Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

["Josef Komenda" <joe AT komejo.com>]

I'm certainly not impartial about Rottweilers, having been a professional
breeder and handler of them; I also have a Rottie tattooed on my arm. :-)

However, my parents own a kennel, which I ran for 8 years, and a small
grooming business as well, so I've had a lot of first-hand experience with
all kinds of dogs. Most large breed dogs are fairly gentle to strangers when
not around their owners. The proportions of the skull have a lot to do with
this. They are sane. If you're nice to them, they'll be nice to you. I have
a lot of scars on my hands from dog bites, and all of them are from dogs of
35lbs or less. Lhasa-Apsos are the worst, Cocker Spaniels next, and
Poodle/Cocker blends after that. Totally unpredictable animals.

The Pit Bulls I ran across were always totally friendly to people. The basic
Pit Bull personality was: "Yay, people! Let's play!".

Any breed that is developed for a particular trait will usually have a
shortcoming in another area. Rotties were bred to be smart, defensive,
loyal, and fearless. Don't be suprised if invading their territory gets you
bitten - that's their job. This wasn't a problem 25 years ago when my folks
started breeding them, because nobody knew what a Rottie was, and they cost
$1000. If you wanted one, it was because you loved the breed, and had taken
the time to do your homework. My dad was more than happy to tell people to
go to hell if he thought they wouldn't be a good owner. The people who own
and breed Fila Brasileiro or Tosa Inu are like this today. Responsable
breeeders and owners = good dogs.

Any dog can be a danger to other dogs, strangers, or it's owners. If you
don't care enough about an animal to train it, buy a cat, since they train
you.

Joe K




----- Original Message -----
From: Rachel Cox <rachel AT hesketh.com>
To: InterNetWorkers <internetworkers AT franklin.metalab.unc.edu>
Sent: Friday, April 19, 2002 1:06 PM
Subject: [internetworkers] Breed-specific legislation


> At 12:20 PM 4/19/2002 -0400, Josep L. Guallar-Esteve wrote:
> [snip]
>  >What are your feelings about this topic?
>
> Strong.  :)
>
>  >In my opinion (just me) breeding
>  >dogs-that-are-meant-to-be-dangerous-by-nature, say rotwaillers, and use
them
>  >as a regular pet, with the owner having no special "training" or
knowledge on
>  >this kind of breed.... well, I think it is stupid and unlawful..