I did not mean to say anything negative about chihuahuas - they are brilliant dogs, very smart but often stubborn and not the easiest to train. Couple that with people who think of them as human babies, and not dogs.

It IS harder to train wee little beasties. I know, I've had big, medium and small/toy dogs.

I had a shep/chow mix - male, unneutered. I could take him to the vet and let him romp with the kids, no probs. But a stranger come to the fence, and he'd stand there wagging and drooling. He would not bark if I was there, he would almost invite them in so he could eat them for me.

At the vet he was a perfect gentleman - if a little cowardly, like all dogs.

My male pom - who is fixed - gets a muzzle at the vet! LOL. He is THAT agressive.

He will not go after any person, but if YOU come after him, he'll get ya.

I think that's about as well as I'm gonna do with him.

My theory is, they are small and they DO know it. How scared would you be, tiny as they are, if you did not feel someone else was in charge? They are still dogs, and programmed to protect us... don't you think that must be frustrating, feeling inadequate?

I try to give my little guys A) a different job and B) a feeling of security.

I let them have the job of alerting me - so they have times when they are allowed to yap. Why have a dog who isn't allowed to bark, anyway, right?

When they bark, I look to see what they are alerting for - that makes them feel like they are taken seriously as dogs, as guardians.


I think RR should not be allowed to own ANY dog until she gets some serious training.

ANY dog can bite - and if it can't kill you, can scar you for life in other ways. All dogs need to be taken seriously. You can't pick 3 or 5 breeds and say these are the ones to look out for. And what about the mixed dogs?

I'm just not on board with the prejudice. I've known rotties, Dobies, PB and bullys that were just fine, and some who were not. One of the scariest dogs I ever met was a collie/shep mix, another was a lab.

In Toledo, they are putting down litters of puppies because of the breed and that is just sick.



What if they did that to horses? One person thinks paint horses throw more riders, and next thing you know they're all lined up for slaughter. It's genocide. People with any sense would riot in the streets.

I think part of the training people should get when they take their dogs for obedience training is how to react should their dogs attack. I'm sure it's covered but everyone thinks "my dog would never do that" and their guard is down most of the time, IMO.

I took my cat to the vet once and, of course, he was in his cat carrier. There was a man there with a BIG dog who was on a leash. The dog was sitting quietly, minding his own business but nearly everyone who walked into the waiting room wanted to interact with this dog. They'd hold out their hand or just walk right up and touch the dogs head. I would never do this. I'd ask the owner if the dog welcomed others into his space. Just like a person.....animals probably need their own personal space especially when in a strange environment. I wouldn't want a complete stranger coming up to me and touching me if I had done nothing to invite them. And, instinctively, the dog is going to protect his owner. Can't fault a dog for that.

I feel bad for all the animals who suffer the consequences of their owner's lack of good judgment. They're often punished for doing exactly what their instincts tell them to do.

The truth is that most people don't own PBs DPs, Rotts..etc, because they are sweet little lap dogs. They purchase them to be guard/attack dogs.

We had a Rott.living next door. DH and I immediately made friends with him and he was OK when we approached, but he always had that look in his eye, that he was ready to attack.. The neighbor was actually training him as an attack dog, in the back yard. They moved.

I love them all, of course, but, I just don't and really can't trust them!!!

When we were training Tiny, we were told to never kiss him. Know why? Because when people kiss dogs, the people think that the dog understands that a kiss (to us) means love.

Well, to a dog, when a human kisses a dog, the dog interprets that as you telling him that he is the boss and that he's the Alpha of the pack and that we should do his bidding. He doesnt think it's love, he thinks it's a tribute to him for being the biggest and strongest and that he's the lord and master of your house.

Same thing with petting the dogs excessively. (I was a bit guilty of that at times...Tiny was pushy and would con you into petting and rubbing him)

We were pretty good at telling Tiny who was boss of him. I did a lot of training with him and could do things to him that I could never have done to my poodle I had when I was younger.

I could take Tiny's food away from him whenever I wanted to. Couldnt do that with the poodle, I'd lose fingers if I had. If you're the Giver and Bringer (and Taker) of THE Food, the dog is going to think that you've got magical powers...you can make food appear for him.

