Throughout the years that I have owned Rottweilers, there have from time to time been unfortunate incidents involving the breed that make people question me as to why I’d have “those dogs.” “Those dogs” as in dogs that bite people, sometimes with fatal results. Despite the fact that several of my own dogs have been able to change people’s perceptions about the breed, it’s a real uphill battle after a local bite incident.
I wish I could come up with an answer that would stop them in their usually-moronic tracks, but after not one, but two incidents in the Chicago area within the last 10 days where three children were hurt by Rottweilers, one fatally, it’s not only the morons that are asking the question.
I have had a total of six Rottweilers. Their temperaments have run the gamut from love bug to well, asshole. One of the love bugs was a registered therapy dog who visited mentally and physically challenged residents of two group homes. Not exactly a job for a killer.
I try to keep the two current dogs out of situations where they might even think they need to defend me. I don’t believe that either one of them would think that a young child is posing a threat that required a full-on attack. But they are dogs, so when it comes down to it, I really can’t know for sure what they are thinking.
We don’t have children. If the dogs are outside of our house, even when in the fenced back yard, my husband or I will be out there with them. If someone came into the yard, it would either be at our invitation, or in direct defiance of a request to stay on the other side of the gate. In other words, we supervise the dogs and as much as possible, their interactions with others.
Supervision is what is almost always lacking when the full story comes out on any of the dog attacks upon children. Unfortunately in almost every news account I’ve seen about dog attacks, there are a few things in common.
The dog’s breed is played up only when it is a Rottweiler, Pit Bull or other “bad” dog. If the breed is one of the supposed “family-friendly” breeds, it’s not mentioned until much later in the story, if at all. The attacks almost always occur when there is no adult supervision of either the dogs or the children. This fact never seems to be reported initially, though. It never seems to get mentioned until a later report, usually a day or so later.
I am not defending the dogs that injured or killed these children, and I am most certainly not defending the owners or parents that failed to supervise the dogs or children.
I just wish that people would not have that knee-jerk reaction whenever something like this happens, and cast doubt upon all Rottweilers, most of whom will go through their whole lives without harming a soul.