by Zipora Hartov

Created on: March 31, 2008

While I was reading several articles on this topic, I saw the boxer listed as a dangerous breed and nearly went into shock. There is an old photo of me at the age of three, sitting on the back of a boxer. My very first dog, at the age of five, was a boxer named Taffy. The AKC standard for boxers says of their temperament that "Instinctively a hearing guard dog, his bearing is alert, dignified, and self-assured... With family and friends, his temperament is fundamentally playful, yet patient and stoical with children. Deliberate and wary with strangers, he will exhibit curiosity he responds promptly to friendly overtures honestly rendered. His intelligence, loyal affection, and tractability to discipline make him a highly desirable companion..."

As far as Rottweilers are concerned, a decade ago I worked with an obedience trainer who bred them and they had marvelous temperaments, as well as providing the comedy element for each and every training session. A couple of years ago I met one (on the old side, she has since gone on to greener playing fields) who was a bit protective of her "person", but approached properly she was just fine, checking out my dog (a young borzoi) and taking treats from my hand. I don't believe I've met a nasty Rottie, though I am sure they are out there in the world, due to their owners.

A dangerous dog is created by wildly varying factors, least of which is its breed. Among those are its owner, irresponsible breeding, former abuse, and the misleading perceptions created by the media, which seeks to sensationalize the news, as well as often not publishing or making known their errors. It is not only abuse, and not only owners who intentionally train their dogs to guard and attack that create a dangerous dog. It is also the well intentioned owners who care for their pet's health and well-being, and spend a fortune on products for their pet, that create monsters by not training and socializing their dogs. This happens very often with the toy and miniature breeds, which are "cute" and often anthropomorphized by their owners who are either ignorant of or ignore the general tenets of dog behavior and dog psychology. A bite from a small dog can get just as infected as a bite from a larger dog.

The same goes for any of the other breeds mentioned or thought of in this topic.
I believe that a breed's "bad" reputation, and the breed itself, is created not only by the factors mentioned above, but also by a person's experience with a breed and lack

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