What is going on????

[R&Gsmom]

I just don't understand what is happening with all these deaths caused by Rottweilers??????

Why are these people leaving their children alone with the dogs?

What type of training and socializing do these dogs have and are the appropriate for a home with children?

Why aren't the owners being punished?

This is killing the reputation of our beloved breed. I have had SO many people (co-workers and family members) call me to tell me about these attacks because I own "2 of those killers."

Mine wouldn't know how to kill something if they had to!!!!

What can we do to stop this????

[marianne]

Yes, it is very disgusting and sad! Over the past years too many people have got into the dog business. Our Rottweiler's have suffered. If one half of the owners would educate themselves as to the proper training of DOGs. How many people here have rescue dogs? Why? Breeding dogs when the breeder doesn't have a clue about what they are getting into! I do get very disheartned reading about children who are being mauled. Damn it's the owners responsibilty to train their dogs. Any fool should know unsupervised dogs and children are a potenial tragedy waiting to happen. I see your Rottie has a CGC title!!!! Thank you for taking the time to train your baby! If we can't stop the byb, at least we can get the dogs trained.

[RottiMomCT]

Originally posted by marianne
How many people here have rescue dogs? Why? Breeding dogs when the breeder doesn't have a clue about what they are getting into!

My boy is a rescue...love him to death! He was one of the lucky ones...an owner surrender. No story to tell people such as Savannah does (I've met her, LOVE her!!), just a sweet 10-12 month old silly boy who needed the right home to bring out his potential and point him in the right direction ( and spoil him rotten in the process!).

Originally posted by marianne
Any fool should know unsupervised dogs and children are a potenial tragedy waiting to happen. If we can't stop the byb, at least we can get the dogs trained.

I can never understand why the DOGS are blamed when an unsupervised child is attacked by the dogs. HELLOOOOOO...PEOPLE are at fault as well. Even the most loving, wonderful companion can feel threatened by a small child who, most of the time, is at eye level with the dog! :( :(

As for training, just yesterday we were at the local dog park. A new dog arrived, and instead of allowing him to rush the newcomer like the rest of the dog, I held him back and let the new dog come to us. Colby (new dog-shep/lab mix, I think) made a beeline for us as the rest of the dogs tried to tackle him for disrupting the newly form pack (we had all been there for about 1/2 hour already).

I held Ben for about 5 minutes as the rest of the dogs sniffed, licked, jumped on, knocked over poor Colby...when I let Ben go, he and Colby ran to the other end of the dog park together and got a drink of water! They then played quite well together and the rest of the dogs pretty much ignored them. Colbys 'Mom' asked me why I did that. I explained her that letting the other dogs gang up on a newcomer might be a good way to start a fight and I wasn't gonna allow Ben in on it! Plus, some people see a Rottie and they get a bit nervous, and I was simply alowing them get comfortable with his presence. Colby and Ben continued to play, quite rough, body slamming and jumping all over each other until they both decided that the best place to lay down and rest was in the mud.

Colby's mom asked me how long Ben had been in training and seemed a bit surprised when I told her 18 months and still attending! She asked why - I explained that he's a smart dog and needs to keep his brain busy, even if it's only 2 nights a week out of the house in classes, we're always training at home. Obedience is a lifelong process...you can't take the dog to a 6-8 week session and expect the dog to remember everything!

I don't always agree with off leash dog parks and the 'packs' that tend to form, but yesterday was an exception. I kept Ben on leash for a few minutes until everyone (canine) had introduced themselves to Ben, then he was free to join in the play. Nothing like a good solid hour of running around like a maniac to tire a dog out!!! :D

[R&Gsmom]

I see your Rottie has a CGC title!!!! Thank you for taking the time to train your baby!


It was my pleasure!! Riley is a rescue rott with a lot of heart. I was driving on a highway and noticed something moving on the median. When I went to investigate ...there she was tied to a tree and looking more like a greyhound then a rottweiler!! I untied her and popped her right in my car. 2 years later I have a wonderful loving girl who by some grace of luck STILL LOVES EVERYONE!!!

I wish more people would take the time to get to know the dog and look past the breed sterotypes.

[cinde33]

Here's some interesting stats and reading.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/duip/dogbites.htm

Look at the second article in particular.

It has tables of specific breeds and bite occurances and fatalities. If you reference the rottweiler listings with AKC registrations you can see how as more rotties are registered the incidences increase. Just an observation on my part, I'm not insinuating that registered breeds are the total culprits but I think it's a representation of how the breed had become saturated in this country and too popular.

