"mean dogs"

I was 15 yrs old when my step-dad brought Angel home to us (half Rottie/ half Dobie). I had been told all my life that those two breeds were "guard" dogs and easily became vicious. It was just in their nature, so I was told. When people found out we had a pup of those two breeds, everyone had the same reaction. "Oh my gosh! How scary! What if it turns on you or bites someone? You have to muzzle her when she gets older!" And you know what? Angel is the FARTHEST thing from the definition of vicious. She is the sweetest, goofiest dog I have ever come across. Her name fits her perfectly. When she got older, someone told me it was because she was mixed that she was so sweet. That if she had been purebred, we would've had problems. By this time I knew that it doesn't matter what breed you have as long as you train and care for it properly. We also had  GSD that was so huge it looked like a pony, but Toby would roll on his on his back and give you his belly the minute you walked in the door.
 
Now I have Ash, a Queenland Heeler and I've never been more discriminated against. She's 40 lbs and I had never heard of this breed before I got her. It seems everyone else has though and they all think she is a killer. I lady in the vets office once saw me and my mom with Ash and she gasped and said, "Oh no! Those dogs are vicious! I'll wait outside." I couldn't believe it! My little baby, who was no more than 6 months at the time and looked like a racoon, was just sniffing the ground and had done nothing at all to scare her. People always cross the street when I walk her. It's very odd because I'm always getting compliments on how beautiful she is, but those same people won't come near her.

Isn't it "To err is human, to forgive is canine?"[][]

Joyce

My experiences with "mean" dogs:
     My boyfriend's aunt's Pekignese. She is a spoiled brat/princess and vicious! She needs to be the center of attention and will turn on you at any moment! This thing bit a 2 yr old relative on the hand, and the excuse his aunt gave was that he shouldnt have disturbed her while she was eating. I once was petting this dog (she seemed nice and calm) and I was looking away talking with someone, and out of nowhere she nipped me (it would've been a chunck of my hand had I not pulled away quick enough). Since then she has lunged at me 2x! I am afraid for the dog owner's new baby, this dog will not be tolerant of a toddler. I would hate for her to finally realize that her dog is vicious only when it bites her baby. 
   My friend in high school had a doberman who was pretty vicous. It seriously wanted to kill me everytime i came over there & had to lock her in a room. It lunged for my neck once, my friend's dad somehow stopped her. I must admit thought that  it was an owner/training issue. They would hit her if she was aggressive or did something wrong. My friend told me to just yell at her and she'll leave me alone- sorry, but I like the way my face is- I dont want it messed up my this crazy dog!
   Some dogs are just mean to other dogs, and well socialized with humans. At the vets office today I was talking with a rott owner who said they had a well mannered sweet 120lb dog, and I believe them. But when our dogs took a look at each other, it was frightening- they both had to be restrained and were barking. My dog (a 1yr old lab) is usually friendly with all dogs and humans, so this was a surprise. He is even nice to the crazy male Yorkie next door (ever see There's Something About Mary, where that dog is on speed) who goes for his throat every day. A lot of male dogs who are normally nice hate Vinnie, and he never barks or is aggressive (except for today). I hope that this isnt a new trend in his behavior(him not being so nice to other male dogs).
   I dont think that any one breed is vicious, I think it is in the indivual temperment/breeding (as in the Pekignese and the Yorkie), the owner (as in the Doberman), and some are just in certain circumstances (the Rott). Just to be clear, I am not singling out any of these breeds, I am just sharing my experiences.

Today we had a comment while walking past the kids playground that is across from our house.  A lady and her grandson where inside the park, which is fenced and we were walking past on the outside.  Willow wasn't even acknowledging her or the kid but she still said, "oh, we were just walking over there good thing we came in here." 

I just didn't know what to say.  I'm baffled by stuff like that, Willow is on leash, does she think I'm going to let her do something to them?  What even prompts these comments when Willow isn't looking at them let alone acting aggressively. 

I just don't get it.  And, then the next comment is, "she's beautiful."  TOO LATE[sm=smack.gif]

ORIGINAL: fuzzy_dogs_mom

Isn't it "To err is human, to forgive is canine?"[][]

Joyce

I thought about that right after I posted, but the comp crashed and so I couldn't edit my post lol.

I think it all depends on how the dog is raised.  My brother and his wife have 2 dobermans, 1 pitt, and a yorkie!  they all are well behaved, they show their male doberman, and i have yet to see any dog as well tempered as theirs.

