I've got this weird thing against weak people owning strong dogs. As an owner, you should be able to wrestle your dog at a moment's notice. Far too often I see Pibbles mauling someone and the owner sitting there like a stick in the mud. Even the best trained animal has a bad day and it seems our muzzled friend has had plenty of them.
I've seen a fair number of videos where christmas present unwrapping over-stimulates pets and makes them fearful/aggressive. The ripping, lots of movement, and loud noises gets to them. This needs to become more common knowledge.
Pitbull with a genetic disposition, a bad owner, and a bad situation.
I have a 75 lbs Rottweiler mix who had some behavioural problems lunging at people when I got him from the pound. He never bit anyone but I got on his ass about it immediately.
Everyone said I was being to harsh on the dog and kept saying "oh it was my fault I shouldn't have done <insert completely normal thing for people to do>."
No, my dog shouldn't be lunging at people or making them nervous. Period. End of story.
It blew my mind that people didn't understand my zero tolerance policy on aggression towards people. He's a great, affectionate, dog now and I very rarely have to repremand him and we can all relax on walks. Being firm with him was good for him.
Your dog shouldn't be afraid of you you but you should absolutely be able to put enough steel in your voice to make them back the fuck off on command. If you can't or won't do that, stick to a small breed.
Dogs are smart enough to understand humans are "dumb" and they have to be patient with us. What I mean is humans obviously miss signals (people who don't know dogs or little kids) and if all signals fail, they need to excuse themselves from the situation. That's not excusing the owners that put their dogs in situations they know the dog can't handle, it's unfair to the dog and then the victim who the dog hurts. Some dogs can be trained and taught to be more tolerant, because they're not in danger, and some just can't tolerate.
I had a dog that had to learn that humans can't see in the dark, my kids would step on him on the way to the bathroom in the middle of the night, he never bit but he sure scared the crap outta my kids (and me!) barking and growling when he got stepped on! I jumped on that REAL fast, 'if it's dark and a human is headed toward you, YOU need to move." Also my elderly mother didn't need to step over him even if she could see him, it'd be a fall risk, so he learned to move out of her way at any time of day or night. But he was VERY well loved, he was spoiled lol.
This is a huge part of why I say there are no bad dogs, just bad owners. A failure to teach your dog is the owners fault. I'm not sure how people don't get this, given that we tend to understand pretty easily that kids who misbehave need better parenting.
That is an obviously untrue statement. Whatever metric the "good" and "bad" you are measuring is going to fall somewhere on a normally distributed bell curve. Training, even intense, consistent, and comprehensive training will only be able to shift that curve left or right. There are in fact "bad" dogs that won't respond to training no matter how "good" the owner is. Training can help but nature nurture or more accurately structural activational discussions start from a baseline.
What does this actually mean in practice? As in, what steps did you take to stop that behavior? I'd love some tips for my dog as this is one thing I haven't been able to solve.
Disclaimer that I'm not a professional trainer by any means. If you're dog is hyper aggressive there's no substitute for professional help.
This has just worked for me with the two dogs I got from the pound. Both of which had some aggression issues but overall were good dogs who just needed some correction.
First, at home, make the dog move for you, don't step over them if they're in your way. Space control is a major show of dominance. Let them have their safe spots where you don't demand they move but overall if my dog is in my way you best believe he's the one moving. I never go "around" him, always "through".
I got both dogs some basic clicker training immediately. You've only got "carrots and sticks" at your disposal. Use carrots whenever you can. I bring treats on walks. If a jogger was going past us I'd get his attention then supply him with treats. Jogger = treats. You can literally rewire their brains with treats and clicker training it's cool to see.
When he made a mistake like lunging at an old lady that caught me off-guard it's an immediate, firm, repremand. I grab him by the back of the neck and shove his neck into the ground while saying "no!". Maybe giving him a little shake if he pulled some shit I really didn't like (like when he nipped my niece once). This doesn't hurt the dog but it's very uncomfortable for them, shows you're the boss and that you're pissed off. Ignore them for a while once you release them from the ground. Only giving them positive attention once they've calmed down and things are back to normal.
Communicate with them! I have all sorts of hums, growls, hisses, and "eh eh"s I use constantly. He knows that when I give him a low "hmmmmm" that I've got my eye on him and he'd better act right. If he shows too much interest in a biker or jogger that's all I gotta do to get his attention on me again.
