aussiew Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 That is such a load of crap Perhaps I used a poor choice of words, AD. But what can we call it when a 7 year old family Doberman kills the 10 month old infant? Sibling rivalry? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills_fan Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 Perhaps I used a poor choice of words, AD. But what can we call it when a 7 year old family Doberman kills the 10 month old infant? Sibling rivalry? Honestly, probably. And I don't mean to be insensitive about that. Its a very difficult thing to introduce a new baby to an established dog. I have two dogs, one is a very docile omega personality pit bull/boxer mix. The other is an alpha, lets call him a "northern" breed mix. The pit bull is about 60 lbs, the alpha is approximately 125 lbs. The omega never had any problems with the baby, basic curiosity, thats all. We have a 15 month old son. It has taken a lot of time to get to the point where we are able to have the 15 month old in the same room as my alpha. Now, mind you, the alpha was delivered by me, 8 years ago and bottle fed by me. I had the dog since the day it was born, as a friends dog gave birth to 3 puppies, two stillborn and my alpha. The dog has always recoginzed me as the "pack leader." Commands executed flawlessly by him. Never once have I ever laid a hand on the dog in anger, even when he really pissed me off. This is critically important. A look will suffice for him to know when I'm mad at him. Well, now we bring home this new baby. Not a big deal, baby doesn't move much, the pack is growing, this is good. The dog would follow my wife around when she was pregnant etc. However, the baby cried, the dog didn't get this. We have taught him this normal, but it was more difficult than I anticipated. We recently bought a new house, backyard for the dogs, this is good. But now the baby is running. This is new for the alpha. The alpha doesn't like creatures that move fast and erratically. Well, some intensive training (using a basket muzzle and, yes, some tranquilizers), basically overstimulation in a controlled environment, have calmed the dog down to the point where last week the baby stepped on the dogs tail, fell on him and he didn't move a muscle. Very good. But you really need to be vigilant. The dog must know that you love the dog and the baby. The dog's environment and routine must not change (ie keeping the dog locked away separately from the baby is the worst thing you can do). The dog must always recognize that the baby is fragile. I believe that the dog recoginzez the baby to be part of the "pack" and won't intentionally hurt the baby at this point. But with a 125 lb dog, you must be vigilant. I guess this my way of relating my own story to you, of how, without trying so hard to make this an easy adjustment for the dog, this could have been a problem. I don't know what your friend did. Because my dog is a little different, and very strong and powerful, I have done a tremendous amount of reading on training and dog behavior, trying to be a good dog owner. It does take work, it doesn't just happen naturally. Sorry if this rambled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 Perhaps I used a poor choice of words, AD. But what can we call it when a 7 year old family Doberman kills the 10 month old infant? Sibling rivalry? Without knowing all the facts? Sorry, I'm not silly enough to try and venture a guess. There are a ton of possible variables. I do know it isn't the breed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Britbillsfan Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 One thing to always factor in with some breeds is their use besides being family pets as well as the type of owner they can attract. Rottweilers = big dogs with lots of attacks = therefore dangerous? Not necessarily. Rotties are often used as guard dogs and trained as such. The last two people in the UK that were killed by Rotties used as guard dogs. Also criminals use them to threaten (and attack) others. Especially drug dealers. And dumb idiots who have zero ability to train dogs are attracted to the macho image (and the dogs are then 'trained' to learn bad manners/be mean). Having had REALLY docile rotties with never a problem it is certainly not the breed, they are intelligent (well, for a dog) and easily trained, just a lot of owners I would not give the time of day to. Few breeds are really dangerous. A lot of their owners genuinely are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 One thing to always factor in with some breeds is their use besides being family pets as well as the type of owner they can attract. Rottweilers = big dogs with lots of attacks = therefore dangerous? Not necessarily. Rotties are often used as guard dogs and trained as such. The last two people in the UK that were killed by Rotties used as guard dogs. Also criminals use them to threaten (and attack) others. Especially drug dealers. And dumb idiots who have zero ability to train dogs are attracted to the macho image (and the dogs are then 'trained' to learn bad manners/be mean). Having had REALLY docile rotties with never a problem it is certainly not the breed, they are intelligent (well, for a dog) and easily trained, just a lot of owners I would not give the time of day to. Few breeds are really dangerous. A lot of their owners genuinely are. Add to that the popularity of the breed. That ensures there will be plenty of people breeding them who have no business doing it. They don't care about the temperment or physical issues of their animals, only the money they can make. The same thing has happened with every large working breed that's been popular at one time or another in America (Rotts, Pits, Dobes, German Shepards). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Warden Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 I really like the part under "Doberman" that stated "a miniature pinscher joined two pitbulls in a mauling". Miniature Pinschers have nothing to do with Dobermans, they existed LONG before the Doberman breed was created. The problem is the word "Pinscher", which is German for "terrier". I'm pretty tired of the ridiculous "turn on their owner" thing, as well as "their brains continue to grow and later in life it outgrows their skull, causing them to go crazy". Urban legends. Sorry Darin - it does happen. I have friends whose 12 year Dolberman went ahead and just attacked - THEM ! In their house ! The police ended it with a bullet and the couple were injured (not too bad) - no urban legend there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Maybe you should tether your dog in the truck from now on. If it's in the bed of the truck it's the law to restrain the dog with a harness designed for riding in the bed of the truck. He's in Alice Springs, Australia... Isn't that in the middle of the desert?... How many people live there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Sorry but a dog willing to jump out of a car moving at 80 MPH just to chase a kid on a bike is a bad event waiting to happen. 80 KPH is not as fast as 80 MPH... What is the conversion? 60 is 100 KPH... so 80 KPH is about 45-50 or so? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Perhaps I used a poor choice of words, AD. But what can we call it when a 7 year old family Doberman kills the 10 month old infant? Sibling rivalry? No... Owner stupidity... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Warden Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 He's in Alice Springs, Australia... Isn't that in the middle of the desert?... How many people live there? The only people who live there - really want to get away from it all - to serve tourists http://www.auinfo.com/australia-map-navigator.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Sorry Darin - it does happen. I have friends whose 12 year Dolberman went ahead and just attacked - THEM ! In their house ! The police ended it with a bullet and the couple were injured (not too bad) - no urban legend there My girlfriend's sister's boyfriend's cousin's Uncle had this dog, who bit his wife at 31 Flavors. I know because some dude on the internet told me. You're right though. It's definitely not an Urban Legend. It's a fukkin myth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede316 Posted March 1, 2007 Author Share Posted March 1, 2007 Isn't that in the middle of the desert?... How many people live there? Yep...Dead center Australia....Middle of nowhere....About 25,000 people live here....and it's hot here...Africa hot. Again the window was half down...Really didn't think his azz could squeeze through. He's doing good though....back to his old self but he was sore for a couple days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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