Do you believe that a dogs breed makes them dangerous?

My daughter has a part pit bull mixed with lab. She hired a trainer to help her work with him because he's shown aggression towards other dogs. The trainer explained that this dog seems to have been born with these tendencies, even though he gets along great with the four other dogs that live with him. He is very gentle with children and babies. His brother, who also lives there is not aggressive with dogs, but is very protective of his food and toys. He doesn't like strangers, and growls when a new person comes around. She has been working with the dogs, and they are now getting better. It's funny, when they were puppies, they were so cute and playful, and then when they were about 5 months old, their personalities seemed to change overnight. Both of the pits are gentle with people they know. I guess every dog has their own personality, and they do need proper training to keep them from being a threat to people or other pets.

I agree that most of the time a dogs actions are based upon their owner and the way they are trained. All through my childhood we had Pig Bulls and Rottweillers, they never bothered us kids. They protected us very well though. The females we had always seemed to be more aggressive than the males though. I do believe that there could be some instances where the dog is just mean but for the most part I believe that it's how the owner raises them.

Hello Tlb0822, I'm known as 'dog mom' in my little, rural neck of the woods. I've had, bred, and raised many dogs, pups & adults alike. My personal answer to your question is: Yes, a dog's breed can be a factor with regard to irratic, dangerous responses to stimuli. However, this is generally due to irresponsible breeding. I.E. too much in-breeding within the blood line. If a breed is bred responsibly, then it's been my experience that environment far surpasses genetics as an indicator of possible dangerousness. Hence, the reason to try to learn the history of both the stud and bit**ch. Of course, that's not always possible. So, doing what you're doing -- raising responsibly, and remaining alert to possible behavioral snaps, is what's called for. Two of our current five dogs have bull terrior in them, and a third is a Rotty-hound mix. None has shown any signs of dangerous response to stimuli. Still, we make sure to avoid teaching aggression -- like avoiding tug-o-war play, and never allowing competition over food, or affection. The line between play and fighting is such a fine one, that we all must remain diligent in overseeing our pooch's behavior. Yet, all in all, I do agree with you that environment is a better gauge than genetics.

I am also going to agree with you! We used to have a purebred Pit Bull. She was raised from a puppy to be gentle and with young children around. We only ONCE had an issue with her but it was one of those things that any dog would do. She had just had a litter of puppies and one of the kids walked a little to close. She growled and nipped but not even enough to break the skin. I think almost ALL new mother dogs would do something like that regardless of breed. Right now we have a mixed pit bul/cocker spaniel...LOL don't ask how that happened...she looks like a pit bull but has the typial cocker spaniel personality. The worst thing she has ever done was accidently knock my 4 year old off the porch because she got too excited to see him. She jumped up for a "hug" and knocked him over LOL. I personally wouldn't own a rottweiler but not because I think they're bad, I just don't care for dogs that size nor do I have the time to give them the attention they need. Our dog is pretty low maintenance because she's so easy going.