The sad and horrible news from California of a seven-year-old rottweiler fatally mauling the 5-year-old granddaughter of his owners has been the subject of much online and offline discussion among rottweiler enthusiasts this week.
Any accidental death of a child would be a tragic loss. To those of us who share their homes with beloved rottweilers of our own, this particular mauling is even more disturbing than some of the other fatal incidents that have occurred. This one, unlike so many others, didn't involve a drug lord's attack dog, or a junkyard dog, or a dog chained to a broken down doghouse in a crappy neighborhood. This one involved a dog who apparently was loved, shown to a championship, received some training, had a decent home... in short, a dog much like ours.
The news article from the Monterey County Herald is supposedly accurate as far as it goes; it leaves out information regarding the dog's pedigree, titles and training, as well as the health and physical strength of the owner. Points relating to which we "psycho dog people" will discuss infinitely, and stuff that I am sure doesn't matter to most of the public. The one thing that can't be gotten away from is that a rottweiler killed a child well known to him.
I'm not sure what I want to say on all of this. Will I switch breeds? I'm not planning on it. Do I feel my own dogs would be capable of such a thing? Bottom line is that dogs, no matter how much we love them and have made them part of our lives, are still animals, with animal instincts. It is my job to train and socialize them as well as I can, and keep doing that as a lifelong thing... not just one class and you're done.
It is also my responsibility as their guardian to keep them away from situations that would be a danger to them or other living beings. It is also my responsibility to know my own limits as a handler. I am a physically small person, and while I refuse to go along with the thoughts of some that one shouldn't own a dog one can't manhandle into submission... I certainly won't try to walk two adult rottweilers on or off leash at the same time when their total weight is more than double my own.
One thing that I have found distressing through the ongoing discussions is that different factions of the fancy are still, even in the face of a tragedy, pointing fingers at each other. The show people think the working people are breeding "aggressive" dogs and the working people think the show people are breeding pretty but weak-nerved dogs... "and it's all THEIR fault the breed is falling apart." Guess what, the average person out there doesn't know or care if it is an AKC champion or a SchHIII or a CGC or a UDX or what... all they will see is that it's a rottweiler that killed a child. Not a show rottweiler, or a working rottweiler... just a rottweiler that killed a child.
We have semi-frequent maulings up here mainly in the villages by sled dogs. About 1-2 a year if not more...I 'm sure we don't hear about all of them. I've always had either a German Shepard, Shepard/husky mix or Saint Bernards. When asked I simply state theat they are unpredictable. ::shrugs:: If they don't like you they will most likely bite. Or stalk your ass. ::giggle:: Conan did that with oner person we knew. Flat out didn't like him, would keep himself between me and the guy at all times. Turns out he was a cagey thief. Smart dog. But that's what dogs can be is unpredictable. We warn our kids that if they're "mean" to Jasmine, she could very well bite them. And there won't be much symapathy if we catch them doing doing something "mean" and they get bit. Jazz will get some discipline too, but hey if someone pulls your fur you're going to get tweaked. There's only so much you can take.
It is really awful when something severe happens though. Especially if it's a trusted family pet. I personally don't think I could keep the pet if it killed one of my children...or anyone else's for that matter. It's a double tradgedy.
I think a big thing here that many people forget is: dog are animals. Not soft toys, not machines but animals with brains and instincts and whatever. So of course bad things happen sometimes despite everything you can do to stop it. I hate people who point fingers at certain breeds and brand them based on something reasonably arbitrary. I also don't get why people get all upset when their pets act alive instead of just looking cute. Now I'm not saying this kind of thing happening is good and I most certainly think all dogs need training and proper care etc, but you can do everything possible yet it's still an animal. Hmm, does any of that make sense?
People are idiotic. Some people seem to have to always be able to place the blame on someone. Things just happen sometimes that can't be understood, that all there is to it. Personaly, I would take a Pittbull, Rott, or a Dob over most of these little doggies. Just about all the little doggies I've met seem to be little snappers & yappie.
I had to come back and comment again. First off, I made a mistake on the insurance issue. It's insurance on top of what you already have (if I read the paperword correctly). We have two dogs. Our pitbull/boxer puppy and a chow. We also have a fenced yard with "Beware of Dog" signs attached. The puppy is in the house 90% of the time. When we have company the puppy is on a leash in the house. All should fine, correct? Wrong. The minute the word pitbull comes out people get all sqeamish and move away from her like she has the plague. Our neighbors have asked us on several occasions to get rid of her. They know of the extensive training she has gone through and continues to do so. Her outside barking highlights would consist of a squirrel or two. She and the neighbors cats get along just peachy (go figure that one). So what's the problem? I don't have a clue. People are idiotic, that's all I can think of. I personally haven't dealt with a family dog attacking a family member. In my mind I see it as this. It's neithers fault "if" the animal wasn't provoked. You can't blame the child/adult nor the dog. Things happen, whether we like it or not. We can't keep waving our torches everytime something like this happens. We can't keep putting animals to sleep. Do we put human beings to sleep because they are abusing their animals? No, of course not. I'm rambling again. Going to hush before I really get rolling.
almost forgot.....when new neighbors move in and ask if Harley will bite, my answer is All dogs bite if provoked enough...it keeps them out of our yard and from bothering Harley
Dogs are very much like people in the fact that each one is unique to itself......you cannot judge a dog by his breed! BUT, I have a black lab that no longer lives with me b/c of an unfortunate incident where he bit my fiance. When I found out the extenuating circumstances (Beau my lab was trying to kill Harley my akita over some hamburger and Chad knew better but still tried to split them up and got himself bit) I knew it wasn't Beau's fault. Up until I found out this information though I was ready to put Beau, my baby my first pup on my own that I nursed through Parvo and numerous knee surgeries, to sleep. It almost broke my heart but you can't have dogs that bite. *Beau is happily living on 72 acres with a pond with my mom and sister and is very happy now other than his occasional bout with arthritus :)
First off, I feel for the family, I really do. Now, the only problem I forsee with this recent attack is more people having what they call "evidence" as to why these dogs shouldn't exist. Personally, I don't have a Rott, but, I do have a pitbull/boxer puppy who is well trained/mannered. She would never hurt a fly unless that fly attacked obviously. We are continuously ridiculed by the fact that she is "part" pitbull. It's a dangerous dog, get rid of it, ect. Insurance companies do not help any either. We've had to hide her on occasion when the claims adjuster came out to the house because if she was seen it would have been an automatic jump in our policy. I'm rambling and probably don't make much sense. I really would like people to sit down and really think about they are doing before they make these idiotic decisions in having these dogs killed/locked up because of their breeds. In the state of Texas, Rotts and Pitbulls are considered dangerous breeds (it doesn't matter if they are full or part) and it's an immediate lockup if an altercation occurs. A extremely large fine is tacked on (if they allow you to take your dog home) and the place of residence "has" to be insured for $100,000 just for having said dog. A six foot fence must be implemented for the safety of "your" neighbors and signs stating "beware of dog". Ridiculous? Your damn straight. It's off the subject of the mauling, but, I'm going with the after effects of this being publicized. We don't see anything in the paper of a child/adult being mauled by a Chihuahua do we? Of course not. It's happended a time or two, but, you'd probably never read about it. Off my soapbox. I'm saddened by the attack, but, I'm also saddened by what's to come.