Part of the problem with peoples attitudes is the media hype whenever a dog does attack, the media make the world a lot scarier place then it actually is.
Also, I do have some dogs that come in all scarred up after being attacked by dogs not on leash. While i am on the dogs side, we do have to respect other people fears, sometimes there are good reasons for it :biggrin:

Off leash parks are provided as a place to let your dog off leash. If you have children who are afraid of dogs or if you yourself are afraid of dogs you should avoid these areas. If you have a dog who should not be let off leash then the same thing, You should avoid off leash areas. There are many parks etc where dogs can be walked on leash but if you own a dog who is aggressive and you can't handle it you need to rethink owning a dog. Remember dog obiedience? it's not to teach the dog it's to teach the owners how to work with their dogs.
My peeve is with people who try to teach their dogs by beating the hell out of them. Be consistant, if you can't handle your dog then lets be honest, you're the pet. Dogs make great pets but you have to be willing to invest time in training and companionship. Spend time with your dog, reward good behavior and for pete sakes pick up the scat.

Doug

I know I know.. what am I doing in this thread? :rolleyes: Anyways I totally agree with you people on the no leash parks, if thats what they are then that really needs no argument. Those parks/places should be there for those people/dogs that enjoy that.
Though the thread moved in a bit of a different direction. AS a person that doesn't tend to trust dogs I have a slightly different opinion.(and I know where all alloud to have them) :smile: There really is only a few dogs that I tend to feel comfortable around and the rest I tend to be leary off. I'm sure Brad would agree as I beleive I asked him if he'd mind putting his dog in a different room while I visited. AS a person that tends to get a little scared/nervous around dogs I've had my share of uncomfortable situations. So it's far better to simply try and aviod them when possible.

I've been bitten a few times from dogs and I guess the worst was only 3 stitches. I've also seen dogs attack other dogs and I've seen a dog attach a cat. And yes I've seen the media reports. That stuff does happen. NOw I'm not saying all dogs I'm just sharing my experience. So if you came up to me on a beach with a large type dog(unleashed) depending on my first instinct. I may just ask you put it on a leash or I may not even be that nice. First off I don't know you and second I don't know the dog . Its far safer for me to do what I've said. I'd also more then likely cross the street if you where walking a larger type dog as well. Thats just me and my experience telling me thats the smartest thing to do. Call me a chicken if you wish. :lol:

There is no doubt dogs are great companions and like you all have said most dogs are good dogs and I agree I'm just not that talented in picking out the bad ones. :)

I guess what I'm saying is I prefer to be on the other side of the fence. (Pun intended) oh and yes I was a paper boy as a kid which may play a factor in my thoughts. :smile:

Jamie, the first thing I though of while reading your post was the rottie in the cage at your old place. That was one scarey dog. I'm not sure how you ever went out your door with that thing out there!! :razz:

But you're right, as a dog owner, I also have to respect that some people are chicken (your word :biggrin: ) and I have no problem leashing or hiding my dog for them. My kids have friends that are afraid of dogs, so pooch gets shuffled off when they're here.

But, you come to the "free range" park for dogs, and you're likely to run into a dog dropping by to say hi.

Hey Brad, You know I've forgotten all about that dog now. :biggrin: Next time your over remind me to get my wife to tell you a story or to about what a "chicken" I am regarding the dog in the cage. For what it's worth thats the one that gave me three stitches.

Heres one of the stories. Shortly after we moved into the basement siute, Taryn and I where sitting down having dinner and the owners let the dog out to go for a walk. Well sure enough it came barreling into our siute. We'll I simply went the other way and hid in the bedroom. Yes I just left the wife sitting at the table. I know...I still get bugged on ocasion about that one. But as you know it was one big/mean dog. I must say even dog lovers were scared of that dog though. Oh and trust me you won't see me at a "free range park".

Too funny!! Ya, I've never been afraid of any dog until I saw that one. It must have been 160 pounds of snarling teeth. I remeber the bone it had in the cage....musta been a thigh bone from a dinosuar or something :eek:

I have to disagree with the consensus in this thread about dogs.

Dog owners need to understand how non-dog-lovers fell about their "harmless" pets.

When I was about 10 I was attacked by a German Shepherd. Of course it was a "harmless" dog who "would never hurt anyone". After it jumped the fence and attacked me in my front yard it was put down.

Many times I see people with Rottweillers and Pit Bulls off leash on city streets or in public parks. Sometimes I tell them to put them on a leash, most times I just put the kids in the car and take them back home.

Of course the chance that one of these dogs will attack my kids is only about one in a thousand. What parent would take a 1/1000 chance of having their kid mauled by a Rottweiller?

In my opinion savage "macho" dogs like Rottweillers, Pit Bulls etc should be banned. No they are not harmless, please do not put my children at risk by owning a dog breed with a documented history of killing and maiming people.

:rolleyes:

It's the thinking of people such as yourself that give certain breeds of dogs their "macho"(as you so elliquently put it) status.

If you had done the smallest bit of reaserch into this subject you'd realize that a bann should be placed on irresponsible ownership and NOT on a specific breed in general.

Fact of the matter is that in places where these banns have been put in place the incidence of attacks on humans(By the banned breed.) has dropped, but only because the breed is no longer there. These numbers are soon up with other breeds becoming the attackers.(Because people are going to have dogs, wether others like it or not.)

Do you remember when Dobermans where the bad ones? That's only because the breed was very popular. Now you hear very little(If anything at all about them.).

I've had around and owned Rottweilers and Sheaperds for my entire life and can tell you that yes there are some that should not be kept as pets. But most of these are a result of poor ownership and training rather than poor breeding. (I'm not saying that breeding does not play a role either.)

The problems we see are more to do with poor ownership, inadaquate housing and most of all lack of training. All of these problems are dwarfed when you have people keeping multiples of any large breed dog running around their property and calling them family pets. (Did you ever hear of a pack? Contrary to popular beliefes after thousands years of breeding they still have a very strong pack instinct, large or small breed.)

What is needed is some laws with bite to make owners ultimately accountable for the actions of their dogs.

The caged Rottweiler in Jamie's post is a prime example of poor ownership and a dog that has not been socialized at all. What would expect from a person that has been kept in a room with minimal contact from the outside world? I can tell you that people that have lived much like this do not usualy have an impressive life history to say the least.

Should we bann all people of arabic decent from air travel? After all, they do have the highest doccumented history of terorist activities. I don't think you can put them all into one group because some of them where taught wrong.

Hmm, I actually got my daughter a rottweiller. Guess I'm a bad parent, eh? :rolleyes:
I've typed about 9 repsonses to your post, but I can't actually post any of them.

I don't quite understand the anger at my post.

Certain breeds are clearly large enough, strong enough, and aggressive enough to easily kill a man. If a pit bull got hold of me I would not have a chance unless I were carrying a weapon. What is so wrong with me wanting to protect my children, ages 1, 3, and 5?

If we banned pit bulls, Rottweillers, and other breeds with a history of fatal attacks on humans, I don't think that Chihuahua's and poodles would suddenly start mauling people to death. Yes these smaller breeds of dogs do bite, but the difference is their bites are not likely to cause death or severe injury.

Breed-specific bans, combined with mandatory liability insurance for dog owners, have worked in places where they have been instituted. It is unfortunate that it will take the deaths of one or two more kids in B.C. before breed-specific bans are instituted here.

http://news.google.ca/news?hl=en&ned...nG=Search+News

http://news.google.ca/news?hl=en&ned...nG=Search+News