breed dogs

Dang Spinner,he is marked like my male boxer..
Here they are..I busted them shredding the old blanket they sleep on..

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: aggressive breed dogs

Yea he is brintle in color.
I had the mom here when she had the litter.
She is my daughter's dog.
I picked Butch out of the group when they were born.
6 weeks old, came down with parvo, nasty stuff, but my good vet brought him back from the brink, and I mean brink, of death.
He is great now and last time at vet, tip the scales at 56 pounds and he is still just a boy.

 

[MikDee]

Re: aggressive breed dogs

The only problem with pitt bulls is that occasionally, and let me just say that it is RARE, they will just "snap" even though they were treated well and babied their whole life.

I breifly attended college with a guy that had several pitt bulls, and he took good care of them, but one day one of them snapped and attacked his pregnant wife. Now both his wife and the baby survived, but it did put her in the hospital for nearly a week, and it caused him to drop out of college. So the question is, even if it is only 1 in 50,000 dogs that snaps like that, is it really worth the risk to you or your family? That's a question you'll have to answer for yourself. They are, after all, a beautiful breed of dog.

Rotweilers on the other hand, I have not seen any evidence that they have the same problem. They are just big intimidating dogs that can be made to be generally mean if mistreated (much like any dog).

This is what I've experienced also with a Pitbull, a close friend of mine had a chocolate lab that was a good dog, and his son had a pitbull, they got along fine for yrs in the same house, then one day the pitbull attacked the lab for no reason? and almost killed it, my friend was there at the time, and couldn't get the pit to release it's bite, until he thought fast, and covered it's nose. The lab srvived after many stitches, but my friend had his son take the pitbull away. The lab died a few yrs later of cancer, don't know if this was caused by the pitbull attack? But, IMO, pitbulls can just snap, and I think it can be a pent up jealousy issue!

 

[JB]

Re: aggressive breed dogs

Dogs, like people, have different personalities and different attitudes. They mostly come from what the dog's life has been/is like.

Some of the most aggressive dogs I have known have been very small dogs and lap dogs. They are more annoying than dangerous. Nevertheless, I have a scar on my ankle inflicted by a. . . would you believe. . .pomeranian.

But big, powerful dogs, even the most gentle and laid back, become deadly if they have even one moment of aggressiveness in their whole life. That is my concern with Rottys, Pit (American) Bulldogs and other big, powerful dogs.

I suppose some breeds have a history of aggressiveness, but I have a hard time attaching that label to any individual dog. I have read that more people are bitten/attacked by Dalmations than any other breed, . I doubt that. I think toy breeds attack more, but go unreported. That miserable pom that attacked me had attacked many, many people and never been reported.

 

[dancudayo]

Re: aggressive breed dogs

Hey all, them dalmatians really are terrifying, I adopted one that was at least 10 yrs old from the pound, she was really skinny and kinda disconnected, according to the pound she had a clean bill of health, but after getting her spayed as they required from an outside vet they tell me she has heartworms I was outraged at the pound, but I just sucked it up and got her treated, the two injections had her down for 2-3 weeks and one day she looked like death, then she sprang back ate like a pig got all fatted up, that's when the nightmare began to happen, lol. I had a little poodle/terrier dog and the dalmatian grabbed it by the back of the head and was slamming her head up and down in the concrete, my dad who was the only one home, and in a wheelchair rolled out onto the patio and was beating the dalmatian, not a good thing to do, but he just reacted, she finally let go and then just flipped the switch and was all happy lovey again. She kept showing aggressive signs and one day almost got a hold of the vet, it scared the h*ll out of him. I worked with her for many weeks whenever she just kind of scowled I stearnly said NO!! and she knew what I was saying but It just scared me so I finally found a home for her, and the people were well warned about it, I even said if they didn't feel comfortable at anytime they could bring her back to me. I got a postcard from them and they still love her. But yes some of them dalmatians are no joke! sorry so long, I'm long winded,

 

[DJ]

Re: aggressive breed dogs

Hey all, them dalmatians really are terrifying, I adopted one that was at least 10 yrs old from the pound, she was really skinny and kinda disconnected, according to the pound she had a clean bill of health, but after getting her spayed as they required from an outside vet they tell me she has heartworms I was outraged at the pound, but I just sucked it up and got her treated, the two injections had her down for 2-3 weeks and one day she looked like death, then she sprang back ate like a pig got all fatted up, that's when the nightmare began to happen, lol. I had a little poodle/terrier dog and the dalmatian grabbed it by the back of the head and was slamming her head up and down in the concrete, my dad who was the only one home, and in a wheelchair rolled out onto the patio and was beating the dalmatian, not a good thing to do, but he just reacted, she finally let go and then just flipped the switch and was all happy lovey again. She kept showing aggressive signs and one day almost got a hold of the vet, it scared the h*ll out of him. I worked with her for many weeks whenever she just kind of scowled I stearnly said NO!! and she knew what I was saying but It just scared me so I finally found a home for her, and the people were well warned about it, I even said if they didn't feel comfortable at anytime they could bring her back to me. I got a postcard from them and they still love her. But yes some of them dalmatians are no joke! sorry so long, I'm long winded,

No offense but 10 years old from a pound? My hopes would not have been high to begin with.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: aggressive breed dogs

I would have been really ticked off at the pound for the dog being heartworm positive!
The pound i got my last dog from gave me all the paperwork from the vet showing she was all up to date and no health issues.
I'm sure different states and counties have different laws.

