My dogs would never do that!!!

People wonder why many campgrounds will not allow certain breeds of dogs into their campgrounds.  Read this:  http://www.wtsp.com/story/news/local/2014/12/07/2-year-old-boy-killed-by-dogs/20038221/

I wonder how many times these dog owners have said "Our dogs are so friendly, they would never do anything like this" or "it all depends how you raise them". I say BULL. These dogs were raised for fighting, protecting property and they are killers. They do not belong in homes especially if there are children in the area. When are people going to learn. Here's a defenseless 2 year old child who would still be alive if it wasn't for ignorant parents.  I know I'll p_ _s off a lot of people but I don't care. There is no need for this.  I just had to vent.

Jeffery Dahmers mother said her son was quiet and shy. Ted Bundy's mother lived next to a friend of mine. She said her son was the nicest fellow and couldn't possibly have killed all those women. I worked for a time on the other side of a partition wall from the Green River Killer at the Kenworth factory. Talked to him many times. He turned out to be a bad apple.  Do you suppose there might be bad apples in every species? Should we condem every human because of a few?

Ken

I find it more than disconcerting that you would compare dogs to humans.  As fas as I know there are no breeds of humans that have been bred specifically for strength and fighting.The OP is not talking about all dogs. only certain breeds that are bred to be mean and vicious and have the capability of doing serious damage in a bite or two. 

Paul

I'm a little leery of Pit Bulls and Rottweilers too.  But I have to say that those breeds belonging to friends of ours have always been friendly and more likely to lick you death than bite you.  I think it has as much to do with training as with breeding.

Paul & Ann said:

I find it more than disconcerting that you would compare dogs to humans.  As fas as I know there are no breeds of humans that have been bred specifically for strength and fighting.The OP is not talking about all dogs. only certain breeds that are bred to be mean and vicious and have the capability of doing serious damage in a bite or two. 

Paul

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That's probably why all the small quiet men get picked up in bars and the big strong guys are left wondering what to do. Nobody ever picks a mate thinking about what their children will be like. The biggest strongest animal in almost all species is the one that is chosen for mating. The slave owners never thought about making the biggest and strongest new slaves, both in the US and around the world where slaves were and maybe still are common.

I don't think we call humans breeds anymore........

Ken

Lowell said:

I'm a little leery of Pit Bulls and Rottweilers too.  But I have to say that those breeds belonging to friends of ours have always been friendly and more likely to lick you death than bite you.  I think it has as much to do with training as with breeding.

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I don't believe it has anything to do with training. It is already in their blood to do what they do. I would never own one of them and I would never turn my back on any of them. My daughter has a mix with rottie in it. I don't trust him as far as I can throw him. I've seen his behavior just when someone is walking by. It's scarry.

bucks2 said:

Do you suppose there might be bad apples in every species? Should we condem every human because of a few?

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Humans know the difference between right and wrong. A dog doesn't.

Every dog is different. We  have and have had, Cow Dogs on our ranches for decades. the different breeds have different personalities in different times and locations.

For example I have had Cow Dogs that were gentle with anyone on the ranch, but protective on the back of a pickup truck. They seem to think they have to guard the truck. Some of the Female Blue Healers that we have had would not let anyone but me into their pen in the barn when they had new pups. Some of our dogs just look dangerous but are no different than others that look gentle. For Example for years our Cow Dogs have been Rottys, Healers, Shepherds, Border Collies, etc. and the Rottys, although just as gentle as others always get strangers to be careful.

For some reason I have noticed that some of our dogs, over the years, even those almost always very gentle, seem to have a suspicion, or are cautious or even defensive against certain people at first sight. I have seen our dogs run up to strangers who come into our ranch, wagging their tails at some, and growling at others, sometimes when the strangers are together.

Also, when the dogs are working they are not in a mood to be playful and can be short with a stranger who interferes.

