Blowing off some steam

[PEA]

I'm probably going to be flame for what I'm going to say, so be it. Every day on this board it seems someone is complaining about non-Rottie or non-dog owners saying something stupid or attaching our beloved breed. I have had two Rotties one who died almost a year ago at the age of nine and now a 16 week old.

I have NEVER had anyone say anything bad or stupid about my Rotties to me or my wife and we had taken our one girl all over the upper midwest. I know we have a lot of stupid and ignorant people when it comes to dogs here in the midwest. But with all your complaints I'm wondering if their is something in your body language or your dogs that inspire people to make these rude remarks.

Maybe we as owners must look at ourselves and the way we present our dogs to the public. Iif we want people to know that our dogs are not the horrible beasts that are portrayed in movies etc.

For example, everytime I walk into a pet store I see these wide black and brown leather collars with pointed studs on them. They would seem to be made for Rotties, that is if the Rottie was going to be used to fight dogs or wolves. Do any of you use them? If you do, why? And if you don't why don't you ask the stores to remove them. Those things just make it easier for people to draw the wrong conclusions. Any owner who would put that on their dog is saying trying to draw attention to their "mean" dog.

I think we as owners must do our part to dispell the beliefs that our dogs are mean, etc. And that means we must take a hard look at ourselves, to see how we are present ourselves and our dogs to the public. Thanks for letting me put in my 2 cents.

[Judi W]

Paul,
Some people are very sensitive to perceived slights so that they can be offended. It is like a dog that is overly defensive. Weak nerves! :D

[frontierrots]

Well I get those nasty comments alot! :(

Here's a couple examples:

walking a 3 month old down the sidewalk and a person comes up to us and hugs the pup. While getting kissed by said pup she says "What kind of a dog is this" I say "a Rottweiler" they toss the puppy out of their arms and practically run off!

a different pup several years later is in my office at work (a boarding kennel) a customer looks in at this sweet little 8 week old and says "is that one of those Rottweilers?" I say yes and then she interrogates me as to why anyone would own let alone breed THAT kind of dog that causes her husband (A plastic surgeon) to make so much money repairing the damage they inflict on children

[Carina43]

If you haven't had anything bad or stupid said to you about your dog, count yourself lucky! I've had Rottweilers in my life since 1986, and get pretty tired of the dorky comments. I often take a dog to work, so they meet the public a lot.

I'm sure there are times when people do convey something negative through body language or how they "dress" or handle the dog. I've had people say dumb things to me when I'm merely walking a dog (ALL the time), when I've done therapy visits (comments like, I thought these dogs could just turn on you, but yours is so sweet :) )...Unsolicited comments by the TON about the mythical 250lb Rockweiler...people saying "well I sure wouldn't try stealing YOUR truck" or just "Is he mean?"when I have one sitting nicely in the front seat...I could go on & on & on.

There may be some regional differences, that's true.

As to collars - my very first one had a beautiful German leather collar with little brass studs - not spikes - on it. Why? I thought it made him look very handsome. :) It was very well made. I don't like the big spiked ones - just my opinion, I think they look silly. But I suppose people can sell them if they want! I do walk one of mine on a prong collar - I guess there's people who think that's cruel or macho or something. But I use it for utility, and don't really care what someone thinks, though I'm happy to tell people that it's much kinder & more effective than chain collars, etc - if they ask.

By the way...putting a bandana on a dog seems to make it much more approachable.

[Jamie & Odin]

Well, we've been mostly well recieved.

However, the clearest indication that some people's opinion lies in ignorance and not my behavior, nor my dog's behavior is when people who have never met him ask "why in the world would I want a dog LIKE THAT?!" or the fact that my mother was convinced, sight unseen, that my dog would surely someday eat a child.

Anyway, there are some ignorant owners who like the idea that people are afraid of the breed, that want to show off their big tough dog etc. However, you're NOT going to find many here;)

It's those type of people that have distorted and damaged the image of our breed and the rest of us sometimes get sick of dealing with the fallout

[patton_jr]

I've got the comments and I dont even have my girl yet!

As for collar, I have a nice blue one picked out. However, when she gets bigger, I will have her sporting a nice thick black leather with brass buttons. The spiked ones look stupid to me, so she won't get one of those.

I also find it hard to believe that you have NEVER heard anything that wasn't true about Rottweilers. Just knowing what I hear from people here at work that see all my rottweiler stuff.(calendar, background, screen saver, etc.) People automatically think bad thoughts when they see a Rottie. Hell, my print toner vendor today went on a about a little boy he knew from his Boy Scout troop, that was attacked by a rottweiler that was behind a invisible fence. The little boy, now a high school senior, had both ears torn off, half his lip ripped off, and scars all over his face. "The boys were playing and this Rottweiler just attacked them for no reason." You have to of heard something negative at some point in your life being a rottweiler owner.

