Prejudice Against Big Dogs- Bigdogism!

Bally8

Rant alert!

I was never a dog person. I've been slightly afraid of them for all my life. However last September we got a beautiful boxer/sheepdog puppy. He has radically changed my attitude towards dogs. I love him so much. He is amazing. So clever, loyal, loving and funny. We have spent a lot of time training him and working on making him calm around people and he is very good on walks etc.

However recently Im starting to get very frustrated with the amount of bad encounters I've had with people because my lovely puppy is a big dog. Its really starting to annoy me. Why do people persume that just because my dog is big, he is dangerous?

I have been nipped at and chased by little dogs but never by a big dog. When we go out he is always on the lead and we are very aware that he might seem intimidating but we have him under control. Once we were walking when this little dog came up off lead and started biting him and jumping on him, he just lay down and ignored him. The owner came over and was all worried saying 'Will he bite, will he bite'. I couldnt get over her, our dog was totally behaving himself while her little one jumped all over him.

This evening he was playing in our garden when a lady walked past our wall. He ran over to have a look and she started shouting over and over again like a mad woman 'Go home, Go home'. Poor dog didnt know why the crazy lady was shouting at him- he was at home and safely behind a wall. He barked back at her of course.

Its actually becoming a strain this feeling of constantly having to defend our beautiful Tyson for being a bigger dog.

Is this something every big dog owner encounters or am I just way too over sensitive? He is our first dog and we are trying to do our best by him. Its hard to socialise him when people wont give him a chance.

Shanao

Another rant alert!!:D

Unfortunately, it seems that some people just assume that big dogs are going to attack them. I'm sick of walking past people with tiny yorkies and jack russells and their dogs either run and attack my two on the lead, well-behaved dogs, or people pick up their small dog? Where is the bloody sense in that, its not like they're going to eat the other dog. I'm constantly getting the 'Are they cross?' or 'Do they bite?' to which i say, 'They're six month old puppies, what do you think?' I'm getting sick of small off-lead dogs coming over and bothering my two when they are ALWAYS on the lead. There's one crowd in particular that we've met in the park four times so far and their damn off lead small dog has attacked our dog everytime we've passed them so far. And they attempt to call it back of course and end up being ignored. Our dog just stands there ignoring it but if he responded? I doubt they'd be long in giving out to us cos our dog has a good 20kgs on theirs.

Acoshla

Yup, I get this all the time, not only is my dog big (I wouldn't even say she's that big really, there are definitely a lot bigger than her) she's also jet black, a bad combination. She is incredibly harmless, she's a nervous pee-er, so basically if someone did come around the corner of our house she'd bark like a demon but if they just went to rub her head she'd sit and pee. Terriers run at her and she just jumps up to me or runs away from them, yet like you said it's their owners that freak out at me, just because she is the bigger dog they assume she's causing the trouble, not their angry little terrier.

I've seen people cross the street when they see her, she'll be on a short lead with me, casually walking along sniffing the weeds yet they take one look at her and think she's going to go for them, based on nothing but her size and colour. It really p*sses me off.

Chris_Heilong

Shanao wrote: »

I'm sick of walking past people with tiny yorkies and jack russells and their dogs either run and attack my two on the lead.

These are the 2 I have problems with too, always off lead and they have been babied by their owners so much they just cant help being dog aggressive, I would let my puppy play with Akitas, GSD and any banned breed before I would go near a Jack or Westie(I know alot can be nice and friendly but most of the ones I have come across have a bad attitude which is partly their owners fault IMO)

I've seen people cross the street when they see her, she'll be on a short lead with me, casually walking along sniffing the weeds yet they take one look at her and think she's going to go for them, based on nothing but her size and colour. It really p*sses me off.

This happens to me while I walk my 4 Month old Malamute, I just think its so funny as he still looks like a baby.

Galway K9

I think the best thing to take into account here is that...you know your dog, your responsible and you are certain he/she would never do anything....

Ignorant people will continue to be ignorant and let them off!:D

Tripp

Chris_Heilong wrote: »

These are the 2 I have problems with too, always off lead and they have been babied by their owners so much they just cant help being dog aggressive, I would let my puppy play with Akitas, GSD and any banned breed before I would go near a Jack or Westie(I know alot can be nice and friendly but most of the ones I have come across have a bad attitude which is partly their owners fault IMO)

Please dont use that term, just please. Im an owner of 1 of these breeds and when someone says what you just said, a part of me dies inside.

I know it might sound terrible but i love it when an off the lead dog(especially small breeds) runs up to my Akita and starts barking like mad at her(She will bark back but thats about it) because it gives me the chance to try to educate the owner. Some owners just dont have a clue.

Galway K9

Tripp wrote: »

Please dont use that term, just please. Im an owner of 1 of these breeds and when someone says what you just said, a part of me dies inside.

