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#51
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Scariest LOOKING breeds, public perception?
wrote in message ups.com... Does anyone know if there have been any studies/polls that measure what the "general public" thinks of as a "scary" dog? I'm ruling out the most obvious that I 'hear' about (Pit Bulls, Dobermans, and Rottweilers) for the purposes of this post. In the future (next year or so) I want to add another dog to our family and I want a dog that, on looks alone, will be a deterrent to any uninvited person attempting to enter our fenced yard/closed gate. I am not looking for a dog who will be aggressive, but rather a dog who, if outside in the yard and someone was thinking of coming over the fence, would bark and frighten just by appearance. If they growled that would be great too but I'm not counting on it. This dog will be a family member just like our other two. The "scary" factor will just be an added bonus. The dog will have access to both yard and inside via a doggy door, no "outside dogs" here at our house. My lab mix, although black and about 60 lbs, is obviously not "scary" looking as I've had 3 people come uninvited into my gated yard within the past year while she was right there barking her head off, but while she goes "nuts" barking, she retreats the entire time. Once the cable guy, another the water company guy, and a third time some dummy that the landlady sent over to inspect the roof without warning me first. All three just waltzed on in without ringing the bell even though I have a doorbell on the gate clearly saying "Please ring bell!". :-( I'm guessing they saw that she's a lab and assumed she was all bark, no bite (and they were correct). Lucky for them she didn't get out and get lost or I'd be the one to fear! Anyway, I don't want a "biter", I want a dog that people will ASSUME might bite and not chance it. I will repeat that I don't want a dog that is by nature going to be difficult to "control" (natural aggression/dominance issues).... I want a large dog that is a "big baby" but still scares the pants off someone who doesnt' know the dog. Boxers? Great Danes? What else "looks scary" that I've overlooked? ================ I wouldn't get a Rottweiler for your purposes, because they won't stay out in the yard unless the owner is there with them; they are house dogs and want to be near their owners all the time, and they hardly ever bark. When they do, it is really frightening. It comes from someplace deep within their chest.. It usually happens when they are caught by surprise or someone or some dog approaches my car while my Rottie and I are sitting in it. In general, they don't give any warnings. Insted of getting another dog, you could just hang up a sign on your back yard fence, "Beware of Dog". If I saw that sign I wouldn't go into your yard uninvited. I have a sign on my fence next to the gate that says "Protected by Rottweiler Home Security Systems - 24 hour monitoring" (it has a picture of a Rottweiler on it). I have a "Beware of Dog" sign above that. That might work for your back yard. For the front door, you could keep it bolted with a slide lock when you are home. |
#52
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Scariest LOOKING breeds, public perception?
"pfoley" said in rec.pets.dogs.breeds:
I wouldn't get a Rottweiler for your purposes, because they won't stay out in the yard unless the owner is there with them; they are house dogs and want to be near their owners all the time, and they hardly ever bark. When they do, it is really frightening. It comes from someplace deep within their chest.. It usually happens when they are caught by surprise or someone or some dog approaches my car while my Rottie and I are sitting in it. In general, they don't give any warnings. "In general, they don't give any warnings that *you* [pfoley] can see" may be a better way to phrase this type of advice. -- --Matt. Rocky's a Dog. |
#53
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Scariest LOOKING breeds, public perception?
"Tara" wrote in message 4.196... "Paul E. Schoen" wrote in news:4599f0f2$0$2644$ecde5a14 @news.coretel.net: but I think I have done a good job with Muttley and he is now family. Didn't you just give him away last week only to have him returned to you a few days later? I did take him to another home on a trial basis. More details on that are in my reply to Diddy's post in the "hemp" thread. The short version is that the prospective new owner knows less about dogs than I do, had him tethered outside alone 23/7 (one hour for walks), and almost lost one of his cats to Muttley. If it looked like he was going to be better cared for and loved there, I probably would have felt better about giving him up. I really missed him, and knowing he was spending nights alone in an unheated garage, instead of in my house on his bed or in mine, was more than I could bear. He is now fully *my* dog. Now I will see what I need to do in order to give him more exercise and supervised play time. My options include a 4' high 100' x 50' field fence, or an electric radio fence. I also have a 50' aerial cable run I might install. I don't see any immediate need for intensive behavior modification or training. He is doing much better and not causing any problems. More exercise and play will probably help a lot to provide physical and mental stimulation. If anyone can point out any severe problems in his present behavior, then I'll seek the services of a professional ASAP. Otherwise, I don't run to the doctor today, to cure a stomach ache that disappeared two months ago. Paul and the MuttMeister |
#54
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Scariest LOOKING breeds, public perception?
on Wed, 03 Jan 2007 03:16:14 GMT, "Paul E. Schoen"
wrote: Now I will see what I need to do in order to give him more exercise and supervised play time. My options include a 4' high 100' x 50' field fence, or an electric radio fence. I also have a 50' aerial cable run I might install. I just want to point out that a large dog such as Muttley could easily clear a 4' fence if he wanted to, and probably run right through an electric fence. My neighbor's Boxer does it all the time and they joke that they have the stim turned up all the way. Thankfully when the Boxer runs out of the fence to greet Roxy and I it's because she's happy to see us. Food for thought. -- Lynne http://picasaweb.google.com/what.the.hell.is.it/ |
#55
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Scariest LOOKING breeds, public perception?
