Are they really that scary? REALLY?

OMG Christina, that is horrible! I would be very upset if i heard comments like those :(

I do get it with Kaiser too. More people ask about him though, because they didn't know there were black GSDs...and usually when they ask that gives me an opportunity to invite them to pet him. Wyatt has gotten a few negative comments, but not that many.

I hope that when Josie gets her TDI that will make things better. I do mention to people that she is training for a therapy dog. We ran into a very nice family with 5 kids the other day and the parents asked if it was okay if the kids pet Josie, and they had a blast! I just wish more people would ask instead of assume!

 I was also a total smarta** the other day. I was walking at a park and Josie and i were crossing a bridge. A lady with 2 beagles happened to be crossing at the same time, and she pulled her beaglets really close to her and said something along the lines of, "Oh my, let them go". I looked at her and asked if they were mean. She gave me a funny look and said, "No...but ya just never know about dobies."

Depending on where you are and where the people are from ... MANY people are automatically scared of dogs and fear bites.  You wouldn't believe how many times at Give Kids the World (and we're in their LOCKED/GATED compound where you obviously gotta be ASKED to come in, with big colorful signs with their names attracting attention) and people will walk up and say "Do they BITE????"

True story -- one of the dogs we used to take was Ms. Socks

She was a boxer/pit mix -- and yet it was funny.  She always wore a shirt because her heart had gotten massively damaged from heartworm (which is how we got her) -- her lungs were like swiss cheese and her heart was the size of a big man's two fists held together.  She *coughed* all the time.  But she had a 'don't mess with me' face -- she WAS a bit scarey looking. 

She also wore bitches britches with continence pads in them ( the Lasix she took for her heart did the same to her as any human -- she was nigh onto totally incontinent). 

But one day at Give Kids the World a guy came up to me and pointed at her and said "You know normally I'd be a bit reluctant around a dog of that breed mix ... but you know, it's really HARD to be afraid of a dog wearing a T-shirt with her name on it ... ya know??"

So -- seriously -- put a bandana that's colorful around her neck ... put a t-shirt on her and use slicky paint and draw her name on it.  You'll be surprised how it will 'soften' peoples reactions.

Is it going to change the dog?  Not a bit.  BUT it will disarm people's fears. 

Welcome to my world!  I get a lot of "They will turn on you" comments.  My answer to that is, "WHEN?" She's nine now and my last dog (a Pit X) was 16 when she died and SHE never turned on ANYBODY! Unfortunately, you have to grow a thick skin, especailly from those who have "non-dangerous" breed dogs that behave horribly!

 Hmmm that is what I am always asking about my praying mantises.  I've never once heard of a mantis ripping a man's face off, but the first thing most people ask when I tell them I keep mantises is if they bite. 

I can't even post a picture of my buggy babies on the internet without someone gasping and telling me I should have a warning label up if I am going to dare post pictures of an insect...

 Rather than feeling angry at such people however I mostly feel pitty.  Pitty that they are so closeminded or fear driven they will never experience the joy of having their mantis fly to them for the first time, or the goofy way they flick their arms about when trying to shake off waterdroplets.

In the end, it is always their loss not yours.

Oh, and for some reason whenever I hear, the dog will turn on you comment, all I can think about are all those poor fools who get married when there is over a 50% divorce rate... I think I'll take my chances with the dogs.

Hmmm...actually that's a pretty good point. It IS their loss...not knowing the sweet love of a dobie!

calliecritturs

So -- seriously -- put a bandana that's colorful around her neck ... put a t-shirt on her and use slicky paint and draw her name on it.  You'll be surprised how it will 'soften' peoples reactions.

^This

Also, when I walk Sally on a hiking trail I find that when someone is passing us if I put her in a down-stay, it really makes a difference to people for some reason.  I have gotten a *ton* of complements about her from people about what a well behaved, wonderful dog she was (even with the Halti that tends to look like a muzzle) just when I was asking her to do that as they walked/jogged/biked by.  It was really surprising.  I actually started doing it because she likes to sniff peoples' legs as they walk by and it freaks them out, but it had the unintended consequence of making her appear very civil to people.

