Very well said. I completely agree. ANY breed can be dangerous.

I bought my mother-in-law (Cathie) a female Chocolate Lab as an anniversary present last year. This Lab is her LOVE, her baby, the whole family adores this dog and she's treated like royalty. Anyway, their neighbors who live in the house right next door to them who own a little poodle. Kailua (the Lab) and this poodle are great friends and always play together. Well about 2 months ago the family that owns the poodle had some friends over and they brought their Golden Retreiver with them. They were having a barbecue and for no reason, the GR ran after and attacked this poor poodle and chased her into Cathie's (mother-in-law) yard. Her dog Kailua was outside in the yard (it has no fences) and defended the poodle. She ran in front of the poodle and tried to block the GR. The GR was a male and a lot bigger than Kailua but Kailua put up a good fight to protect her friend the poodle. It's an amazing story but the GR backed eventually down - after he bit Kailua on the neck! Kailua also bit him back but he was a lot bigger than her.

I've never thought of Golden Retrivers to be aggressive dogs but anything can happen. It doesn't matter what breed - ANY dog can be aggressive if they feel threatened or even for no reason at all. I don't think it's fair to pick on Pit Bulls or Rottis when any breed, large or small, does the same exact thing.

what experience do you have with this breed and what research have you done?? You aren't educating me. Personally I feel that you are spreading false info about the breed.

Thank you - very nicely said. I think we are offending our YT friends by saying we hate Pit Bulls. I know a lot of people here own them and they love them just as much as we love our Yorkies. So please let's not be unkind. :)

As Breeze said, this is a site for "animals lovers."

In no way, by me posting my OPINION and/or PROVEN FACTS on a breed of dog that I have come in contact with am I trying to make ANYONE feel comfortable with allowing their dog to play with them...What I am trying to do is EDUCATE...As I stated in my earlier post...I would NEVER let Sammi play with ANY breed of dog I didn’t know...

EVERY DOG HAS ANIMAL INSTINCTS, one of which being SURVIVAL...My dog is adorable, cute, loving etc...Do I think for ONE MINUTE she would not be able to kill another dog of her size or a small child...NOOOOOO I know she can...She is an animal...

Aggression towards animals is a natural trait of the Pitbull terrier breed (as it is in MANY terrier breeds, among others)

Again, in the end YOU CHOSE what other dogs/animals you want your yorkie around...Not what people post and/or believe...Because REGARDLESS of what I have read re: Pitbulls...Sammi will continue to play with Storm...because this is what I CHOSE, not because I am naive or don’t know the breed or what it is capable of...

Thanks, Summer. I think this post needed to me written because I was going to go off the deep end here. I'm glad you took the time!

no way!!
 

I personally wouldn't allow Coco to play with a larger dog, especially a pit. Not even mentioning the aggression but larger dogs could accidentaly step on or sit on Coco. She is so small and so fast, she just gets into every thing. Sometimes I almost step on her, never the less a large dog that wants to be playful. Now on the other side, just to state my opinion, i just don't like aggressive breeds. I have not done research or anything on pit bulls, rotties, ect..but I know what I see and they make me uncomfortable and nervous. I understand the need to defend them if you own one because that's just our nature. We will protect, and defend our loved ones. All I can say is, a lot of people who's children are now deceased or have lost a limb, thought their dog was the most calm tempered and sweetest dog ever that "wouldn't hurt a flea". All the research in the world can never generalize to any one dog. Aggression can be triggered by just about anything. Even in the "sweet" tempered pit/rott/ect. But I also know of small dogs that are aggressive. I wouldn't let Coco play with them either. Just wanted to throw my opinion out there. I respect other peoples love for the aggressive breeds, but I don't like them.

If most the pitbull sites and the ASPCA and the pitbull rescues are wrong please educate me and tell me where there is research done saying pitbulls were not originally bred for fighting and that they are NOT dog aggressive.
I know I would like to hear the other side. If I have missed something in the research I have done I am more than willing to listen.
Frankly, I have merely stated what is out there for everyone to read and your opinion is based on what exactly? Is the ASPCA wrong? Are all the pitbull owners wrong? I thought these were well informed people. By all means tell me who is right on the issue?
I have never been against pitbulls as pets, I truly feel sorry for the breed, they got a bad rep because when they do damage it is usually horrific. Breed blindness is not a good thing either tho. You should be just as aware of a breeds faults as their positive traits. That goes as much for yorkies as pitbulls.
This was a discussion on letting little dogs play with big dogs, unfortunatly the dog in the original post was a pitbull.