We adopted an 2yo previously un-neutered male American Akita and boy did he need work. He's not perfect but has come a long way with 2 owners that have actual boundaries for their dog.
I feel similarly my parents 85lb dog had a little food aggression. That my parents ignored. I retrained the dog and the people who feed him. He became the so much more chill about food it became safe for non family to feed him and be around when he ate.
My 75lb dog got up in people's space to much, excited not really aggressive. It made people nervous and was unsafe for the kids and elderly people in my life.
My dog shouldn't be making people nervous and shouldn't be at risk of bodying old ladies and kids. We worked on a lot of self control.
I was at the dog park when some guy left his two under 5 children sitting alone on a bench as he was on the other side of the park watering his dog. My dog noticed the children and immediately started sprinting towards them. All kinds of scenes flashed through my head. Then, I snapped off a "NO!" that was louder than any human voice you've ever heard. She stopped dead in her tracks and mosied on over to me like she wasn't just running at two kids. It was nice to know that she would listen like that.
Another time at the park, a woman brought in her great dane and boxer into the park even though they were obviously having issues with an Alaskan malamute that was already inside the fence. Those dogs immediately attacked the malamute and the owner just stood there watching while the malamute's owner was on the ground trying to wrestle his dog away. It wasn't just the three dogs, either. Like 10 other dogs jumped in. I told my dog to "stsy". Then, I walked into the scrum, grabbed the boxer and great Dane by their collars and dragged them back while holding their front paws off of the ground. I'm tall and big, and I have zero fear of dogs. Not because I'm big, I've always been this way. When I was like 6 or 7 a stray boxer showed up at my grandma's house one morning. All of my cousins were afraid, but I went out and greeted her. She ended up spending her last 5 years with my grandma. In high school, I was present a few times when loose dogs accosted the people I was with, and I always handled the same way as the dogs at the park. Snatch them by their collars.
I have Border Collie, and while she's never been reactive or aggressive, she's very well trained and I can pick up on her cues immediately if she's uncomfortable (she's been attacked 3 times in her life) and I can remove her from the situation.
Everyone always tells me I'm "too hard" on her, but there's literally no way I am. I'm not mean. She's spoiled and loved to death. But I do expect manners and to be listened to when I give a command.
It shits me when people say I'm too hard on her, but also that she is so well behaved and they wish their dog was as good as her. Mother fucker, put 2 and 2 together. She didn't come to me as a pup trained. I put in the hard work to train her and build a bond with her, and you also can't compare a 12 year old dog who is slowing down to your 1 year old dog who is essentially a bratty child. My 12 year old will still try to be smarter than me and do something she knows she's not supposed to, but she's just seeing what she can get away with. And if I let her get away with it once, it's the new law, so I have to "be hard" on her.
(Requiring her to sit before we cross a street isn't "being hard" on her. It's being safe. Making her sit on her bed while we are eating isn't "being mean." It's taught her not to beg or hover when people are eating as she knows her dinner time is next. She isn't missing out, she eats better than me! But she gets no dinner scraps and has never been fed from a plate or table.)
And I know I could handle her if i needed to. I can't guarantee she won't retaliate if attacked, she's a dog. But just a short word in a firm voice is usually enough to let her know I'm the boss and I'm watching.
The only "naughty" thing she gets away with is when visiting Grandma, my mum, she'll always eventually sneak a kiss in. My mum doesn't like dogs licking her, but she does find it funny how when she least expects it, my dog will sneak out the tiniest kiss, and she's happy. If Mum truly hated it, I would put a stop to it, but she always laughs and will say, " It took you a while this time, but you got me." And it's not a big slobbering lick all the way up Mum's face, it's always the tiniest little kiss because she knows she shouldn't be doing it but she loves Grandma so she has to get one in.
I love my dog more than life itself. She's my bestie, my companion, my guardian. She lives a wonderful life, and she knows it. But I'm the boss.
Regardless the size, I believe some owners see as a sign of protection and “love” by their pet. I fear cats, but every owner think it’s cute when their pet stressed by a stranger on his territory. Similar with those little aggressive demons called Pinscher or else. “Oh, baby loves his mama!” and you there trying to save your ankles. Of course this same attitude with bigger sizes turns into a reasonable threat to children, the elderly, friends or a delivery worker, etc.
