About the ROTTWEILER for SARALOU

ORIGINAL: sallya

As I have said in another post, my poodle and I were almost killed by a "SWEET" "FAMILY" Rott. If the owner didn't beat it off of us, we would both be dead.

I held onto my poodle hard as the attack took place. All we did was take a walk. We were even TWO  blocks away, on the other side of the street. I looked back and it looked like a HORSE was galloping toward us. All at once, my poodle was in his mouth and he was killing her. I held her and I would do anything do keep us alive. The owner finally came. He had two kids. An infant and a two year old.

A family Rott. is not to be trusted any more than a reg. Rott. This was a nightmare I will not forget. My Poodle was close to death and had a long surgery. Ripped up inside. Horrible.

It is people like you that give people bad ideas about a single breed.  I'm sorry about your bad experience, but do not stereotype the breed. 

i must say i love rottweilers, and that any breed of dog can become an aggressor, it all depends on upbringing, and to an extent genetics.
 
as for sallya's comment, i dont think her intent was to condemn the whole breed. i could tell you the only dog (minus mine) that ever bit me was a small terrier, but i wouldnt be meaning to say all terriers are evil ankle biters.
 
rottweilers can be very unpredictable, as can any dog. we never expected my husbands rottweiler to be weary of our daughter when she came along, but she was, and it was too the extent that we had to place her in another household. while storm (the rott) had been raised around kids, she was not used to having one in her house, especially a child that got alot of attention from her papa.
 
like i said, all animals are unpredictable, its just a bit scarier when its a large animal. while we didnt really think storm would purposely hurt our daughter we had the sense to realize we had a 160 lb. rottweiler on our hands, and big dogs can cause very big accidents.
 
 

I was attacked by a german shepherd.  A trained guard dog who just up and lept on me when I was standing in the hallway talking to her owner.  The wife had taken her for a walk and was coming down the stairs of the apartment, couldn't control the dog, or didnt' expect agression. She did some pretty serious damage too.  As in plastic surgery couldn't make ALL the scars go away.  And yep, for a good long time, gsds made me nervous.  This was a dog who was my FRIEND until that day.  Then we ended up with a mixed pup who surprise!  was more gsd than anything else.  HUGE baby.  And, now I have SIX german shepherds.  Are rotties MORE dangerous than gsds?  I doubt it.  The ones I have known are big sweet babies.
 
Any dog can snap.....any dog can "loose it".  That doesn't make the entire breed dangerous.

A family Rott. is not to be trusted any more than a reg. Rott.

This statement above reads very much like an indictment of the entire breed.

I do not find Rottweilers unpredictable. I particularly don't find them VERY unpredictable. I do speak from a certain level of experience as I have owned this breed, almost all of the time MORE than 1, since 1988. I have numerous friends who have raised families with multiple Rottweilers in the household with no issues. I also of course know of incidents where Rottweilers have injured or killed as well, as have many other breeds.

The breed entire should not be judged on the actions of a minuscule portion of the general population who have commited heinous acts.

JMO as always.

I don't think there is a condemnation of a breed in any of the statements I've read.  The way I see it is that there is no way to completely trust any dog- house pet or outside dog or trained guard dog for that matter- if they are running loose and completely unsupervised.
 
My dog and I were attacked by a dog aggressive GSD whose owner didn't hold onto her lead.  No real damage done, but there could have been. 
 
The lesson is this: dogs must be contained, large dogs must be kept most secure because of the damage that they can do to a person or another animal.
 
That said, my two favorite Rotties are both HUGE, one has the leg-height of a small great dane and both of them are wiggle butts whenever I get a chance to see them.  I still respect the power and size that they have, however.

I find it odd that you condemn a breed for the act of one animal.  Yet, I personally have seen far more obnoxious and aggressive small dogs in my obedience classes.  Come to think of it, the bites that have occurred in my family have been small ankle biters.  I prefer a large dog over  the fairly common occurance of a spoiled and nasty ankle biter.  No breed identified.

I have not seen any toy poodle, or Yorkies mauling and killing dogs and people. Untrained small dogs may bite, but not tear up and hunt down  a dog and person walking blocks way.
 
Just so many horrible stories. This dog that almost killed us was a "family dog," tiny kids in the house etc. I am just saying a huge powerful dog better be watched. Too many times they absolutely are very unpredictable and  prey driven. They may not kill the pets they know, but they will go after others. If you haven't been almost killed there is no way to understand the power they have.  

Sallya, what do you think of a lhaso Apso that tore up a friend of mine knee cap and required numerous stitches and plastic surgery? 
Wonderful little dog!

