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Top reasons why you should not own a viscious dog
Why viscious guard dogs are not recommended
As I walk my 2 Rottweilers around the neighborhood every morning I wonder what are the benefits of owning viscious dogs. There are some dogs in my neck of the woods that are very protective of their properties that look at me and my dogs as tasty appetizers. They snarl, growl and show their pearly whites at us in such an intimidating manner that I do not want to know what would happen should a dog like that make it out the fence.
It actually happened one day: as I was walking my dog, one of these dogs eventually got mad enough and made it through the fence as I could not believe my eyes when I suddenly saw it coming towards us charging.
I therefore, took a deep breath and promised myself to stay cool as best as I could to safeguard myself and my dog. I kept my shoulders straight and told him in my most deep and growly voice "off". He thankfully got the message and headed towards his home again but keeping a watchful, menacing eye on us. I told my neighbhors about the happening and they called animal control right away because they knew that dog was a biter.
Everday, I encounter these dogs and everyday I am thankful that I decided to train my Rottweilers to be lovely goof balls not at all interested on what is going on the other side of the fence. Yes, let me admit, they bark when my mailman arrives or the UPS truck parks in my driveway, but instead of charging furiously towards them, they come to me to alert me, showing no aggressive traits whatsoever, rather they will hush once I acknowledge and thank them for the alert.
And my mailman will tell me that he fears more that little pesky Schnauzer down the road than my two friendly Rotties. Some owners will tell me that I have wasted two potential intimidating guard dogs, but I turn a deaf ear as I think I know better.
As I wondered each day on my walks about the benefits of owning viscious guard dogs, I came up with a list of top reasons why NOT to own one or train one to be:
1) Liability
Most owners of such dogs will say they have trained their dogs to be such because they want them to protect their property and valuables. I say they should rather invest in a good alarm system as ADT. A dog as such, is a big liability should it escape the fence or escape the owner when walked. I actually know some owners that will not even walk their dogs because they are too out of control.
2) Reputation
Such aggressive dogs ruin the reputation of dog breeds that otherwise in good hands can be great, friendly dogs. Chances are neighbors and passerbyers will associate the aggressive dogs with the dog's breed and when two plus two makes four, they come to a conlusion: the whole breed is an aggressive and should be banned from communities. This is a big welcome to breed specific legislation.
3) Difficulties
Taking these dogs out when inevitable will only create problems. Such dogs may need to be muzzled simply when taken to the vet and many times owners are not even able to control their dogs on walks. I know a lady that will only walk her viscious dogs in her acreage for fear they would pull her and hurt somebody.
4) Lack of leadership
Such dogs are often left out all day and do not get the correct amount of interaction with their owners turning them more into asocial beings that have no rules or guidance to follow. More often than not, they will have no respect for their owners and may exhibit serious behavior issues such as resource guarding or ignoring important commands such as recalls.
5) Neglect
Dogs chained up or left out to guard their property all day are ultimately neglected. Their needs are not met. They are fustrated, bored dogs that are tired of being enclosed 99% of the day with no socialization or mental stimulation. They become more like strays that are left out, with no time with their family and are often simply forgotten in the yardo to rot along with the abandoned mountain bike and last year's set of skis. They are often also left out to "guard" in cold and hot temperatures.
ADT security systems work great when it comes to burglary. Dogs can be poisoned, shot or stabbed rather quickly if they are in the way of a robbery attempt. In some States, owners are even liable if a burglar makes it through and is bitten by dogs!
Viscious dogs are a big liability, it must take a lot of courage for such dog owners to decide to own such a dog. And let me put this straight: dog breeds have nothing to do with visciousness, I have seen blood thirsty Labradors and snarling Saint Bernards and on the other hand, very docile Pittbulls and friendly big Rottweilers. It all ultimately comes up to how owners train their dogs.
In a world of liabilities please try your best to raise a friendly, well socialized dog if you must own one. Dogs are normally not naturally mean creatures, it is man's intervention that makes the difference. Get your dog well obedience trained and turn him into a friendly, well socialized being while letting high tech security systems efficiently take care of the rest...
DISCLAIMER: I want to point out that when I refer to "viscious" dog I do not refer to any breed in particular. All dogs have teeth and all dogs can become viscious if taught to be because of their enormous will to please their owners. There is no such thing as a "viscious dog breed" but there are uneducated, irresponsible individuals that train their dogs to be as such.
Rottweilers can be friendly, loving dogs don't let their mass fool you!
