The temperature has been below zero all day, and tomorrow isn’t going to be much warmer. I think my brain may have frozen as I can’t think of anything to write about tonight. I’m wondering what Freya is dreaming about. She’s making these strange little growling and whining noises as she sleeps, and her legs are making “running” motions. I’m guessing she’s dreaming about chasing small critters. I could be wrong, though. I am remembering the “Dog Dancing” episode of “King of the Hill” where Bill is thinking the same thing about his Rottweiler, and the Rottweiler is actually dreaming about chasing and biting Bill.

That’s it. Nothing else in my brain tonight. Frozen solid.

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.

And now, back to our aspiring butterfly, Axel.

As I picture my large and overbearing Rottweiler boy fluttering around with delicate wings, I am thinking that perhaps I chose the wrong change metaphor for today’s musings. Perhaps I should have used the ugly duckling and the swan.

Axel has never been ugly, though. He did go through the typical gawky stage where he was all leg and no chest, but he has always had a beautiful head to reassure us that he would in fact grow up into a handsome, well-proportioned dog. Which he has.

As I’ve mentioned a few times, it’s rather quiet here because Axel is away. The goal is for him to finish his American championship before I run out of money.  I say this only half-jokingly as I remind myself of how quickly his father finished, and try not to think of other friends and acquaintances who have spent five- and six-figure sums to finish their dogs.

If you’re not familiar with AKC championships, of course AKC’s site can explain it better than I can. Short version: Axel has to earn 15 total points. Points for a given show are based on the number of dogs entered for the breed. Two of those shows need to have a large enough Rottweiler entry to be worth 3-5 points. He must show under at least three different judges. Best case scenario: three shows, three different judges, three 5-point majors. Very unlikely. Worst case scenario (other than not finishing at all): see above, 5- and 6-figure expenditures.

Right now Axel is still in training. He’s living with his handler and traveling to the shows with her, her dogs and her other client dogs to get accustomed to the atmosphere and activities that he’ll soon be in the thick of. At last report, he’s progressing well. He has had a few issues with accepting strangers and strange dogs, but he’s getting past it and will soon be ready to make his ring debut.

Unfortunately, I probably won’t be able to watch him in the ring. It’s actually not uncommon for a dog to show poorly if Mom or Dad is in the line of sight. Axel is definitely one of those dogs. When we tried some show training with a local handler, I couldn’t even be in the hall at training. Once I was out of sight, though, he’d settle down and get to work.

His first show will probably be at the very end of this month, and I hope to have good news to post. If not, I hope there is at least a good story!

On a related note, I’m sure many of you have seen the recent news about PETA urging USA Network not to air the Westminster Kennel Club show in February, much as they did with the BBC and Crufts in the UK.

I am all for animal welfare. Welfare, not rights. I am totally against animal rights terrorists like PETA. I have never personally been at an event where dogs were released or poisoned by animal rights terrorists, but I do worry about it someday affecting me up close and personal, given the high profile of groups like PETA these days.