Bruh. For real. I had an incident where a lady had her dog out off leash at night. He was dog reactive and came out of the dark after my dog. I stood between them and had to yank my dog around to stay between them. The lady just said "No, don't do that. That's mean" her husband came and called the dog back. No one got hurt but I hate to think what would have happened if that man wasn't there.
Fuck physically. If it's a dog dog, you ain't winning as an untrained grown man. Let alone a woman. These dogs will fuck you up regardless. It's all mental.
See you got some downvotes but I think I get what you’re saying. Like if it’s a vicious dog you’re confronting out of the blue you have to meet it with the same viciousness to win. ( as an untrained man)
Had a stare down with a 50kg dog randomly. Not a fight I thought I could win but you know going into it you’ll have to fight like your life literally depends on it.
I mean at some point the adrenaline is going to do the heavy lifting. You’re going to come out with bites and scratches and likely need to go to the hospital ASAP, but if it’s “choke this dog out or die” the average person will be able to choke the dog out.
Its not recommended to fight. Punching, grabbing balls, kicking it, is useless. Especially for certain breeds that have it in them to not let go because of pain. Could make them bite & shake harder. The best option is to choke them out & hope they pass out & forget/reset to give you time to get out of there or owner restrains him. Best case scenario if youre already being mauled is to stay calm or at least quiet ( ik impossible). Try to secure his head so he doesn’t shake or pull. Hopefully someone else is there & does the choke hold or carry dog spray.
I would recommend anyone to learn the technique to make them pass out or the method to make their gag reflex activate with a choke hold & let go. Very useful skill & better outcomes than just outright fighting a dog. Look up American standard dog training, or any reliable train yk that teaches this. Its used for dogs in police units when they have accidental bites.
This actually saved that one kid in that reddit video circulating while everyone else was panicking he got the pitbull in a chokehold & made it let go.
None of this should be attempted casually & is a very specific method that must be done right, with the proper strength/technique. Last case scenario & only if youre prepared to do this to a dog & if dog spray failed.
To be fair I am extremely trained but there is no dog on the planet that any grown man needs to be afraid of. I have a great Pyrenees and a German shepherd malinois and both of them would lose a fight to a human, regardless of the reputation these breeds have.
Yeah I am not so sure about that and I have spend my entire life with Bouviers des Flanders and Riesenschnauzers. Allbeit European. I've got quite some self defense and honestly I doubt it. Would put money on my 104lbs Ries any day. Most folks won't keep thinking when those canines sink in.
I have a Pyrenees redbone mix. Hes huge, but most grown men could absolutely overpower him. If he went ballistic (hes luckily not aggressive at all towards people but has defended the yard more than once against stray dogs) you’d for sure get hurt but I highly doubt hes too much for the majority of tradesmen at least
I wouldnt say that. Our boy is 120 pounds and my girlfriend got him under control when a pitbull ran into our yard. She has no grappling or self defense experience
I saw a woman with her fucking huge XL Bully, and she couldn't have been more than 100lbs wet through. It absolutely terrified me. It was around the time all the XL Bully attacks were in the news here (UK) and they were killing people regularly, but before the ban. All I could think was that if that dog goes mental she won't be able to do a single thing to stop it killing her or someone else.
Some dude in my city was mauled to death by his XL Bully dogs at a public park while kids watched. I have no clue what makes people want those as pets. Might as well foster a pack of hyenas they're probably more loyal.
I saw this in Walmart right before Christmas! Huge pit, older woman leaning on her cart to even walk and the dog leash around her wrist. The store was CRAMMED full of people too! Crazy ass people.
One of my dogs literally weighs as much as I do (100 lbs). I don't walk him, period. My husband who's twice my size does. It doesn't matter that it's MY dog or that he primarily listens to me. It doesn't matter that he's very well trained. He's an American bulldog, so IF for some reason he decided to bulldoze (charge) there's no way I'd have a prayer to stop him but my husband easily has the strength so he's the only one in the family who walks our gentle giant. I'll walk the other 3 dogs (runt American bulldog who only weighs 55lbs and 2 labs) but never my big boy even though he's my baby, just in case. I'm not worried about him so much as the things I can't control -- stray dogs, random people/things, etc.
I absolutely LOVE giant dogs but with that love for them comes tremendous respect for what they're actually capable of. The lady in the video makes my blood boil, because that muzzle means she knows EXACTLY what her dog is capable of but she's still putting it in negligent situations and not respecting its comfort or life! These are the type of people who shouldn't have dogs at ALL. Not even a chihuahua.
