Rottweiler vs. Transients.

I love dogs as much as the next person, but I would never have a dog in my house that I did not trust 100%. I see a lot of people here (and in the world in general) who seem to be proud of the fact that they have a big, mean dog that is somewhat on the fringe in regards to social behavior. My ex girlfriend used to tell me - the bigger the truck and the meaner and bigger the dog, the smaller the _____. I have no idea if she is right, but knowing her I bet she did the research. LOL

JM
 
Damn right I don't trust them around strangers or strange children. I don't need the hassle of being sued and charged with something if my dogs bite a person. They love their pack members but I'm not taking any chances with strangers. They love my children and are fine with my 2 cats. They are well socialized but I feel it's better to be safe than sorry quote that.
 
I'm with OJ on this one. English Mastiffs are the couch potato standard all others are measured by, and they are intensely affectionate and loyal to their family. But when a threat presents itself? Let's just say that the Romans used Mastiffs to fight lion and bear in the arenas, and in the times of Sir Lancelot, they could and did take armored knights out of the saddle. The aggressiveness has been pretty much bred out of them since then, but they have a natural instinct to protect family, and don't need to be, nor should they be, trained as a protection dog. As to aggression trained dogs, I worked with a K-9 officer who put it like this: "Having an aggression trained dog around your family is like having a loaded gun with a mind of its own".

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good things come in smaller packages, too

I have had a German Shepherd dog, a Doberman, various mixed breeds, and loved them all. However, the BEST all around dog is... none of the above. It's an Irish terrier.

In WW I, Irish terriers were used behind the lines as messengers. They are utterly fearless and will defend their families to the death. But they are unfailingly polite, intelligent, and phenomenally good with children. They know perfectly well who is in the "circle of trust" (to borrow that great phrase from "Meet the Parents"...love that movie) and who is not. They are alert and watchful, and they can be L-O-U-D. My female Irish have both been "nannie dogs" to our children, and they will let kids come up to them and love on them and just be as happy as can be. But let some noise happen outside, and they are right there, barking that "threat" bark.

They stand approximately 18 inches at the shoulder, and weigh roughly 30 pounds unless they mooch too many goodies and expand their waistlines. They do not shed, either. Being double-coated, they need to be stripped which is a different sort of grooming, but you won't have a dog dying of heat in the Houston summer (I'm in Spring, just north of Houston), won't have to worry about problems with kids or others, WILL get a good watchdog, and should not have insurance agency issues.

Irish terriers have no genetic diseases inherent in the breed with the exception of corny feet, and that is almost gone from the breed now.

You CANNOT GET ONE AT PET CITY, however. You have to go through the Irish Terrier Club of America to get in touch with a breeder. The breed is tightly controlled to keep it out of the hands of the puppy mill people. If you do get one from a pet store, it will NOT be the quality dog you want.

Go to www.irishterriers.com for a good view of the breed.

Anyway, there are other options, and the Irish is THE best!

Springmom,
slave of Jackson and Pippin, Irish Terriers par excellence
 
Springmom,

Your are 100% correct about the Irish Terriers. My inlaw's neighbor has one. He's protective, yet friendly and well behaved around their three year old and new born. I would love to get one in the future but I prefer to rescue dogs from the pound.
 
you can get a rescued Irish too

Both my Irish are rescued. You contact the Irish Terrier Club of America's rescue coordinator, Nan Bruner. A link to her is on the website I mentioned.

Irish are certainly not "Russian roulette". They are everything a homeowner could ask from an all-aroud picture. But I love those English mastiffs!!!! The person who owns those must have a HUGE house!!!:D

Bottom line, of course, is that personal and home security is a balancing act of many different things: bars on the windows or not, own a dog/what type of dog, type of alarm system, neighborhood involvement, and a lot of other issues. I *do* trust my IT's with my life, which includes my children and their friends, who *are" my life as a mom.

Springmom
 
But I love those English mastiffs!!!! The person who owns those must have a HUGE house!!!
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Not really! These big lugs really are the original couch potato! Of course they vary from dog to dog, but generally they spend a LOT of time sleeping. When Hannah plays, she's wound up... oh, say 10-15 minutes, and then it's nap time again :D . What you need isn't a huge house, you need a HUGE bed, lest you find yourself on the floor in the middle of the night when they decide to stretch :eek: :D .

There are some down sides to them. They shed, they slobber, and they snore (oh BOY do they snore!), although the slobber part is usually only right after they eat or drink. This breed also seems to have a lot of medical problems, and medicines for a 200+ pound dog can get expensive. Like any breed though, it boils down to the ethics of the breeder, and if both parents aren't OFA tested and clear, forget it. I went the extra mile with Hannah; she came from an internationally known and respected breeder, both parents were CH, and Hannah is herself show quality. She cost me big bucks ($2000), but I figure doing that reduces the chances down the line for personality and medical problems. (By the way, she was only a 20 month old pup when that pic was taken. Daddy was 225 pounds and mom was 205!)
 
