dogs - "certain breeds accepted"

[chelsea1]

just been looking at a site that wont accept my german shepherd (or as they say it - "alsation")

does this annoy any other dog owners.....how can sites determine whether a german shepherd is more dangerous than a jack russell??!

At the end of the day how a dog acts is down to the owner and how the dog has been trained/raised, we have been just looking after the in-laws jack russell puppy for 6 months and this dog was more snappy/tempremental than my great big german shepherd and left my dog quivering.

just a shame when campsites start to turn away business from responsible dog owners who happen to own a lovely big harmless dog which they "judge" to be a dangerous dog

Grrrrrrr!

 

[Damian]

Sarah, I know just how you feel, and the ridiculousness of the strategy of these sites, and their interpretation of what is an unacceptable breed of dog.

We have 2 large dogs and 2 Lurchers, but as soon as we say what breeds the big dogs are, some people just freeze , and in fact last week, whilst out walking, my Bullmastiff started ambling in the direction of two people , not doing anything more than sniffing the ground, and they were about 100 yards away, but decided to scream and run in the opposite direction, I hate to think what they would have done if they had seen the Mastiff!!

I have found, over many years of dog ownership that the terrier breeds are much worse than any of the bigger breeds, with a few exceptions, but it is the perceived public image that wins every time.

It is not very often thatone sees reports in the papers about terrier breeds "attacking" and "mauling" people, but the actual number of people bitten by thses size dogs is far in excess of any of the large breeds, but it does not make good news to say it.

On the other hand, a large dog biting a person is newsworthy, even when the bitten person has done something to annoy the dog tosuch an extent that it retaliates by biting, as that is all it can do.

As for German Shepherds, unfortunately they have had the worst of bad publicity, due mainly to the large number in ownership,as compared to say, Mastiffs and Bullmastiffs, and there have been some very notable cases what was seemingly a very stable animal suddenly turning nasty and attacking the owner or the owners children/grandchildren.

You say

"just a shame when campsites start to turn away business from responsible dog owners who happen to own a lovely big harmless dog which they "judge" to be a dangerous dog "

Whilst I understand what you mean,and to YOU the dog may be harmless, one should never forget that ANY dog is more than capable of showing a totally different side to its "normal " nature, it just needs the right trigger, and if and when that happens, it takes YOU by surprise.

Never underestimate your dog, and more importantly, NEVER believe it will always behave in the way you "think" it will, it may have different ideas under certain circumstances.

 

[JandP]

This is a problem we are very familiar with as we have 3 German Shepherds and a Jack Russell cross (and cross is a very good description!). Our Shepherds are big and bouncy but also very intelligent, well trained, loyal, loving, cuddly and just GORGEOUS! We love them to bits and trust them totally BUT we always show them respect and ensure that they are never mistreated or put in a situation where they are under stress and are forced to respond agressively to save themselves. We have a friend who had a lovely Collie that was left to play with the children who tried to use it as a doll and dress it up and put it in their bed. The dog became increasingly stressed and eventually turned on the young girl and took the end off her nose. The dog was put down but it was really the parent's fault for leaving it alone with young children who didn't know how to treat it. As to the question of which dogs to ban, well in our house its the Jack Russell you need to watch out for! One of our Shepherds was attacked by a Jack Russell which went between her legs and then had a go at her from underneath. When we called our dog off she immediately came running back, chased by the little terrier and people laughed to she her apparently chased off by such a small dog, "oh the shame of it" they said. What did they think she should have done? Any dog is potentially dangerouse and the bigger they are the more dangerous they can be so it is essential that the owners know how to treat them and control them so that we dont have more bad publicity and more dog bans. Jim.

 

[CliveV]

The last post ably describes the problem dogs have with irresponcible people.

We had a really soft LabradorCollie cross that adored "her boys" - (my children) - more or less by accident we trained her to find them when they hid in the Forest on long walks. All you had to say was "wheres them boys" - and off she would go, nose to the ground and find them. Truly impressive!

So basically, to protect the dog (you know what these people are like - the sun shines out of little Johnies backside and they can do no wrong) they were asked to leave. That boy was basically being allowed to grow up to be cruel to animals!

Obviously no longer "friends".

Yes - such blind predjudice against a particular breed is stupid and does annoy me. But then there are more stupid people about than ever before it would seem.

You only have to look at some of the ridiculous things posted on here (the most recent silly ones thankfully deleted) to confirm that.

 

[CliveV]

Hi Jim

Could not agree more with your last point. When we went to view our last rescue dog from the NCDL (now Dog Trust) before us was a chap who stated that he wanted a Bull Terrier of some sort - did not mind what as long as it "looked right".

Clearly he had no intention of giving a dog a good home, he wanted a fashion accessory. He was dealt with very politely by the staff but left having been told in no uncertain terms that they would look after the dogs best interest not his.