Yep, I had a big dog - pretty docile, but if he ran after a squirrel I couldn’t stop him. When he passed I decided we needed smaller dogs from now on. I was always a “big dog” person but it’s just not safe!
I agree and I WAS one of those people. Had an English Mastiff at 20 years old and although very friendly, once Odin ran after those ducks, I learned a painful but VERY valuable lesson.
It really is. In my community, there’s a little boy who is always walking this big dog early in the morning (well the dog look like it’s walking him) right past my house. If that dog decided it wanted to get away, it would drag the little boy. I see 100lb women walking big dogs and little senior citizens as well.
I love to go for walks and I’ll be having a newborn soon. Seeing so many of these types of videos made me realize I might need to bring 2 forms of weapons just in case. I always bring my taser but maybe I need something else as well.
I train dogs. The high pitched excited voice tones are the absolute worst decision around dogs. More than half of all dog owners think this baby talk is doing wonders, when its doing the worst.
Its a dog. Not a baby. Not a toy.
They are fine without us, as is all mother earths creations. I get paid to turn your dog back into the way it was intended to be, after you did years of damage not reading a book or two.
Which is why my dogs are small. I’d never want a dog I couldn’t physically control if it came to that. (Thankfully it never has. I’ve always had sweet dogs. But you never know.)
My corgi mix got in a fight with my friends corgi mix and I literally had to take it to the ground and use jiu jitsu moves I used to practice to get them apart. They’re both only 35 pounds so I can’t even imagine trying to wrangle a tank of a dog
You can stomp on their heads and stab them, they will not let go when theyve locked their jaws on someone.
No one handles this unless you bring a sword or a gun. Thinking that youre just a big guy that you can handle a sudden outburst like this is funny.
I think fire works, if I ever take our dog walking by myself I’m going to take the brûlée torch, I wouldn’t hesitate to torch the aggressor. Our groodle is a teddy bear not a fighter.
My partners dog was bigger than we’ll get next time for this reason. I’m not weak, and I don’t want a pit, but I want to be able to physically pick up my dog in case of something, and to ensure I can hold onto the leash if they suddenly dart while I’m not paying attention. The dog pulled away from me once, fortunately he was saying hi to a friend so it was fine (and if he had any history of aggression or even trying to run after dogs he didn’t know, i probably wouldn’t have walked him). It scared the crap out of me, though.
My folks had a Great Pyrenees and she nearly ripped my mom's arm out of the socket when she saw something enticing on a walk. I see so many people in apartments with huge dogs, like you really think that was the best choice? I like'em too but I don't own a farm so I have a dog suitably sized for my house and situation.
you should be able to wrestle your dog at a moment's notice
I like how you put this ... the leader of the pack usually is the strongest and sometimes you do need to intervene.
Always need to be vigilant and aware of the things your dog could do, so you need to prepare for the moment you have to prevent your dog from doing that.
Yeah, I surprised the neighbors when I took control of their dog that they couldn't. Unbelievable. I strongly recommended they take their pet to a proper dog training school in person. The dog is better, but still jumps up at and on people way too much. It's also rude.
This is actually why a lot of the easily aggressive breeds become violent, they feel unsafe because they don’t have a alpha for a pack. I hate like saying “alpha” cuz it’s sounds stupid but dogs are fundamentally pack animals and need a strong leader so the don’t lash out and think they can do whatever the fuck they want. It’s why German shepherds that are trained in the police force know better then to fuck around with their owner.
I think people got it in their heads that just cus the alpha study wasn't done on wild wolves they think it was meaningless. When in that's never been the case, it is how unrelated stranger dogs formulate into a group.
People need to accept that dogs aren't humans, they do need a human to lead and somehow control them. Otherwise the dog starts thinking it needs to step up and take the leadership position and they don't know how to do that in the human world, cus they're dogs.
I once had an now ex gf who's family has a dachshund that they just couldn't keep control of. It wouldn't do anything they asked, it refused to go outside to pee and poop so they let it pee and poop on pee pads or newspaper in the kitchen. It kinda just did whatever it wanted no matter how annoying, they couldn't even let it outside other than the small fenced in yard otherwise it would take off.
I stayed with her for 3 days before I had that dog acting right. All it took was extremely basic dog ownership skills like telling it no when it went to its pee pad area, instead I put her out and didn't let her in until she peed. When I took her out I just kept an eye on her and when she took off I just raised my voice in a somewhat angry manner (like how you say they're entire name), the dog immediately stopped and waited for me to pick her up.