 I can honestly say I haven't met a Dobe to date, I didn't want to steal and bring home with me.  The area I am living in, I'm finding out more and more is really big on Dobes.  ALL that I have come into close contact with have been love bugs (the female Dobe I posted on here being the biggest love bug).  I am very fond of the so called "killer breeds" (Dobes, Rotties, GSDs, Pibbles etc).  Some of the nicest, best mannered dogs have falling into the "they will turn on you" category. When I groomed, I groomed a family (and friends of the family) pit bulls.  Oh lord, I always threatned the family that one day they''ll come for their dogs, and the dogs and I would be missing :)

I hate what the media is doing to the breeds, however I also understand quite well at least part of where it is stemming from, having lived near and dated guys living in tough inner cities, where keeping those dogs, pushing them toward viciousness, abuse and neglect was the norm.  Keep me under those conditions, and heck I'll turn on you to!  But, the media likes flash, drama, and violence.  A Dobe that will lick you to death, versus a Dobe that one day turns on its owners (never mind that said owners abused the heck out of the dog, likely), well the media will prefer the latter story.  

There was this incrediably sweet pittie I met up with one day.  I asked the owner of I could say hi, and the owner just beamed a huge smile at me and was so HAPPY that I wasn't afraid of her "viscious killer dog".  Yeah, viscious, as in I was attacked with kisses and that tail of hers was DEFINITELY a lethal weapon!  

I have no advice on how to handle the people who are not educated properly about the breeds, I really don't.  I'm known to get a tad snarky in the face of irreverisable ignorance, but I think Callie's idea about the t-shirt is wicked cute and may just work!  I think when Josie is a certified therapy dog, that will also help.  The female Dobe I recently met was a therapy dog, and her owner and I were chatting about the breed, therpay work etc. and she said when she tells people about therapy work with her Dobe, that it does help people look at her girl in a different light, especially when she's wearing her therapy vest.

I think for a person to be uneasy around dogs in general and to fear getting bit is one thing.  It's an entirely different thing to assume that a dog is going to bite you just because of breed, size or color.

Joyce

You know what I would want to say if someone made a comment like some you guys are mentioning? I'd want to say "Oh, you must not know much about dogs." Of course I'm too much of a weenie to say something like that. But it's the truth, really. My only problem has been people giving me a W-I-D-E berth when I'm out walking one of my dogs. The way I see it, if I thought there was even a remote chance of my dog biting someone, I'd be giving THEM the space, so they should assume the dog is safe otherwise.

It's obvious that the problem isn't the dog.  I was walking my Springer Spaniel thru a park a couple of hours ago. Small town, big park, so I let Piper run off leash.  A boy asks me to keep her away from him.  She was hunting birds(Robins) and didn't even know or care that he was there.  Granted, her tail could be considered a deadly weapon and she tends to drool in hot weather.

At least he didn't yell DOG-RUN, and take off running.  I've had that happen.

My favorite does your dog bite response is:

No, but I do!

I just love Josie and Wyatt and Kaiser and Bevo and Sally and you get my drift........

the_gopher

There was this incrediably sweet pittie I met up with one day.  I asked the owner of I could say hi, and the owner just beamed a huge smile at me and was so HAPPY that I wasn't afraid of her "viscious killer dog".  Yeah, viscious, as in I was attacked with kisses and that tail of hers was DEFINITELY a lethal weapon!  

I did this one day, but it was a 20-ish young man walking a pitty on a heavy chain.  I asked him if I could pet his dog, he smiled, looked at me kinda funny and said sure.  His dog was very friendly and sweet, too bad he felt a chain was the only thing he could walk him on. 

 My dogs are both under 20 lbs. Emma is a massive 19 lbs, and Ena is a whopping 13.8, LOL. People still ask "Do they bite?". I think it's an etiquette issue. "Are they friendly?" would be SO much more appropriate.

 I've had people run up and SNUGGLE Maze (my fear based dog who HATES kids) just cuz she's part Lab and I've had people cross the street to avoid Sandy because she's a terrier.

Even when I started thinking about getting a GSD, the comments started to fly. "Oh don't get them, I had one and I couldn't trust him" Or my fav "You'll never be able to sleep with him loose in the room, he'll attack you" *snort*