No...It truly is all in the owner/training. Ozzy says so. This was his first time around her, and first time around a child ever. We gave him about 15 minutes with her in the room, and he didn't care in the least. He just layed down, and watched her. Eventually, he just passed out right there, and then she used him as a pillow. Now ask how he normally plays?! lol. He knows the limits, and I know his. Further more, I know of MANY other families with little ones around, with those "DANGEROUS" breeds, that absolutly love children. They might be big and tough with adults, but they know when to step it down a notch. For the record... I had NOTHING to do with that ^...
looks just like my friends family dog before it left his daughter with 60 stitches in her head and neck.... and very similar to the one down the street from me that attacked her owner and the woman had to be life-flighted out of the neighborhood... make all the arguments ya want about how good a dog is, but at the end of the I can see zero reason to have a dog like that.... there's a reason some home owners insurance companies will not insure you if you have certain breeds (among them are cocker spaniels, sheperds, pitbulls, and chows)....
"...I can see zero reason to have a dog like that..." He's a dog. Get over the breed barrier. There is no difference in his genetics, or skeletal structure, or anything, that says he is a "Killing Machine", or anything else! That is just rediculous. It's like saying that a certain make of vehicle (*cough* Toyota**COUGH*!) is dangerous because it is responsible for killing more people than any other vehicle... Do you blame the vehicle itself? No. You blame the... who? The company that made the car... Wait... did you say cocker spaniels? That's a first... I'm going to have to look that up. lol. That's funny right there.
when I bought my house insurance agent told us that cockers are responsible for my hospital trips for bites than any other breed... while we're on the topic of breed, well, a wolf is also a canine breed, would you want to have one of those as a pet?? yes, breed DOES make a difference... breeds have tendencies, jack russel terriers are high strung dogs that need to run run run to get their energy out, basset hounds are lazy fat bastages... breed DOES matter... edit - and the car analogy is poor at best, cars can't act on their own, dogs do and can without provocation, regardless of how well they've been raised, i've seen the results first hand on my friends now 8yr old daughter...
Cocker Spaniels can be very ill tempered. The best dog I have ever come in contact with was a cocker spaniel that my step dad had when he moved in though. That dog was nothing short of amazing. I was probably 4 or 5 years old and I playde with that dog from daylight til dark. I would pull him around the yard in my little red wagon all the time and he would just sit there. GReat dog. We had a couple after that one and none of them ever amounted into anything special. One of the had to be the dumbest dogs I've ever seen :D He was just crazy lol. All but one got hit by cars, they loved running straight for the road when they got loose. I had a beagle that died a few months ago, that was a great dog. He lived 14 years before he passed and always lived outside. Like others have said, he would run off through the woods behind my house and wouldn't come back for hours. He stopped that as he got older. I wouldn't hesitate to own another beagle but it helps if you have a lot of land for one to run. I have also been in close contact to Boxers and these are probably one of the best dogs I have ever been around, definately the most protective and loyal. Great with kids but VERY energetic.
i agree with MNKK... IMO: i think its all in how the dog is trained. just that some dogs can do more damage IF they flip out. to anyone that has had someone close to them mauled i feel terrible! but i would place the blame more on the owner than the dog, it takes a TON of work and some folks, not all, dont take it seriously earlier i said if i had kids i wouldnt get the Akita.... because i dont have the time to spend with her that i felt was needed to train around a small child. the buggin, hair/tail/ear pulling, and just sheer lack of attention that the dog gets when a child is brought into the situation.
