[AliceFromHouston]

found this picture and it is so true.

[JAMES PIETERSE]

Dog aggression is natural and only as negative as you make it. So no, it's not "all how you raise them". They don't have to be taught to be DA to be.

[avaiguite]

no, BUT it IS the owners duty to learn to porperly manage a dog, so in a sense yes it is how your raise them, if you raise them to ignore the distraction of other dogs on lead walking past and focus onto you OR you can ignore the dog 100 percent and do no obedience work or managment training and end up with a dog that is out of control and cannot be handled/managed.

[LindaSmithXV]

When I read this I didn't get DA at all. I thought they where talking about the ignorant SOBs that teach their dogs to attack people.

ETA: Or don't take the time to properly socialize their dogs and keep them locked up in the back yard all their lives and then they end up breaking out and attacking someone out of pure fear.

[Adimos]

I both agree and disagree, I guess. I really hate it when people say "it's all in how you raise them" because there are so many factors into how a dog will act. It's a fine blend of both environmental and genetic.

This being said, there are a lot of people out there that, in the quest for a "badass dog" will not only pick pups from dogs who not only already have crappy temperaments, but their parents do too. Then they will deprive them of proper socialization and interaction to "toughen them up" and do stupid things like getting them riled up on other people's dogs. It's no surprise when these dogs make the news for mauling Little Timmy. After all, they were both bred and raised to eventually fail.

Then there is the opposite spectrum of this conundrum, the ever present and ignorant "furmommy" who thinks that dogs are just little people in fur coats and "it's all how you raise them". The dogs of these particular people get on the news, not usually because of dogs attacking people, but animals and other dogs, as they will ignore breed nature and genetics and are horrified that you would dare to suggest that their precious little Muffins would ever feel inclined to hurt another animal and balks at the idea of a breakstick. Then, should it happen they will make every excuse to not incriminate themselves for their own irresponsibility in the happening.

In the case of the both scenarios, the owners should be heavily penalized and in the case of the first scenario, that dog should be PTS. And I agree. All owners of dogs that bite people need to be heavily penalized. The Pit Bull is not as much of a special pony as people like to make it out to be when it comes to biting folks. Betcha if grooming salons and doggie daycares bothered to report all their bites all those purse clutching anklebiter owners would all stfu.

[JAMES PIETERSE]

Whenever I see pictures like that, all I see is "it's all how you raise them" which people apply to HA and DA like they're equal.

[Quiniacab]

no, BUT it IS the owners duty to learn to porperly manage a dog, so in a sense yes it is how your raise them, if you raise them to ignore the distraction of other dogs on lead walking past and focus onto you OR you can ignore the dog 100 percent and do no obedience work or managment training and end up with a dog that is out of control and cannot be handled/managed.

i would have to agree here. Before i started doing Peanut's obedience academy with Peanut he had some pretty bad DA he would go after every single dog he was a sniper about it. after almost a year of school Peanut has learned to ignore other dogs. He still has his DA moments from time to time but now its more like he is dog reactive opposed to before when he had DA. He is far more managable now too when he is reacting to the dog. We are now to the point that we can do his events where he is able to be in the line and i don't have to pin him between my legs and hold him close to me. he now waits patiently next to me in a sit and as long as the dogs don't come right up to him he will usually just watch them pass him. i can also have conversations (without having to be in yelling distance) with other people who have dogs and he will sit polite next to me while i have a conversation and he will ignore the other dog (providing that dog is also calm).

he didn't need to be taught how to be DA that showed up on its own before he was 6 months old. he had to be taught how to ignore it while he is in public.

the puppy in the picture is too cute BTW.

[JAMES PIETERSE]

Yes but raising a dog to "not be dog aggressive" and raising a dog to be able to to manage the dog aggression that often shows up in these breeds in spite of the owners is where people have a problem with the "it's all how you raise them". There's a difference and many people choose to see them as the same thing, so yes, I have a problem with the saying.

[Quiniacab]

i understand where you are coming from people that want to raise a dog to be not dog aggressive need a different breed.
when i hear that in public i try to shrug it off. they don't know how easy it is for the dog to be DA on their own but how much work goes into making it not show to the public. its genetics that DA pops out in the dog its really hard work to manage it. i don't care that he is DA or even reactive but when we are at events i don't want him to act a fool and lose his foucs on his sport while he is focused on the dogs. he tore up his back feet trying to go after a dog last year during a competition. he had to jump in wrapped feet (still got pretty good scores for the time).

Peanut was 5 months old when he couldn't be around other dogs because he started being very DA that happened in puppy school with his classmates.