Now we are faced with owners that don't care or want to make the total committment to their dog(s) and figure leaving them out on a chain with no obedience training is no big deal.


Should some breeds be registered or mandated to have training?


It's interesting in the article of the stats of dog attacks while off or on leash or in an owner's yard and it gives the ages of victims.

It screams out "don't let your child go into someone's yard and bug the dogs!"


.......just some food for thought....

[2rottiesmom]

Our five year old rottie nipped my 7 year old son this weekend while they were playing. My son tried to run off and Sashe nipped his hand. We have been trying to stess to him that he cannot run because Sasha thinks it is a game. I believe he has learned his lesson. We now knows why we tell him no to run. She has been through all kinds of training but I would still never leave her completely alone with him. For that matter I wouldn't leave my 7 year old son alone at home anyway.

[pmgal]

I have 2 rotties, one being a rescue I got from the bogus rescuer who was charged here in Va. That was in October of last year, now with his eye surgery just behind him he is going to start his training this spring. My other rottie is the result of a BYb'r. His aggression problem got so bad by the time he was 9 months we were thinking he might have to be put down. But I decided to give training classes a try and 2 years later with him attending extensive private classes, he has overcome most of the issues he and I had. I still keep him "protected" from others, but he fits in my home very well.
I am seeing rotts brought in the shelter where I work at an alarming rate. and obviously it's affecting other shelters as well. And guess which dogs get put down first? I think we need more BSL for this wonderful breed. Too many idiots are trying to make a fast buck out there and using the rott as a way to do it. Breeding fees need to be policy, and spay/nueter laws need to be in effect unless you have a breeding license. I know there will be some that will disagree with me, but if your serious about showing or breeding and you love the breed, whats a few bucks to make sure it's done right? pmgal

[shybird]

I for one believe that only honest people follow laws.. It is not the guy with the registered gun that goes out and robs the store.. So making more laws is not going to stop the BYB. He just won't follow the law. He probably doesn't even have a license for the dog in his town. If caught he will pay the fine. But you can almost bet that his neighbor didn't tell the authorities his dog was not licensed. And I bet the neighbor didn't say "have you seen all the Dogs that get put to sleep each day because of your greed?" to is BYB'er neighbor. I also feel that not enough people even realize what a problem there is with homeless or ill-breed dogs exists today. We do because we are involved with this breed, but what about your co-worker? Does he/she realize how many dogs/cats are PTS each year? Does he/she realize how the dog is breed makes a difference in how the dog will turn out? Does he/she realize how the dog is raised/trained makes a difference? Does he/she even care? Yes, we can make new laws, but who is going to follow them... Not the BYB or Criminal. You and me are, and we are already minding the laws we have and making commitments to bettering our dogs... So what is the answer? You can start byrevamping the laws, and hitting EVERYONE where it counts. iN THE POCKET!! Not just dog owners, but everyone. You know how property tax works for schools? The renters don't pay much if at all towards the schools. So it can't be property tax. It will have to be on income. When people start asking why they have to pay it they will be directed to the animal shelters. This is where your money is. Keeping these unwanted, uncared for animals that YOU (the general public) helped create. You want to stop paying them help educate and stop unwanted litters. Police yourselves, or pay thru the nose....EVERYONE......Just my 2 cents now you can throw te flames........

[mccoy]

Ignorance comes in uniform also:(

We were visited by our local sheriff
deputy tonight because of an upcoming
court date. (Nothing to do with the
Rotties of course) But Mr. Deputy has
to throw in his 2 cents about the dogs.

Thank god I was not out there when he
was making his little snide remarks or
he would have taken me for a ride...
My Husband answered the door and Mr.
Deputy had a summons for me well of
course his timing was less than great.
I was in the tub...

He goes on to tell my husband that he
saw our Beware of Dogs signs and see
my boy Ozzie who is just standing, not
barking, growling just looking like
"Who are you"? His reply is "I see you
have a vicious dog"?...