Anyway, doesn't make a bit of difference to me. As far as I'm concerned it's all in the way the dog is brought up.

[Carina43]

I must add though - (so as not to appear weak nerved or defensive, haha) that for every fool, there are 50 really nice people who want to chat about a dog, really like Rottweilers...I have also heard the comment "Ive always heard they were mean but every one I've known has been wonderful!" many, many times.

And to be honest...most people don't know a whole lot about dogs in general, and all they know about Rottweilers/pitbulls etc are the terrible stories in the news. So I often don't really blame people for having misconceptions.

[TrinityRun]

Most of the comments I've heard are at our marina where pictures of the dogs are displayed for customers to see. They often spark a conversation where many folks are simply repeating the myths as they heard them. That's why the education packets are on hand.

I have also heard comments while carting. People will marvel at my dogs - their obedience and indicate they are not the norm, they must be some exception to the rule. That's because what they see most commonly is what the OP described. Those folks who have the untrained adult sporting improperly fitted prong collars or spike collars, making shark like dashes at the end of the lead.

I've often stated that how we conduct ourselves in public is a reflection on the breed, good or bad. It remains our choice to decide what impression we want to leave.

If you haven't experienced breed related ignorance, that's encouraging. But if you do, you at least sound well prepared to deal with it.

Good job!

[Karyn]

This mostly occurs following a media report of a dog attack. Currently, there is a vicious dog law before the NJ State Congress which is getting a lot of hype - so people are more apt to say something. Also the urban areas near me are centers for crazies that want vicious dogs. I've had someone drive by in a truck offer to buy Cromwell as I was walking him. I could not imagine why he wanted to buy my rottie......! Can you?
There are a few rotties in my town - they are well trained. A man on the next block has a Kimbertal female rottie. She is a very sweet dog. The guy got lucky I guess.

[TrinityRun]

Originally posted by Carina43
And to be honest...most people don't know a whole lot about dogs in general, and all they know about Rottweilers/pitbulls etc are the terrible stories in the news. So I often don't really blame people for having misconceptions.

EXACTLY!!!!

[Birdie'sMom]

I've gotten a few stupid remarks from family members and people I work with, but most of the time when I have her out complete strangers come up to me and tell me how pretty she is. And when the ask if she's a rott and I say yes, most of the time they say - "I love those dogs- they get a really bad rep, but there great dogs!" On a whole I've had much more positive things said about them than negative.

[BostonRott]

My dogs and I have received all the standard dumb comments, encountered the people who pick up their children and run, the people who immediately cross the street, etc.

And how many times have people tried to guess what breed of dog you have with you?

My all time favorite stupid people comment is this one, asked of 1yr old Bort while we were out for a walk:

Is that a Beagle?

[LasVegasRN]

People's attitudes are quite humorous to me. Apollo wears a purple collar. Nothing out of the ordinary or spectacular. I walked him to school with my daughter one day and you should have seen people scattering to get out of our path!! It was funny! I wanted to tell them, all he's going to do is sniff you and ignore you!! He thinks kids are there to play with him.

I did have a person say to me, "You seem like such a nice person, why would you own such a vicious dog?" Huh?? I started looking around for a vicious dog!!

[PEA]

Thanks for all the comments, and thanks for not lynching me. I have had a couple people say some stupid things to me about dogs. Before we had our first Rottie we had two Pugs a black and a fawn and I can't count the times people accused us of having a Pit-Bulls. Some people just have to open their mouths even if they don't know what they are talking about.

[SpotsNRotts]

I always wanted to get a spiked collar for my Pointer and a pretty pink bow for my rottie girl! ;) :D
With working at a shelter I am at the vet A LOT! One day I was there with my rottie girl, me and this woman struck up a very warm and friendly conversation and she kept saying how beautiful my dog was and how well-behaved she was (she was just sitting there calmly and patiently). After about 10 minutes she asked "What kind of dog is she?" Without changing tone or body language I said "She's a rottweiler". The woman's eyes got huge and she turned away from me and went to the other side of the room and would not look back at us.
:(
Meanwhile I sat there and hugged and cuddled my angel of a girl. She's changed plenty of minds over the years, but some people are just never gonna budge or be open-minded enough to even try to learn what this breed is really like
:( :(
All we can do is try.