Comments
I owned a Rottweiler once and I thought he was the biggest goofball west of the Mississippi. One day I was out running him when a dog came out of the yard and tried to bite me. My Rottweiler went from goofball to guard dog quicker then a hiccup. That dog never came off the porch after that.
- Author
I have nothing against guard dogs trained well by professional and reputable personal protection trainers.. but the average dog owner has no idea what they do when they want a guard dog.. and with BSL legislations going on I see more breeds at risk because of irresponsible dog owners who want their dogs to ''guard''
I have countless reports of guard dogs trained to ''attack'' that make it out the fence and cause fatalities..
My two rotties are trained by me (I am a dog trainer) to not act territorial.. therefore if my gate was left ajar they would likely go to greet anyone on the street..
I may have wasted my dogs.. but they are safe and I have ADT to protect my property.. I love my dogs too much to give them the tremendous responsibility to guard my property... And if EMT had to come one night to save my life, I know they would not risk their life being attacked by viscous dogs..
Alexadry,
I think your missing the point. Would you reward your dog for greeting a theif or unwanted person with licks and snuggles? That's how a dog would get stabbed or shot, a theif isn't going to forget what he intruded for and play with your dopey dog, it'll make sure it doesn't give him away, even if he does set your adt off, is that going to stop him from quickly snatching your TV, or purse/wallet sitting the kitchen bench? I don't think so. having a GUARD dog is an extremely effective way off property security.
I do not condone having a large, naturally protective dog left to it's own devices. That is not a guard dog. To have a guard dog you must be prepared to train to be one, or pay for proffesional training. If your not prepared, don't get one. Simple.
Brett stated that his dog will attack anyone suspiscious in his yard, this is not ideal, but he generally has the point. My friend owned a rottweiler, the rottweiler was trained to pindown any intruders, only at night time. It was trained not to bite or guard the property during the day, or when my friend was home. This took him a lot of hard work, but his rotty is the most loyal, obedient dog I have ever met.
To conclude, guard dogs are extremely ideal with the right training, but settling for a dopey, un-attentive is both ignorant and stubborn.
Alexadry,
I think your missing the point. Would you reward your dog for greeting a theif or unwanted person with licks and snuggles? That's how a dog would get stabbed or shot, a theif isn't going to forget what he intruded for and play with your dopey dog, it'll make sure it doesn't give him away, even if he does set your adt off, is that going to stop him from quickly snatching your TV, or purse/wallet sitting the kitchen bench? I don't think so. having a GUARD dog is an extremely effective way off property security.
I do not condone having a large, naturally protective dog left to it's own devices. That is not a guard dog. To have a guard dog you must be prepared to train to be one, or pay for proffesional training. If your not prepared, don't get one. Simple.
Brett stated that his dog will attack anyone suspiscious in his yard, this is not ideal, but he generally has the point. My friend owned a rottweiler, the rottweiler was trained to pindown any intruders, only at night time. It was trained not to bite or guard the property during the day, or when my friend was home. This took him a lot of hard work, but his rotty is the most loyal, obedient dog I have ever met.
To conclude, guard dogs are extremely ideal with the right training, but settling for a dopey, un-attentive is both ignorant and stubborn.
An untrained "guard dog" is just an accident waiting to happen.Having an untrained viscous dog is down right irresponsible.And lets not just put rottweilers and dobermans Sheppards into this group even the smaller "toy" dogs can be viscous(little dog syndrome i call it)A dog needs to be trained to be a proper guard dog or a protection dog.Oh yes it can be viscous and so it should be BUT only on the command of the owner and more importantly it must be able to stop being "aggressive ,viscous,protecting" at a command also
If a dog jumps/break a fence gets out and attacks someone it should be put down.Its an irresponsible owner with an untrained dog simple.Unfortunately the dog gets the raw end of the stick as its not its fault that it attacks anyone ITS the lack of training
- Author
I have to disagree and I hope you have good liability insurance.
The reason being is that giving a dog the responsibility to protect your property from intruders is a huge one. If you get into dog psychology you will understand that dogs often have a hard time understanding the difference between welcomed guests and un-welcomed ones.
Let me explain by telling you a story. Being a dog trainer, I have witnessed many that thought it the same way you did. One was proud of his big dog for being tough and protective. He kept the dog in the yard all day, did not train him, just allowed it do take major decisions.
One day, the owner got hurt, he had broke his leg and called an ambulance. Unable to walk, he dragged himself to the door only to find his dog attacking the EMT personnel coming to rescue him. Moral of the story, thirty stitches later, he came to understand why ADT was a better choice.