I have met many breeds of dogs, only one two (not breeds, only two dogs, technically one dog one, female canine) have ever tried to bite me and neither was completely successfully, (one hit my thumbnail with his tooth but did not manage to bite it).  Only dog that ever bit me did not mean to,, My fault, mistake really. He was closing his mouth when I put my hand in it, long story but that was not what I was trying to do and he communited his feeling of OPPS as well).

The ones that are give me the most .. concern.. are the little dogs,, Not the big ones,  but the little "Ankle biter" types, cause they have somethign (As a breed) to prove, a Rott, or a Chow, Well they KNOW they are the big dogs, but those tiny breeds, they have to prove they are as good as the big dogs.

The rottie in the first post belonged to a man with an arrest warrant for violating a protection order. I figure any breed belonging to an owner with that type of personality would be aggressive and sketchy.

Bill

driftless shifter said:

The rottie in the first post belonged to a man with an arrest warrant for violating a protection order. I figure any breed belonging to an owner with that type of personality would be aggressive and sketchy.

Bill

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So I guess what's you're saying is because the owner broke the law, that created a bad dogs!!! Come on .  Maybe the dogs were retaliating!!!

Rene T said:

So I guess what's you're saying is because the owner broke the law, that created a bad dogs!!! Come on .  Maybe the dogs were retaliating!!!

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I think that what Bill is saying is that this type of person may not take the time to train dogs properly.  You have to spend time with any dog to train them right from wrong just as our parents did for us.

However, I do agree somewhat with Rene, in that I would never own  some breeds of dogs.  Improper breeding can result in some very negative behaviors in dogs which can not be trained out.  The genetics are just bad.

What I'm saying is that a dog that belongs to an owner with no self control and a habit of being scary enough to warrant a protective order and then violates it is probably the type of owner that would raise a sketchy natured dog, possibly on purpose. Raise a dog in a loving family environment and you are likely gonna get a gentle dog. Raise a dog where there are violent outburts from a sketchy alpha male and your gonna have dogs that are battling for beta postion, a toddler would be competition. My daughter, 6 yoa at the time, was playing with a family friends 7 year old female rottie. She used to sit on her and poke and prod. rottie would just get up and move away when she had had enough. Unknown to us the rottie developed a painful case of endometriosis. Daughter started to play with dog, dog got up spun around and barked ferociously in daughters face and walked away. it was a leave me alone type of thing. Freaked us out, Dog stated leaving traces of blood, took her to vet, treated condition, dog returned to normal. Point being the dog was raised right. I've got a female beagladore (beagle lab mix) that a neighbor kid stuck his finger up her butt, all the dog did was yelp and scramble away. A dog raised right will give its life for a toddler of the family.

Heres the funny part of my experience with dogs I wouldn't own one if I was alone. Way too much work, it's like having a 3 year old for 10-15 years. You need a baby sitter if you leave the house for more than a work shift, Either a good friend or family or kennel to go away over night.

In my mind, it boils down to this, there are more people that shouldn't have dogs than there are bad dogs.

Bill

I love my German Shepherd which does a great job of protecting me and a really good job of protecting the younger grandchildren. He will not let the younger ones go out the gate nor will he allow me to spank the grand kids. On the other hand we heard of a pit bull killing a child in Florida City this past year. Different breeds have different qualities and inherited behaviors. We have had German Shepherds for years and several other breeds. Beagles are lazy but great hunters while Malamutes are very protective. I could go on about other breeds we have had but there are exceptions to every breed.

The major problem with the dogs of this incident were the numbers. Anytime you have a group of 3 or more dogs the pack mentality will set in. If one gets excited and worked up and the prey drive turns on it affects the rest in the pack. Most likely if any one of these dogs was alone in the yard with the child this would not have happened. People who own dogs really need to educate themselves on dog behavior.