I know it might sound terrible but i love it when an off the lead dog(especially small breeds) runs up to my Akita and starts barking like mad at her(She will bark back but thats about it) because it gives me the chance to try to educate the owner. Some owners just dont have a clue.

i like!:D

Chris_Heilong

I was mock the term as there are no Banned breeds in Ireland, there is the Restricted breed list which is the biggest joke when it come to Dog ownership.

lrushe

It's a 2 way street really, small dog owners think big dogs are the devil, big dog owners think it's the small dogs who are the problem, having a dog of each size myself I have to contend with both sides

toadfly

lrushe wrote: »

It's a 2 way street really, small dog owners think big dogs are the devil, big dog owners think it's the small dogs who are the problem, having a dog of each size myself I have to contend with both sides

I have two small dogs and dont think big dogs are the devil. I love big dogs, would love a big dog but its just not possible right now. What really pi$$es me off is when people with big dogs say my dogs arent "real" dogs because they're small and call them rats. Not very nice!

Oh Spadina how I laughed at anyone thinking your dog is evil, softest dog I have ever met. Such a pet.

Burkatron

Experienced it over the years with my Boxers! They've always been on the lead & small dogs would come over going mental at them! The boxer I still have Robbie was always a fecker for giving them a boxer slap or standing on them if he got the opportunity. It was really bad but really funny at the same time! He also did it to a St. Bernard who was just saying hello..I've never seen such a big dog cower,again, it was bad but hilarious looking back on it!

Bally8

Its reassuring that its not just us and our dog. Although its a bad sign too as it shows that its a widespread thing. I suppose the best thing to do is to just be confident in that we are good owners and as Galway k9 said some people are just ignorant. Must work on growing my thicker skin:D

Officer Giggles

I have a 7 month old Newfoundland who is the biggest baby ever who doesn't look one bit aggressive but I get asked the same...... they would want to be more concerned about getting a face full of slober to be honest

moving_home

I have a cocker spaniel and people have lifted their dogs and carried it when when we are passing :rolleyes::rolleyes:
you are gonna meet idiots everywhere don't let them bother you...

MaeveD

I don't have a dog of my own at the moment, but I was walking in Malahide last week and spotted the biggest Great Dane I've ever seen. Changed direction and asked his owner if he was friendly and if I could pet him..... he was over 200lbs. I spent 10 mins with him rubbing him all over....and when I went to leave, she thanked me for being nice to him!

kylith

Big Dog People, bear in mind that some of us people with small dogs aren't avoiding your dog cos we think it's vicious, we're helping your dog to avoid ours!

I'm the owner of two terriers, one of whom suffers from fear aggression and as such will take on anything; she's gone for Boxers, Akitas, American Bulls, Pitbulls, Labs, Retrievers, Mastiffs; you name it she'll try to eat it.

She's actually fine once she gets to know them, but it's better all round when I give all dogs a wide berth. One of her best friends is a Mastiff who is totally owned by my pair.

When I'm not with my terrible twosome I go out of my way to be nice to big dogs and their owners; smiling, saying hello and asking if I can pet them. I don't think I've ever met a rottie that's been properly raised that has a bad bone in its body. I'd have one myself but I don't have the room, couldn't handle the slobber, and no-one in my family would ever go near me again for fear of being savaged.

sensibleken

kylith wrote: »

Big Dog People, bear in mind that some of us people with small dogs aren't avoiding your dog cos we think it's vicious, we're helping your dog to avoid ours!

I'm the owner of two terriers, one of whom suffers from fear aggression and as such will take on anything; she's gone for Boxers, Akitas, American Bulls, Pitbulls, Labs, Retrievers, Mastiffs; you name it she'll try to eat it.

She's actually fine once she gets to know them, but it's better all round when I give all dogs a wide berth. One of her best friends is a Mastiff who is totally owned by my pair.

When I'm not with my terrible twosome I go out of my way to be nice to big dogs and their owners; smiling, saying hello and asking if I can pet them. I don't think I've ever met a rottie that's been properly raised that has a bad bone in its body. I'd have one myself but I don't have the room, couldn't handle the slobber, and no-one in my family would ever go near me again for fear of being savaged.

this made me smile

Ive a greyhound and some people seem to think theyre vicious. hes a big one and whimpers like a puppy when he sees a small dog. small dogs seem to love him though. Im looking after 2 jack russels the week end too and i know which ones ill have my eye on

tatabubbly

I've a small legged friend, my wee JRT Rebel and I've her on lead outside at all time, it's just good manners on part of the owner, and anyone with a small dog should not assume cos they are small they can be let off the lead...


I am PETRIFIED of bigger dogs, through my own personal experiences and having 2 nieces who were ravaged by a certain bigger dog breed... I'd love to get over it but honestly, I'd walk across a road to get away from them! I have the utmost respect though for people who have these dogs but they are not for me..

