There are only bad owners

I am a dog owner. He's super awesome and amazing - 1/2 Labrador, 1/2 Border Collie. He's turning 8 this month :D

The poll I'm showing above was on News24. I'm glad to see that the majority are sensible and know that a dog is only as dangerous as its owner.

I walk my dog pretty regularly, and on our walks we meet other dogs. I can always tell when the owner has bought a breed that they know nothing about, through the behaviour of the dog. There was one couple that bought a German Shepard, but had done no research whatsoever into the breed. The female of the couple expressed surprise at how big the dog was getting, and claimed that he wasn't trainable, but they'd never taken him to puppy classes.

My dog is no angel, but he's never attacked anyone nor another dog. He may sniff the dog quite vociferously, or growl, but no biting. Why? Because of the following:

1. He's on a leash, and is leash trained
2. He has been trained to sit, down, give paw, speak and eat on command
3. He knows I'm the Alpha

Raising a dog is just like raising a child. They need discipline, rules and boundaries. Sure, it's a cute little ball of fluff now, and the most damage it can do is chew your shoes. But someday soon, that itty bitty squeaking fluffball will be full grown. And even if it's just a 3 kg toy breed, they can still do some damage with their teeth. We all know, mosquitoes aren't big, but their bites can kill you. Size doesn't denote deadliness.

Certainly some dogs have bad reputations. Those reputations are generally because of negligent owners, abusive owners...A dog is only as good as its owner. I'm willing to bet, if a dog is violent, then in most cases its owner is violent too. What's pathetic is, if a dog attacks a person without provocation, that dog is put down, and nothing happens to the owner. I feel that the owner should be banned from owning any further animals, and slapped with a hefty fine that will be donated to animal shelters.

When someone labels another human as "dangerous" or "aggressive" because of their skin colour or nationality, it's racism. But it's perfectly ok to say that English Pitbull is going to rip your face off because...because of what? The fact that it was originally bred as a fighting dog, but that was hundreds and hundreds of years ago?

People don't have that preconception about daschunds. No, they're cute and cuddly and little and harmless. Harmless little dogs that were bred for hunting. Just like all terrier breeds, which are also bred for hunting mammals. You don't hear people pontificating that those dogs should be banned because they're dangerous, do you? Simply because they were bred for an aggressive sport that involved killing centuries ago, doesn't mean that they're not suitable pets now.

When my puppy was in puppy obedience school, we interacted with a 6 month old Rottweiler and her owner. RottiOwner had 2 other full grown Rottis at home, as well as a toddler daughter. Because RottiOwner took the time, trouble and money to train his dogs, his daughter was in absolutely no danger whatsoever. In fact, he relayed this story to me:

One day, he was in his driveway washing his car. His little girl was playing in the garden, and MammaRotti was keeping a watchful eye. After a while, the little girl got bored with her toys, and started to toddle towards the road. As soon as she was within a couple of meters of the road, MammaRotti leaped up, sprinted towards the little girl, picked her up by the back of the dress and carried her back into the house. She then proceeded to block the door with her body, and the little girl had nary a scratch on her. MammaRotti knew the road was not a safe place, and protected her human puppy.

Does that sound like a dangerous, volatile dog? Simply because she's a Rottweiler doesn't mean she'll viciously attack anyone and everyone.

I suppose it's sad that I tend to have more faith in animals than I do in people. But mostly because the majority of the human population tend to be ragingly stupid thundercunts.