I own two Siberian Huskies and they're the most beautiful gentle dogs that I've ever owned. But when I'm walking them lots of people admire them as we walk by but there are also people that instantly believe that the dogs are dangerous and even walk the opposite direction when we approach and would lift their smaller dogs and leave quickly.

Why is that and why should size matter? at dog parks I seen lots of large dogs like German Shepherds. Akita's etc and I have yet to see an aggressive one. But small dogs however tend to be very nasty and show signs of aggression and my neighbour was even once bit by a Jack Russell but I guess that due to their size that doesn't matter.

Misunderstood maybe, I think the issue is there are so many untrained, unsocialised ones, that give the well brought up ones a bad name.

Our rescue has had numerous huskies and mals in over the past year, I can only think of one without major issues of some sort, ranging from guarding food to not liking men, to being tits on the lead. Nothing nessisarily unfixable, but all due to bad ownership. Similarly, we have Akitas that are impossible to read so if not well socialised as pups they end up wih dog problems, same for chows and sharpeis (although sharpeis do tend to be super nasty, the only breed I'd be willing to label, I've not met one that we were able to rehome)

Having said that, most of the idiots in the park who move away are not doing so wih some prior knowledge of the dog, but just a general fear of big dogs, because as you say they misunderstand them. I used to see people cross the street when they saw my Doberman coming, she was a bit stroppy when she wanted to be, but never to people on the street and they'd not know it to look at her, they crossed because she was a dobe.

I would be one who moves away, sorry but unless a person assures me their big dog is ok I won't risk my teeny one or my elderly collie cross. Even a paw could kill a tiny Chihuahua.

Also having been knocked down by a rather large dog which whilst being perfectly friendly managed to dislocate my shoulder I am now much less happy when I see one off lead.

I don't agree it's ok for small dogs to be out of control no dog should be out of control. But I do understand how they can be afraid of bigger dogs, imagine a 20 foot man coming towards you and you don't think he is necessarily friendly ! would you be welcoming and offer to shake his hand ?

Speaking as someone who likes to walk and cycle in areas where people exercise their dogs off the lead I can say that all dogs that you don't know have to be treated with suspicion, and avoiding them is usually the best policy.

My experience is that it is the small terrier types who are most likely to have a go at you (usually accompanied by an ineffectual owner going "She doesn't like people on bikes"). But size really does count with dogs: a small terrier is not going to be able to do any life changing damage to an adult. Two large Siberian huskies undoubtedly could.

(I'm not suggesting that your well socialised dogs would do such a thing, and they really are beautiful dogs aren't they?)

Unfortunately it is just the way people view things. Just like some people instantly avoid anyone wearing a hoodie and trainers, some inherently believe big dogs are more dangerous and should be avoided, whist small ones are fine, even thought that is not always the case at all. Infact small dogs can be far worse than bigger ones. The best example of how much dogs are judged differently on their size is to ask yourself this:

Why is it that it's generally the teeny little dogs that go into a barking and growling frenzy on the end of the lead, snap at people and behave like spoilt divas, yet bigger dogs don't?

Answer - because people allow little breeds to get away with things they'd stop a bigger breed from doing instantly! The chi/ yorkie/bichon is seen as a delicate little flower, mummy's baby, and could never do any harm so behaviour doesn't matter. The alsatian/ husky/ rottweiler on the other hand, mustn't let that be allowed to get out of hand, needs a serious keeping in check and no getting away with anything.

Why? An out of control yorkie is just as big a pain and danger to itself and others as an out of control anything else. They ALL need training and proper handling, they ALL should be approached carefully, they ALL have teeth and they can ALL bite. Because whether its a teeny ankle high chihuahua or a shoulder high great gane, they are ALL the same on the inside, and the inside of every dog is fundamentally a tethered wolf.

Any large dog is a danger if not under control. Several times, I have been innocently walking along a river bank and large, Alsation-type dogs have come running at me in full attack mode. Both times they pulled back at the last moment when their owners called out (from a distance), but they were obviously just moments away from launching a full-out attack. I'm sick to death of people who think they have a right to take these things out in public. No doubt, they will try to claim that they wouldn't harm anybody, but I don't for a second believe them. In one instance, I only just managed to get into my car before two enormous dogs reached me. I genuinely feared for my life on that occasion and if I'd had a gun I wouldn't have hesitated for a moment to shoot them.

I'm afraid I work on the assumption a little dog I can fend off and protect myself and my dogs from them, a big dog could bring me down (as has happened) and I cannot protect my dogs from them.

Give me a little dog snapping at my ankles compared with a big dog baying in my face anytime !

It's because there's a witch hunt just as there was with gun ownership (albeit 2 incidents led to the gun witch hunt, there have been more with dogs).

The trouble has been:

1. People (largely on Council estates but not exclusively) buying large dogs as status symbols

2. Some of the latter people training their dogs to be fierce to scare off people they may have trouble with

3. The people mentioned above often continuing with the illegal ownership of some banned breeds

4. A dozen serious attacks (out of hundreds of thousands of dogs in the country)

..and you have a situation where attacks have occurred, dogs are being mis-trained and misused, a press that's baying for action due to deaths, a public that misunderstands and wants protection, and a government that wants to be seen to be acting.

