Dogs

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Brian your OP regarding dog owners (and cat owners) who do not take good responsible care of their pets is valid.  For the safety of others and of the animal it is important that they be contained and trained.

But, as usual, you get hung up in the wrong things.  Your ranting about big dogs and certain breeds are your issues.  The first dog I owned as an adult was a male Golden Retriever.  A larger breed of dog.  One of the most mellow, well-behaved dogs I have ever had the pleasure of owning.  In your limited view he was a big dog and therefore dangerous.  He was dangerous if you had an issue with a dog that loved to be petted and talked to...never tugged on a leash...not one time did he growl.  His size had nothing to do with his temperament.

I just left my son's house.  I went to drop off a birthday cake to him.  His girlfriend has a female Pit named Leah.  She has had her about 10 years...about as long as her daughter is old.  The biggest danger I have ever witnessed out of Leah is that she is so damned excited to see me that she nearly knocks me over in her exuberance knowing that I will scratch her in that special spot and I may also have a couple treats in my pocket.  She is otherwise as gentle and loving as my Golden was.

We have owned a Doberman and German Shepherds.  The Doberman developed a brain tumor which caused aggression because of pressure on his brain and I had to have him put down - his aggression was not because of his breed.  The GSDs I have had were intimidating looking but were well-behaved and loving but high energy.  We made sure they got lots of exercise to burn off all that energy.

I have encountered tiny little dogs that may not be able to hurt you really badly but who have bad attitudes and are dangerous especially with small children.  

Currently we have three medium sized dogs.  They are either in our house, our fenced back yard, or on a leash...always.  Because that's what responsible dog servants do.

Everything is so damn all or nothing with you.

Simply - animal ownership requires taking responsibility for that animal in all ways.  The size and breed aren't the be all end all of how an animal (especially a dog) will behave.  

Put down the damn crack pipe and call animal control if there are dogs running loose in your neighborhood.

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I always speed in my sports care...I pay taxes for that.

It is a bad delusional claim for any bread big or small, to assume because the dog is kind to that which it is familiar with will be kind to outsiders.  I have run into very small dogs who are big as perinanas and also have razor sharp teeth. Certainly the small yappy ones are not capable of killing you, but they still can bite. With big dogs it is different, regardless of breed. 

Their psychology is like any family unit at the core. That animal like a father or son or daughter or mother, is going to see the one who feeds them and loves them as family, just as if the humans were dogs they gave birth to.

My only objection in the OP is that far too many dog owners treat what should be a responsibility as self entitlement and blame others responding to their dog acting aggressively, not understanding that it is the human's fault, not the dogs, and those morons blame the critics and not their own bad habbits.

So, what are you going to do about it?

Boru