Rottweiler attacks

[mymeekrotti]

about two weeks ago I had a man tell me "whooaa you own a ROTTWEILER?!?" with utter disdain, like i was just too dumb to know any better. We tried to do a little good ambasadorship for the breed and invited him to meet meeka. I said "You'd really like her, she is so sweet, and his daughter spoke up in her defense too. She doesn't really like dogs , but she loves meeka! His resposne was, "yeah, she's nice til she rips your face off and runs across the room with it!" He thought he was pretty funny, but when some one is that ignorant, I don't even try with them any more. I know if he met Meeka, that would be tthe best witness for our breed. Dog actions speak way louder than human words.

[leachna]

[quote=frontierrots;730902]ANY dog can bite. Any large dog can kill or maim. Actually as far as bite NUMBERS go, labs are near the top. Within the last couple years a lab just about removed the face off a kid in Mass. 2 Boxers trashed a Jogger in Northern NH and we used to board a GOLDEN that would attack any child it could[/QUOT

I have heard about the Labs biting more people than other dogs. My sister had a Shelty that got loose bit the mail man and $2500.00 later the keept him locked up, but he still went beserk when he heard him outside. At least you are being responsible. And I think if more people could see them when they sleep or play, they would see that they are not that bad. But then I remember that we only want responsible Rotty owners not just every tom Dick and Harry to have them.
Keep up your good work..
Nate

[GypsysMom]

The lady that cuts myhair had owned and bred boxers for 25 years, about 3 years ago her boxers killed the neighbors small dog and she had them put down, she had excess amounts of fines to pay, now she sticks to the smaller dogs, it was very traumatic for her since non of her dogs ever showed any aggression at all... we were talking and she was telling me one time she studed one of her males out years ago and the woman that owned the bitch actually had to have someone hold her down to be bred, seeing that she grabbed her dog and left no stud for that bitch... I really dont realize people dont consider the temperments of the parents when it comes to puppies...

I know my sons friends were playing basketball one day and a lab ran up to them and took a bite from each ankle. the dog came from no where and they ended up out of football for the season and nothing happened to the dog!! but God forbid if it were a pit or a rottweiler

[my2boys]

Originally Posted by GypsysMom

BUt the sad thing is nobody hears on the news about a lab or a golden attacking animals and /or people we only hear about rottweilers and pit bulls and the worlkd should be aware there are more then thgose 2 breeds that do damage...

Why is this? It certainly does seems as if labs and goldens don't attack because it is never in the news. It only seems as if the "tough guy" dogs are in the news. It doesn't make sense to me. Any dog can bite. I don't get it .

[pitz96]

Recently a German shepherd killed its adult owners' mother in a suburb of St.Louis, Mo. While the death was reported in the local newspaper and was mentioned on the tv news, it turns out that this same male shepherd had severely bitten the same woman just a couple months previous, and the wounds required hospitalization and many stitches, yet that bite wasn't news, probably because the dog wasn't a pit or rott. Needless to say, there was no public outcry to ban German shepherds.

The suburb right next to the one where this fatal attack occurred recently banned both pit bulls and rottweilers, even though there has never been a single dog attack in that city by any breed. 2 neighbors saw a pit bull in its own backyard, and feared for their children's lives if it should escape, which it never had ! Rotts got added into the ban when some helpful idiot mentioned that they were dangerous too and the city council agreed. The ban was put to a vote, and passed by a very slim margin, unfortunately.

[KimG]

Sometimes people say it's how a dog was raised, some say bloodlines... but I'm not sure about that.

I've had a few different dogs. I usually get rescues and I generally take larger breed dogs that are older. I've had a Bouvier X, GSD and Rottie.

I, once, had a dog right from puppyhood... it looked like a lab/shepherd X (when I was young (early 20s) and too naive to appreciate the damage of byb's).

Well, this pup was great! And he was so cute and so comical that we never took him seriously. Well, the next thing we knew, he was grown up and a spoiled brat. He's long since passed and I don't deny his wonderful qualities. But the truth is the truth, when visitors came and with his canine partner, he had little to no manners to speak of!

He never missed a naptime with the kids. He loved to play catch. When I stroked his long snout with two hands, he would put his nose way up in the air and press his ears right to his head, enjoying every bit of being petted. I can still feel how I felt, petting him that way.

He was always happy around his human family. But he wouldn't take any guff from his canine partner and he really let visitors know of his presence.

Sure, he never bit anyone and I don't think he ever would have. But he was rude and ill-behaved and it was all our fault because we didn't see the value in training such a little pup and for some reason didn't do it when he was older either.

Now, all the others, because they were full grown when I got them, the reality of needing to be in control of them hit home a little harder.

With each dog, I get more strict about acceptable behaviour. My rottie is my most recent addition. And though he started out with NO manners to speak of at the age of 3. He is now my best behaved canine.

He does a sit/stay for every meal.
He must go 'down' or 'sit' to be petted by visitors (depending upon whether it's a child or an adult).
He must 'sit/stay' in the doorway when I answer the door.
He must 'sit' when people hold their hands up in front of themselves (human defensive position).
And he goes 'down' when I snap my fingers (as does my GSD) or wave two fingers down (like a sign language 'sit'). I don't even have to say the word.

So, though I don't know the heritage of any of my dogs, I do know that my behaviour and control certainly reflects in their behaviour and control.

I am more strict now but I think that my dogs are happier for it. There is no question who leads the pack in my home any longer.

Note: Part of the reason that there are more lab bites is because there are more labs.

Well, there are my two cents. I'm really enjoying the discussions on this forum. They make me think. :)

Kind regards,
KimG

[stephanyb]

I've told people to look up the statistics before they want to spout of at the mouth. Labs are responsible for something like 18-19% of all bites. Double the second place dog, a shephard. Unfortunatly some people get dogs like pits and rotts because they look mean, then they train them to be mean. Or the fight them. What do you expect to happen? If you train a poodle to fight and be mean, chances are it'll really hurt someone too.

[moz205]

When I was growing up a man in our apartment building owned a GS, beautiful dog but he used to put a cage muzzle on him when he took him out. We, as kids would have to nearly cross the street when he was coming outside. The man actually seemed to enjoy the fact that he was terrorizing the neighborhood. This dog was crazy vicious. I later found out this man would lock this poor dog up in a room in the dark and feed him tabasco sauce! I was very young but remember that dog very well. I often think about it now and feel terrible that nobody reported him for cruelty. This guy also had children!

[Baxter's Mom]

My mom got attacked my a GSD as a kid riding her bike to school. She said the dog jumped a 8 foot fence and chased her down... She still has scares on her legs because of that dog... She wants nothing to do with GS to this day, and will completely ignore/go around the dogs when she sees them. It scared her big time, she was only 8 at the time...

[sebastianvoneli]

Seriously, as a pediatric nurse dealing with trauma for 12= years. I have yet to see a rottie bite. A black lab, grandmas beagle and I think a dalmation. I always ask, It's a joke to the other nurses that I need to know. I have had many a person ask what breed of dog I have,some people have even asked while they had a rott with them. All the nurses told me it was a bad idea to get a rott again because of my daughter. I got another one anyway. No other breed would suffice. I educate people when I walk my dog, when we go to petsmart or other pet stores etc. I show them what a rotttweiler is and what he can be in responsible hands and tell them it was a lot of work. In particular my daughter is always all over him and her limbs are all accounted for.