Rebel has absolutely no problem with bigger dogs, my OH takes her to play with his sis German shepard and Lab, she's fab with them! She's so agile and usually out runs them!
She loves playing with other dogs, no matter what the size...

**Vai**

Have 1 of each myself, a GSD and a terrier mix. The big dog prejudice happens almost daily in one way or another but u have to realise these people are ignorant and forget about it. Took my 2 out with a black lab Im rehoming and people literally crossed the road when they saw me coming with the 3 dogs behind me. Makes me want to get more big dogs.

Clare Bear

MaeveD wrote: »

I don't have a dog of my own at the moment, but I was walking in Malahide last week and spotted the biggest Great Dane I've ever seen. Changed direction and asked his owner if he was friendly and if I could pet him..... he was over 200lbs. I spent 10 mins with him rubbing him all over....and when I went to leave, she thanked me for being nice to him!

Oh I see him a lot, he's amazing!! I'd say she's sick of me at this stage, I always go over to them. It's gas to see my minature JRT playing with him I treated him at the Vets I used to work in and he's such a sweet dog. His owner is absolutely lovely too.

I'd be far more wary of little dogs. More often than not they're the aggressive ones.

Discodog

It is a sad sign of the residual doggy ignorance that still resides in Ireland. You would notice a big difference in the UK. I had several Boxers in the UK & everyone adored them. I never met anyone who was nervous or concerned. The basics of dog interaction should be taught at primary school.

random_banter

OP I know exactly how you feel! I have the biggest handsomest black lab and the amount of people who eye him up when we are on walks is outrageous.. (must say also that we meet lots of nice people with other dogs and we have great chats and admire each others dogs, which is nice, and we also meet some great people with kids who check with me first and then let the kids give him a pet, which he adores and so do they)

My biggest annoyance? My boy is so friendly & happy & doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body yet I have to keep him on leash all the time when we go to the parks, because so many people let their little dogs run around off leash even when they know they can be aggressive, and I don't want to be blamed for having my "big dog" off leash incase the little dog decides to start a fight!

We were in a certain large park recently and a lady had her terrier off leash, he ran straight up to my boy and snapped at his heels, tried to bite his thigh, so my boy gave a bark and growl back - of course, everyone thinks it's HIM that's causing the trouble, even though we were trying to walk away! People even grabbed their children and stood infront of them (they were also miles away from us) and looked at ME like they disapproved of me and my dog when we've done NOTHING wrong! It drives me nuts. We were walking a loop and ended up running into the SAME dog off leash again.. rinse and repeat! She didn't even put him back on leash after he attacked a dog the first time! /rant

Anyway OP you are not alone.. I do encounter a lot of bias against big doggies. Try not to let it bother you (im not a good example because the little agressive dog off leash thing really bothers me)

belongtojazz

I'm reading this thread and getting more and more wound up. There is a huge amount of respect on this forum for big dogs and people are very quick to jump in and defend them. But when it comes to having a go about small dogs mainly JRT everyone joins in.

As the owner of 3 very sweet jacks I am fed up to the back teeth having to tell people that they are not all snappy, yappy ankle biters anymore than any of the larger dogs are snarling man eaters.

Please stop with this stereotype, there will be a larger volume of smaller dogs off leads in parks etc as there is more of them kept as pets in none working environments.

There are some snappy ankle biters out there in exactly the same way as there is some aggressive nasty big dogs

Rant over

Shanao

@belongtojazz- I have no problem with small dogs, I have a problem with their owners (the irresponsible ones i mean of course). The people who force small dog syndrome onto their dogs by constantly picking them up when approaching another dog. Where I walk there are a lot more small dogs off lead than big so i do have problems with small dogs bugging my guys. Granted, i absolutely hate it when big dogs run at my guys as well but when you're a big dog owner and a fight starts between a big dog and a small dog, the big dog is always going to be the one who gets the blame even if the small dog is hanging off the big dog by its teeth. In saying that, the only way my guys could ever hurt a small dog is if they fell on top of him and if who knows what'll happen if that ever does occur.

People just see big dogs and assume that they're dangerous, that's the problem. Unfortunately, my dogs are RBs on top of that so I always get dirty looks and people pulling their children away. Never mind that they were raised with kids and are so gentle with kids that they even took me by surprise.

You're sick of hearing people give out about small dogs, try walking a large restricted breed.

lrushe

Shanao wrote: »

You're sick of hearing people give out about small dogs, try walking a large restricted breed.

I have a Rottweiler and a Chihuahua and I can honestly say that as much ignorance as I experience over my Rottie I get an equal amount over my Chihuahua so I can definately see where Belongtojazz is coming from. I wish people would see a dog as a dog, not breed, not size. If you have a problem with a dog look at what's holding it's leash, that's usually where the problem lies imo.