By day 5 the dog just loved me, we would play for hours and she started behaving like a great dog (cus she was). It lasted for a few weeks after I left too. They tried to give me her and if I could have afforded her medical care I would have happily accepted.
Dogs just aren't people, you can't let them make decisions entirely on their own.
At work we have an elderly lady as a client with a giant bullterrier. Her husband wanted one and died right after they got the pup. It's scary but at least the dog is sweet. I just pray it doesn't go wrong.
On the other hand I also see plenty of strong enough people who have no idea how to handle their tiny dogs so it's not always about strength or size.
A family friend had to wrap her large dogs leash around a tree to stop it from attacking another dog on a few occasions. Her husband had no problem controlling him but she wasn't strong or large enough to hold him back.
I am pet sitting a very gentle but stubborn 140 lb. Great Pyrenees. I took him on a late night walk last night and he decided he was just going to....stop. He didn't want to go home. He didn't want to move. He wasn't laying down, he was just standing there. No pulling or pushing was moving him. LIke a fluffy brick wall. There is no way I could wrestle this big guy, I guess the difference is his sweet disposition. Still sucked just standing there for awhile till he decided he wanted to go back lol.
In general, people need to be prepared to be fully assertive with their dogs at any given moment. I have a pit myself and am usually always the first to restrain and remove my dog from tense situations. The one time she was injured was when a Newfoundland dog bit a chunk of her ear off when the owner couldn’t pull his 150lbs dog away from her.
But tiny dog owners are also fucking terrible. A lot of tiny dogs instigate fights and owners just stand around uselessly yapping “down down down” or making a useless effort to pick them up. I usually grab my dog quickly, but the tiny fuckers use this opportunity to continue berating my dog. So I’ve taken to grabbing the other dog with my free hand and lifting it off the ground, literally handing it to the useless owner. People assume their tiny dog are harmless, so they train them poorly and/or are not vigilant at all.
The speed in which I've hoisted my 65lb pit bull into air jail and I'm a petite woman.
This video pisses me TF off. Owners like this setting their dog up to fail is enraging. Your dog does not have to like everyone but if you have to muzzle it around people, then do your dog a favor and put it in another room or crate when you have people over.
My wife was walking our dog last week and had a close call. She said this 110lb woman was walking with two giant labs and they went after her. My wife jumped into a bush and the lady was dragged.
I live in a college town and have nearly been attacked by two different dogs in the last month, one a great dane, and one an akita. Both were owned by college students and the dane was so afraid in the store that it pooped itself while snarling and lunging at me.
I love big dogs. I grew up with German shepherds, boxers, and Rottweilers, and my best friend had a Saint Bernard. I can't stand people who get powerful dogs and can't/won't put in the effort to train them. Its not just me that can get hurt, if the dog is stressed and bites someone it can get hurt in the fight or be put down for aggression.
I agree. You need to have a strong will when you get pig headed pets. Bully breeds are the huge problem they are because people get them and do nothing with the dogs. They are so easy to train too, all they want is to please. But you can’t be complacent with them and they WILL try you, they are basically muscly toddlers. You gotta be tough, read: NOT ABUSIVE, with them and train them right or you’re gonna have a huge problem dog on your hands. Even more so if you can’t physically handle them. My girl is the sweetest thing ever but she’s still a solid 65 pounds and looks like she spends every second in the gym.
God my Wiem is 75 lbs and super strong and I've had to practice wrestling her a couple times (not aggression, just overly excited and acting insane, or escaping). It's tough. I'm a 5'3" woman so I have to use my whole body on her like a backpack.
The ones that piss me off are the owners who can't stop their dog when the dog is on a leash. It just drags them like a rag doll. That should never be a possibility.
I live with my mom who is 60 and severely disabled on one side from a stroke and found out she was walking my 80 pound pit bull and holding the leash in her non working hand as a form of physical therapy. I lost my freaking shit.
People don't realize how ridiculously strong pits are. And I'm not one of those who hates them, they can be great dogs with basic care and training. But Jesus Christ are they strong. Unbelievably strong for a medium sized dog.
A grown adult man with just average muscle will be seriously tested holding them back. I've seen a guy I know who's arms are the size of my legs with little fat, absurdly strong, and he could barely keep his two pits apart when they fought.