The result is the general public see dogs as a threat to children and thanks to those few bad people, a government that wants to bring in expensive licensing restrictions and long jail terms for ALL dog owners.

I wouldn't want to own a dog now (having done so for more than 30 years of my life) because its looks very much as if in future if your dog does bite someone, even a nip, and even if provoked or completely out of the blue / character, then you're going to be facing jail.

What you're seeing here is legislation as was seen with guns - legislation that targets the innocent, not those who pose the threat, and a government that believes you can legislate for absolute safety when in reality it doesn't matter how tight any legislation is ever, there will always be someone who slips through and does something unexpected. With guns, the determined person can always get hold of illegal weapons or do what we saw some months ago, drive a car at high speed into a bus stop full of children. Same result, just alternative method. If someone really wants to kill, you can't stop them, they will always find a way.

With dogs, those that want dangerous dogs "for protection" will also always find a way to continue to train even normally docile breeds for that purpose (most probably in a cellar or by renting a garage), and will continue to hold illegal breeds, will ignore any licensing provisions, muzzle requirements etc etc.

With any system of licensing or laws, no matter how tight they are, someone will break them / get around them, fall through the net.

The problem with dogs is that many of people who are buying them for status symbols, even if not deliberately training them, aren't as loving towards the dog as most responsible "pet" owners with the result that the dogs behave according to how they've been treated.

It's a bit like the same children, those that haven't been brought up properly are the ones running around stealing cars, mugging old lady's and burgling houses. If a dog suffers regular beatings or gets played with roughly, then its going to have anger issues and play roughly with other people.

I'm afraid this is very much a case of the lowest of the low dragging all of the decent dogs owners down with them thanks to press and government hysteria.

A friend had a rottie, the most gentle dog I'd ever met. It depends on the way big dogs are trained. Unfortunately the dog had to be put down due to an aggresive form of cancer.

Just thought I should mention it's not just bull breeds, for me it's any large dog off lead heading for me or mine especially at speed. Doesn't matter how friendly they are they scare my oldie, can step on my teeny and it was a Dalmatian who knocked me down.

A friend I knew had a Rhodesian Ridgeback. Very gentle dogs when trained properly but bred originally for big game hunting, specifically lions (although they didn't attack them they were actually bred to chase them down for the guns). That's why some papers and people have been calling for a ban, misrepresenting them as ferocious Lion fighting attack dogs. They do make good guard dogs as they are very intelligent and loyal, and can be viscous if called upon to defend their owner, but their temperament is not like that. In fact I could be describing an Alsation there and very few Alsations are ever involved in these attacks....

I also know someone with an Akita (Japanese fighting dog) and it's equally gentle.

Trouble is Pit Bulls and some specialist fighting breeds aside, dogs are essentially the sum of how they are treated.

I was bitten by a Jack Russell years ago (both arms)and a viscous little thing it was. After biting 3 people it was finally put down and yet that was a small dog that most people keep without any problems - this one was a rescue dog that had been badly abused and it turns out had temperament problems as a result.

...and this is the problem. Mistreat a dog, any dog, and it can turn out bad tempered and viscous.


It's easy to be scared when you hear of all these attacks and I must admit some breeds make me nervous. At the end of the day though, the problem is not with the dogs, its with the owners. Very few dogs are vicious in nature per se.

It's those idiots that buy dogs to scare, not as pets, and treat them as such that are causing the problems in my opinion.

I'd pretty much bet that the Dalmatian that knocked you over was just over friendly and zealous, and didn't try to bite you, as Dalmatians on the whole are very energetic and friendly dogs. Of course, that doesn't negate the fact it should have been on a lead. However, I doubt very much that it wanted to bite you.

BTW don't make the mistake of thinking that small dogs can't kill or can be easily dealt with. The Rack Russell that bit me was so fast that I got bit on the 2nd arm whilst trying to hit it to get it off the first. There's was absolutely nothing I could have done to stop if it had really wanted to kill me as it was so quick it would have just let go and bit into somewhere else. I'm 6ft and nearly 16 stone btw.

Absolutely it was just an over grown goofy pup really the problem was it had no recall and loved jumping up, sent me down to the ground and tried to lick me to death wouldn't have minded but I dislocated my shoulder and couldn't get back up.

IMO all dogs big or small should be under control, because even a friendly dog can hurt a person. And they were quite lucky I love dogs generally if I was a hater I dread to think what could have happened to the dog.

Either you are overly dramatic or you do something to promote such attacks, as I cannot think of anyone having had several close calls with the same time of dogs when just minding their own business. One scary incident yes, two? I start to doubt the validity of your story, suspecting it is rubbish made up to try and wind up fms.

I agree to an extent, however the worst bite I've seen was from a cocker spaniel - the owner ended up with severe facial scarring and several weeks in re operation, as well as permanent eye damage. Whilst its true a little dog maybe easier to fend off, given the chance they can still do as much damage, but I agree that they are less fear inducing.