Shanao

Like i said, I have no problems with small dogs and I agree there is unfortunately a stereotype. Somehow doubt that you have people pulling their kids away from the big bad chihuahua though:D There is far too much ignorance about dogs in this country as it is though. I just hate it when I'm passing someone with a yorkie or mini JRT etc and they pick up the dog even though its happily wagging its tail and wants to meet the other dogs.:rolleyes: When it comes to big dog people though, i hate the ones who say that small dogs aren't 'real dogs'.

iguana

moving_home wrote: »

I have a cocker spaniel and people have lifted their dogs and carried it when when we are passing :rolleyes::rolleyes:

I get that bit quite a bit with my springers, one of whom is missing a leg.:rolleyes:

Chris_Heilong

iguana wrote: »

I get that bit quite a bit with my springers, one of whom is missing a leg.:rolleyes:

Maybe they are afraid he is a pirate, arghh

I have a big(still growing, just gone 4 months and 21kg) and small dog(pom), both love other dogs and just want to play, but I agree with Shanao about its the owners causing the problem not letting their small dogs interact with others at s young age and turning them in to little devils, sorry belongtojazz but its these owners that are giving your little ones a bad name.

Anytime I see another dog approach mine I gauge its body language, If it seems out of the ordinary I will stand in front of the new dog to see how it interacts with me before inviting him in to play, Its something I have seen dogs do in small packs(3 or more).

I dislike when a little dog has run aways from its owner and is heading towards one of my dogs barking like mad and the owner calls in the distance "Bono, Bono come back here...its ok...he wont bite" The owner seemingly has little control over their little "Bono". If it seems aggressive I usually step in front of it and give a low growl and it usually keeps its distance.

lrushe

Shanao wrote: »

Somehow doubt that you have people pulling their kids away from the big bad chihuahua though:D There is far too much ignorance about dogs in this country as it is though. I just hate it when I'm passing someone with a yorkie or mini JRT etc and they pick up the dog even though its happily wagging its tail and wants to meet the other dogs.:rolleyes: When it comes to big dog people though, i hate the ones who say that small dogs aren't 'real dogs'.

No I've never had people pull their kids way from my Chihuahua I've had the opposite, people thinking it's ok to allow their children to chase her around trying to pick her up like she's a toy and that's happen more than once which in turn makes it hard for my dog not to be nervous around stangers. It's a true testament to her temperament that she hasn't become snappy.
I get the 'snappy,narky' comments all the time from 'big dog people', my Chi gets called a rat by passing strangers and basically treated like a less of dog. My Chi doesn't know what size she is she just wants to be be left in peace to go on her walks with me and my other dogs.

Chris_Heilong wrote: »

but I agree with Shanao about its the owners causing the problem not letting their small dogs interact with others at s young age and turning them in to little devils, sorry belongtojazz but its these owners that are giving your little ones a bad name.

Letting your small dog interact with other dogs you are familiar with is all well and good, my Chi will wrestle my Rottie and play with my brother's Staffie till the cows come home but if I meet you out walking I don't know your dog, I don't know how it will react with mine. My Chihuahua weighs just under 6lbs, her leg is width of my index finger, inside that leg is a bone about th width and strength of a pencil, if I misinterpret yours or anyone elses dog while out walking it can have serious consquences for my dog and 'big dog people' need to understand that. I am by no means a nervous owner but more one who understands my dogs limitations, even a big dog wanting to play with my Chi could do her alot of damage.

ETA: I don't for a minute condone any brattish behaviour from small dogs or their owner, I would just like big dogs owners to see if from a different angle.

toadfly

lrushe wrote: »

No I've never had people pull their kids way from my Chihuahua I've had the opposite, people thinking it's ok to allow their children to chase her around trying to pick her up like she's a toy and that's happen more than once which in turn makes it hard for my dog not to be nervous around stangers.
I get the 'snappy,narky' comments all the time from 'big dog people', my Chi gets called a rat by passing strangers and basically treated like a less of dog. My Chi doesn't know what size she is she just wants to be be left in peace to go on her walks with me and my other dogs.

Couldn't agree more.. we had kids in our old estate terrify Tilly when she was a pup by chasing her and picking her up. She is a bit jumpy since then.

The bolded bit is so so annoying.

ISDW

I am a medium to large dog person, simply because I like that size of dogs. But I do think this thread is a bit silly, yes I understand people's frustration about how people react to their big dog, but to then show the same attitude towards small dogs is er, hypocritical:D If you have a problem with other dog owners, then its a problem with other dog owners surely, regardless of size of their dog? Irresponsible dog ownership is irresponsible dog ownership, it doesn't matter what dog it is that isn't being looked after properly.

Responsible dog owners of the world unite (please:))