[Debr]

German Shepherds, Rotties, Dobies & pits all have a bad rep. As said above the certain branded breeds gain alot of publicity when an attack occurs. You will never see news stories about the chihuahua who went ballistic and made his owners ankles bleed or the yorkie that bit off its owners finger for touching its food. The attack just is not serious enough, the breeds aren't deemed dangerous so a news story on those cases will never be seen. The damage a 5lb dog does hurts but its not life threatening except maybe to a small child- a 90lb dog kills.Small dogs also are kept closer to their owners, most small breed owners walk their dogs on leashes and they are not out of sight. A large breed is let into the fenced yard, hops the fence and an accident occurs.

Humans don't understand canine language and what looks to us to be unprovoked is actually an invitation to fight to a dog. Petting a dog on its head can be viewed by a dog as a challenge. Direct eye contact with an alpha dog is asking for trouble-unless you are there to take him down a rung on his ladder, and you best know how to handle him.

There are more aggressive small dogs then large. Small dogs are usually the light & life of their owners, usually coddled & treated like royalty. They get to sleep in the bed, they get carried on pillows, they are always held and pampered sometimes hand fed (my inlaws hand feed their 4 shih tzu's) most times kept home & not socialized-this all builds an alpha ego in them contributing to more aggressive behaviors. A german shepherd who always growls at people you let in your home-is flawed and good breeders would not breed the dog.A yorkie who always growls at people you let in your home is excused 9 x of 10. When you search gsd or german shepherd puppy-2 factors always show -hips ofa'd and temperament. Search yorkie,chihuahua,maltese-you find alot of breeders advertise small, cuddly, beautiful coats/hair.

Having done my fair share of training- of the breeder or pet store purchased pups I had more calls and club members seeking help on more small breed issues then large breeds. I think a contributing factor is a 4 month old rottie growling is scary, it will grow to be a big deadly monster and people seek help or educate themselvs to get the dog socialized, and put back in its place aka not alpha, a small breed growling at 4 months old isnt scary and people excuse it until it is an isssue usually when the dog is an adult, needing to be put into a room so friends can come in. which could be why I've seen more small dog aggressiveness then large.

I love all animals. There is 1 breed I am leary of and that is the pit bull. My buddy, should call him my mentor as he taught me at least half of what I know on training & behavior also trains. He is the one who imports sheps. He likes big,mean dogs-the meaner the better. He will not do any training on a pit bull. Pit bulls have been in the hands of bad folks for to long, they have been bred so long to be killing machines that they have lost the ability to know different. Majority will go off and bite one day and once they taste blood they want more. There are very few with the proper genetics to make them any less then killing machines. I don't 100pct agree with him, just sharing what he's told me. I don't dislike the breed-I do dislike what people have used them for/done to the breed but I also dislike what Americans have done to the german shepherd breed,I just don't feel a pit is a dog I want to turn my back on.

All dogs have the capability to attack-its just big dogs do more damage, are a bigger news story and are the ones you hear about.Joe schmoe would call the authorities in a heartbeat is his neighbors german shepherd bit his leg, if he didn't the emergency room would. Joe Schmoe would be awfully embarassed calling authorities or seeking medical help for the scratches from his neighbors mini-pin.

sorry so long, Miss Dixie has me up late again.