Accidents happen all the time, the dog mistakenly gets out of the fence and attacks, a child sticks a finger in the fence or the dog bites a guests leaving the home triggers an attack.
Believe it or not, in some States you can still be liable for your dog biting somebody uninvited.
I Have 2 rotties and when my stupid landlord jumped the fence they greeted him licking and I was proud of them. I have ADT and will stick with it and am happy to be in ''my little own world''.
Its a disturbing trend in this country where people believe you shouldn't be allowed to defend your property. My family has always owned dogs aggressiveness was never encouraged but all have been protective. Someone came into our yard one evening when my mother and sister were home alone. Our half doberman half german shepherd immediately broke through the screen door and chase the person out of the yard. No ADT system would do that if that person came in the house the police would have came after. A big loud dog is still the best precaution against breakins. I am not an advocate of making your dog vicious but i also don't want a big dumb goofball that would let my family get hurt. Some dogs were bred to be naturally protective don't take away from the breed because of breed specific legislation fight it by being a responsible dog owner. In argument to some children love to climb i was always taught that going onto others property was wrong. It was wrong then and it is wrong now unattentive parents should be held responsible for not paying attention to their children obviously they should not have been left alone. It's your property not community property. It's a tragedy whenever something bad happens to a child but it's not the person who owned that properties fault. If my dog attacks someone in my yard it's because they should not have been there. We do live in a perfect world and bad things happen all the time to good and decent people if someone you don't know or trust is in your yard or home after reading a beware of dog sign i don't give them the benefit of the doubt sorry my families safety above all anything else and you must a sheltered life or your are in your own little world. I wrote this in a hurry while on lunch i apologize for any grammatical errors no time to proofread
- Author
Brett, I think you have a recipe for disaster. I would rather have my ''overfed Chihuahuas'' than a dog like yours that ''would attack anyone suspicious in my yard''. As a matter of fact just last week, my Rotties showed me how stable tempered they are. A guy happened to stop by my property and the fence was a bit ajar, he decided to come inside no matter there were signs and was right behind the door. Happened he was the electric guy coming to fix the pole. There were my two Rotties greeting him and he was complimenting me on how well trained they were. I take enormous pride in having raised docile Rottweilers, they play with kids and this came all natural to them. Everybody is impressed that my Rotties are more stable minded and well temepered than most dogs on our block. Personally, I think you have an accident ready to happen.
Brett,
How do the dogs know who is suspicious and who might be the gas man come to the house to read the meter? (or anyone else who may have legitimate business at your home)What if you collapse in the backyard with a heart attack? Are your dogs going to attack the emergency responders?
I am not sure how to respond to this comment. I have owned and raised Rottweilers for over 20 years and I cannot imagine having a dog who would arbitrarily attack a person who managed to get into my yard, with or without a beware of dog sign, with or without me being home. There are people who can't read. There are children who love to climb, and will climb into a yard just because they can. Unless you have a professionally trained dog and training yourself to know how to handle him, you should not have a dog that will attack a person unless you are physically being attacked. The idea of a dog who is allowed to be territorial and protect property and not a person is enough to give me nightmares.
Just be aware that if your dogs hurt someone, no matter the circumstances, unless you were being physically attacked at the time, then your dogs could pay the price by being destroyed as vicious animals, or you could pay the price if that person files a law suit and takes everything in the world you own.
you are exactly the type of person who should not own a rottweiler or any other "viscious" dog for that matter. I also have two rottweilers who are inbetween. they will not attack anyone if they escaped but would attack anyone suspicious in my yard. your dogs are nothing but oversized and overfed chihuahuas. my dogs would be prepared to go toe to toe with dogs even stronger than themselves to defend me. yes they are difficult to handle and stubborn but any self respecting rottweiler knows that rottweilers will not attack if you do not show fera or hesitation. just continue walking and ignore it. by the way. adt are practically useless. if anything a friend of got robbed by adt security men who knew his code etc
I agree that anyone who won't be spending most of their time with the dog The problem is that too many shady people buy these dogs for the thug appeal and don't spend much time with them. When these dogs are raised and trained properly, they can be an extremely smart, loyal, loving family pet, and be a fierce guard dog! They will always have guarding in their genes, you can't take that out of them, that's why people living in more residential areas shouldn't have them, unless they have a big yard or area to take them. These dogs can be amazing companions and protectors, but they require a lot of attention, and a lot of training, be prepared to have a lot of trouble if you aren't fully commited to the dog.
I grew up with rottweilers and have had 10 dogs that I have raised and lived with, rotts have always been a fovorite of mine, but I am waiting until I am ready to get one again.
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