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My brother came up to where I live this weekend with his girl and her 2 year old son. Well he likes to go see the dog, but there was a wierd incident last time they came up wheer he snapped at the 2 year old, but didn't do anything to him. It was kind of like he didn't try to bite the boy but more just get him away. Well I took him over to see my dog today and I was holding my dog and petting him while the 2 year old was petting him. The little boy was petting him for a couple minutes and my dog didn't seem to care. My dog was just sitting there panting. Then as the boy just kind of looked away with his hand still on my dog he snapped towards him. Didn't get anywhere close becuase I had a hold of my dogs head, but it still bothers me. Any grown person that comes around he just plays and licks to death. But when this little boy comes around he acts weird. I don't know if it's a domination instinct because the boy is smaller than him or what. Any opinions?
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Hmm.....Wish I could answer that one.....Maybe he just has fear of adults (being bigger) and what not...
I'd definitely watch little kids around him though, never know when he might get away from you and get a little too close.
I hope the boxer I'm getting soon is nice...everything I've read says they are good with children. I'd like to own a pit too one day, but I fear that it may get mean and out of hand. -
If you get him second while your boxter is still yound it should be fine. My pit has never really been socialized with other dogs so it's probably to late for that. This is the only little kid he's ever really been in contact with. It bothers me though that my dog dosn't take to the boy nicely. I am scared it's early signs of unprovoked agression and that we are just bigger so he is still scared to do anything to us. Kind of like he is use to being in a state of submission to grown people.Comment
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Sounds exactly like a dominance issue. The dog associates other adults with you, larger and the alpha male in his territory. The child is smaller, more his size and most likely often at eye level with the dog. If left to his own will the dog would have attacked to show dominance. It's an accident waiting to happen.Comment
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Yea, we aren't letting him go see the dog anymore. It's just a shame because the dog is so loveable to everyone else.Comment
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that's really odd because pretty much everyone i know that owns a dog, owns a pitbull and they've always been extremely friendly with children of all ages. although my one friend owns a pit, she's around 4 years old and is friendly with kids and adults but whenever his aunt goes around the dog she tries to snap at his aunt. the dog doesn't do this with anyone else. not sure why it is.
shibby be cautious, but i really don't think you need to read too much into it about it becoming a future problem with the dog. i'm not trying to be a dick but the dog may just not like the child. just like my friend's dog doesn't like his aunt. if it was raised right then the dog will not just turn violent overnight. it's abuse that makes a bad dog. not the breed.Comment
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scary man. I got 3 german shepards, 2 girls, one guy. The girls are cool but the guy is mean. He like adults but doesnt like kids. Any kid that take a peak through the window or goes outside the dog goes nuts and wants to attack. Im afraid of the damn beast too. Dont know what it is about him that he dont like kids.Comment
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Be very careful with this dog around kids. I agree, he is an accident waiting to happen. It only would take a second of you not paying attention and he could seriously injure or kill some little kid. he wouldn't be the first either by a long shot.
Say what you will about how good a breed they are but when some dog suddenly goes nuts for no apparent reason and mauls someone, it is usually a pit, a rottie, a doby, a wolf hybrid, or a chow. When is the last time you heard of an Irish Setter or a Poodle mauling someone? Many times I've read about, it wasn't even a case of abuse. Some breeds are more unstable and prone to violence than others.Comment
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:agree:Originally posted by spideyComment
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The dog may sense fear in the boy. Dogs can sense feelings and emotions in people and sometimes act on them. I guess what concerns me is whether or not you punish the dog after snapping at the toddler? Did you do anything to the dog after he/she snapped? If not, why? The dog needs to learn that this is bad behavior.Originally posted by ShibbyComment
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I would have to disagree. This could be a sign of things to come. If the dog doesn't learn that this is bad behavior it will continue to escalate...and believe me ...I know. I was attacked by a German Sheppard as a child and it damn near killed me when it bit my neck!Originally posted by psyko1Comment
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ActuallY, Spidey- I WAS attacked by an Irish Setter when I was about 13. Scarred up my arm pretty well.Originally posted by spidey
That being said, we have a male Rott and a female mutt that weighs about 35 lbs. And I'll tell you she rules the roost. She is also very skiddish around strangers and children. Whereas the Rott absolutely LOVES children, babies, strangers all of them. He does, however, do a sort of growl/purr when new people come around. But we think it's mostly because he's excited. I do get a little nervous though, regardless. And most of the time I'll put the dogs in the basement and then have them come and meet the guests. That way they are not so excited.
I do agree that you really need to watch the dog around all people. Has the dog been around any other children? How did you discipline him afterwards?Comment
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Originally posted by bad14u
Absolutely. As much as I love the dog, when it comes to another person, it is still just a dog.Comment
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Originally posted by redsquirrel
Hasn't been around any children that I know of. When my brother took care of him, there may have been a child that came with a friend, but nothing consistant. I discipline him by swatting him on the ass.Comment
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I didn't mean to infer that other breeds won't bite. I was snapped at by a poodle once too but, then again, I probably had it coming. I killed a German Shepard in self defense when I was 12 but the owner siced him on me. The attack wasn't unprovoked. He was only doing what he had been trained to do.Originally posted by redsquirrel
What I was refering to was totally unprovoked attacks like the kids who were killed last year by the family's rotties. They were just watching TV with the dogs lying in the floor panting. The adults stepped out of the room for a minute and the dogs turned and killed both kids. No ryme or reason; no apparent provocation. The adult stepped out and the dogs saw their chance.
Dogs, like most other animals including humans, are individuals and they can have individual personality flaws or even mental illness. In that way, ANY dog has the potential for being mean or vicious.
Was the Irish Setter who attacked you a mean dog before the attack? I am betting it was. Was this a case of you growing up with the dog; playing with the dog; considering the dog your friend and then one day, out of the blue, it mauled you? That would be a VERY unusual story for an Irish Setter. Unfortunately, it isn't so rare with Pits, rotties, and the other dogs I mentioned.
Dog breeds were developed for certain jobs or qualities. Presi Canarios were developed and bred as fighting dogs. So were Pit Bulls. aggressivness was literally hardwired into them. It is only logical that these breeds of dogs will tend to be more aggressive (and therefore dangerous) on average than, say, Poodles. Anyone claiming otherwise just isn't being rational.
Again, I ask you, when is the last time you heard of a dog or group of dogs escaping their fenced in yard and attacking another dog or a person? What breed(s) were those dogs? I can count on the fingers of one hand the times where a story like that was something other than a pit or a rottie. Moreover, those times when it was some other breed, it was one of the others I mentioned above.Comment
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