No breed is a dangerous breed or a good breed/bad breed. It's all about being a responsible dog owner and selection of the right dog. Some breeders are not responsible in their breeding, it's a fact. It's about research and doing your homework about the breeder, the dogs they are breeding, and the temperment/soundness of the parents. This is why I am leary of getting a mixed breed/shelter dog. You have no idea what kind of lines/temperments they are coming from. I am in no way discouraging people from getting a dog from a shelter, etc, it's just not for me. I have known many great dogs from shelters.

Once you have picked the right dog (temperment, lines, etc.) it's your responsibility as the pack leader to teach the dog right from wrong. I have been around working dogs (I believe someone earlier categorized them as "attack dogs") for a very long time and have never had a problem. I have a 2 1/2 year old son and a 2 year old German Shepherd. We also had (until recently-they were both old and had to be put down) a Rott and a Husky and they were all very safe/smart/tolerant of the child's SUPERVISED actions because we are responsible dog owners.

It's sad that you seem some idiot give Pitbulls, Rottweilers, etc. a bad name because they thought they were tough dogs and completely raised them the wrong way. This is when dogs become dangerous, not when they are raised properly. I have walked into many houses and dealt with many dogs. So far the one and only bite was from a Golden Retriever. He bit me as I was walking by his area of a room. Again, it's not the breed-it's the dog.
 
agree totally about the training point!

Without a doubt. You could take a perfectly wonderful Irish terrier and ruin it with bad treatment or bad training or total spoiling. Like any terrier, they're stubborn and have "selective deafness" (just like a teenager) :p In fact, Pippin, our female IT, was food abused in her first home and was very, VERY messed up when she came to us. It took several years of intensive love and "therapy" with me to turn her into the wonderful pet she is now (although she still to this day has some food issues). Still, an IT would have to be abused repeatedly, and by a child, to be unsafe with that child, I think. They have that built in guarding/nanny instinct, just like a Kuvasz has a built in herding instinct.

One word on shelter dogs... all the shelter dogs (or rescue dogs, not always the same, as with our two) tend to be grateful to their rescuer. I've never had a shelter dog with a behavior problem with people. Piddling on carpets, yes...chewing up shoes, you bet...even had one that had a thing for eating underwear. Used. But never a people problem. They are deeply affected by being abandoned, and are yours to their toenails when they are adopted and loved again.

If anybody wants a non-shelter dog that is still a dog NEEDING a home, contact the breed rescue group of the breed of dog you're interested in.

But yes, do your homework and know what you're getting, for sure.

Springmom the well-guarded :D
 
While I have a hard time saying that a breed is dangerous, some breeds are very aggressive such as pit-bulls, chiwow-wa(sic). Granted the lil ankle biter is not as much of a threat.
As I said earlier, I had a retriever that bit my twin. This was a good hunting dog but he was just a 1 person dog and did not like other people even though I spent daily training at making him more friendly it had little effect. Not a dog normally known for aggressivness. The whole story was my twin went to give him a couple of "treats". When he got the first one it looked like he thought my twin was hiding or keeping the second. In a split second he jumped and bit at the face. 148 sutures and 1 22 cal :( later I was with out my dog. Took about 4 yrs and alot of guilt before a got my next lab...
In many respects I got lucky. 1. My twin was not permanantly disabled or disfigured(just missed the left eye). 2. It was family so I did not get sued over it.(also happened 22 yrs ago before our society became so litigious)
I do have to say though that dog owners that are negligent in their care and training of an animal that they know is aggressive should be culpable.
 
Our dog Heidi:

Heidi.JPG


... was a rescue from the Peninsula Humane Society south of San Francisco when she was about 9 months old. We're not sure what breed she is, though we think she may have a little German Shepherd in her due to her face and ears, and the black and tan splotch on her tail.

It took her a while to warm up to kids - she used to very steadfastly avoid them. As we were preparing to adopt a child, we worked purposefully to help her overcome this aversion, and now she's quite pleasant around kids. I have a very cute photo of a friend's daughter giving Heidi a big hug.