There are people out there who want their dogs to be friends/child substitutes or fashion accessories. If owners do not understand that a dog is not any of these then they WILL have a problem.

 

[Steve L]

We have two gorgeous Labradors. The white ***** is as soft as putty and will nuzzle you to keep stroking her. The chocolate dog is young (2 1/2 years old)and boysterous. He always wants to play and at 7 stone could easily knock an adult over. Neither of them are nasty at all.

However my niece has a king charles spaniel that would have yuor hand off!! He's like a parana with teeth like a paper shreder.

People often confuse size and playfulness in dogs with agression. A dog will only behave the way it has been trained to.

Our white Labrador has actually been trained as a "personal protection dog" and given the command she turns into as good a guard dog as a Doberman. Remember the first comment I made about her. (soft as putty).

Steve L

 

[dazicki]

weve just finished a puppy training class and the handler there said when you buy a dog bear in mind what that dog was bred for say a hearding dog(colli,alsation) if you get kids running riot or winding them up they will heard them up chase the stragglers lagging behind that is what they are made for and spaniels allthough loyal if they get a scent they will be off in seconds they are hunters

the only way these dogs become a problem is when they are not taught right and wrong the same as children

i dont personally have a problem with big dogs allthough i am wary of certain breeds the obvious being pit bulls which all though bred for hunting i think in many cases they are bought to make people look big and hard and in that case again its the owners fault

 

[sparkes]

We have a Golden retriever that has been encouraged to play nice with kids from the day we got him.

Those that have seen him, I think would agree that he is no threat to anyone including boystrous 2 yr olds.

As for it being down to the owners, to a certain extent it is, However, if you get a nasty dog, then no matter how much you try, will you ever trust it 100 percent?

Steve

 

[crispy1]

We've got a Jack Russell and she is completely beserk. Her nature with people is fantastic and she constantly wants to play, however put her near other dogs and she turns into a psycho. We had to put her in kennels a couple of months ago for 3 days and on returning were told 'she thinks she's a doberman'. She also acts the same way when visiting the 'hairdresser'. We have to ensure we book the first appointment in the day for her before any other dogs as she won't let them through the door. Her nature puzzles me because as long as i'm with her she won't go near other dogs and does everything I say.

 

[CliveV]

Hi Crispy

She is OK when with you because to her - you are pack leader and if you are calm she is calm.

But on her own she is in charge! and has to excert her authority.

Mind you - this breed is known for this kind of behaviour - fiercely loyal but a real ankle biter as well.

We know one called "Pepperami" after the advert!

My large GSDXCollie that is a real "gentleman" ended up walking back to us with this Pepperami hanging off his neck!

He wasn't botherred and after about 5 min both were walking together and enjoying themselves without any problems. But our Retriever is scared stiff of it!

 

[cris_408518]

We used to have a big cuddly female dog, a variety that nearly everone thinks of as child and people friendly. She was trained and treated the same as previous dogs and now our present dogs.

We should have caught on when the breader said "you don't have small children".

She was a lovely dog but hated young kids, any child under about 7 was fair game if they went towards her. When caravanning we had to leave her at home or we were sure some child would have been on her menu.

 

[GillandMike]

Little terriers....grr don't get me started. Some little dog owners seem to think that because the dog is small, it won't cause much harm and have a tendency to leave them wandering around out of control...or is it just my neighbours. My younger Golden Retriever over the years has been so tormented and harrased by this minature thug that she is no longer reliable with other dogs apart from those she knows and trusts. She is convinced that all dogs will attack her and behaves accordingly and I can no longer trust her. Its on the lead the momnet we see another dog and she is kept well away. She has been damaged mentally although not physically and my neighbours can or will not understand this. My real concern is that one she will get hold of this dog and flatten it (probably to the joy of the rest of the neighbours). Even my other older GR gets upset by this little pest and behaves in an aggressive fashion whenever it is near. The owner thinks its all hilarious and says his dog deserves it if he gets hurt. Some people just shouldn't have pets.

A fed up to the back teeth Gill (handing over soap box to someone else!)

 

[craigmurray]

hi Sarah, myself and my partner have had the same problem as yourself and many of the other posters. We have a 20 month old rottweiler ***** and a 5 year old staffy, people wont let us on their site because we have two "dangerous" dogs....ha....i wouldnt have a "dangerous" dog if i didnt trust it round our 3 children 14,11 & 8..our rotty has been socialised, trained and is well behaved when in the house or out on the lead...its the small dogs that have a go at her when we are out, she doesnt growl bark or retaliate just looks at them with the " oh shut up you stupid little dog look" its also amazing the amount of people that pick there little darlings up because i am walking a rotty, very narrow minded people.....as for the staffy she is a pets as therapy dog and is as good natured as anything....big dogs if get fed up let people know by grumping dogs like jack russells just bite.....sorry to go on a bit but i feel strongly about the prejudice we have to suffer being big dog owners.....