Anyone that owns a dog should be responsible and make sure they get proper socialization, training,ETC. regardless of size!  A dog is what you make of it good or bad.

I have owned big and small and I choose to be a responsible owner and have good dogs.  Both of my dogs I got because someone else couldn't keep them.  My Rott I got when he was about 3 months old and he was too much for the elderly cats and I put the time in and he was an awesome dog.  My Shih Tzu I got him at age 2 and his previous owner had MS and could no longer keep him.  I put him in obedience shortly after getting him and he is great with all dogs regardless of sized just as my Rott was.  Both dogs I have had have been good with kids, adults, strangers,other dogs, rabbits and cats.

Until you have owned and raised a Rott or any other large dog and have them trained and socialized well.  you have NO idea what you speak of. the breed itself is not bad...the people who owned it were.

The owner of the rott in your situation was NOT a responsible dog owner.  You cannot condemn a breed for one dog's actions.

I am only saying you have to be careful with powerful dogs and you better know what you are doing. Life of death with some of the breeds.
 
WOW, that was one strong Llasa! That is pretty wild.

My biggest issue is the fact it is socially acceptable and even "cute" for small dogs to exhibit aggression.  As support of this fact, just watch AFV, how many times have you seen small dogs demonstrating true aggressive behaviors.  The problem is since they can be picked up, it doesnt matter.  Well it does.  I would be willing to accept that all dogs should be held to a civil dog standard.  I just get really tired of comments that are anti big dog.  Sure you have to be a prepared owner it does not matter the size or the breed.

ORIGINAL: sallya
WOW, that was one strong Llasa! That is pretty wild.

 
My friend didn't think it was wild...It sucked she had to get a couple plastic surgeries and still has scars and has issues with that knee still.
That goes to show you that any dog regardless of size can be a danger.
 
With the dogs that I have owned or grew up with and they varied in breed and size:  Great Danes, Afghan Hounds, Chow chow, Airdale Terrier, Wire Hair Fox Terrier, LhasA Apso, and poodle, as well as the Rott and the Shih Tzu THey were all trained, socialized amd they all were fantastic dogs.
 
I hear more about nasty little dogs then nasty big dogs...I think alot of that has to do with those who are responsible and own big dogs make sure they are well behaved where as the small dog owner thinks its cute or harmless if a small dog shows the same bad behaviors andthey don't correct the dog for it.
 
Your first post did sound condemning only to the Rott breed not to other breeds or irresponsibly owners.  It is the Irresponsible owners who create these poorly behaveddogs and situations where as a responsible dog owner would make sure the dog was well trained and kept on a leash.

I know many small dogs, around them all my life. Never have had one bad incident or heard one either. By "wild", I meant it is very hard to believe. Can't imagine what would cause that. I try to just post on the small breeds, but the memories and pain of what I went through will always haunt me.  

when i was kid my babysitter got this little mixed breed, im not sure what all it was but it was pretty small. one day he was sitting on my lap and when i went to put him down he got really crazy-vicious and would not let me put it down. her mom made her get rid of the dog and i felt really awful about it for a long time. i later found out the reason was because when she (the babysitter) was a toddler a small dog they had had mauled her face. she still has scars around her mouth and on her cheek from it, so when that happened with me and the dog her mom really got freaked out and didnt want to have it around since they babysat alot of kids.

Well, small dogs seem to have the Napolean complex.  Alot of small dog owners will not correct the little dog for the same things a large dog would.  The owners of the Wild  LhasA Apso...thought it was funny to throw water in his face and thought it was cute when he snarled and growled.  They thought it was cute him being a tough lil guy.  It wasn't so cute when he tore up my friends knee or when he bit or snapped at other people or growled at them.  He was probably the Nastiest dog I have ever come across yet.  That doesn't mean that I hate Lhasas or that all Lhasas are bad.
My Shih Tzu came to me spoiled Rotten he was allowed on the furniture or wherever else the other woman who owned him was and he was sassy.  He had to learn what behaviors I found acceptable and not acceptable as well as going to dog obedience.  He is now a good respectful and he listens well.  He knows he is not allowed on the furniture but he is allowed to have his blanket or pillow to lay on. 
He also would get snappy and sassy when ignored and got corrected for it.  Now he has good manners because I have spent the time with him and was able to teach him how he should properly act.

I didn't come close to death.  My upper arm and shoulder were pretty mangled, I needed a transfusion and I spent several days in the hospital.  But, I'm not afraid of gsds because of ONE.
 
My parents had a poodle...she was just flat ornery.  And she did NOT like my little beagle terrier mix.  Would hunt her down and attack every chance she got.  So please don't tell me that LITTLE dogs don't ever cause problems.