Like JB said though,its those little mean yappy dogs that will bite you in a heartbeat!

 

[cbear34]

Re: aggressive breed dogs

With all dogs it's the environment they are raised in. The one thing is, you must socialize the dog with all other dogs and people. If any dog is isolated they become territorial. You can turn any dog in to a mean dog by not socializing them. Reason you always hear about the "bad" breeds is because they are always in the news when a drug dealer is busted or a dog fighting ring. That type of lifestyle likes those dogs because they are the dogs with strong jaws.
If you check with your authorities about the breed which might have the most bite complaints, it would most likely be the Lab. I had a black Lab for thirteen years til I had to put her down from old age. That is just because a Lab is a very popular family dog. The most fatal bites would come from one of the "bad" breeds. I now have 2 old Springers.
Good friends of mine have Rotts. They are the best dogs! They think they are just big lap dogs. One of their sons accidentally fell on the older Rott's bad hip and the dog just yelped but never snapped at him.
Always remember "There are never bad dogs just BAD owners!"

 

[SgtMaj]

Re: aggressive breed dogs

I would have been really ticked off at the pound for the dog being heartworm positive!

Many shelters do not have the resources to provide proper vetrinary care, or even get checkups on their animals. Often that adoption fee barely covers food for the animals.

With all dogs it's the environment they are raised in. The one thing is, you must socialize the dog with all other dogs and people. If any dog is isolated they become territorial. You can turn any dog in to a mean dog by not socializing them. Reason you always hear about the "bad" breeds is because they are always in the news when a drug dealer is busted or a dog fighting ring. That type of lifestyle likes those dogs because they are the dogs with strong jaws.
....
Always remember "There are never bad dogs just BAD owners!"

There's a difference between a dog that was raised to be mean, and a nice dog that for no apparant reason, snaps. As far as I know, pitt bulls are the only breed that exhibits that trait, and it's the main reason they are banned in many areas (in fact, they just banned them here last week, though if you had one previously you don't have to get rid of it, but you do have to carry hazard insurance).

PS - If there are no bad dogs, then there can't be bad owners either... people are animals too, and just like there are bad people, there are bad dogs. In both cases, environment plays the biggest role, but occasionally you do get that rotten apple that's bad from the start despite a good environment.

No offense but 10 years old from a pound? My hopes would not have been high to begin with.

Hey, best animal I ever got from a shelter was an older cat... which we ended up having to give back to the shelter after a couple years because my wife became more and more alergic to it, despite the allergy shots, etc... so older doesn't necessarily mean bad. A lot of older pets end up in shelters because their owners move and can not take the animals with them.

 

[whywhyzed]

Re: aggressive breed dogs

....

 

[v1_0]

Re: aggressive breed dogs

Dogs, like people, have different personalities and different attitudes. They mostly come from what the dog's life has been/is like.

Absolutely. There's a book out there, something like "good dogs, great owners". I read a section on picking out a dog (puppy) - there are a number of tests that you can do in the pound/breeder/store, wherever.

The few that come to mind are:

(1) Ask the pound/breeder/etc. if there is a room that you can use for a bit. Let the pupply out - then go a little distance away and see what the puppy does. The goal here is for the puppy to (eventually) come to you - this shows that they are social. Puppies that avoid you, or just sit and do nothing should be removed from consideration.

(2) Throw a set of keys off to the side. The puppy should be startled, but then go to investigate. Puppies that are not startled may have hearing problems. If they stay scared, or do not investigate - then you may want to think about the characteristics that this is revealing.

(3) Flip the puppy on its back and hold it down. (Gently - it's a puppy). The puppy should struggle a little, then calm down and maybe turn its head. The longer a puppy struggles - the more dominant it is. The less the puppy struggles (even no struggle, and immediately wets the ground) - the less dominant it is. Your choice here should be based on what you want the dog for. If you are looking for a 'junkyard dog' then you want the dominant one. If you want a family pet for your children - then maybe one not so dominant. Too low dominance and you may have a dog that runs for cover anytime you drop something...

The book does a better job at describing these things - there are a few other tests, I remember one about 'teachability' that had to do with a crumpled piece of paper, but not well enough to describe it.

-V

-V

 

[rob711]

Re: aggressive breed dogs

like most said i believe that it depends on the surrondings and socialization....on a insurance note at least here in new york, the insurance companies want to know what type of dog u have for homeowners insurance..i have a lab/pit mix...who is good with people other dogs and children..when i purchasesd my house i told them she was a lab and had no problems...i've heard stories where insurance companies droped people for having pit bulls and rotties..does not make to much sense..i knew a really mean golden retriver growing up that bit one of my friends....

 

[jeeperman]

Re: aggressive breed dogs

Any dog at any time no matter the breeding or up bringing can "just snap".

The question therefore might better be if it does snap, which breed would I want my children/grandchildren/wife, etc. to deal with if it does "just snap".