That "wait" command I talked about. I could put Tiny's dog dish down, tell Tiny to "wait", and walk away. He'd sit in that wait position until I came back and released him. (now that's power!) My dad once put Tiny's food down, and forgot to tell him "ok". Tiny sat there for about 10 or 15 minutes in his "wait" before he did a little Wookiee bark to say "hey, dad? Can I eat now?" (Tiny sounded like Chewie from Star Wars...supposedly Tiny's breed is where they got the sound for Chewbacca's "speech")

My dad went back in there, and Tiny looked up at him with a "PLEASE!! I'm hungry!" look on his face, drool running down his beard, and my dad was "oh...sorry! OK!". Tiny inhaled the bowl.

I could also stand next to Tiny and touch him while he was eating. He'd just keep eating. My poodle would have turned around, ripped my face off and then gone back to eating if I'd ever done that to him.

I'd stand in the front yard, brushing Tiny down. Basically giving him a mini-grooming. His groomer said that he was one of the easiest dogs to groom because he was used to us brushing him down and touching his feet.

I cant imagine standing out there and brushing a dog now. My back wouldnt be able to take the strain anymore.

I worked with Tiny almost every day, he was pretty much velcroed to my hip. If I was home, he was with me. If I went outside, he'd be with me. Slept on the floor in my bedroom with me. Literally my constant companion when I was home.

I doubt Rachel Ray spends that kind of time with her dog(s). I really doubt she pays them that much attention either. She's proven that she cant handle the dog if it's attacked someone/something four times.

I dont like the idea of putting a dog down, but she's pretty much condemned the poor thing to a date with the needle. Any dog that's attacked someone/something four times cannot be trusted around people or other animals. It's dangerous to people and other animals, and cruel to her dog because it'll pretty much have to live in solitary confinement if they allow it to live. Dogs are social creatures. Solitary confinement will drive the dog even more insane.

I'm probably going to have a lot of people think I'm a horrible person but the dog should be put down. It's obviously not safe to be around, and it'd be cruel to allow it to go slowly nuts in solitary confinement.

Sally - very true. You don't get a poodle to intimidate burglers, lol.

Breeding plays a big part too though. I never liked DBs. One - my FIL's - was a big sweetheart. Another cornered me in a bathroom! My SIL got hers from a breeder who has bred down the dominance and gotten a much calmer bunch of dogs.

SIL's dog is very intimidating to look at, and you don't wanna break into that house or try to hurt SIL. But she is a guard dog, not an attack dog. You can see her physically mellow around little kids. She's careful not to bump into them, and trained not to take their food.

On the Eukanuba dog show, they were talking about the newer bullys being bred better too. Gentler, less agressive.

Most of these dangerous breed dogs had these bad genes bred up and that's what created these problems. Now they are breeding them down because people truly like the breeds, and want them to be more family freindly.

Personally, I love the size and intelligence of a rottie or the look and low energy of a bully. My DGD is too mean to dogs to dare have one though - if it bit her, she'd have deserved it. My little dogs will run away from her until she learns not to pull ears and stuff.

Erin - I can get in my dogs' bowls too. I believe if you are master of the dish, you are master of the dog, and that should be Rule #1 in training. That's how it is in a pack, dogs get that.

All my dogs eat from the same bowl (here are two bowls, but they all eat from both). People can bring their dogs over, and introduced right, their dogs eat out of those bowls too , no probs. Visitors are surprised to see their dogs do this, but nobody teaches a dog like a dog and since all of mine do it, the new dogs jump right in.

Oh I hate this....Now you have a celebrity's dog making a bad name for the Pit-Bull breed.

I have met, played and pet Pit-Bulls lots of times. My aunt has one and he's so friggin cute it isn't funny. He will roll over and you can pet his belly all night long(he will let you lol)

The thing is, some people are STUPID!.... Pit-Bulls, Rotties are very territorial breeds and if they think something is endangering their territory..they will respond. It's up to the humans to control that if they want such an "aggressive" breed. Don't let them get near a Strange, unknown dog. RR was an idiot and should of avoided the two dogs getting any place near each other....ever!. You can't expect NOT to have two big dogs cross paths and not get a little ****** off about it. Something about the dog that got bit set off the territorial instinct and the Pit responded. They don't just randomly bite dogs ears off!.