"Lynne" wrote in message . 97.142... on Wed, 03 Jan 2007 03:16:14 GMT, "Paul E. Schoen" wrote: Now I will see what I need to do in order to give him more exercise and supervised play time. My options include a 4' high 100' x 50' field fence, or an electric radio fence. I also have a 50' aerial cable run I might install. I just want to point out that a large dog such as Muttley could easily clear a 4' fence if he wanted to, and probably run right through an electric fence. My neighbor's Boxer does it all the time and they joke that they have the stim turned up all the way. Thankfully when the Boxer runs out of the fence to greet Roxy and I it's because she's happy to see us. Food for thought. OK. Thanks for the advice. I'm sure Muttley could clear a 4' fence if he felt confined, and I certainly would not leave him run unsupervised in such a fenced area. I'm sure he could also dig under it or just bend the wire fencing as he did with his chain link kennel. I could also get a 5' or 6' wildlife fence, or maybe I could string a wire about a foot above the 4' fence with ribbons or something to make it appear higher. I don't think he'd normally try to run away, but he certainly might want to chase a squirrel, deer, or other tasty critter. Paul |
#56
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Scariest LOOKING breeds, public perception?
"Rocky" wrote in message ... "pfoley" said in rec.pets.dogs.breeds: I wouldn't get a Rottweiler for your purposes, because they won't stay out in the yard unless the owner is there with them; they are house dogs and want to be near their owners all the time, and they hardly ever bark. When they do, it is really frightening. It comes from someplace deep within their chest.. It usually happens when they are caught by surprise or someone or some dog approaches my car while my Rottie and I are sitting in it. In general, they don't give any warnings. "In general, they don't give any warnings that *you* [pfoley] can see" may be a better way to phrase this type of advice. -- --Matt. Rocky's a Dog. =========== Yes, you are correct. They don't give verbal warning, but they do show a certain body language you will notice if you are looking at them at the time. Their eyes and focus will lock on to something. Sometimes they give a very low growl first, but not always. But, because they are so quiet all the time, if you are not looking at them at the time or observing their body language, their verbal attack will seem quite sudden and deafening; it can shake you up. They observe for awhile whether it is a good guy or bad guy, before they do anything. Sometimes, when approaching a dog or person from a distance, they will crouch down and slowly move towards them, eyes locked, sizing them up; very intimidating, somewhat like a tiger or lion. |
#57
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Scariest LOOKING breeds, public perception?
In article . net,
pfoley wrote: Yes, you are correct. They don't give verbal warning, "Dude! I'm pissed!!" There are several excellent books out on canine body language, the most recent of which is McConnell's "For The Love of a Dog" (which is about dogs and emotion but talks at length about body language). Cesar didn't write any of them - sorry. -- Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis - Sending more troops into a war is properly called an "escalation." |
#58
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Scariest LOOKING breeds, public perception?
In article ,
Suja wrote: And FWIW, it's been my experience that Rotties are pretty transparent and fairly easy to read, once you get past the tail-lessness. Reactions of Pits to other dogs, now that took a lot more time to figure out. I think that you learn to read nearly any dog if you pay attention. The Aloff book is on my Amazon wishlist. I hear that although the book production is kind of crappy the contents are terrific. -- Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis - Sending more troops into a war is properly called an "escalation." |
#59
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Scariest LOOKING breeds, public perception?
"Melinda Shore" wrote in message: There are several excellent books out on canine body language, the most recent of which is McConnell's "For The Love of a Dog" (which is about dogs and emotion but talks at length about body language). And FWIW, it's been my experience that Rotties are pretty transparent and fairly easy to read, once you get past the tail-lessness. Reactions of Pits to other dogs, now that took a lot more time to figure out. Suja |
#60
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Scariest LOOKING breeds, public perception?
"Suja" said in rec.pets.dogs.breeds:
And FWIW, it's been my experience that Rotties are pretty transparent and fairly easy to read, once you get past the tail-lessness. I agree. Pfoley didn't read my post for content, I guess. Just because she can't read a Rottie doesn't mean others can't. -- --Matt. Rocky's a Dog. |
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