IMO, it's wholly unacceptable for ANY dog to run at people, snapping or behaving aggressively.

And as the law stands, in a public place, it's an offence for any owner to allow their dog to behave in such a way.

Big or small, they all come with teeth capable of nicking an artery and causing significantly scarring.

However, it is frustrating to those of us who invest the time and training in our pets and keep them under control, that all similar dogs are unfairly judged.

Don't take it personal. I pull my three small dogs out of the way of big dogs, not because I'm worried the big ones will go for my little ones, but because my little ones are more likely, the closer we get, to snap at the big ones.

Sometimes big dog owners take a right hump "he won't bite / he's dead friendly" etc. it's not your dogs I'm worried about, it's my grumpy little mutts that cause a scene.

And it's not because I treat them like little princesses (seeing as one is a male), it's usually when they're on a lead, they see a massive dog and feel threatened so bark and growl. Cabbage the Yorkie will see off a dog from the other side of the street, Ren and McGee will only get arsey if another dog gets close.

If we are in the park however and they are off the lead, none of them are even interested in other dogs, they want to fetch the stick or ball, they couldn't care less, until you get some idiot allowing their galumphing friendly big dog to bound and leap over towards ours. You tell people to get their dogs away but again it's "oh he wouldn't harm a fly", you know that, I know that now I've been told, but my dog who is eight times smaller than this giant doesn't know that.

I love rotties, big teddy bears. We lost our greyhound to the same aggresive cancer, I did a bit of research on it and saw rotties were prone to it. Unfair

correction ANY DOG IS A DANGER IF NOT UNDER CONTROL.

I wish more owners were like you, my staffy pitbull cross, she is a rescue dog with a few issues, she is 3 years old and until last year was mistreated, she has never socialised with other dogs so sees them as a threat, and because of this I never let her off the lead,
I'm sick of people with little yappy things thinking its ok to let their dogs run riot saying its ok they wont bite, thats all well and good but the stress my dog is in because they are so selfish, and if my dog did get hold of said yappy thing who will be to blame?

rant over sorry if any typos using my phone

Personally I don't let either of mine run up to any dog or person, they meet lots of dogs but only after I check the owner is happy for them to say hello. Manners cost nothing I always think.

Neither my teeny or my medium would hurt another dog, but I have seen them scared by dogs running up t us so I don't want that to happen to anyone else because I refuse to take responsibility for them.

I've been bitten 3 times, all by very small dogs (2 westies and a mexican hairless).

I've been bought up around medium to large dogs all my life and as others have said it's nothing to do with the SIZE of the dog but how it has been trained and bought up.

And ALL dogs should be kept on a lead in public places, including parks IMO. Any dog can bite a child, doesn't matter of it's size.

I do think bigger dogs get bad press due to a very small amount of bad owners. I've met staffies that are the most soppy buggers around and their owners (despite some being poor) care for them better than they care for themselves. Had one hard looking young bloke I met at the bus stop with his staff who I said hello to and made a fuss of and he actually started to well up and told me I was the 1st person who had actually sat down beside him and made a fuss of his dog for months. And all because of how he dressed and because his dog was a staff (who was a complete lovely thing). Still see them out and about and even get waved at if they are over the other side of the road, even when he is with his "mates". (even though I'm an old fart of a lady)

I do agree about leads mine get plenty of exercise and I maintain control over who they interact with, manners as I said earlier.

This morning on our walk in a shared open space (children's play area, skate area, cycling and walking paths, fishing and water sports and runners) 90% of us kept our dogs on leads and were o problem to anyone else 10% seem to think no leads is their right and of that 10% half of the dogs were interfering with other park users enjoyment of the space.

Looking in the local press they are talking about banning dogs in the area due to unleaded dogs.

Not fair on the 90% of dogs who are walking perfectly safely and not interfering with anyone else. IMO

I have a black German shepherd and people are terrified of the look of her . She doesn't jump up at people and is very well behaved but we still get comments and stares from peole who are terrified of her .

A while ago I had to tell a man off when he was telling his little girl she was silly to be scared of my molliepops because she was obviously a friendly old girl. I pointed out his little girl was very sensible when molliepops was as tall as she was and could bite her head off if she wasn't friendly.

Aren't we all a bit mad not to fear some dogs ? dogs we don't know who could do major damage ?

You know your dog other people don't so it's normal to worry about the shear size. One of the reasons we have down sized so much I like people to smile and feel safe around my dog, she then only sees happy people around her.

The problem is the perception of aggressive.
I have a lovely elderly border collie who just wants to meet and greet everyone (though she doesn't jump up). When out in the local fields - yes she is off the lead - a minority of walkers will shy away and I grab her to make sure they are not further alarmed. And my next door neighbour - though he has never had 'a bad experience' - is totally unable to read dogs. He'll ask 'Is she looking at me funny?' and is terrified if she deposits a stick at his feet and gives him her play growl
The only dogs I am wary of are staffs. Yes I know they can be softies but invariably they are in the company of the local 'hard' guys who don't give a jot about dog care or control.
Oh yes and marmaduke type dogs who bound all over you with their muddy paws because their humans never taught them anything better.