Wow. Bored post turkey. Read the whole thread. I have some points and rejoinders.
First of all, I love dogs. Hell, I love animals in general. I'm the type of dog owner who makes the bond with my pet such that they NEVER have to be on a leash, save for when the law demands.
- I have little fear for the OP's pooch. He seems the kind of owner who will guide his pup well.
- That said, pit bulls WERE BRED FOR COMBAT. It's in their genes, and must always be accounted for. In general, especially given the fundamental ignorance of many pet owners, they are not a good choice for a pet. Their intense notoriety, though, stems principally from the fact that aggressive assholes are also heavily attracted to owning them. Bad combination.
- But I've also know many fine pit bulls. You must always keep their genetic dispostion in the back of your mind, however. My since departed next door neighbors had a pit bull that used play with my present pup, Cinnamon, a Ghandi like 45 lb mix. No problems but . . . back of the mind, back of the mind.
- Specop07 totally owned you Vic. Sorry, but it's true.
- Some Beagles can be grumpy, moody, nasty, bitey. Bad attitudes. They harbor grudges. This is a distinct minority of the breed, though.
- Poorly bred and/or wrongly raised Dobies can schiz out in a miilisecond, then stand around in the blood spattered aftermath like nothing happened. Good dobies well brought up are as fine a dog as you could wish.
- I am aware of the Rott's rep, but have personally never met a bad one ever, and I've know quite a few.
- My late, lamented Great Dane Bogart had a leg move that could and did sweep 80-100 lb dogs (dobies, rotts, shephards, etc.) right off their feet and on their backs before they could even react. And THAT was THAT.
- The only time I ever saw him back down was when he got between a Momma cow and her calf. There was absolutely no doubt who was in charge and he stepped right down.
- To my mind, from my admittedly limited personal experience, the best of German Shephards, Border Collies, and Poodles (yes, Poodles) are among the most intelligent of dogs. Some shephards, especially, have an almost human intelligence in their eyes.
- Poodles are another breed that get a bad rep based on many of their asshole owners -- in this case, the frou frou type.
- Whoever said in this thread that the Golden's one drawback is that they remain puppy like until age 2 is off, by, oh, their entire lifetime! OK, I have know some Goldens that had much more gravitas, but the majority . . .
- Yorkies are amongst my favorite small breeds. My Great Dane was friends with one. To see him bend down and sniff nose to nose with that Yorkie was simultaneously hilariious and heartwarming. Yorkies are not afraid, and they also are not stupidly over-aggressive compensators. They are simply elegantly comfortable in their own skin.
- I someone can kindly remind me of the Anand friendly pic site with 'b's and the 'z's in it's url, I'll retrieve some pics of my Dane and post them.
First of all, I love dogs. Hell, I love animals in general. I'm the type of dog owner who makes the bond with my pet such that they NEVER have to be on a leash, save for when the law demands.
- I have little fear for the OP's pooch. He seems the kind of owner who will guide his pup well.
- That said, pit bulls WERE BRED FOR COMBAT. It's in their genes, and must always be accounted for. In general, especially given the fundamental ignorance of many pet owners, they are not a good choice for a pet. Their intense notoriety, though, stems principally from the fact that aggressive assholes are also heavily attracted to owning them. Bad combination.
- But I've also know many fine pit bulls. You must always keep their genetic dispostion in the back of your mind, however. My since departed next door neighbors had a pit bull that used play with my present pup, Cinnamon, a Ghandi like 45 lb mix. No problems but . . . back of the mind, back of the mind.
- Specop07 totally owned you Vic. Sorry, but it's true.
- Some Beagles can be grumpy, moody, nasty, bitey. Bad attitudes. They harbor grudges. This is a distinct minority of the breed, though.
- Poorly bred and/or wrongly raised Dobies can schiz out in a miilisecond, then stand around in the blood spattered aftermath like nothing happened. Good dobies well brought up are as fine a dog as you could wish.
- I am aware of the Rott's rep, but have personally never met a bad one ever, and I've know quite a few.
- My late, lamented Great Dane Bogart had a leg move that could and did sweep 80-100 lb dogs (dobies, rotts, shephards, etc.) right off their feet and on their backs before they could even react. And THAT was THAT.
- The only time I ever saw him back down was when he got between a Momma cow and her calf. There was absolutely no doubt who was in charge and he stepped right down.
- To my mind, from my admittedly limited personal experience, the best of German Shephards, Border Collies, and Poodles (yes, Poodles) are among the most intelligent of dogs. Some shephards, especially, have an almost human intelligence in their eyes.
- Poodles are another breed that get a bad rep based on many of their asshole owners -- in this case, the frou frou type.
- Whoever said in this thread that the Golden's one drawback is that they remain puppy like until age 2 is off, by, oh, their entire lifetime! OK, I have know some Goldens that had much more gravitas, but the majority . . .
- Yorkies are amongst my favorite small breeds. My Great Dane was friends with one. To see him bend down and sniff nose to nose with that Yorkie was simultaneously hilariious and heartwarming. Yorkies are not afraid, and they also are not stupidly over-aggressive compensators. They are simply elegantly comfortable in their own skin.
- I someone can kindly remind me of the Anand friendly pic site with 'b's and the 'z's in it's url, I'll retrieve some pics of my Dane and post them.