A good friend of mine has 3 Rotties. She does obedience training and competition with them. I have a GSD and a 30 lb mixed breed. They do well in the house together but we can't let my little girl (dog) in the backyard to run with them. We tried it once and could soon see a change in demeanor of the Rotties. We brought my dog in the house and I don't take my dogs there anymore when I go to visit. Small dogs and little kids - fast movement does not go well with a pack of dogs. They see them as prey. I am surprised the people have Chihuahuas with the Rotties.

I have been a dog groomer for over 10 years. I have to admit being a bit nervous when a pit mix comes in. I won't do Malamutes. I will do Chows if the owner stays. I have no problem with Dobies or Rotties by themselves.

I do not rent to anyone with a dog.  Insurance will not cover a lot of breeds and I'm not about to have renters that have a dog bite someone.
Ankle biters may bite but I've never heard of them killing anyone. This way I don't have to discriminate just none.  They bring one in, it either goes or they will, can't go there.

My lab is part doby we think.  He is a good dog, but I don't get him around children, we are all older and he has just never been around kids.  He is a marshmallow but he is still a dog so you never know.  I know if he sees someone on the road by our house he is on alert and barking, I stop at the mailbox and he watches till he realizes who it is.  He LOVES the FedEx and UPS drivers.  We had a friendly one that always petted him in Texas so he likes them all, glad he was started out that way. But the dog weighs 60 pounds, he is 10 years old so set in his ways.  I trust him totally, can take food out of his mouth but like I said he is still a dog and you just never know.

But some dogs have been bred to kill and though they may seem find the issue I see is they are very unpredictable.  When you see so many of certain breeds among the stats of killing and maiming people you would be remiss to ignore it.  I don't understand why normally very common sense people will gamble with their most precious commodity a child, be it theirs or someone elses with a dog breed that are known aggressors.  It's not worth it in my book.

My question is why was a two year old outside by his self in the first place?

I was fortunate enough to be attacked by a well-trained pit bull/mastiff (huge!) dog.

I was walking to work early one morning, before sunrise last fall, when this monster came charging across the street at me. He was bounding and grunting the way they do to scare the crap out of you. If I had turned and ran he would have had me down chewed to bits. Instead I stood with my hand forward and commanded
"Stop".
He stopped but I could see the expression change on his face as he began to think
"Why don't I just eat this guy!"
My thoughts were faster and I commanded
"Good boy, Walk"
He stepped into place by my side and we walked 1/2 a block. I even put my hand on the choke chain he was wearing and thought about choking him down until I felt the muscles in his neck. If he figured out what I was doing before I got it done it would be my blood on the sidewalk. Once again he looked at me kind of puzzled and I added another
"Good boy, Walk"
Then something else caught his attention and he ran off into the dark. Never saw him again. Didn't want to either.

I see lots of things wrong that led up to the attack. First, if the guy has a protection order, it means he has some sort of history with violence and anger issues. That stuff comes out on animals even more than humans, so chances are he was mean to those dogs too.

4 dogs is a pack, 4 dogs being raised by a guy who is probably abusing them is trouble.

Little kids try to do things to dogs, they may do it out of curiosity more than meanness, but rolling on the dog, pulling on its tail and ears and poking its eyes are painful to dogs. A kid should not be allowed to do those things to the family dog, even if the family dog seems to be controlling themselves, and the parents are right there. Its still not right to make them endure that stuff, and kids need to be taught to respect animals. In my never humble opinion, letting kids do that is abuse to the animals.

Little kids should not be left alone with dogs because of that very reason. If they start to poke or prod or pinch and the dog just does what a dog's nature is to do, and the kid gets hurt, then the dog will likely be put down, even though there is nothing wrong with the dog. At best case, you are likely have a kid now afraid of dogs, or worse, angry and hating them, and a dog who can no longer be around little kids.

Caryl

cadee2c said:

Little kids should not be left alone with dogs because of that very reason.

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Little kids shouldn't be left alone ...period. The only exception is when they're sleeping in their own bed, and should be monitored then also, either electronically or by Mom/MomMom hearing.