Covered in tattoos.

 

They do say that dogs and owners are supposed to look alike.

Not quite sure what that says about me.... Cocker Spaniel and GSD ..... Hippie with a soft heart with leanings towards military discipline and physical fitness ???

 

i.e. thug type/dodgy looking person with a rottweiler on the end of the lead

 

Sounds like me,although we are both soft as sh£te

 

It wasn't meant to be a diversion, it's perspective on deaths in general.
As for martins question...
I have the dogs I have for a number of reasons, the main being I was brought up with Rottweilers so always had them, I love them to bits, they are so misunderstood, Rottweilers you will find out if you do some proper research are the most loyal loving breeds around.

 

I'm sure they are loyal, and I don't doubt what your saying, given your knowledge of them.
But equally, if it turns nasty for whatever reason, then the human on the other end doesn't stand much of a chance.

 

I'll answer you Martin.

Why chose a rottie instead of a spaniel or a Lab?

Having had 4 Rotties, I would find it hard to see past them as a breed. They are loyal, intelligent, loving, easily trained, obedient, very rewarding, full of persoanality and entertaining to own. To their owners they are often oversized lap dogs. Very much a breed apart, and I've been brought up with many different breeds over the years.

In my case my ex and I were looking for a dog that met those critera. There were a couple of dogs local to us who were fantastic, so we got in touch with a breeder and the rest is history.

Its not rocket science.

 

But a Rottie, Pitbull and others can quite easily kill someone. It's like saying all guns are the same; would you rather be shot by a BB gun or a Desert Eagle?

They can be as soppy as they like but in the wrong hands, they are lethal. I'm sure our lab could inflict a lot of damage but kill someone? I very much doubt it.

I have very little (if any) fear of any dog breed but a sodding great dog with jaw muscles like rocks will always scare the hell out of many and for good reason.

 

BB gun = chiwawa
Rottweiler = desert eagle.
Suppose the same can be said for cars to a certain extent.
Fiat panda = chiwawa
Enzo Ferrari = Rottweiler.
It's all about personal choice.
All Rottweilers need structured, consistent training from an early age as well as focused socialization around children, strangers, and other pets if they are to be well adjusted members of the family and well mannered when taken out in public. Be fair and firm but never mean with the Rottweiler and he will repay you with love and respect.

 

Which I'm sure most owners do but what about the ones who don't? The ones who want a status symbol? The ones that feel the need to look hard?

I have known lovely Rotties, I know the sloppiest Pitbull ever, I've known very soft Dobermans (the most attractive breed IMO), but there'll always be ones brought up to be aggressive.

 

Unfortunately that's life.
There will always be wrong-uns who abuse things in all walks of life.
Robbers, rapists,murderers,arsonists ect.
The problem is the human being!
Hence "blame the deed not the breed"

 

I don't doubt for a second you made your choice of dog on what you believe are sound grounds.
I also sure that you are a very responsible and learned owner, almost certainly better dog owner than me. I'm probably way too complacent.

I'll give a couple of experiences of my own, some people we used to regularly walk our dog with had their dog killed by a rottie, who pulled its owner over, broke free, ran across a busy road (nearly causing a crash), before tearing the throat and partially amputating one of the hind legs of their King Charles - needless to say they were desolate.
In the beer garden of my local last summer a Staffie got hold of the landlord Jack Russel (by the throat)... the landlord broke his pool cue (the thick end) on that dog, but it still didn't let go, they had to asphyxiate to it, at great personal risk to get it off remarkably both the dogs survived.

When you see what these animals are capable of, you have to seriously question their suitability for the domestic environment.

 

'Cos it makes 'em look 'ard and gangsta init? An extension of their own 'ardness if you will. Or at least that's what they think

 

Fighting a loosing battle, off to another topic, have fun

 

As a rule of thumb no person should be left alone with a dog unless they're physically very capable of restraining the animal, as for multiple dogs, the tragic case a couple of months ago where the 14year old girl was killed by 2 or 3 dogs makes you realise the sheer power and determination dogs have when their natural instinct takes over.

 

Would you fancy your chances against a Rottweiler?

I know I wouldn't

 

And that is why many people get them.

 

I'd own nothing larger than anything I'm confident I can restrain, probably springer spaniel size, I've seen well built labs and retreivers that I don't think I'd be confident I could restrain if they turned on me.

Most breeds of dog can offer the same loyalty and companionship, why folk feel a need to choose dogs capable of mauling and killing children and even adults over something that can be restrained and controlled relatively easily is beyond me.

You can never trust any dog, you can just make sure that when things do do wrong you're capable of controlling the situation.

 

Well out here in the sticks I have a 50kg Cane Corso, so i'm fcuked if he decides to go for it, but so are any would be assailants, everyone stops dead in their tracks when they see him.

Which is exactly why I got him.

 

Depends on the dog. With the vast majority of rotties I'd have no issue. There are many stronger breeds out there.

 

You say that as if all Rotties/staffies and the like are killers just waiting on the chance to strike. The reality is that's not the case.

 

I agree the risk is small, but the consequences if it all goes wrong are huge so choosing a dog I don't believe I could restrain as a family pet is not a risk I'd be prepared to take. I've had dogs all my life, never had any problems, but I'd still never trust any dog 100%.

 

Every dog can be trustful and loyal no matter what breed!
Its humans that are distrustful and the ones you got to watch!

 

Used to work as an SHO and middle grade in Maxillofacial Surgery. Some of the stuff that used to walk into A&E was unbelievable.

Literally lost count of the number of facial wounds caused by dog bites. Some of them were horrific.

A lack of education with regard to owning dogs, and anthropomorphism on the part of their owners seemed to be the biggest issues.

Though the stereotypical "big ******* dog" types were responsible for the more horrific wounds, there were a couple that stood out to me because the dog that had caused a very nasty injury were the ones many would label as handbag pets.

The other thing that was quite scary was that on a number of the records, there were previous attendances for dog bites and the "victims" were often keen to play down what happened and blame it on someone else. One chap said that his dog hadn't bitten him, but headbutted him and his lip fell off...

 

Thats a fair point.

At no time have I felt that any of my Rotties were beyond my ability to restrain them. But then they have all been well bred and well trained.

But I'm sure we've all seen dogs of differing breeds being walked by people who clearly have no control or indeed clue.

 

The cat is probably traumatised by all your 'hard man' dogs! Re-home it for the animal's sake. Oh and when one of your dogs eats one of your kids remember how 'vicious' that cat was

 

Re-home you to the Saxo forums...............































Tw&t!!!

 

Touched a nerve did I?

A cat is a far better pet to have when you have kids..... not too many 'cat mauls child' stories or 'Dangerous Moggie' acts are there?

 

On the contrary, your above post regarding eating my children has just shown me that "your mentality"is very much below that of the average person,hence from now on no more of my time will be wasted on replying to your idiotic posts

 

Agree with StiPete, i dont have a "pleb" dog, i have a lab and a collie, but its all how you bring them up, one of my mates has a staffi and its the nicest dog youll ever meet, but theres another collie just up the road from me that will always try and fight other dogs and shows its teeth to everyone that walks past their gate...