Quote:
Originally Posted by Nishasmom  Obelix: I am sure you are far more experienced in Rottweilers than I am; however, my opinion of the topic remains the same. I do not think a 10 yr old child hopping over the fence warrants a vicious attack. Shouldn't a dog take time to evaluate the situation; determine if they are in need of defending? What if the child had knocked on the door and walked into the backyard? Are you saying if someone enters your property w/o you, your dog is warranted to attack?? I just think that this goes against what I know of the breed. The dog should be protective, but not needlessly aggressive. Who knows, perhaps I have more to learn about our beloved breed.
However, some boys are known to torment dogs; if this were the case, my opinion would change.
Yes, the boys were wrong. But I do think the dogs were also out of line. |
Obelix explained things much better than I did. Just as you say boys will be boys, dogs will be dogs. We can NEVER trust a dog to make a "sound decision" in the sense that we make "sound decisions". While training will teach a dog to be under control when it's master is present, we can never expect a dog to make a decision based upon our morality. If it were a cat that jumped over the fence, would you feel the same way? One cannot hold the dogs responsible for being dogs!
There was an object involved (the ball), territoriality, and 2 dogs. Dog will be dogs, just as boys will be boys.
I would expect a 10year old boy to possess
much better judgement than a dog, and to have learned respect for other's property by this age. The adults involved, or rather sadly, not involved!!! (dog owner and child owner) to be ultimately responsible for this attack. It's the adults in these situations that infuriate me the most - they have set up dogs and child for failure, and likely all will pay the price.
Precisely why it's not a good idea to leave ANY dog unattended even if confined within a fenced yard.
Are there any reports of the boy's status?