Does my dog seem like a bad dog to you? General Chat

I have a 14 year old mutt dog named Brownie. He is 50% Yellow Labrador Retriever, 25% Chow Chow and 25% American Pit Bull Terrier. He is close to 70 pounds. He loves all cats, children, and dogs that aren't aggressive. He will fight back viciously and spontaneously if another dog tries to harm him and has mauled two dogs that attacked him. He won't attack or be aggressive first but won't tolerate any growling or anything. He's always been an alpha male dog. He does fine with almost all women. He hates trucks and barks at them a lot. Off lead, he stays near me and won't run off no matter what, but on lead.. he tends to get excited and bark at certain things and every now and then... yank. Also, on lead, he barks at men often. One guy approached me to ask for directions and Brownie lunged at him growling and snarling and tried to bite his arm (I saw his jaws open and clamp down on air) but I was able to snatch him back enough and the guy was able to move enough so that he wasn't bitten. I am not so fond of this and I think he over reacts, but I have never trained him away from this.. as I don't like men approaching me and he does a good job of making sure they don't. If I give him the run of the house, he won't do anything bad.. but if I lock him in my room alone (my room only and only if I'm gone) he has peed near the window before. I have no idea why. Some people say a dog that will bite someone or hurt another dog is a bad dog, but I don't think my boy is a bad dog. He will only bite if you get way too close and he's on a lead and he will only hurt another dog if they are aggressive toward him first. It just bothers me that people sometimes think he's a bad dog when to me he's the most wonderful dog ever. Children play with him and they can crowd him and do whatever they want to him and he will NEVER fight back or do anything aggressive, same with cats. Is he really bad? I think he's good but has a few bad traits. Everyone most likely already knows what he looks like by now... but here's his photo. Anyway, tell me what your opinion is of him by my description. Feel free to ask me anything you wish also. I just want to hear peoples opinions. Thanks!

I do not think your dog is "bad"

however he could do with a better owner.

I doubt very much he's a 'bad' dog but it sounds as though his behaviour boundaries are rather mixed and he is confused about what he can and can't do. I wouldn't let a dog that is likely to attack a person for just approaching you anywhere near children, however wonderful I thought he was. The peeing sounds like an anxiety problem because he doesn't understand.

Sorry, but you did ask!

Why did you post pictures of your dog in your front yard [which does not appear to be fenced] loose and without wearing a collar http://www.dogsey.com/showthread.php?t=166997 and say:

and yet now you post a picture of him wearing a studded collar inside your home and say:

and ask if he seems a bad dog?

He isn't a bad dog. Here's the but. I think he needs better management when out on a lead.

My last dog did not like strangers approaching or some dogs but he never lunged to bite as he was managed always on a harness and leash and was trianed to sit calmly and nicely and people were warned not to stroke him. He was amazing in the house with us and the children and grandchildren.

I also ask like Malka has done if he does these things you say why is he free roaming an unfenced yard with no collar ? Surely he shouldn't be whether he has issues or not for his own safety and that of others.

That was his Christmas photo, that's why he was wearing the red and near the tree. And no our front yard is not fenced, not once has he ever run off either. Also, I asked because I was interested in hearing what people had to say. Did I answer your question well enough? You did not even try to answer mine, but I have a feeling I have no wish to see what type of answer you would have provided.

There are no bad dogs.
There are damaged dogs, terrified dogs, mishandled dogs and sick dogs.
There are, however, bad owners...........

My dog loves kids, I got him when I was a child and he would never ever hurt a kid ever. Never has throughout any of his years, or even come close to seeming like he would. He does do anything bad when he's off the lead, it's only when he's on the lead. That's why he's off leash and wandering in our unfenced yard. He doesn't leave our yard, I often don't put a collar on him when he's out there. He won't go into anybody elses yard, and if he sees someone walking etc. he doesn't pay them any attention. The bad behavior is only on a leash, that's why I REALLY hate putting him on there.

Thank you. I did ask and I thank you for answering. I know for sure he will not hurt children, he's 14 years old and has never shown any aggression or even nervousness or fear around kids. He loves them. He grew up with tons of kids and I know for SURE they are safe. As I said, he's 14 years old now. On his lead ONLY, he does tend to have an aggression issue with some men. At parks I let him off his lead (illegally) and he walks right by the men like they aren't even there. When he's on his lead, I guess he feels restricted and over protective. But I will admit I've never tried to remedy this.

My dog is none of the above, and I don't think I'm a bad dog parent. My dog is healthy and happy. But I get your point, thanks for responding....

If you are allowing your dog to get into situations where he has to fight to protect himself, you`re not being that careful.

It was a long time ago when that particular incident with the guy happened. But even now when he's on his leash, maybe at parks etc. he sometimes barks but I make sure to keep him away from peoples walking path. But to be totally honest, I usually just break the leash laws and let him off the leash and he acts like they aren't even there. He does GREAT off leash. I agree with you though, it was careless to let him get that close the the guy. As for the two dogs, one was a Chihuahua that attacked him from behind him and bit his foot hard and drew blood, and another was a Chow that a man here let out and it attacked him full on and gashed his head open, he still has the scar. I appreciate your honesty, and I agree with you.

I think you need to re-think that !

