[Raretreasures95]

hi all,

I have some concerns and need some advice so I'm throwing this into general info because I'm not sure where it goes.

We have a male rottie that will be two years old in April. We live in the San Francisco Bay area and needless to say, with all the media attention the horrible pitbull bites/deaths have gotten for the last year or so, when I have my rottie out I feel very uncomfortable....and it's not very enjoyable at all.

I would never say that he wouldn't hurt someone or protect himself against another dog because I wouldn't want to somehow jinx us, but he is very well trained, has had training off and on since a puppy and listens to commands eagerly on leash. My problem is people's perceptions of him....which I can understand a little in this area.

To put it bluntly, am I a bad owner for beginning to muzzle him on walks just to make others feel more comfortable? Sigh, literally, people who are also walking will stop dead in their tracks, or go the other way...just to avoid us. And he whines and cries, because he thought he was going to meet someone new. At the same time, if I muzzle him he doesn't really enjoy his walks as much and he looks really mean and even more intimidating. How do I handle this situation with naive humans?

I'm not really sure how to handle this problem that we are developing because he's not really getting as much socialization as he needs and deserves because of this. We welcome other dogs into our home and he does fine with them....we also have two other little dogs and he loves them. However, with that said....he's not getting any dog socialization lately because everyone is afraid. He's just beginning to start barking and whining and little growling at dogs passing by our house that he see's out the window. I have tried to take him to a dogpark in the area and literally.....and I am serious, everyone leaves when they see us coming.

How can I socialize my dog when no one wants to socialize with us? Is it proper for me to muzzle him just to keep other humans at ease? Is strapping a muzzle on him helping this or hurting it because of the way he looks (MEAN?) when he has his muzzle on?

Any advice as to what to do and if a muzzle is okay?