What Kind of Dog is This?

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

My nine month old, 80 pound Golden Retriever. While his nickname is "The Kraken", most people call him "Ed":

Goldens are the best.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

Who's going to fear a 12" tall dog?

Ha! I know...right?

[Por_sha911]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

My nine month old, 80 pound Golden Retriever. While his nickname is "The Kraken", most people call him "Ed":

Looks like Duke from the Bush Beans commercials.

My favorite dog is Hebrew National. Plain on a steamed bun...

[930addict]

Not fond of pit bulls, but here's my Newfy!

[RSBob]

Here’s my non- Newfy who died on August 10 after succumbing to cancer. His least favorite frenemy, the orange tabby, died a few months previous. The best non-hassel dog I have owned.

[Evans, Marv]

Condolences to you & the family. Must have been a hard time to go through.

[930addict]

Originally Posted by 930addict

Not fond of pit bulls, but here's my Newfy!

Attempt 2

[javadog]

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

They're all (meaning ones not spefically trained to be killers) sweet and lovable until something bad happens. Grenades are totally harmless until the pin gets pulled. The question is why does it seem like "the pin" gets pulled on Pits for no apparent reason?

The reason is generally that 99% of people are mostly clueless when it comes to understanding dogs. I include in that number most "dog people."

Why pits? Although there are a dozen dogs that I'd fear more than a pit bull, the sad fact is that a significant chunk of the pit bull population is owned by *******s, which you can read to mean exactly what it sounds like. Pick a certain demographic that comes to mind when you think of dog fighting, if you need a hint. Many pit bull rescues are from the bad side of town and have been poorly raised, if not maltreated. If this same demographic started to have an interest in german shepards, you'd see problems with that breed in the news.

Any dog is capable of attacking; that has not been bred out of them. Any dog of a certain size can maim or kill. Anybody that owns a dog needs to understand a dog. Anybody that takes in a rescue dog needs to have aq deep understanding of dogs. This is seldom the case.

[Por_sha911]

Originally Posted by javadog

The reason is generally that 99% of people are mostly clueless when it comes to understanding dogs. I include in that number most "dog people."

So the whole world is clueless... O. K.
You know, I like your approach. Hand grenades, automatic weapons, even pipe bombs aren't dangerous - its just that 99% of the world is clueless and that includes trained weapons personnel. Lets remove all restrictions on guns! Full auto AR15s for everyone!

[javadog]

Your analogy is weak. The things you asked are not like a dog, they are inanimate objects that will do absolutely nothing unless someone picks them up and does something with them, either foolhardy or nefarious.

Dogs are very different and they play by their own rules, whether we understand them or not. We tend to think of them as four-legged humans, perhaps four-legged kids, and that's not at all how they behave. Dogs are trainable, to a point, but they never will deviate completely from how they are genetically programmed. Their behavior is entirely predictable if you understand how they think and they tend to communicate quite a bit of information if you are knowledgeable enough to read it.

I will stand by my statement that probably 99% of owners do not have a good understanding of dog psychology and behavior.

[Jims5543]

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

So the whole world is clueless... O. K.
You know, I like your approach. Hand grenades, automatic weapons, even pipe bombs aren't dangerous - its just that 99% of the world is clueless and that includes trained weapons personnel. Lets remove all restrictions on guns! Full auto AR15s for everyone!

I use the gun comparison but differently.

A Pit Bull is a like a 50 Cal hand cannon and Retriever is like a BB Gun. Both have potential to do harm, one will cause you some irritation the other can kill you.

Which would you preferred to be shot by?

[javadog]

You might be surprised to learn that dogs primarily cause damage through biting and the bite force of a pitbull is not significantly higher than that of a retriever. There are dogs that have a bite force three times greater than either a pitbull or retriever.

You might then you say that a retriever has what is known as a soft mouth; the reality is all dogs have this innate ability to be gentle with a bite when they play.

[Jeff Higgins]

Hmmm... All this talk of Pit Bulls vs. Golden Retrievers, dogs vs. guns, and how dogs primarily inflict damage. Well, I'm here to tell you - bite force has nothing to do with it. If you have never been unfortunate enough to have to deal with an armed dog, you have no idea the damage they are capable of inflicting. I speak from experience.

