starting to get so upset!

[rawnzgrl]

Well I woke up this morning listening to the news. A young girl was lunged at by a rottie outside of a convenience store. :( Thankfully she was not killed just harmed in the chest.
This really upsets me because here I had just brought Katy to school on Friday, that went so well! Everyone was so happy that she was there. I had a few silly comments from kids saying "Isn't that the type of dog that bites without reason."
I then let Katy get closer and she smothers this student's hand with kisses, and rubs up against them. I say," You tell me, does she look like she will attack?"
The kids laughs and pets her and hugs her.
We make two steps forward and one step back! I feel that I am always justifying my dog and my breed! Why are people such idiots?
Just wanted to vent! People who don't understand how great these dogs are can get quite rude discriminating against us due to the breed!
I really wanted to start taking Katy to school more often but if crap like this keeps happening, no one is going to let this 'awful' Rottweiller within 10 feet of the school!:(

[Rottnlove]

I'm sorry to hear about your frusterations. :(

The reactions you get are to be expected with this breed. I can understand why people are expressing thier feelings like this, especially when they hear that some Rottweilers have injured and killed.

Luckily, you are a teacher in Elementary, right? What subject do you teach? If you can educate your students when you bring along Katy, that may open their minds and get them to understand why Rottweilers can be dangerous. Katy sounds like she's a pretty good example of a well trained and socialized Rottweiler. That will help just by the kids being with her and seeing how gentle she really is. :)

[rawnzgrl]

No I teach high school. The kids that know Katy totally understand how great she is. I am just afraid that my district may not allow her to even come to the school because of her being a rottie, and not anything to do with how well trained, socialized, and wonderful she is...
:(

[lblax]

Originally posted by rawnzgrl
I am just afraid that my district may not allow her to even come to the school because of her being a rottie, and not anything to do with how well trained, socialized, and wonderful she is...
:(

welcome to the world of rotty ownership. to say that our breed isnt dangerous would be making a false statemant even the best trained rotts if they are left in a roaming loose situation can be and often are dangerous. you have 4 dog breeds that are getting the attention of dangerous breeds these dogs do not bite as often as other breeds such as many of the toy breeds and the dogs that people generally consider safe. even though they dont bite as often our breeds have the power to kill and depending on the size of the the person bit one bite can actually be fatal.. the sad part of this is that the majority of the bites start of not as aggression,, a child or adult sees the dog becomes fearful throws there arms around and runs...this begins the big game for the dog depending on the dog the prey drive leads him to succeed in catching (still a game) after he catches they dont start out with a hard bite(still a game) but as the person struggles wildly the dogs determination of holding and winning become greater and the injuries start, by this time it is out of hand for the person and the dog and as others come to the rescue the dogs start feeling threat which makes it worse.. none of this started out as an act of aggression.. so it still boils down to bad owners and dogs left alone. and even though my dog is well train and socialized and i know if he got out he wouldnt attack any one intentionally but i can see the above scenario happening. so its really not worth getting our blood pressure up over opinions people see the news because even though there may be 500 bites in one week only the sheopard the rott the dobe or the pitt even though it may only may be one of the 500 bite they are always serious... i think we would all be surprized that the dog we see in the news many of them when they are with there owners are very good dogs. so it boils down to this we have chosen to live and train and love highly prey driven powerful working dogs that if arent controlled they are dangerous

[rawnzgrl]

There was more information about this incident in the news today. This 7 year old girl was out rollerblading with her brother and some friends. One of the brother's friends brought the family rottie along for the play with the kids. The person in charge of this 36kg unneutered two year old male was a ten year old girl. The kids were blading, running through a field when the rottie jumped up and grabbed the hood of her jacket. (As you said probably playing.) She fell to the ground and he jumped on her chest. He bit her so badly that her ribs were showing through.. :( Her brother kicked the dog in the face with his rollerblades on. A passerby grabbed the dog's leash which suprise, suprise the child lost grip of, and they locked the dog in a car until EMS and animal services arrived. The dog was destroyed, the little girl is thankfully all right. I was pleased though that the animal services person said simply, "That is too large of a dog to be left in the care of a 10 year old in public" He went on to say, "the child just couldn't keep control of the dog and it got out of hand."
I was glad that the story didn't linger on the idea that it was a rottie, or that it was a dangerous breed, he just stated the truth. A 10 year old should not be looking after a big dog.

[Thor]

What in hell was that child's parent thinking? The owner should be put to sleep not the dog! I wrote a half page letter to our local newspaper which was published today. Its essence was that people should have to prove their emotional maturity, prove they have taken lessons in dog behaviour and prove they have adequate time and resources before they can own any dog. This is particularily true in the case of large powerful dogs. I was writing in response to a lawyer's letter saying we must ban certain breeds. I pointed out that men causes far more damage to fellow humans than dogs ever dreamed of and they are able to make their own choices. I am going to keep writing every week to try to get in little bits of education about living with dogs. Rotties play important roles in search and rescue, therapy and working as guide dogs so we all need to bring this to the attention of the media and the public. Please keep taking your Rottie to school as long as you can as you are in a position to educate these kids before they become too warped! I teach student nurses at the University and take every opportunity I can to promote not just Rotties but good dog care in general. I have stickers on each side of my rear window, one is I Love my Doberman and the other is I Love My Rottweiler. I apologize to no one but sometimes I do get aggressive drivers behind me. I take comfort in knowing that it is human ignorance . People fear that which they know nothing about. We need to educate them!:)

[lblax]

Originally posted by Thor
Its essence was that people should have to prove their emotional maturity, prove they have taken lessons in dog behaviour and prove they have adequate time and resources before they can own any dog.

this is the 1st step to breed banning and more governmant control like any other responsibilities in america no one should have to prove before owning the problem is laws already on the books are not enforced... most dog attacks could be controled by 1 simple law that every single county---state and munincipality has in america... the leash law every dog must at all times be contained or in the complete controle of the owner. if this one single law was enforced you would see a drastic reduction ion dog bites even the untrained and aggressive cannot hurt someone if they are lawfully contained or under the direct leashed control of an able owner. but like anything else the athorities are to lazy so they try to pass breed laws which make it easy on them... so lets push for training of the public and strict enforcmant of good sensible laws already on the books

[Rottnlove]

Originally posted by rawnzgrl
No I teach high school.
:(

Oops, I thought I saw somewhere that you taught elementary. Maybe it was someone else I was thinking of. :p

There are SO many factors that contribute to the breeds negative reputation, that I'm afraid it will be impossible to completely change the problem. I'd love to see the popularity drop dramatically, and for BYB's to stop breeding irresponsibly and selling to those who have absolutely NO business in having a dog in the first place. All we can do is educate and set an exellent example for others to see. Being a responsible owner is the key. :)

I hope you can continue to take your girl to class with you!

[LavenderRott]

I have three children, ages 5, 15 and 17. The oldest is now allowed to take Chase out for walks without adult supervision.

Chase is a very good, and very large girl. She easily outweighs my 15 year old. For this reason alone, my middle child is not allowed to walk her by herself.

I certainly can't understand what parent would let a 10 year old take the family dog for a walk with no supervision. A child at that age is easily distracted by their friends and not responsible enough. Especially a big and powerful dog like a rottweiler.