I'm just saying, It's all in the responsibility of the owner. Do I understand that my dog could potentially bite someone? YES. I also know that any animal has the potential to bite. It's a natural thing. That is why it is the responsibility of the owner to care for every single animal (not due directly to it's breed, but more directly due to its character) to acknowledge changes in behavior, acknowlege mood swings, etc. Learn your animal based on the being itself. If my dog bit someone, I would take full responsibility for it. I would not blame him directly, and by no means would I group him with every AmStaff out there. As I am a firm believer of taking responsibility for your self. My dog is a part of my family. Personally, I would have liked to meet the families that you mentioned earlier, and meet these dogs, before the incidents. I am more than certain that there was specific events that lead up to that... I'm not saying that they were allowing the dog to do whatever they wanted, or were training them to be fighting dogs. It can be the little things that trigger these incidents. PS: "edit - and the car analogy is poor at best, cars can't act on their own, dogs do and can without provocation, regardless of how well they've been raised," I'm going to disagree with you on that also... Again, It's the responsibility of the owner to ensure that a dog does not act on their own. Keep 'em leashed, and don't let them do what they want to (within reason).
People do a lot of homework when buying hunting dogs because everybody knows that breeding and genetics has a lot to do with how well a dog will hunt. No surprise then when I got my lab that she naturally wanted to hunt birds and retrieve everything for me. Waaaay more than my previous german shepherds who could care less about birds and would not retrieve something more than once or twice. On the other hand, they were great guard dogs... loving of our family but suspicous of all strangers. My lab loves and trusts everyone. It does have to do with the breed (and breeding). This is why it's bullchit to believe that breeding has nothing to do with the dangers of certain breeds. I'm not saying a pitbull can't be a great family dog and I don't support breed bans... I'm just trying to be a realist. (and I work for emergency rooms so I have an idea about dog bites/maulings)
How many people, would you say, report being bitten any time they are bitten (every time) by (any breed) dogs?
I think you're making huge generalizations. My Jack Russell didn't run, run, run. She would run next to your side and stay there until bed time. You see pit bulls in the news only when it's a bad rep. My roommate in college bred Blue Pitbulls and they were extremely docile dogs. In fact, I've never met a mean Pittbull. The meanest dog I've ever been in contact with was,in fact, a Black Lab. Breeds in dogs do matter, but they are usually more of a reflection of the owner than the dog.
you can't spend every waking moment with your dog, if you have a dog that needs that kind of attention, well, you've chosen the wrong dog... I don't disagree that owners should man up and be responsible for the dog, I have been around my friends dog from the day the brought him home as a puppy, he was raised well, was a reasonably well behaved dog, the family trusted that dog for 7yrs before it attacked... there was never provocation prior to that... and why should they have to leash a dog in their living room anyway?? they've had two dogs since that incident and neither of those dogs have exhibited any behavior that would be anything other than typical loving family dog... they chose different breeds for the next two dogs... I understand why... i see the argument more along the lines of turning your 16yr old son loose with a Corvette for his first car instead of something less likely to hurt him if he isn't respectful of the power he holds, like say a Cavalier... why take the chance on that one incident where his balls get the best of him and he ends up killing himself of another?? the goal is to take reasonable precautions in things you can have trust in and that won't have as much potential for damage should something actually happen...
Well, if they don't come into the ER, I guess I would never know about it. (unless it was somebody I knew) But seeing as how folks will come in with nothing more than a little slobber on them (no broken skin) because the police or animal control recommends it.. I'd say a good portion of those bitten come in. There is a definite difference in the degree of the injuries tho'. There are nips... bites... and then there are the 'maulings'. It is usually notated if it's a 'known animal' (specifically.. a family pet, neighbors, friend's) or an unknown animal.. breed.. 'provoked' 'unprovoked'. immunization status. etc.. etc...
when talking about the safety of a family member, yes, generalizations HAVE to be made... I can't be at the house 24/7 to monitor a dog "just in case", I have to put some trust in that dog, I've had dog's my entire life, if I'm not there to keep an eye on the dog I want a breed that has a lower tendency toward aggression.... is it an indication of the owner?? to some degree it is... the owner, in my eyes, is about 80% responsible for the dogs personality... but that last 20% is the part that no owner can control unless you keep the dog on lockdown at all time (be that a kennel, leash, cage, fenced yard, whatever.)... that 20% is the part I have to trust, certain breeds I do not trust that 20%...
