Top reasons why you should not own a viscious dog

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.