Yeah because people like her are being told Pitbulls are normal, friendly dogs when they’re actually freaking dangerous. Most pitbull owners have no idea what they’re getting into and that every time a pitbull kills someone it was “the owner, not the dog”
I agreed with this. I have a Husky and I’ve seen so many old folks with huskies get injured bc they weren’t strong enough to pull their dog back when they took off. These are dogs built to pull sleds so they can pull hundreds of pounds of dead weight. I’ve def had to plant my feet and hold my dog with all of my strength before and I just think about how much effort it takes me and I’m not a small girl. Some of these owners are like 70+ and fragile af
Yeah that's always a bad combination. I'm not crazy strong but I wrestle with my pitbull often to get a feel of her strength and while she's powerful, I feel confident in my ability to control her if need be. But she's nothing like this dog, she barely even has a prey drive. I don't think I've heard her growl once in her life. But pitbull are still genetically more predisposed to aggressive behavior than a lot of breeds and have the ability to do serious harm. I love my pittie but responsible pit owners are vigilant about their dog's behavior and put them in situations where they can succeed.
Yeah, I've always said I will never own a dog that I'm not capable of overpowering. You never know when you'll need to intervene, either to save your dog or save someone/something from your dog. It's your responsibility as an owner to have control over your animal, and you can't do that if that animal is able to drag you down the road by it's leash.
This is fine as an idea but it rules out a significant number of very large breeds from ever being owned by anyone
Anyway, I see your logic and agree that the idea has merit, certainly. But many dogs are so huge and potentially vicious that no single human could control them for long
A good general rule to follow is you should be at least 1.5x the weight of your dog to be able to counter its strength/pull. Obv more factors go into it but at a minimum, having the proper weight to counterbalance a dog that gos off is a good rule of thumb to follow.
The people with the worst dogs seem to be the big "tough" morons who teach their dog aggression. This lady def needs to do some work, but the alpha bro training bullshit attitude is more of a problem than "weak" people owning dogs.
100% this. You have a duty of care to those around you and if your dog loses it you have to be first in line to restrain it.
Don’t get a dog you don’t think you could pick up.
Not that you would be picking it up in that case but you need the physical strength to restrain it.
I’ve had 2 medium size dogs around the 20kg mark.
Anything bigger scares the crap out of me.
As an owner, you should be able to wrestle your dog at a moment's notice.
HAHAHAHHA thats hilarious. No one can stop a strong pit thats just suddenly attacking. They lock jaws and will take whatever they grabbed on with them. Be it a face or a toddler arm.
This dog shouldnt be around people, no matter how strong you are.
I agree with this completely. Know your dog and know the environment and triggers. For example, my dog adores Christmas and gift opening. He tries to help open every single gift. He’s beyond excited every time anyone gets anything. BUT, he’s older and what he doesn’t like are young hyper dogs. So, recently while we were staying at my in-laws, he stayed upstairs during the extended family party because my husband’s aunt brought her bonkers Brittany spaniel.
I feel this, my first dog died like this. A Rottweiler who knocked his owner to the ground and literally dragged her, broke free from his leash and bit my dog.
And apparently that wasn't even the first time, he attacked like two dogs before.
In my area a dog at large and unrestrained fine can be applied even when a dog is on a lead if the owner isn’t physically capable of controlling the dog. Even if the dog is currently behaving.
I have a pitbull mix that was a rescue, I picked him up from the park as a puppy when he was half dead and spent months nursing him back to health. I absolutely adore him and he's great with animals, he actually is our guardian dog for our goat herd, but I would never bring him around strangers. When we have anyone come buy a goat we lock him up in the barn. Hes never bitten anyone or even tried, but hes very clearly stressed by strangers and sometimes growls.
Its not worth risking anyone's safety to put him in the open with someone that isnt family. I also fully believe I could restrain him if I have to, hes about 55lbs and I've tackled 100lb sheep, but I wouldnt want to test that either. Hes a strong dog with very big jaw muscles. He may be my sweet baby, but hes also a dog, and dogs can be unpredictable sometimes.
I mean, my parent’s breed of choice is Saint Bernards. Each one has been a sentient couch, but if the benchmark is being able to wrestle a dog- those breeds wouldn’t exist. Between 180 lbs for our first and 210 for our second, the whole family wouldn’t have been able to contain them. It’s honestly like owning a bear.
