Instinct or Upbringing?

[nuggety goodness]

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/877 ... ied-attack

man this upsets me!!!

The pitbulls are a 'known' dangerous breed but i know people who have them and they are great around everyone, including kids and other dogs... is it the instinct of the dog that does this or their environment they grow up in?

i have a now 14 week old Akita and he's 20kgs already, he is going to be a big BIG unit and from all reports they are a scary dangerous breed of dog but this guy is placid and playful and loves everyone and everything, if i wanted to i could make him into an angry sucker but that's definately not what i want to do.

i'm pretty sure this argument has come up before but let's refresh...

and is it true they are looking to ban these dangerous breeds in the not so distant future? if that's the case then there'll be no more large dogs and very few medium sized ones as they are just as dangerous, everyone will have these rats running around...

what's the answer? background check on new dog owners? stricter laws? mandatory handlers courses?!?

[silicone skyline]

He was walking two "fluffy dogs".

I would plead provocation. Lol

[Booney]

There is no definitive answer to this debate. There are certain breeds of dog that have and will be bred to kill. There are also much more commonly recognised dogs,like German Shepherds which have a wonderful nature but when trained are as vicous as any ( see Army,RAAF,Police dogs ).

The owner has a huge bearing on the dogs nature no doubt, but it is not all about the breed.

* Funny story *

A mate of mine has an Akita and arrived home one day to a gas meter reader on top of his pergola. The dog was asleep and cornered the meter reader down the side of the house, the bloke said he went up the drain pipe like a rat when the dog came round the corner, funnily enough he said the dog never barked it was just the presence of 70+kg Zac that made him move vertically...

[Psyber]

We always found our perfectly harmless and wouldn't hurt a fly Irish Wolfhounds had similar effect.
Mind you the last one was 90 cm at the shoulder and 90 Kg..

[Pseudo]

Seems to me that every dog which sets upon a human baby or smaller dog, tearing it into little bits, is always reported as having been "placid, meek, good with kids, etc." Gotta be something inherent in the breed. I wouldn't own a pitbull while I had young kids. Sooner or later, something like an innocent tug of the dog's ear is going to bring out the inner wolf.

[Psyber]

I think the breeds bred for fighting or guarding may well be genetically predisposed to being a bit more aggressive, or reactive to threat, as they are selected for it by breeders to be suitable for the purpose.
It can be enhanced or toned down by training and other environmental effects, but there is the extra potential if the wrong trigger occurs.
I wouldn't keep on of those breeds with young children either.
Similarly, working breeds tend not to cope well in suburban environments unless they get a lot of extra exercise daily.

Wolfhounds were a hunting and war dog, but they were almost extinct by about 1910, down to about a dozen.
All those we have now are descended from those few remaining then, most of whom were pets from more settled and gentle strains in the remaining stock.

[Pseudo]

Wolfhounds were a hunting and war dog, but they were almost extinct by about 1910, down to about a dozen.
All those we have now are descended from those few remaining then, most of whom were pets from more settled and gentle strains in the remaining stock.

Kind of ironic that the SANFLs own wolfhounds won 4 (?) flags in the 1910s but have been mostly "settled and gentle" since then