Maybe it is the dogs fault?

First topic message reminder :

Before i start let me first say, i always have and always will still try to believe that it is the owners fault. But hear me out.

The dog bite and deaths thing is getting really huge. There is new stories every day about dogs bites some of them fatal. It is mostly pitbulls and staffys, but not always, however the number of pits and staffs is alarmign.

This got me thinkinng about breeding. There was such a big demand for these dogs in the last say 10 years, that people bred the hell out of them. i wouldn't think they are over populated in the way that the bite statistics are altered in their way because there is more of them, i still think they are quite rare here. But the fact that they are very desired means people are breeding with no regard for the health or temperament of the dog.

So, baring in mind the dogs temperament might be off due to bad breeding...would a decent home matter? I would go as far as to say most bites are from dogs with owners who have not bothered to do much with them, but then again i didn't do much with my Labrador and she never attacked anyone/thing.

Is bad breeding making the aggressiveness of this breed more pronounced? If so, then what on earth can be done?

Equi wrote:On the dog on dog agro in this breed (bearing in mind this thread is about all breeds of dog not just staffs) do you think that can be bred out or do people not generally care if the parents are dog on dog agro?

I was once told by Nancy Malec (Yankeestaff) that most breeders will not try to deliberately breed out the da part of the staff's temperament because they are too scared of changing other aspects of it, such as its reliability with children & humans in general. That's not to say that they don't breed for temperament, they do, just that the relationship with humans is far more important than the relationship with other dogs.

Caryll wrote:

Equi wrote:On the dog on dog agro in this breed (bearing in mind this thread is about all breeds of dog not just staffs) do you think that can be bred out or do people not generally care if the parents are dog on dog agro?

I was once told by Nancy Malec (Yankeestaff) that most breeders will not try to deliberately breed out the da part of the staff's temperament because they are too scared of changing other aspects of it, such as its reliability with children & humans in general. That's not to say that they don't breed for temperament, they do, just that the relationship with humans is far more important than the relationship with other dogs.

like i said in a previous post i dont think staffies are any more D A than any other breed as we all have more trouble with small yappy rats than anything else.
but i truelly beleive a staff can pick up on other dogs intentions from a great distance .

i am the first to admit that i know nothing about breeding,or what makes a good dog and what makes it bad,but i would'nt change sasha's temperament,i much prefer to keep her daff as a brush with people and children and put up with her not liking some dogs,as a responsible dog owner if i see another dog about she is straight back on the lead.simples

stella wrote:i am the first to admit that i know nothing about breeding,or what makes a good dog and what makes it bad,but i would'nt change sasha's temperament,i much prefer to keep her daff as a brush with people and children and put up with her not liking some dogs,as a responsible dog owner if i see another dog about she is straight back on the lead.simples

I would totally agree with that. The attitude towards people is far more important than the attitude towards dogs.

By all means socialise your dog & do your best to stop it becoming da, but also be responsible & understand that some dogs just don't like others & the owner of such a dog must be aware at all times and control their dog.

but to put a diff twist on the tread to me its always the owner to blame lol
you train your dog to be the way he/she is.
and if you do have a D A dog its your responsibility to keep control and minimize the risk to other dogs.
and owners that let the dogs approach off lead or looking for trouble in my eyes.
because the number of owners were there dogs have getting snappy to say HE NORMALLY OK is ridiculousness to my normally=known to be DA

Very true.

Had a mini poodle pulling and yapping at lexi lastnight. I had lexi on the other side of me and kept at my side and i thought she did VERY well, normally that kind of thing would set her off, but she didn't even start to react until it started yapping and the owner was totally nonchalant and didnt care and was letting the little rat put on a full lead and not trying to correct it at all.

Equi wrote:Very true.

Had a mini poodle pulling and yapping at lexi lastnight. I had lexi on the other side of me and kept at my side and i thought she did VERY well, normally that kind of thing would set her off, but she didn't even start to react until it started yapping and the owner was totally nonchalant and didnt care and was letting the little rat put on a full lead and not trying to correct it at all.

That gets me so mad. it's ridiculous how bad some people let their dogs behave then make a fuss about certain breeds.

bigwazza wrote:and if you do have a D A dog its your responsibility to keep control and minimize the risk to other dogs.
and owners that let the dogs approach off lead or looking for trouble in my eyes.

Absolutely.

Aniemother wrote:In general I'm amazed there aren't more dog bites, though.. Have you seen all the "cute" videos and photos of kids and dogs that tend to circulate on facebook etc - SO often you see lots and lots of calming signals in the dogs.. The poor dogs are just doing everything to calm the situation down, these things are just accidents waiting to happen... And when the dog can't take it any more and snaps they'll try to blame the dog for their ignorance and stupidity... Same thing when interacting with other dogs, people are usually ignorant of the communication between the dogs and therefore unable to keep them out of trouble... Usually there will be lots and lots of signs, but ignorant people just don't notice until they snap.

Ug!! Sooo true! I get so frustrated and cringe when I see some of those photos and videos, just have a look at this video of a child and a cat. Makes me cringe!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-UKbDMfnuI

Caryll wrote:I was once told by Nancy Malec (Yankeestaff) that most breeders will not try to deliberately breed out the da part of the staff's temperament because they are too scared of changing other aspects of it, such as its reliability with children & humans in general. That's not to say that they don't breed for temperament, they do, just that the relationship with humans is far more important than the relationship with other dogs.

I agree, I think messing with the temperament could result in something unexpected.

stella wrote:i am the first to admit that i know nothing about breeding,or what makes a good dog and what makes it bad,but i would'nt change sasha's temperament,i much prefer to keep her daff as a brush with people and children and put up with her not liking some dogs,as a responsible dog owner if i see another dog about she is straight back on the lead.simples

That's exactly my thought on the matter!

This thread has been really interesting to watch evolve and I can honestly say there is no one I disagree with. I am certainly no expert in breeding or dog behaviour, but I would like to think I am a responsible owner to Heston.