Breed Stereotypes

My BIL told me not to get an aussie "It's a Jack Russel on steriods!". Of course, now that he sees how good my aussie is, he wishes he would have gotten one instead of his corgi (although I remind him that Neiko is so good because I give him *a lot* of exercise- more than just tossing the ball around in the back yard.
 
Also, people think of huskies as mean - nothing could be further from the truth. Or they think that all huskies act like the ones in the movies. Perfectly behaved, great off leash, etc. I want to laugh and I wonder how many takes it took to get that one shot in the movie.

 Nextdaypets has advertisements for RR's from $400 up.  It also has a few non-RR's listed as RR's for 200. 
[sm=soap%20box.gif]

Like this RR?http://www.nextdaypets.com/directory/dogs/708c6947-c511.aspx Yeaaaaah.  RR.  Sure.

I have to admit that before getting into dogs I had a really negative view of GSDs.  I was bitten by one as a kid (21 stitches and I deserved every last one), was chased into the bed of a truck by a friend's white GSD, and had another follow me home from a walk growling.  Also a friend of mine has a male GSD that is 8extremely* dog aggressive--I mean to the point of nearly killing a very young puppy twice.  A friend in HS had a GSD that was awesome, but I think I always chalked that up to him just being one good dog among many bad ones.

However, since getting dogs and understanding their behavior better, as well as owning one of the most hated breeds in the free world, I have come to like the breed a lot better.  At a dog show a couple of years ago I even made the huge step forward of kneeling (with the owner's permission) and letting a GSD lick my face.

I have pretty much gone from someone who didn't like the breed at all to someone that might even consider owning one in the very distant future...

Beardies are hyper, high maintenance, noisy escape artists.

well, can't argue that. . its completely true!

ooh dogma, that is horrible! Looks nothing like a rr. That website is kinda disgusting too!
 
christina-i'm so happy to hear that GSDs have redeemed themselves with you

I think that the sterotype about Irish Setters being dumb probably comes from their focus and intensity on the object of their attention which overrides whatever you would prefer them to focus on at the moment. This seems to be a pretty common misconception about many hunting breeds and might even be in the process of being bred out of many dogs. Ha Ha Ha, I'm sorry, I meant to say IS being bred out of many dogs. The Chesapeake Bay Retriever and the Chocolate Lab comes to mind but I don't think I've heard of a "dumb" Irish Setter, or a Gordon either. It can make them seem scatterbrained at times but give em a whiff of a bird or a rabbit and wow, DYNOMITE!

cocker spaniels:
 
i remember hearing about cocker spaniels being vicious and often dangerous. uhm, well moca is just about the most timid, well behaved and loving dog i know..
 
i also heard ppl say that they are often excessive barkers. hmm, maybe i'm just lucky, but moca almost never barks. and if she does, it's only one or two barks to allert me, someone's at the door. never really had a problem with it..

ORIGINAL: RidgebackGermansShep

ooh dogma, that is horrible! Looks nothing like a rr. That website is kinda disgusting too!

christina-i'm so happy to hear that GSDs have redeemed themselves with you

i checked that sight out. its a RRxRotti .. selling for $400.... THAT is sick....

oh yeah... on mutts:
 
people say mutts are healthier... so far i have to say it is the case in my house. where moca has had numoerous trips to the vet for yeast infections, hair loss, allergies, diarrhia, ear infections ect etc etc, the only thing i have taken jason to the vet for that wasnt for shots, check up or neuter was some bug bites he had on his belly..

I have a pit bull and a pit mix. Fiona and Sandy. I think everyone knows their stereotypes. Aggressive. All mine want to do is love on you. It all has to do with the way you raise them. Raise them by tying them in the backyard and only give them negative attention, well then they aren't going to respond to humans very well are they? Well bred Pit bulls will not show signs of aggression. I hate the way people look at you when you tell them 'I have a pit'. It's the most discrimnated breed.

Awwww, cute.........

Yup, they're mean, ferocious, killer dogs all right. [8|] That's why I hate the news, every time there's a dog attack it's always, Pit Bull attack!, Rottweiler attack!!, never Golden Retreiver attack! or Labrador Retreiver attack! Even if it is a lab it's going to turn into a Pit Bull just because some idiot saw a dog with a big head and all dogs with big heads are Pits. Yup, that makes it a Pit all right, having a big head. This is why BSL is such a bad idea, someone's notion of what a Pit is isn't always the truth. What are we gonna do, kill all dogs with big heads just because one person says they're Pits? Or kill all dogs that are black and don't have a tail because one person thinks all black dogs without a tail are Rotts or Rott mixes?

Okay, why is the word m0r@n a bad word? I got all little stars in my post until I changed it to idiot????????? I'm confused?
 

Yes, talk about breed stereotypes....

Aggressive is certainly a stereotype with APBTs, and Tyson is so incredibly far from that.

How about myths (locking jaws), and where do you draw the line with breed characteristics (tenacious -- thats one thing he is!).

Rat Terriers get a bum rap as barkers & biters.  I often wonder if it's because they're often mistaken for Chihuahua's.  We recently did remodeling in our home & got these two reactions from workers:  1) your two dogs are so quiet we hardly know they're in the house or yard!; 2) "The only 2 times I've ever been bitten was by rat terriers,"  to which my dogs replied with a docile approach, wagging tails and face licking.  These dogs are lickers, not biters!  I told him obviously he had encountered poorly-socialized ratties.  That's a training roblem, not a breed problem. 
 
I was even surprised my vet said she has to muzzle most of her RT clients because they snap all the time.  I admit, my dogs would prefer not be doctored at all!  But with proper puppy exposure to ear, eye, & mouth handling, they have learned to tolerate it OK.  The vet hasn't had to muzzle my ratties as yet,  that's for sure!  In fact everyone at the clinic just LOVES when my girls arrive, they're so bouncy, friendly and liberal with those puppy kisses!

The problem though with the little dogs is that a lot of people coddle them instead of treating them like dogs. If they're out for a walk a big dog is coming their way it's "oh my God! It's a big dog, quick pick up (insert name here) so he doesn't get eaten!" This teaches the dogs to be scared of big dogs. Then there's the fact that a lot of little dog owners will pick up their dog when it's scared so if it's scared of a human it learns it's okay to be scared cause "momma's gonna save me." I see plenty of little dogs, Rat Terries included, at the dog park that get scared and snappy any time a big dog approaches them.
 
If you train and treat your little dog just like you would a big dog, it should turn out fine, if you treat it like it's helpless and needs to be defended by you everytime something "scary" comes along, it's gonna have problems.
 
Shiva