Top 5 breeds.

I would defend bull breeds to the death and think they make the most fantastic family pets BUT there's no denying they like nothing more than a good scrap. They are more innately aggressive with other dogs on the whole and it's more a case of educating a bully to be good with other dogs than teaching it to be bad.
Interestingly they are capable of withstanding more pain, have high endorphin levels - so just LOVE everything and everybody, they also are born knowing how to fight and play fight employing sophisticated tactics which are completely innate.
Pitbulls are worse as they have also been bred to use false signs to other dogs, lulling them into a false sense of security. It's one of the reasons I think they are dangerous, they will attack without the usual warning.
It's a disgrace that so many are in the wrong hands, it will end up having a bad impact on responsible owners & breeders (and a tragedy for the dogs) as it has in Germany.
 
Equal first - Tuppence and Perdie
grin.gif
Tuppence = YorkiexJRT & Perdie = GSPxESS Both totally awesome!

Other than them, then Gordon Setters, Dandie Dinmonts & any proper gun dog!!
 
What's a 'proper gundog' then SN? lol
Agree about Dandie Dinmonts though, fab dogs! I used to work in a kennel that bred them, wonderful dogs but jeez, can they fight or what!!! Little devils!
 
Would have to be joint first!
1) British Inuit and Alaskan Malamute
2) Huskys - if we had the room and money and older kids I would love one
3) Pyrenees Mountain Dogs
4) Golden Retrievers
5) Shetland Sheepdog -it was always my compromise for a miniture version of a Rough Collie!
 
[ QUOTE ]

5) Shetland Sheepdog

[/ QUOTE ]

the only thing I have ever been afraid of, still cross the road to avoid them! Had no idea why until my mum saw me doing it and said my next door neighbour had one when I was 2 and it always used to growl and snap at me
 
I still stand by my opinion that they are no more agressive than any other breed. Mums JRT's will growl and instigate fights with each other and the Inuits if we're not careful and don't put an early stop to the snarls, but of course they are not capable of inflicting the injuries that APBT's are capable of. One thing I would say on the breed though is they won't give up, they'd fight an animal until its or their own death, that is not apparent in other breeds.

When we took the BI's to Chepstow there wasn't one other friendly dog, whippets/labs/retrievers all snarled and growled, so I don't see how you can say an APBT is anymore likely to fight than any other dog? My sisters lab went for my mum when she tried pushing his feet off of the leather in her RR and her OH's spaniel went for one of my Inuits.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Okay so you don't understand the concept of breeding and predetermined genetic traits.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're still off track...what does that and the rest of your post have to do with a horse being sharp in one class and not in another?

Why do you think arab fans whoop, shake plastic bags and whistle...to rev them up...you don't see that from the crowds of the ridden arabs...
 
Most dogs were bred to kil, whether it be a another dog, rabbit, deer, boar or person etc so the dog will alwys have the capability to kill unless we breed it out of them. I understadn that how you bring up a dog and how you handle the dog is SOOOOOO IMPORTANT , yes some breeds can be more aggressive but then if you think the ones taht are being aggressive what sort of owners then have, it all comes back to the owners!
 
1) Dobie
2) Saluki
3) Pretty much most other breeds and heinz57's, I love them all!

I think in the nature vs nurture debate that both play a part.

Most dogs can be made agressive in the wrong hands, sadly some breeds who have been bred to be agressive often DO end up in the wrong hands! This is where much of the danger lies and why the dogs end up getting banned.

I don't think any amount of training and great handling is going to make my saluki into an obedience champion or a good shepherd dog!!
grin.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
.....dog will alwys have the capability to kill unless we breed it out of them....

[/ QUOTE ]

Quite! Breeding is the key.
smile.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
.....dog will alwys have the capability to kill unless we breed it out of them....

[/ QUOTE ]

Quite! Breeding is the key.
smile.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

But how do you breed something which is instinct to some breeds out of a dog? Most dogs that see a rabbit or a rat will chase it and kill...is that something you can breed out of a dog?
 
1 Lurchers all the way (cover your ears Dillon the collie)

As usual the pitbull debate gets everyone fired up! Anyone who has listened recently to the horrible reports of how Ellie met her death must agree that a pitbull is not a dog to have around children? Yes, any dog can bite but a bite from Alfie the lurcher is going to be a very different thing to the awful damage that huge dog inflicted on that little girl.

And the fact is that certain members of the public will gravitate towards that kind of dog because of it's reputation. Would any of us give our dogs a football to play with then continually kick it hard while the dog was holding on, as the owner of this particular dog did? Like a ticking time bomb.
 
I am by no means an expert on dogs but I take a huge interest in training dogs, I believe that 100% if you leave a dog to its own devices it will most probably go to breed stereotype, so a greyhound will probably chase small furries etc etc. But I think once you introduce a human and of course good training - anything is possible.
I have seen greyhounds curl up asleep with cats, and rottweilers who have been pertrified of their own shadows!! I also have a lhasa living with me who will happily bite your bloody hand off if you deign to touch his food/toys/or anything else he deems HIS (inc the dishwasher...)
After all is said and done I think it is very wise to say Tia - that a breed always MIGHT have the propensity to act to its stereotype, BUT I think what most people are annoyed about is that the ABPT is JUDGED solely on its breeding and not on an individual dogs merit. Which is totally unfair. YES the dog MIGHT be aggressive but what if it isnt - is it right to blame the breed for a certain number of dogs acts?