I have come across 2 mean "bad rep" dogs:  My boyfriend lives in the country and one of his neighbors fed his rott lead in order to make it mean and it was MEAN!  ---but psycho fed his dog LEAD!---  (luckily, recently it has been put down)

The other "bad rep" dog i came in contact with was a chow.  (not mine--a neighbor's)  It was only mean to a person once (his owner after being abused)  but it nearly killed 2 dogs. (he got into my house during a thunderstorm bc he was always left outside) I came home to blood all over the floor/walls, hair, toe nails, and my parent's chocolate lab and dachshund under the table freaking out.  My chocolate lab was badly hurt and couldn't walk right for a couple months.  (again, after this incident the owner kindly dropped the dog off at the humane society.)  Again, one must understand that this dog was never socialized and left outside ALL the time--> rain/cold weather/hot weather (i'm in FL).

I think -in general- small dogs are the meanest.  they're the ones that bite, and freak out on other dogs. 

I recently adopted Bette Davis here.  She was good in the car when I brought her home, though a little curious/surprised by automatic windows.  I took her to the pet store for some food and a woman coming out started saying things worthy of a bad made-for-TV-movie - "Ooh, those human eyes.  Be wary of them dogs with human eyes!  Don't look 'em in the eye!"  I twas taking her for a walk and another girl crossed the street exclaiming, "Oh, I don't like THOSE dogs!"
I've had dogs all my life, but have very little experience with her breed/mix.  I was a bit taken back by these comments.  She's sweet, though in need of some training.  I can't help but be cautious of her because I've only had her a few days.  She likes to play and snuggle, but sometimes she just sits and stares and I can't quite figure out whats on her mind.  I'm being a nervous new dog-mom and don't want to scew up her training, socialization, etc. 

jmh478.... she looks like a sweety. what breeds do you think she is? she looks kinda boxer-ish to me.

good for you for adopting this lovely girl![]

I'm not sure about her mix, the more reasearch & I asking around I do seems to point to boxer/amstaff.

She is pretty, and I love the name! I think Boxer/Staffy is a good guess.

I know this isn't the whole point, but is it bad that I wish people would be afraid of my dog?  Prince is a good dog, but a typical Lhasa.  I trust him with family and close friends, but please people, don't send your 5 year olds over to hug the cute little white dog.[:@]  I think that annoys me the most because my two females are the ones no one would ever have to worry about (unless provoked, obviously) are the ones people are wary of. 
 
Akasha's a lab mix and I never thought people would pull their kids away from her or cross the street to stay away from her.  Is it because she's big and black?  Or is that long houndy nose just way too similar to a pittie for you? 
 
Cheyenne gets a lot of comments about how her breed is nippy.  Uh...no.  She has not been nippy since she was a puppy and we corrected that behavior right away.  Yes, she herds, but only her family and gaggle of kitty companions.  ~sigh~

Unfortunately, the number of canine good citizens seems to be outnumbered by the canines who run their owners rather than the owner being in control, and in public places, this is what people most commonly see.  The larger the dog, it seems, the greater the concern that the owners be in control of the behavior, and the greater the fear that the owners might not be-the potential for injury increases with size as does the fear and apprehension.  Ironically, the statistics show that the smaller breeds are more likely to bite out of fear and aggression (in terms of perceived protection of self or owner) because small animals have few other options.  A large dog rumbling will often back a person off without a tooth ever having to be shown, but people will insist on trying to pet the cute little dog despite its warnings.   It isn't fair, but as long as people don't take the time to train and socialize-regardless of size, and the number of  out of control dogs increases-the owners of larger dogs will probably continue to pay the price of that lack of control.

Owning a dog has been a real eye opener for me when it comes to human perception.  Dog racism is rampant, particularly at the dog park.  Minsk is a shepered mix with perhaps a little Pitt and hound of some sort, but people see in him whatever it is they want to.  Minsk doesn't have a bad bone in his nutty, puppy body, but many owners of the "non-bad-dog" breeds seem to feel that behavior that their dogs exhibit is justified and intolerable with Minsk.  For example he will be romping with a group of other puppies and one of them will playfully bite the scruff of Minsk's neck and give a play growl and shake it around.  I don't mind because I know its all puppy play stuff.  The other owners seem delighted as well and say things like "you get um little guy".  When Minsk plays back and gives the slightest nip they get all angry and say "HEY HEY".  There seems to be a total double standard.  I always respect other owners' feelings regarding how rough my puppy plays and even if I think that the nipping and romping is all in good fun I will always set the boundaries they feel comfortable with.  However, I am getting sick of folks who think that certain breeds of dogs need a "playing handicap" (like golf) to even the odds.  Its just not fair to Minsk that he has to let golden retrievers jump all over his head because they are "friendly breeds" and he has to have me constantly tell him "let go" or "off" because other people think he is part demon.

I"D HAVE 2 SAY PITBULL THEYRE NICE AND CUDDLY.
i have 1 questions whats a GSD im new to learning dog breeds lol.

GSD means German Shepherd Dog