Here's Ed - armed to the teeth (literally). Don't let his pleasant, unassuming demeanor fool you - he is a holy terror when armed with this thing. The damage he can inflict, the havoc he can wreak with this thing must be experienced to be fully appreciated.

This is his "zoo toy" - "a favorite of zookeepers around the world as a plaything for lions, bears, gorillas, and other such animals that would destroy lesser toys...". Empty, it weighs about five pounds. Full of water, closer to twenty. Just keep your distance and no one gets hurt...

[Por_sha911]

Originally Posted by javadog

Dogs are very different and they play by their own rules, whether we understand them or not. We tend to think of them as four-legged humans, perhaps four-legged kids, and that's not at all how they behave. Dogs are trainable, to a point, but they never will deviate completely from how they are genetically programmed. Their behavior is entirely predictable if you understand how they think and they tend to communicate quite a bit of information if you are knowledgeable enough to read it.

I will stand by my statement that probably 99% of owners do not have a good understanding of dog psychology and behavior.

And I stand by my statement that Pit Bulls are genetically programmed to be dangerously violent. They are "trainable to a point but they will never deviate completely from this programing. Thank you for confirming my point.

"Reading" a dog is all fine and dandy but when they suddenly snap and revert back to their genetic programing without any warning or provocation you become dog chow like the unfortunate victims who do not understand that they are playing with fire.

It seems like you cannot accept the truth of your own words so I imagine we need to agree to disagree and move on.

[javadog]

Pit bulls were not bred to be unpredictably violent, they were bred to perform a certain task, like many other dogs. The use of them in dogfights is a relatively recent phenomenon by some fairly worthless people in our society. If you go back to the early part of the last century, you might be surprised to learn how they were used.

The sentence of mine that you highlight above describes all dogs, not just that particular breed. If you think a pitbull "snaps", as you put it, with no warning then you don't know much about dogs. All dogs are very expressive when it comes to body language, if you cannot read it and you don't know how a dog thinks, then you might find yourself in a situation that you surprises you. Some of us, and all dogs, would have seen that coming from a mile off.

I don't mind agreeing to disagree, it's the typical outcome in threads like this between people that have lived with and cared for these dogs and those who have simply read about them in news articles.

[gtc]

https://local.theonion.com/golden-retriever-mauls-5-in-huge-victory-for-pitbull-ap-1825397926

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by javadog

Any dog is capable of attacking; that has not been bred out of them. Any dog of a certain size can maim or kill.

There was a case where a little old ladies little lapdog terrier went bonkers and attracted her. She was pretty messed us but obviously survived.

I had a 40 pound BYD (big yellow dog) the sweatiest dog ever, I would joke that if someone broke into the house she would lick them to death.

[Sooner or later]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

There was a case where a little old ladies little lapdog terrier went bonkers and attracted her. She was pretty messed us but obviously survived.

Good thing it wasn't a fatal attraction

[Alan A]

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

And I stand by my statement that Pit Bulls are genetically programmed to be dangerously violent. They are "trainable to a point but they will never deviate completely from this programing. Thank you for confirming my point.

"Reading" a dog is all fine and dandy but when they suddenly snap and revert back to their genetic programing without any warning or provocation you become dog chow like the unfortunate victims who do not understand that they are playing with fire.

It seems like you cannot accept the truth of your own words so I imagine we need to agree to disagree and move on.

Another James Watson.
Well done.

[RSBob]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

Hmmm... All this talk of Pit Bulls vs. Golden Retrievers, dogs vs. guns, and how dogs primarily inflict damage. Well, I'm here to tell you - bite force has nothing to do with it. If you have never been unfortunate enough to have to deal with an armed dog, you have no idea the damage they are capable of inflicting. I speak from experience.

Here's Ed - armed to the teeth (literally). Don't let his pleasant, unassuming demeanor fool you - he is a holy terror when armed with this thing. The damage he can inflict, the havoc he can wreak with this thing must be experienced to be fully appreciated.

This is his "zoo toy" - "a favorite of zookeepers around the world as a plaything for lions, bears, gorillas, and other such animals that would destroy lesser toys...". Empty, it weighs about five pounds. Full of water, closer to twenty. Just keep your distance and no one gets hurt...

anyone who owns an Ed is not compensating for any “short comings”.