Hubby's answer is "Yeah, he ate 3 for
dinner last night". Then Mr. Deputy
goes on to tell about his Dad's Lab
being really aggressive. Needless to
say other than Hubby's remarks he got
good example of how a Rottie should
be acting. Good Boy Ozzie.:D:D
You made us proud. He was bragging on
him by the time he left.:D:D

[pmgal]

Myia, I agree with what you said. I never thought about it in the context that you put it but it would probably help open a few eyes if everyone had to bear the burden of sheltering these unwanted animals. and not in the shoddy way that the system is doing it either. good thinnking girl!
And McCoy yeah for Ozzie! He showed him didn't he? ;)
Sandi

[KRISSIE]

I would tell anyone that is planning on a getting a Rottweiler that training and socialization is a must . When I got Brandi I brought her to obiedience school & that was enough for our living situation at that time because it was just me & my boyfriend, no children. When I got pregnant we brought in a private trainer to work with us on some things she had not been taught in doggy school, like no furniture, place, no jumping up on us..etc. Now we have Maximus who is 6 months & we also have him in obiedence classes, it is just the basics, which I could have taught him from home but we figured that this would be a good for his socialization skills, our classes end next week & from here we are going to see a private trainer to work on more intense obiedience training, the same way we did with Brandi. I would like for Maximus to eventually get his CGC title.
I have never understood why people go out & purchase a dog & don't take into consideration that dogs need more than food & water to thrive, they need training, socialization, exercise.

Here is a perfect example of disaster in the making, a woman in my neighborhood has several children & she got 2 puppies ( small breed dogs), anyway these puppy's are not trained at all, I think they are about 7-8 months now, they don't even know sit.. well she saw me out with Maximus & was amazed at how well behaved & obiedient he was, she wanted to know what I was doing. I told her I have him in training school & I work him everyday. She said her dogs were wild, so I suggested she get them enrolled in some obiedence classes, her response " we don't have the money for that". , now I am not a trainer but I figured maybe I could help her, being she does not have money for training school, so I offered to take some time out of my schedule to help her teach them the basics,she seemed interested but she has not contacted me yet. If people won't take the time to train thier dog and then something happens to someone or they just get tired of the dog making a mess or not listening to them and then the dog ends up in a shelter or worse dead, then who's fault is it ?? in my opinion THE OWNER!

[Sue]

Most of our neighbors are not dog people. Scared to death of them, in fact.(not just Rotties....any average-large dog). A couple of weeks ago a group of ladies/kids went for a walk down the street to another neighbor's house. This family has a 1 yo lab and a fat, nasty tempered MinPin. Mommy carries "Daytona" everywhere and Daytona doesn't care much for anyone but Mommy. So, we go into the yard where the two kids (11 & 16) are out in the yard with the dogs. Daytona comes tearing over snarling and growling at us all. Then she went under the snowmobile trailer. A five yo boy from across the street bent over and walked toward the trailer trying to see the dog. To his credit he wasn't teasing or yelling or anything, just looking and walking. This little dog came FLYING out from under the trailer straight at this little boy's face. He jumped back and straightened at the same time. What did all the other adults there, and the other kids do? Laughed. Uproariously. How funny that this little tiny dog thinks it's so tough. Think they would have done that if it would have been Spike? Of course not. In fact, one of the neighbors called the police because Spike was sitting in the front yard...he'd scaled the fence and we found him immediately and brought him back in, but not before someone called on it. Fortunately the CS officer was very nice and very aware that it's not the breed. She said she wasn't going to do anything about the call because it was obvious that Spike was a darling. But of course, she had to check on it. But it was funny that the little dog went after a little boy. Sigh..... :(

[Rottnlove]

Now that's the kind of story that really irritate me! Seems like people think that since the dog is little, it can get away with just about anything, and it's so cutsie. C'mon...

Now if that little dog happen' to be a rottie, do you think they would have laughed? I think not.

Size DOESN"T matter, behaviour DOES!!!

[Tinybear]

I suppose you may call me stupid, but I would and did leave my son alone with my Rottie, Bear. Bear was three years old when Tyler my son was born, Bear was always very gentle with Tyler, they played together. I completely trusted Bear and Tyler together, when Tyler was five and six (Bear died when Tyler was 7) and would go outside, Bear was always by his side. Not only did I not worry about Bear hurting my son I knew Bear would always protect him.

Before Tyler was five years old, I never left them alone, but only because I wanted to make sure that Tyler knew not to misstreat Bear--no pulling ears, no hitting, no riding his back, etc. So not only do you need to train your dog, children must also be trained.

Bear was trained very well and we socialized him very well too, he was just a wonderful gentle dog. I'm sorry, but if I couldn't trust my own dog around my child, I wouldn't have the dog. But I realize that some people never take the time to train the dog OR the child and that is when stupid things happen, like a dog attacking a child. It is so sad.