I gave up reading all the posts half way with the thread...simply because a lot of people go by "hearsay" and most know exaclty nothing about the breed. I am no expert either, but at least i take time to research before saying anything... and do you know that akitas and chows are also fighting dogs? And a LOT of attacks are caused by these breeds? Probably not, for some reason pitbulls were chosen to be the "monster".

Research about the breed. Every dog is still an irrational animal and unpredictible, all we can do is teach how to behave and socialize, if every owner understood that we wouldn't have so many problems as we do today. I don;t care if you have a yorkie or a pit, your dog should be socialized and be teached how to behave the same way people (specially kids) should also know how to approach and handle a dog.

I understand that a big dog can cause more "damage" than a small dog, but did you ever think that a confrontation started because of a small dog with a bad attitude? It is just something to think about...

And going back to the original question, i have a labrador, Mojo plays with her all the time, i trust her with my eyes closed...now somebody else's dog i have to know the temperament and will always be supervising them.

Playing with bigger dogs!!
 

My grandaughter has a Sheltie and Bitsy loves it when he comes to visit!!! Mad chase around and around the yard and in the doggie door and back out again!!! The sheltie looks like a miniature Lassie but weighs about 30 pounds. Bitsy weighs about 7 pounds. She sure does give Shilo a run for the money!!!! My Daughter has three miniature doxies and they are pretty well matched in size to Bitsy. Two of them like to play but one is very territorial. Would not suggest letting them play with dogs you do not know or trust.

You are right and if you do a search I once posted on my Akita and the heartbreak I had when I had to put him to sleep because he attacked and killed another dog. A very non aggressive female elderly dog being walked on a leash.
He was 5 yrs old and it broke my heart. Maybe seeing how unpredictable an otherwise sweet loving dog who was raised right but bred to fight can do has made me argue this more. If you saw the story I posted on Mac you would also know that after that,(I couldn't believe my dog did that)he attacked his older sibling, a maltese.
So I guess I do speak from some personal experience, but not with pit bulls per say.
There are exceptions to every rule, unfortunatly my dog was not an exception.

Sorry to hear about your dog. :(

Thank you, he was a good dog except with other dogs. I just couldn't take the chance that he might do it again. And I was afraid for my children too. Although he never did show aggression to them, not even when they pulled the little malt out of his mouth.

OK, thanks, Flakes (Post #70, my 'quote' feature isn't working). You appear to be right about labs. I googled dog bites and found out that experts rank dog bites in two different ways. 1, Human fatalities, of which pits and rottweilers are responsible for more than half the total; 2, non-fatal bites, of which a more wide range of dogs, including labs, are involved. The interesting thing is there are about 15-20 human fatalities a year in the U.S. from dog bites. But there are 5 million non-fatal bites a year. I won't draw any conclusions. Just wanted to pass along some information for fellow Yorkie owners.
Here are a couple interesting lists.
National study from 1979 through 1996 revealed that the following breeds had killed one or more persons:
Pit bulls, Rottweilers, German shepherds, huskies, Alaskan malamutes, Doberman pinschers, chows, Great Danes, St. Bernards and Akitas.

1998 study in Montgomery County Maryland listing the top ten biting breeds in Montgomery County in 1998. (This is a local study, but it's the best I could find.)

Chow Chows -- 9 major bites
Labrador Retrievers -- 9 major bites
German Shepherds -- 7 major bites
Pit Bulls -- 7 major bites
Akitas -- 5 major bites
Dalmatians -- 5 major bites
Rottweilers -- 5 major bites
Beagles -- 4 major bites
English Springer Spaniels -- 4 major bites
Collies -- 3 major bites
Jack Russell Terriers -- 3 major bites (tied for 10th)

Thank you...if every owner realized that we wouldn't have so many accidents.
Not every dog gets along well with other pets, and lets be honest, little dogs think they are tough and sure think they can take anybody or animal down. It is not only regarding the breed, i do agree the certain breeds require more supervision, but truth is it can happen to ANY dog, regardless of size and breed.

I'd say NO, I do not think it would be OK. :thumbdown

I took Missy & Max to our local yorkie meet up a few months ago, and there were 2 terrier mixes there that were approx 15-20lbs. The terrier mixes were running around and playing and right away ran after Max, the owner told me "dont worry, they are very nice and are just playing" well in less than 3 minutes of "playing" they started to attack Max. Biting, snarling and fur flying! Luckily I was able to reach into the dog fight and rescue my little Max. Max wasnt hurt but he was very shaken up and tramatized, I swear he had nightmares for days afterwards. It was so scary! Thank God the dogs were smaller, I cant even imagine what would happen if one of the attacking dogs were a pit bull or a large dog, I know I wouldnt even have a chance to save Max. :eek:

There is a difference between a large dog your yorkie is raised with and the neighbors large dog who is a stranger. For all you know your yorkie will bark at him too much and out of irritation he will snap at your yorkie. A snap from a big dog can be deadly, don't risk it.