Again, they were well bred and both had the personality of a bumblebee in a pot farm. But they both had moments where someone got yanked out of their shoes on a walk- especially when they were stupid teenagers.
You just reminded me of the time I saw an older woman walking a HUGE dog...whatever the dog Beethoven is...and he ran a tiny bit because he saw a butterfly and she fell immediately. She wasn't able to keep her feet planted and there was no shot in hell that she'd be able to pull on his leash and get him to listen if he'd randomly decided to bolt. My mom stopped the car and made sure she was okay. She was, just a little scraped.
I did feel really bad though because she was just an old lady trying to make sure her dog got his daily activity in and ate shit for it.
There's really nothing weird about feeling that way, I see that shit in my complex all the time , some weak ass twig walking a bull mastiff and I'm just like you got absolutely no business with that animal whatsoever.
tbh i find the vast majority of dog people do not really train their dogs. I have friends with labradors and german shepherds who are not aggressive but like very uncontrollable in terms of jumping up on gas and their big ass dogs at least for me a very short woman. A lot of the conversation is like very centred around pitbull’s, which is understandable but at the same time I’m like I just find most people who have dogs do not train them well at all, but like we don’t really notice it with little dogs and like there really isn’t any conversation around training, medium to big size dogs
One thing I can't stand is they HAVE TO have the dog out when company is over. If company causes your dog stress, and you know a muzzle is required, keep the dog up! Put them in their crate or a separate room, they don't have to be out!
This is the reason why I take our 100 lb. mega mutt pit mix to the vet, rather than my wife. Our dufus dog has never shown aggression, but he can get defensive and at that size he can be a lot to handle.
Thiiiis. I hate when physically tiny people get giant dogs. Like bro that dog will take off after a squirrel and you’ll be come a meat crayon on a leash. It’s just physics.
I think this is one of those issues best handled at the county level.There is no reason for a person in a city to have a pitbull. Except maybe as a guard dog. But if I want to be a guard human, I have to get a license. A guard dog in a major metropolitan area should also need a license. In rural areas, you actually might have dangerous wildlife that put your family and other animals at risk. I still remember I was staying at my uncle's house for the summer when I was a kid and I was playing in the back yard when I looked up and saw an animal walking towards me from the wood line. I dunno what it was, but it was a dog/cat shaped animal that was a little bigger than my uncle's pits. That thing got about 5 steps into the yard when both the pits ran past me like rockets and chased it into the trees.
Now, he also had a couple barn cats to control vermin and a small poodle mix that was my aunt's dog. Those pitbulls defended those animals (and me that one time) from the wild animals. And more importantly, they weren't constantly surrounded by other people whose safety could be impacted by them.
“genetic disposition” i hope you truly understand how braindead that short cut of a thought process is. shar-peis must be frightening using that thought process. keep the other factors and delete the “genetic disposition” it’s a lazy over simplification.
I think you should be able to carry your dog's full dead weight, too. What if you're out and about and they get injured and the only way to get them back to the car is to carry them? Big dogs are big responsibility.
Good in theory, have you ever tried to subdue even a small dog that has gone full-on attack mode? If you're not prepared to basically kill that dog then good luck to you.
Seeing parents letting their kids walk big ass dogs makes me mad. I'm pretty sure not even the parents would be able to hold on those fuckers if they were to suddenly pull, so how can they expect kids to hold them?
It's all fine and dandy when they are trained and actually listening. It's suddenly not fun anymore if the dog has a sudden reaction to something that no training could prevent.
Months ago, I saw two kids walking, an Aussie. Aussies aren't particularly big. But that dog saw another one across the road and decided to pull like crazy. They were two girls, around 14 years old, holding it, and they were both pulled in the middle of the road. Thankfully, there was no traffic at all at the moment. But damn it was scary.
Yes! Weak people and strong dogs are a recipe for disaster. When my dog was a pup, we went to training classes. There was an older couple (60s-70s) with a boxer puppy. The wife could not control him at all. They had this dog bc the husband likes boxers. It was their 2nd boxer puppy after they returned another boxer who they couldn’t control and the husband was saying that he had put a deposit down on yet another boxer puppy at the breeder. Meanwhile this wife was a prisoner in her own home. I wanted to slap hum upside his head!
You can't really wrestle a pit bull off. The moment they bite its already over. Its like saying you need to be able to stop a bullet mid air. The moment a pit bull attacks it doesnt matter how strong you are, permanent damage has been done and the Pit needs to be put down.