 

[AnnM1]

Damian, I must take exception with your 'overall' claim that terrier dogs are more dangerous than larger breeds. I agree that some can be yappy, but it all depends on how they are brought up.

We have a Cairn Terrier. She is a lovely little dog and we specifically chose this breed for their assertiveness but not aggressive. Nor is she allowed to be 'yappy'. She does have a brain and is a real character. We have been on site next to other couples who, up to the point of packing up at the end of the stay, were very suprised to see my Cairn. They had no idea we had her with us.

We vanned for years with two Shepperd Dogs (1 German, the other Belgian) and had no problems with them either.

At the end of the day it all depends on how well behaved you make your dogs. Training from puppyhood is great importance. I cannot see any reason, however, for carte blanc refusal to allow any animal on site.

I have now put away my soap box!!!

 

[AnnM1]

Little terriers....grr don't get me started. Some little dog owners seem to think that because the dog is small, it won't cause much harm and have a tendency to leave them wandering around out of control...or is it just my neighbours. My younger Golden Retriever over the years has been so tormented and harrased by this minature thug that she is no longer reliable with other dogs apart from those she knows and trusts. She is convinced that all dogs will attack her and behaves accordingly and I can no longer trust her. Its on the lead the momnet we see another dog and she is kept well away. She has been damaged mentally although not physically and my neighbours can or will not understand this. My real concern is that one she will get hold of this dog and flatten it (probably to the joy of the rest of the neighbours). Even my other older GR gets upset by this little pest and behaves in an aggressive fashion whenever it is near. The owner thinks its all hilarious and says his dog deserves it if he gets hurt. Some people just shouldn't have pets.

A fed up to the back teeth Gill (handing over soap box to someone else!)

I totally agree with you. It never ceases to amaze me how irresponsible some dog owners are - especially those owning dogs apposed to a *****. They allow their dogs to p.. up against other peoples awnings, chairs, equipment, car, etc. and seem to think it funny. I certainly don't. A shotgun comes to mind! Not only for the dog(s).

 

[AnnM1]

Sarah I sympathise with you. It would be far better if sites accepted all animals. Should these animals then show forms of aggression it is quite acceptable for the owners be asked to leave quickly.

Last year we were on site where there was a 4 year old rottie. Nobody on site could walk past their pitch. At one point a newbie was heading towards the toilet block when the dog took off, pulling his owner over in the process!!! Thank goodness he was chained up otherwise it could have been very nasty. This dog couldn't even be walked on the doggie area if any other dog was in sight. The owners were lovely people. Just the wrong type to own such a strong (body and headed) dog.

 

[cris_408518]

As mentioned above, we had a breed of dog that our accepted as child friendly she was trained and treated the same as previous dogs and present dogs who we have no problem with with children.

There is an exception to every breed rule or trait as we found, owners need to be aware of their dogs foibles not blind to them. And sites should not take blanket judgement on a dogs breed.

Our old dog would have been well accepted on sites until a young child took a shine to the cuddly soft looking cuddly golden dog.

 

[JandP]

We have a Golden retriever that has been encouraged to play nice with kids from the day we got him.

Those that have seen him, I think would agree that he is no threat to anyone including boystrous 2 yr olds.

As for it being down to the owners, to a certain extent it is, However, if you get a nasty dog, then no matter how much you try, will you ever trust it 100 percent?

Steve

No, and even if it is good natured you must always respect the dog and not put it in a situation where it feels threatened to the point where it has to respond agressively. Jim.

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

hi sarah, i think sites should accept all types of breeds and if there is one wiff of a problem then they are banned form the site.

we have a 1 year old staffordshire bull terrier she is a nanny dog to my 12 year old and my 4 year old who both have disabilies. storm is the 2nd staffie we have had she comes from champion show stock which has been correctly line bred for temprement and looks.we paid alot of money for her and it took us a year to find the correct breeder etc.

i do agree with some of you who say staffie/bull terrier owner only want them as a show trophy and to make a statement.

each dog deserves a chance.

 

[LMH]

hi sarah, i think sites should accept all types of breeds and if there is one wiff of a problem then they are banned form the site.

we have a 1 year old staffordshire bull terrier she is a nanny dog to my 12 year old and my 4 year old who both have disabilies. storm is the 2nd staffie we have had she comes from champion show stock which has been correctly line bred for temprement and looks.we paid alot of money for her and it took us a year to find the correct breeder etc.

i do agree with some of you who say staffie/bull terrier owner only want them as a show trophy and to make a statement.

each dog deserves a chance.

Well said. I have two dogs, Stafford cross who I got at the age of six months from a rescue centre. And one exceptionally well bred Stafford which I was lucky enough to buy this year when he was eight weeks old with the intention of showing him.