Ok, this thread took the hell off. I was going to comment on some of the things other people said, but now there is too much. I had a long hair black lab for 15 nearly years. The vet said it was possible it was mixed w/ a sheppard, but couldn't know for sure. All i know is she was probably the best dog I'll ever own. Runt of the litter grew to almost 90 lbs. Had one hell of a nose on her (best I've ever seen on TV or off), fairly intelligent as she was 13 and still learning new tricks, wasn't really hyber, and very obedient. Was ok around most dogs. Best damn door bell I ever had. Never bit a single person and was tolerent of children. She did have an over infatuation w/ playing ball/fetch. She was also the only Kosher dog I ever met. I mean, who the hell doesn't love bacon? If I weren't looking for that particular dog again I would go to a yellow lab. Family choice would be Golden Retriever, but they have a lot of issues with their hips so you want to get one that is from a certified line w/ a good history. In my opinion they tend to get too fat and lazy, but they are a very, very lovable dog. Bottom line is a dog will be what u want it to be. Yes breeds matter, but with the right training, care, and love; a dog will do whatever you want/need it to do. Edit And to whomever made the comment regarding Homeowners Insurance. SOME insurance companies restrict the breeds, others do not. Their basis does not make more breeds dangerous than others. What fact I can tell you is this. Insurance companies pay out claims for dog bites from small dogs a hell of a lot more than larger dogs. In 2006 I was presented with results from 2004-2006ish insurance report and I crapped my pants. Wish I would have saved that paper work soley for the numbers.
All animals are unpredictable, some more than others. Any dog could "attack" someone, but some will cause more damage than others. All dogs are not created equal. There is a reason certain breeds are used for specific reasons...such as attacking. I think if your dog is around any other human beings or pets, you should look at the odds. Here's a fun stat: from 1982-2006, rottweilers and pit bulls accounted for 67% of canine homicides. Two out of hundreds of dog breeds were responsible for 2/3 of the deaths. Sure those breeds are trained by some owners to be malicious, but why is that? Hmmm......
Very good... I can do a Google search too... Now can you find out who actually wrote those statistics? Who gathered that data? I bet I can find something that proves otherwise... It's the internet... I'm not saying it's fake, but probably not the most reliable source... Let me guess, you got that off of some kind of legal help website.
No, you probably can't find anything that proves otherwise. Trust me, I defend my breed of choice against the ignorant rants of uninformed people but, the bottom line is that my breed of choice and yours are dogs that can be very dangerous. Just because our dogs are fine doesn't take away from that fact. I'll be honest, I am glad people don't want to own my breed, the less popular they become the less chance they will end up in a situation that will cause harm to people or cause harm to the breed. If the owners of strong breeds (Rottweiler's, AmStaff's, Akita's, Presa's, Dogo's etc) would quit trying to deny what their dogs are capable and do more to educate people about the proper ownership of these breeds there would likely be more understanding people out there. Strong, intelligent, confident and large working dogs are just not suitable for a vast majority of the population. If the owner's of dogs that bite were punished much more than they are now there would be a whole lot less dog bites happening. This is a very good website to help look at facts. It;s been around since my heavy involvement in my breed. http://www.dogbitelaw.com/
Here is one of the two Labs I had in my first marriage, the Sweetest damn Lab I ever met. These are my current Lab Mixes we rescued My black and tan coonhound/black lab mix, the sweetest animal I have ever known and photogenic.
Another vote for lab (yellow, of course ) I worked for a dog trainer all through HS. I got drake, my Junior year and that summer I didn't get paid, but I got to train Drake along with all of the other dogs. Great experiance. what really amazes me is the difference in demenor between the black, chocolate, and yellow labs. Here is Drake after a SD pheasant hunt (excuse the lazy sit, he was tired :D)