She's alert and protective, but does not attack - for example there was someone out front walking down the very dark street in front of our house, and she was woofing warily, standing at the side of the street, backing up as they walked along. She finally recognized the person as someone she knew in the dim light, and the tail immediately started wagging, ears went down, and she ran up to give a "hug" - cat style, rubbing her torso along their legs.
 
in my local ranges nra "don't be a victim" they discourage large attack breeds due to liability. i think i disagree with that though. i think you should own the most protective dog you feel you can responsibly own. no dog park outings for most of these breeds! btw for those of you who too much is not enough, check out the fila brasilero. i saw one at an attack dog school my vet friend serviced. i have never been so scared of a dog in my life! one more thing, as someone who is generally afraid of large aggressive dogs, ALL DOGS SHOULD BE LEASHED WHEN OUTSIDE YOUR HOME. no exceptions. it is rude to not do so.
 
I think that Heidi is.....

..... a mix of GSD and Samoyed. I used to own a Samoyed (marvelous dogs!!!!!) and when I saw the pic of Heidi I thought, WOW! Somebody has a Sammy!!!! Then I read your text about the tail. But I'd bet a cup of coffee that she's at least half-Samoyed. The smile gives it away.

She is a beauty!!!! Give her a biscuit for me :D

Springmom the sucker for dogs
 
OJ,

Your brindle girl is lovely! She looks a great deal like her Brazilian cousin here who is snoring in her corner on her birthday present comforter (our girl is a year old today, and just over 100 pounds). There is nothing like having a friend so loyal in the house, drool notwithstanding.

Anyone considering a Brazilian Mastiff/Fila Brasileiro as a family dog for the first time, be sure and do your homework thoroughly before buying. This breed is NOT for everyone or every situation, they are astoundingly quick and powerful animals, and when they develop their proper temperament they do not like strangers at all. It is a breed characteristic called ojeriza. That stranger could be the meter reader, mailman, your beloved Aunt Jane come for a visit for the first time in 5 years- anyone the dog hasn't lived with is a stranger by definition. High levels of owner awareness and responsibility are required for dogs like this. A Fila with proper temperament does not need attack training, protectiveness is 'bred in' and cannot be socialized out. But if the dog mistakes a friendly action (boisterous hug, slap on the back, the family children running and screaming while playing etc.) by someone it doesn't know as an attack on you the family, there could well be trouble.

Be prepared for a serious grilling from any responsible breeder you approach to buy a Fila puppy. My strong suggestion is that if you do not get such a grilling, look for another breeder who wants to make sure their pups go to a proper permanent home. Filas are not for everyone or every situation- but properly placed, properly socialized and obedience trained they are unsurpassed family companions IMO.

http://www.southlandfarms.com/html/are_you_ready_for_a_fila_.html

http://www.eanlo.com/index_Page1123.htm

lpl/nc (just back from the FBCA National Specialty Show in Charlotte, NC)
 
I have a Ridgeback/Mastiff cross. This seems to be a real good cross for a farm dog. The Pitbull/Rotweiler crosses are great pig dogs(I've had 3), but not real good around kids. I have had Dobes, Labs, Bouviers des Flanders ( REAL good dog but unless you are in acold climate, they are prone to coat problems) and Saint Bernards for big breeds and been around alot of others extensively. The Ridgeback/Mastiff cross (dad a ridgeback) seems to be a VERY good family California farm dog. He will bite your ankle(a little) if you are a stranger and don't back off from his barks, I'm SURE he would go farther on a sneaky no good. When his hair stand on end his 125 pound snarls are a thing to behold:eek:
 
I also don't think aggression trained dogs are a real good idea, unless they are firmly in control of the owner at all times - and probably still not the best idea if you have a family - can't actually watch all the time. Chewed up mailmen, paperboys, girl scouts, neighborhood kids, parents, wife and kids... not good.

As far as deterrent around the house, I think it's enough to have a dog that's big, alert, and a good barker - two even better. Research I read showed that large barking dogs were the best deterrent to burglars (more than fences, locks, alarm systems or S&W decals).
 
dogs

Great looking dogs guy's

I have 2 German Shepards myself. Both are pets not trained for attack or guard duty Shultz 4 year old male(named after hogans heros). And Sasha 1 year old female. Schultz is the type of dog you could put a 1 year old down and he would baby sit all day. Sasha is more a typical watch dog she loves me and tolerates a few others. Schultz can be very protective too and I would not want to be an un invited guest comming thru the door at night :D i think a couple of guys hit it on the head a dogs behavior depends on how you train them.

Chevyguy
 
One of the family

My sister was going to have to give her dog to the pound in San Antonio, Texas because of concerns from her neighbors. I paid the shipping charge and go what we jokingly call our youngest child. He weighs in at 90 lbs, loves the kids and will definitely let you know when something is amiss. His name is Tazz and he is a beautiful all white american bulldog. His biggest flaw, he seems to think that he is a "small child".
 
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