Off leash parks - what's with people?!

[marie]

Originally Posted by Ryan

...Some dogs brains also get too large for their head, rotty for example, and the dog goes nuts not the person or the dogs fault it just happens.

huh?
And i believe that would be 40lbs jaw pressure, the same as chihuahuas and great danes

[Cap'n]

I will also try to keep my comments more tame than they would be if this was a discussion at the pub

If someone enters an off-leash park they should expect and be prepared to meet many dogs of different temperments. This winter I was involved in a shoving match with a jogger who overeacted to my border collie / blue heeler cross running by him. I don't take kindly to people trying to kick members of my family.

I was fortunate enough to grow up in a farming environment where dogs were a necessary part of the work force and the best playmate and guardian a boy could hope for. I realize not everyone can "read" dogs like myself or others who know them well and are therefore frightened by what they percieve as aggressive behaviour or scary looks. Dogs have an uncanny ability to sense this apprehension and react to it by reinforcing their dominant position awarded to them by the scared individual, and it escalates from there. It's instinct on the dogs part, nothing we can do about it. We can, however, teach our children the proper way to respct and understand these animals we share our homes, parks and cities with. I fear that our increasingly urban society is losing a lot of our natural connection with the same animals we created to help us tame, prosper and enjoy this world.

I wish there was a plausible way to test, evaluate and train prospective dog owners, but where would you start? and what would the limitations be? Therefore the only reasonable solution is integrating all dog breeds into our society with their owners fully responsible for their care and special requirements. If that means some large / dangerous / black and scary dogs need to be muzzled when in public, so be it. I think that's a decent compromise. If a dog jumps a fence and kills a child I think the owner should be held responsible for more than a monetary punishment. If a huge, hideous, rotti / pitbull / doberman / mastiff / mutt is being used as a pillow by a couple children snoozing in their yard while their watchdog keeps an alert eye for intruders, then I think that dog's owner should be commended, not scorned.

[G1GY]

Originally Posted by Ryan

I second that.

I forgot to mention......
My guns would have to be taken first! (And they'd probably be hot and empty!)

[Ryan]

second that one too. With the ammount of shells i got downstairs it would take all day.

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by marie

huh?
And i believe that would be 40lbs jaw pressure, the same as chihuahuas and great danes

No offense marie but you are wrong read the little colum under the photo
http://www.edba.org.au/courier.html

http://www.angelfire.com/md3/jorgeju...rotttiger.html

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by Ryan

Not true Rottys have the strongest jaws for a dog I cannot remeber the LBS/squar inch but it was unreal.

ok Ryan you make this statment then you post two examples that show rottys do not have the strongest jaw, infact they don't even have 1/2 of the pit bulls. are you having type O's here or what?

Steve

[Ryan]

Opps i knew i forgot to do somthing. I was in a hurry i ment to corrrect myself there too sorry. But you can see the jay pressure of these canines is unreal.

[Nemain]

The problem with most pets is not the strength of their jaw, or their innate aggressive behaviour, nor the shear size of them. The problem is the owner.

Most aggressive people won’t settle for a little maltese, or a pug; they want a big bad mean looking 100 lb + animal that is going to instil fear in as many people as possible. What happens when you have an aggressive or inattentive owner with any animal, or child for that matter?

Truthfully an untrained pit-bull may be more of a risk than an untrained dachshund, but the breed in itself is not the issue. Banning on these animals is no different than people wanting to ban certain populations of people from breading.

As for requesting people to put an animal on a leash – if it’s in a public (non off leash) area, the animal should be on a leash; for the protection and comfort of both the animal and the community. I have met many an unruly child in my day, and more than one that I have witnessed kicking or otherwise hurting an unleashed animal. Funny that you don’t see dog owners picketing for leashes on children in parks….

[danny zubot]

Of the 4 friends that I have that own dogs, there are 3 rotties, 1 pitbull boxer cross and 1 american staffie. The only dog that I would trust with my family would be the pit-boxer. This dog was rescued from an abusive family and is so timid that any sudden movement send him running to his cage. The rotties and staffie are just big clumsy oafs, like a bull in a china shop. I would consider all of them friendly because I know them and they know me, but they are big and at younger ages they don't know there own strength. They can and have injured children in playful pursute, who is to blame for this?

I won't cower to a large dog walking down the street, but believe me I am very aware of their presents. They just aren't the dog for me.

[G1GY]

Originally Posted by danny zubot

The only dog that I would trust with my family would be the pit-boxer. This dog was rescued from an abusive family and is so timid that any sudden movement send him running to his cage.

This is the dog one should have the most fear of!

Most dogs that are aggresive are known to be that way and their intentions are known by most who come in contact with them. A dog who has been abused (Had it's spirit broken) is a scared dog and is a time bomb waiting to go off. This type of dog is only siutable for owners without children and will adapt well to a to an adult lifestyle. Don't ever make the mistake of expecting a broken spirited(Beaten and abused) dog to be anything more than an adult companion.

With some large breed dogs (Rottweiler, German shepard, pitt bulls, Bull mastiff, Stafordshire terrier ect..) There is a need to reinforce your dominance as the alfa in a way that they understand. If this done with too much force or at too young of an age, the dog will be broken and that's not an easy thing to change. On the other hand if it's not done at all, you've taught the dog that it's the alfa of the pack and you will be the pet unless you take the appropriate measures to estlablish your dominance.

Anyhow Danny, while a dog may seem timid and harmless it's not as predictable as a confident and even headstronge dog. This dog is at the highest risk of attacking a human (Mostly children) because of it's fear and it's instinct to protect itself when it thinks it can.

Just some food for thought.