Right read all the posts and ok we dont agree with each other on this one
I own a rottie and some of what I have read is total c**p if you dont own one then you cant comment on what they are like you only see and read the rubbish the media churn out. To anyone who doesn't like dogs, cats, animals So what its your loss.
I couldn't agree more !!
We have always had cats and dogs in our house since I was born and we have NEVER had any problems. The dogs we had ranged from very small ones, up to a Great Dane.
I remember years and years ago when I was about 12 /13yrs old, one of our neighbours had a RW. Every afternoon when I walked back from school, there would be a group of boys who teased this dog no end. The dog would go mad (understandably) and the boys would carry on.
I told them once that you want to be careful with what you are doing as if he ever gets out, I don't want to be in your shoes. I also told our neighbour that I see these boys teasing the dog every day.
Lo and behold, they pushed this dog to far one day and it managed to jump over the wall (it was about 5ft high) it pinned the boy (about 15 / 16) down and bit him in the back (not badly by the way), but all he did was stand on the boys back and growl at him. I have never seen a boy cry so much in my life, and to be perfectly honest, I enjoyed every minute of it because he deserved it.
I called the neighbour who was there within 15 min and all that time, the dog stayed on the boys back and every time he wanted to move, the dog would just crowl.
When the owner turned up, he simply called the dog and the dog came running to him with his tail wagging and I swear you could see him smile. He never hurt the boy, just gave him a DAMN GOOD WARNING.
The boys parents wanted to have the dog put down, but loads of people have seen that this boy and his friends teased the dog every day and his parents lost the case.
I also firmly believe that dogs are the way the owners train them, and how the owners make the dog fit into the "pack". As previously mentioned, in the wild there is a very definate pecking order and the pack know what is expected of them. The same applies with a pet dog.
There are loads of Dog Psychology books that you can read on the matter, but 9 times out of 10, I believe it's the owners fault or that there are external factors that trigger dogs, like being teased for instance or being bothered when they don't want to be. The same applies to cats, it you annoy a cat, they will swipe at you.
You shouldn't always take what you her on TV as Gospel. Try to think for yourself and evalulate the facts.
How many programs have been on TV saying how bad nail enhancements are for you and what is the reaction on this web site normally ? You all go mad trying to defend the industry and rightly so. The same applies to everything else on TV.
I'm not a "dog expert", I can only talk from experience and having owned loads of different types myself.
Marlise