Maybe the difference between addressing a APBT's 'aggresive' streak and a huskies 'run' streak ( I know this was just used as a example but why not look at it) Aggression in dogs can often be dealt with from day one with establishing your dominance over your dog. In a pack situation the alpha dogs have dominance over their pack and this is enough to keep them in check and I dont think they step out of line often. Maybe the instinct to run cannot be trained out of a dog because its instinctive on a different level, almost subconscious maybe? Where in nature would a dog be expected to not run? Maybe the answer to all these breed queries is to understand what training can and cannot overcome and work within your boundaries. If you want a dog to do a certain job and fulfil a role - chose your breed carefully and look into where training will be able to take you. Of course, every breed still has its own sub personalities shall we say - like the laid back collie or the agressive lab but at the end of the day they are different for a reason.
I guess all I'll say in closing is that you should never ever blame the breed. It is our job as the 'higher' intelligence to choose our dog, train our dog, manage our dog and look after our dog. With all of these factors in place - ANY dog can be the perfect dog...
 
OTP lets not forget it wasn't long ago lurchers were used on something much heavier and more solid than a fox, if they can rag something of that size and weight to death a lurcher is perfectly capable of killing a child.
 
[ QUOTE ]
1Anyone who has listened recently to the horrible reports of how Ellie met her death must agree that a pitbull is not a dog to have around children?

[/ QUOTE ]

Disagree completely. I know several families--responsible, professional ones--who have both kids and a Pit bull. Raised correctly, they are fantastic, sweet dogs around children.

I don't know if you saw it, but there was a video of the Pit in question that killed Ellie. It had a ball in its mouth and its owner was repeatedly kicking the ball, which gave me the impression that that dog was teased/had zero obedience training. In my opinion, that poor little girl paid the price for being surrounded by feckless idiots.
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
1Anyone who has listened recently to the horrible reports of how Ellie met her death must agree that a pitbull is not a dog to have around children?

[/ QUOTE ]

Disagree completely. I know several families--responsible, professional ones--who have both kids and a Pit bull. Raised correctly, they are fantastic, sweet dogs around children.

I don't know if you saw it, but there was a video of the Pit in question that killed Ellie. It had a ball in its mouth and its owner was repeatedly kicking the ball, which gave me the impression that that dog was teased/had zero obedience training. In my opinion, that poor little girl paid the price for being surrounded by feckless idiots.

[/ QUOTE ]
 
Yep thats the problem, where they end up they are always owned by idiots that goad(spl?) them/tease them and encourage them to be agressive 'ard' looking dogs!
 
I agree, and I've never met a nasty bull terrier. Met plenty of nasty labs and cockers, met lots of snappy small dogs, and untrustworthy dogs of all breeds, but around people there are few breeds more dependable than bull terriers. EBT's are especially good around children.
 
It basically boils down to a nature vs nurture debate.
Undoubtably both have an effect on how a dog is going to turn out.
If you took 3 people - 1 being a professional dog handler, 1 being a general numpty and 1 being an average member of the public - and gave them each a pitbull and a cavalier king charles and asked them to bring both dogs up in the same way.
I would expect that the professional dog handler would produce 2 well mannered and obediant dogs. The numpty would probably be able to produce aggression even in the cavalier. As for the average person - I don't know but I would expect it to be highly more likely that the pitbull would show aggressive tendancies than the cavalier.
Unfortunately not everyone puts enough thought into the breed for them and sadly the pitbulls image does not always attract the right sort of owner to produce a well-adjusted and good mannered dog.
frown.gif
 
I have heard alot of people say Weimaraners are not to be around children etc well i have alittle story for you, when i was 3 or 4 my grandmother put me in the dog cage with two weimaraners in thr back of the car to get us out fo the way whilst she did something in the garden, well she only went and locked us all in there!!!! she did not have the key as she didnt normally close it completely, anyway, i was in there for hours with a broodbitch and stud dog, i never felt in fear and i had to wait in there until the fire brigade came! I was brought up with these animals and knew how t behave around them and over 18 years never ever felt scared or intimidated yet they have the power and tools to kill me, so it shows how we bring up these animals is crucial and we must do it properly, please socialise your animals, if you dont introduce them to kids or children then dont expect them to be comfortable with them, they only know what we teach them because when they were wild they were taught to kill not to open doors and get the post liek those deaf and blind aid dogs.

My point is we can show them what we want so do it, teach them and dont think every pitbull will kill a child or every border collie will heard sheep or every cute poodle wont bite.
 
[ QUOTE ]
OTP lets not forget it wasn't long ago lurchers were used on something much heavier and more solid than a fox, if they can rag something of that size and weight to death a lurcher is perfectly capable of killing a child.

[/ QUOTE ]

I did say <u>Alf</u> the lurcher, who weighs in at 2 stone wringing wet and couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper bag!
 
[ QUOTE ]
I don't know if you saw it, but there was a video of the Pit in question that killed Ellie. It had a ball in its mouth and its owner was repeatedly kicking the ball, which gave me the impression that that dog was teased/had zero obedience training. In my opinion, that poor little girl paid the price for being surrounded by feckless idiots.

[/ QUOTE ]

I did mention the video in my post and said that dog was like a ticking bomb because of the way it had been brought up. I've seen footage of Miami Animal Precinct and other similar programmes where they rescue Pitbulls from dog fighting rings and they all look like lovely friendly dogs, but spark something off in them and they can rip a child apart in a way not many others dogs could. Personally I wouldn't have one anywhere near a child but that's my own opinion. If anyone else want's to risk it that's up to them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top