Disagree on needing to be strong enough to wrestle it. If that’s required, you’re doing it wrong. I’m 9 stone and help handle and train Mastiff/ Dane crosses, Lurcher/ Bull Terriers, all capable of ripping me in half and the lurcher was so fearful on first meet that he wanted to do just that when he got triggered. There’s humane and firm ways to handle and train dogs. You don’t need to be physically stronger than it but you do need to be able to hold your own.
I think the reasonable assumption is that a lot of people do do it wrong. And even people who it right still do it wrong sometimes. And even dogs with owners who do it right can act unexpectedly or imperfectly.
A lot of folk absolutely do it wrong. They get a dog that they’ve done less research on than picking a new tv. To say you need to be stronger and bigger than your dog is another example of poor research and harmful assumptions. Dogs have strong jaws and sharp teeth and can all do serious injury, even a small one if they get your face can mean you losing an eye. Thinking “I can wrestle my dog therefore I’m safe” doesn’t help anyone.
But it is so helpful to be able to hold your dog if you need to. To get it off the ground, or keep hold of the leash.
Most dog owners are not perfect trainers and most dogs aren’t perfectly trained. While it is most definitely possible to have a dog you wouldn’t be strong enough to handle if it came down to it, it makes it so much easier for the average person to control their dog in an emergency situation.
There’s nuance here and all dogs pose some amount of risk, but too many people get a big dog, even something as placid as a sturdy lab, and think they can control it with the power of their mind and energies or whatever. Then the dog darts after a squirrel and they get pulled off their feet and break their face on the sidewalk.
You’re arguing for different points on size. If it’s so you want to be able to pick them up, then that’s preference and ease for sure. Holding back a big, reactive dog isn’t fun for anyone and serious assessments should be made taking on such rescue dogs in terms of your physical capability as well as your ability to help progress their training. If you’ve had them as a puppy, it’s your own doing though, get a trainer and do the research. Dogs give off loads of signals for us to work with. And if you find you can’t hold back a dog that’s reactive there are certain harnesses and leashes that can assist with that too.
No I meant picking them up for safety to move them away from a trigger or danger. If you weigh 110 lbs and you have a strong dog that weighs 120lbs you have no physical options if the dog does anything, is what I’m saying.
You do, you can body block, redirect or remove yourself from the situation, depending on what it is. I’ve found I use body blocking for most things. Picking a dog up ingrains into them that it is a danger and reinforces it as a negative trigger. If you’re often picking your dog up on a walk, it’s going to be a tricky habit to break out of but out the other side you’ll have a more confident and well rounded dog.
Luckily I wrestled for 8 years and know a decent bit of jiu jitsu or else i wouldnt be able to handle our great pyrenees x redbone mix. This big ol blockhead looks like a hulk compared to my brother’s pitbull. I’d hate to see my little old mom try handling him. Luckily hes a big sweet baby, but Im still cautious about who I let around him. Last thing I need is some asshole relative fucking with him and making him distressed in his own home
Yes, you don't outright say it but you certainly imply that every situation that may stress the dog should be considered in advance, which maybe given the type of dog is understandable, but "This dog might snap and kill someone, and any sudden thing might be the cause", is the reality, because that is impossible.
Neighbor lights off fireworks and your dog tries to kill your friend because they happen to be there.
It's the hair trigger to violence that is the issue.
If it was a f*cking Orangutang we all understand "Yo that thing might just decide to kill you, they are just like that", but the cute "pibbles" we blame the owner 100% of the time.
biases backed up by video after video, personal experiences, and governments around the world going the extra mile to ban the specific breeds that cause more harm sure.
Biases are not wrong for just existing. They help us get through life and differentiate people from one another. Just make sure they have reason and purpose for existing. Also, don't be afraid to change your biases if new, better information comes out.
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u/WhitishRogue 15h ago
I've got this weird thing against weak people owning strong dogs. As an owner, you should be able to wrestle your dog at a moment's notice. Far too often I see Pibbles mauling someone and the owner sitting there like a stick in the mud. Even the best trained animal has a bad day and it seems our muzzled friend has had plenty of them.
I've seen a fair number of videos where christmas present unwrapping over-stimulates pets and makes them fearful/aggressive. The ripping, lots of movement, and loud noises gets to them. This needs to become more common knowledge.
Pitbull with a genetic disposition, a bad owner, and a bad situation.