The Stafford cross has an aversion to any other dog it sees whilst out. The psychological damaged was done to her by a previous owner/s. Despite training and psychological assessments, she'll never change. It is managed by myself physically with the addition of a muzzle which acts as a tool to stop her biting another dog should one run up which is off the lead and not under its owners control. It is also a visual tool to other people.

The youngster has an endearing personality and has been properly socialsied etc and also line bred for temperament and type from generations of champions.

It's also a case of knowing your own dogs, dog 1 can never be trusted near any dog whatsoever, very short fuse. Dog two loves any dog but is restricted sometimes by myself until I can form an opinion on the approaching dog and the competence of its owner. This is purely to protect him from being bitten/scared.

Lisa.

 

[chelsea1]

Thanks for all your feedback on this.

Just seeing that "Alsations not permitted on this site" hit a raw nerve with me.

I agree NO DOG can be trusted (whether terrier or huge breed),but i really think the sites should not predjudice against certain breeds because of the "reputation/reports" on bigger dogs.

As craig pointed out - his lovely big rottweiler is frowned upon when he is out, but his dog has been socialised with 3 children and is good with other dogs....so why should he, or I with my german shepherd be not allowed the same treatment as someone with a poodle!!!

I agree also every site should welcome all...and if a problem arises - then the culprits removed.

I never put my dog and any type of "situation"...she is good with dogs but when out walking the roads we swap sides if another dog comes towards us, when booking holidays we always think of the dog 1st (where do we walk her/is there an exercise area/quiet un-commercialised sites).

At the end of the day I say its their loss - losing out on our hard earned cash, so I wont take it too much to heart!

 

[LMH]

The last post ably describes the problem dogs have with irresponcible people.

We had a really soft LabradorCollie cross that adored "her boys" - (my children) - more or less by accident we trained her to find them when they hid in the Forest on long walks. All you had to say was "wheres them boys" - and off she would go, nose to the ground and find them. Truly impressive!

So basically, to protect the dog (you know what these people are like - the sun shines out of little Johnies backside and they can do no wrong) they were asked to leave. That boy was basically being allowed to grow up to be cruel to animals!

Obviously no longer "friends".

Yes - such blind predjudice against a particular breed is stupid and does annoy me. But then there are more stupid people about than ever before it would seem.

You only have to look at some of the ridiculous things posted on here (the most recent silly ones thankfully deleted) to confirm that.

Yes, thank goodnes some of the ridiculous things posted on here, the most recent silly ones have been deleted. Hip hip hooray indeed.

 

[JandP]

Hi Jim

Could not agree more with your last point. When we went to view our last rescue dog from the NCDL (now Dog Trust) before us was a chap who stated that he wanted a Bull Terrier of some sort - did not mind what as long as it "looked right".

Clearly he had no intention of giving a dog a good home, he wanted a fashion accessory. He was dealt with very politely by the staff but left having been told in no uncertain terms that they would look after the dogs best interest not his.

There are people out there who want their dogs to be friends/child substitutes or fashion accessories. If owners do not understand that a dog is not any of these then they WILL have a problem.

Mickey what kind of warped personality is it that feels compelled to make such a comment? The dog fur trade is a sickening reality recently highlighted by the McCartneys and I find it very sad that it is seen as fair game for a joke, if that is what it was supposed to be. Jim.

 

[JandP]

Sarah I sympathise with you. It would be far better if sites accepted all animals. Should these animals then show forms of aggression it is quite acceptable for the owners be asked to leave quickly.

Last year we were on site where there was a 4 year old rottie. Nobody on site could walk past their pitch. At one point a newbie was heading towards the toilet block when the dog took off, pulling his owner over in the process!!! Thank goodness he was chained up otherwise it could have been very nasty. This dog couldn't even be walked on the doggie area if any other dog was in sight. The owners were lovely people. Just the wrong type to own such a strong (body and headed) dog.

We came across a dog just like this at Black Rock Sands. A huge Rottie on a massive (and worryingly long) chain that flew at us as we passed their van. The owner was obviously used to its behavior because he had a bucket of water ready to throw over it. Jim.

 

[Moderator2_5083849]

Hi Jim

Could not agree more with your last point. When we went to view our last rescue dog from the NCDL (now Dog Trust) before us was a chap who stated that he wanted a Bull Terrier of some sort - did not mind what as long as it "looked right".

Clearly he had no intention of giving a dog a good home, he wanted a fashion accessory. He was dealt with very politely by the staff but left having been told in no uncertain terms that they would look after the dogs best interest not his.

There are people out there who want their dogs to be friends/child substitutes or fashion accessories. If owners do not understand that a dog is not any of these then they WILL have a problem.

The comment made by "mickey" to which the post by Jim and Pauline refers has been deleted.