[Luvs]

Originally Posted by spidey

ANY dog will bite, given the right (wrong) set of circumstances.

This is something I was taught when I first got into Rotties back in the 80's. A canine officer that was a member of our Schutzhund club told me this and it stuck with me ever since, for it is VERY true! People that say their dog would NEVER bite are fooling themselves. Sure if we train and socialize our dogs and provide strong but fair leadership it should help lesson the chances that they will bite, but they are still an animal and somewhat unpredictable. For some dogs it will take alot to push them to the point that they feel the need to bite. For others it takes very little, but EVERY dog will bite under the right circumstances.

It is the same thing with horses. I have never told someone my horse doesn't kick. Sure she has never kicked me and goes out of her way to make sure she doesnt even kick anywhere near me, but if the right circumstances presented themselves, (whatever they may be) I just may end up with hoof prints on my body

Originally Posted by spidey

NO dog, regardless of size, deserves to be treated like a teddy bear instead of a dog. NO dog, regardless of breed, deserves to live in the confusing, frightening world we create for it when we force it to go without training, socialization and clear, fair, reasonable leadership from its owner. And NO dog deserves to be set up for failure through a lack of responsible ownership, be it socialization, medical issues or management. Dogs do a remarkable job of fitting into our society, we owe it to them to do whatever we can to help them - we need to TEACH them how to live peacefully and happily with humans, I think too many people forget that.

VERY well put Spidey!

Elisabeth,
THANK YOU for sharing that picture! I think people really need to see what a large dog can do to someone. Imagine had that been a childs face. I am so sorry that it happened to you! I hope that you heal completely and quickly! When you originally posted this I had no idea exactly how bad the bite was until today when I saw the pictures. I can only imagine what you went thru during the bite. What a horrible experience that must have been for you! That bite looks extremely painful. I am so sorry for what you are going thru.

I have seen pictures at work of dog bites inflicted on children and I have to say they are horrifying! I was sick to my stomach after looking at pictures of a little girl that was mauled by her families pit bull. Her and her sister had been playing tug with the dog. One child had the tug, the other was tugging on the dogs tail. The dog turned around and bit the girl pulling on her tail. This all happened while the parents were sitting right there
When are people going to get a friggin clue?!?!?!?!?