They are territorial and should be treated as such.... Keep them away from unknown dogs and people...it really is that simple. If you can't handel that and want a "park dog" then get a friggin golden retriever of Labador....both of whom are proven gentle and family breeds. Rotties and pits are very territorial and need to be respected as such.

RR letting that Pit near another unknown dog was just stupid. I have another family member that has a Rottie...good dog, but one day she brought home a male "poodle/chow" or whatever it was and it got killed by the rottie.... The rottie grabbed it and chewed it like a stuffed toy. My sister and I had to go over and clean up the mess, because my aunt was so panicked. When I walked in I looked at Jet(the rottie and he ran over to me and gave me a big lick....rolled over and I pet his belly for 5 minutes.....We went outside and played on the dirt for a while while my sister cleaned up the scene inside lol.

Moral of the story?... Don't throw a small dog that is unknown into a home that is protected by a Rottie!.... It's gonna die! Simple!.... and some people need to be slapped silly to understand this!.

Arggggg

Oh my goodness! Didn't know my first post would be about the APBT but here goes. Thank goodness some of you posters understand that it is not the breed but the owner who is at fault here!
I have owned this breed for nearly 30 yrs. I can tell you that the problem with this breed is POOR OWNERSHIP and POOR BREEDING practices.

This breed is very DA(dog aggressive) This is a controversial topic and is MY Opinion as well as MANY OTHERS and any owner should know this right up front.

They are a stubborn breed as well and require a firm owner with good sense.

Those are the downside points. Here are the PLUSES for the breed!

Very LOYAL and AFFECTIONATE
PEOPLE FRIENDLY!!! If well bred and socialized from a pup, and handled with love and attention.
Playful, goofy and very clownish behavior.
Very athletic, very strong and loves to do weight pulls for their master.
Very loving with children. ( Children must be taught how to act around ANY dog)
Are very sweet with other animals of the opposite sex IF introduced properly by the owner. My own love my 4 housecats dearly.

**Side note: Any American Pit Bull Terrier that displays TRUE human aggression must be put down. Hard to say, hard to do, but a necessity.

This breed is no different really than any other large breed dog except that the majority of them MAY BE Dog Aggressive once maturity sets in.

They DO NOT have locking jaws but yes will "lock on and not let go"
The owner must own a Breakstick and learn how to use it.

This breed CANNOT be offleash in public. It is an accident waiting to happen with other dogs.( There are some exceptionally well trained dogs that this does not apply to)
** Any owner who lets his animal run at large is irresponsible.
They require an enclosed yard and should be crate trained as all inside dogs should be.

Go to ADBAs website and read the breed standards and you will learn the correct weights and heights of this breed. You will be astonished at the people who claim to have Pit Bulls but really DO NOT!!
They have AmStaffs, AmBullies, American Bulldogs, and MIXED American Pit Bull Terriers.
Thanks to you all for letting me go on and on.

I think ALL dogs should be ON leash while in public, unless you have exemplary recall skills with this dog, or its a service animal. I dont care if its a pit bull, or a poodle. the owner is responsible to make sure not just that the public is safe from their animal, but the animal is safe from the public.

The breed scares me, but then so do Chihauhas. They are tiny little barkers, and nippers. they run up at you like a bull on fire, and nip hard! Most of them are pampered little babies and the owners respond "oh, isnt he cute?!" NO! he isnt cute, and he isnt a baby! he is a little D O G and needs to be treated as such.

I am so glad to see others are as concerned as I am about how quickly it can all go sideways. Im sorry RR, but you dont need to own that breed. #1 you are not home to care for it personally. #2 it has proven to be a biter (including humans) #3 your training methods have fallen far short of what your expectations were, and finally #4 YOU and your whole family need to be trained on how to handle the breed, not just the dog. As Cesaer Milan says its Dog first, then breed, then name. its not a baby, or a cute accessory to have.

I have a bit of a pet peeve about some owners with dogs on a leash.

The owners have the dog on a leash but don't pay attention to what it is doing..
They have those long leashes and the dog still runs around side to side or even worse running in a circle and tangling the leash around someones legs!

It's fine if you are alone and no one else is nearby, but if you are in a park or sidewalk or walking with someone please pay attention to your dog and make them stay by your side.