If the neighbor wonders why you wont let him say "my yorkie doesnt play well with big dogs" blame it on your yorkie, but dont let they play just so you look like the nice neighbor.

Those terrier mixes at the dog park looked a little rough to me but because the owner said they were so nice and friendly I didnt want to look like a snob so I put my little Max down to play, I feel so bad for putting him in that situation.

I would not let your little one play with bigger dogs unless the bigger dogs are your own and you know their temprament. You just never know what another dog could do. Even if a big dog is gentle, your pup could easily get stepped on and get a broken leg. It is also possible that they will be traumatized for the rest of their life if they have a bad encounter with a big dog. Don't take any chances!

So true!! Max is tramatized and gets so scared when he sees a stranger dog. I have a really nice dog walking trail near my home and we take daily walks. He used to love meeting new dogs and would wag his tail with excitement when he saw them. Now when he sees stranger dogs he tenses up and barks/growls at them. I am working on his fear with him and hope one day he will trust other dogs again.

I was going to stay out of this but those of us that are careful for good reason are
being told we didn't do research. Well I'll tell you one thing the Insurance Co's did!!!!
Since they do not like to lose money; they did ALOT of research and they came
up with small group of dogs that we have the good sense to be careful of....Some-
one said some of us said "hate" and I beg to differ with you. Hate was not mentioned
on this site once. I can tell Summer had a pit bull she loved very much and maybe
it was a "lover" but I'm sure down deep in her heart she can see what we are
saying. Let's just all love our dogs and train them the best we can.

Ok..here is one of our Goldens (85 lb Charlie) with Ralphie ( 4.3) lbs. I do not leave them unsupervised, only because I do not want Ralphie to get stepped on.. but Charlie would never hurt anything!When the two Goldens play-- I keep Ralphie away, because its too easy for him to get stepped on as well.

I just finished reading a post on another forum where the Yorkie was killed playing with a large dog. The dog was not a stranger but a playmate..So, I have mixed feelings about this matter..

iT so0o fuNnY buTt PiXieE actuaLLy gETs aLoNg better with bigger dogs rather then smaller dogs. My neighbor has a lab and she is like her best friend lol.. whenever she sees a small dog she never stops barking .

Your boxer is gorgeous! My boxer, chi , and yorkie love to play together too! Penny(my boxer) is very loving with chloe.

We had a pit and a little toy poodle. they played great together, then one day the p[it Puts the poodle in his mouth hurting him and wouldnt let him go. My hubby had to chock him (pit) down so it had to dras a breeath so it would drop the poodle so nooooooooo I wouldnt let my yorkies paly with a pit. The pit might think the yorkie was his toy.

Aww thank you I will tell her you said so. I love the pics of your boxer, just priceless. I think my boxer Breeze is going to look a lot like Penny as their marking are almost identical. Penny is just gorgeous!

Thanks for sharing the pics. :)

Thanks Alaska Post #104. Interesting stats.

I had a scare once with Maddie being attacked by a big dog...no, it wasn't a pit, and I can't remember the breed he was, maybe a german shorthair... but he was supposed to be so gentle and never hurt a flea and Maddie and my daughters yorkie had been around him before and never a problem. This particlar time, Maddie was simply standing there looking at the dog when the dog suddenly lunged at her and started to attack. She was wearing a harness and I pulled very hard on her leash to get her away and the other dog's owner was pulling his dog off of her. I have never been so scared and I have to say Maddie was so traumatized. She is very scared of strange dogs now and I will NEVER leave her on the ground with a strange dog around! She plays with dogs she has grown up around, but as far as me thinking she has to be socialized to play with strange dogs, I just will not take that chance on her being injured or killed. Another worry is them being stepped or jumped on by a large dog...they could end up with broken backs or legs. I just don't think it's worth the risk. I also don't care if people think I'm overprotective...I'd rather be that than sorry!

No Way
 

My yorkie was killed by the two neighbor golden retrievers. I don't trust ANY big dog unless they both are kind and comfortable with each other. Assimilation might be in order. I wanted to bring my yorkie to a dog park but I simply don't trust other dogs. Yorkies look like bunnies. Hunting dogs are no friend of a yorkie in my opinion. Theres always a exceptions to this for other people...but not for me.