Quote:
Originally Posted by Eastern Girl
They are your kids, so ultimately, your responsibility. You decide what they can and cannot do, be around, see, hear, etc. If you are uncomfortable with them being around a rottie, then don't let them be around a rottie.
Having said that, I agree with the person above who noted that there's no difference between your 100 pound dog and someone else's 100 pound rottie. Every dog on the planet has the killer attack instinct in them, even the annoying, yappy, rat dogs that soccer moms and Paris Hilton types carry in their purses. They are all animals after all.
It seems unfair to judge a rottie before even seeing said rottie. There are some that should not be around kids, certainly. Others are perfectly gentle. It's the same with every other breed though. My mom has a terrier dog that is about 20 pounds or so that she has to crate when the grandkids are around because he gets crazy eyes and starts biting and growling.
I have a rottie mix (he's about 85 pounds) and he's constantly been around my nephews and niece, the oldest of which is 5. He's never so much as accidentally knocked one down. He's perfectly gentle with them, even when they are kids about it and start pulling his tail or petting him too roughly.
And I have to say, slightly off topic, because I have a rottie mix. it sucks that he gets prejudged all the time. He's a big sweetheart that loves people and other dogs, but he rarely gets much interaction with them, because people will pack up and leave the park when we get there. I am very aware of how people view him and how people are scared of him, so I keep a wide berth while letting them know he's friendly and won't hurt them, if they wanted to approach or pet him. I always keep him on leash and I keep him calm. They just can't help but judge him based on breed and size. He literally stands there, wagging his tail because he wants to play, and they just leave the park.
Meanwhile, unprovoked, my dog was bitten twice by dogs much smaller than him that were off leash and unattended by their owners who were too busy checking their phones to look up. One was a border collie and the other was a poodle looking thing that was wearing some type of vest like the loser dog he was. My dog responded by doing nothing. He could have killed them both, but he didn't.
If a dog viciously biting him or a kid pulling his tail doesn't evoke a killer attack instinct, I am not sure what would outside of someone attacking me. He's perfectly safe to be around, but he has almost no doggie friends because they won't let their dogs play with mine because he's a big rottie and therefore a violent killer. End rant.
Anyway, you can't judge a dog by breed, IMO. You have to judge individual dogs. If you feel like your parents are responsible dog owners, go and check the dog out yourself when they get it and see what he's like and how they are with it. If they are training it and working with it, it should be fine around kids.
As another slightly off topic rant, I will also say that it's your responsibility to train your kids on appropriately dealing with any dog. I've had people approach mine and only to have them start pulling his tail. The parents said and did nothing. I had to tell the kids how to nicely pet the dog.
tl;dr -- All dogs have the potential to hurt. Be a responsible owner. Be a responsible parent and everyone will get along. My dog is a super sweet gentle giant.
And I'm not suggesting you aren't responsible with your kids. That was my general rant on the topic.
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Your dog sounds lovely. You could try using a bit of empathy however.
I have had many experiences with dominant dog breeds exhibiting very aggressive behaviour, and the owner doesn't care in the slightest. In the last two weeks alone I've had two instances of owners unwilling and/or unable to control their pit bulls in off leash areas, who were being very aggressive with my dog and others, pinning animals down, growling, barking, biting (ie. "playing" according to the owners), and most importantly not heeding any warnings from the other dog that they want to be left alone and not listening to their owner trying to recall them. Have had other similar experiences in the past some of which I've posted here. It continues to happen.
I don't "pack up and leave" when I see a pit bull, and I continue to give them the benefit of the doubt. But I have to admit that now when I see one approaching, I am on the alert and ready to intervene immediately which I've had to do a number of times. If I hadn't in the past, there have been two situations where I'm unsure whether my dog would be alive or not, or at least seriously injured. I allow my dog to interact, and I've found that it's pretty much 50/50 on whether there's going to be a scene or not with this particular breed. You can usually tell right away.
I agree with what you're saying that all dogs are animals and have the ability to injure, but this means exactly squat. Google a list of dog fatalities by breed. 90% of them are pit bulls. Whether that's because the breed attracts ######bag owners, whether it's because they're very powerful animals and therefore when they do attack they do more damage, or whether it's because they're genetically more aggressive - it doesn't matter. The bottom line is that now when I see one of these animals, I get nervous.
You could try to be a bit sympathetic with people who may have had bad experiences with rottweilers in the past. Though I will note that every rottie I've ever met has been wonderful, I only have had these issues with pit bulls. This is all just my own personal experience, just as you are coming to conclusions based on your own experience.