Thanks everyone. My dog is not a bad dog at all. I also am not careless or incompetent. I've made some errors along the way with my dog and he does have some things certain people would say are bad or are generally considered bad. It is his job to bark at strangers, but it is not appropriate for him to try and attack someone who most likely meant no harm. I understand that, that is BAD. He is used to being off his lead, so he hates it and it makes him upset to be on it and he lashes out at others sometimes because of it. Now that he is 14 years old, there isn't a point in trying to rid him of this issue, but I understand that I was probably negligent in getting him to be calm on his lead. Note that I am 22 years old and these incidents were when I was quite a bit younger. I appreciate the honesty here. He does great off lead, and would never hurt anybody or even go at anybody when not on his lead. I know for sure after all these years that he won't hurt kids. I assure you, I know my dog better than anyone else. I know what he can and can't do and what he will and won't do. I understand the concern for the children though. I have found out by browsing this site that I am much different from most of the people on here. The way I and the people around me live is different, the way I handle my dog is different.. and my mentality on dogs is even different. I think that is why I end up in so many arguments on this site. It has helped me though, I'm happy to be able to find out new things about dogs and how others interact with their dogs. It has also helped me grow as a fur parent and know what I need to be doing with dogs and tips and things that would help me. I'm not a professional with dogs, and I am here mainly to seek information and converse with other fur parents about their dogs and what they do with them. I see some people that tend to get heated about my discussions and sort of attack me rather than answering my questions or engaging in any form of true conversation. If I offend or annoy anybody, I am truly sorry. I assure you, it was not my intent. Thanks again everyone!

I think what C&D wrote was accurate TBH I know you answered ''my dog is none of those things'' but the was also a part that said.....there are however bad owners....and TBH if you felt that he or you where none of the things I doubt you would of posted asking if the question in title.

We can all mask our short coming...and being human we all have them....but deep down I think we all know at the back of our minds things could be managed better.

Thats where the problem is I think ''management'' of your dog, you say he has always been the alpha type, but it seems to me that he is actually confused as to who is leading who, whether you like a man approaching you or not, your dog should be trained to sit and wait whilst you talk to a man, if managed right your dog should know that he is not required to lunge unless you yourself gave the ''word'' to do so.
It is IMO all very well saying I have never stopped him from doing this as I don't like men approaching.....but your dog doesn't know that and if you said he does then you will be kidding yourself, what he knows is that it is sanctioned by you to do it ...ie exceptable. What he should be trained is confidence to ''sit and wait'' you should be able conduct a conversation and go your merry way....
Your breaking rules by allowing him off a lead in parks and feel confident that he will walk past men with no issues, however you make the excuse that he only has aggression issues with men when on lead....... in my eyes your dog is confused its you yourself that has the issues of men approaching and you are transfering it to him via your body language. My late dog when I took her on had issues with men both on lead or off, I had to train her the confidence she needed by reassuring her everything was alright. IMO he should know your boss......not by hitting or anything....just by confidence of being in situations so he can read your body language and relax after all you don't want to be putting him in a situation where he does harm and ends up destroyed.....when that would of been your fault by not taking charge of the situation

YoungStevie...

I love your reply. I think you're right. I know I don't mishandle my dog, I love him to bits. I know I'm not a bad fur parent. I love my dog to death and I feed him good food and take him out to play with him each day and do my best to make sure he's happy. He's the healthiest dog I've ever had and he follows me everywhere and just loves me. People always tell me how great he looks etc. for his age and how much I must love him and care for him in order for him to be like that. He's my baby. I don't leash him or anything, he's free and yet he won't ever leave my side when he's off leash. I let him do whatever he wants. It is the reason for some of the things he does, I KNOW that. I know I'm not a bad fur parent, and I know he's not bad. Someone saw him on a video on my YouTube page the other day barking and said he was bad and that he saw the pit bull because "a normal Labrador would not do that". I consider my dog mainly a lab because of his looks and his temperament so it kind of hurt. I know some of the things he does are bad. I break the laws in the parks because it makes him happy. He's not happy on his leash. This day and age, I RARELY put it on him. But if I have to take him into PetSmart etc. it becomes an issue sometimes. I won't let him near guys now while on his leash, because I know he might do something bad if I do. He's 14 years old now, I've had him since he was a 2 month old puppy. He doesn't bother people when he's off his leash, it's been like that forever. Guys at the local park come right up to him and he doesn't do anything. I still don't like them approaching me, but he isn't bad off his leash. He will even let them pet him etc. I know the bad things he will do and I know how he is. It's been 14 years, I am used to doing this. He hasn't caused any problems all these years. I'd NEVER EVER hit a dog EVER in my life so of course I know not to do that. Also if a guy approached me while on his lead, he is usually staring at the guy way before he gets to us, so I have no idea how my body language would affect him. I don't like guys approaching me, and if he's on his lead.. we're not in the comfort of home. I WANT him to make sure they know not to try anything or get too close.. but I don't want him to try and bite a person who didn't mean any harm. I understand my mistakes. I failed to ensure he was always calm on his leash. I told myself that leashes are bad because he didn't like them and always tried to get off of them, so I trained him to be good off leash, neglecting any sort of leash training. As I've said, now that he's nearly 15 years old, there isn't a point in taking him through training, but I've learned my lesson. My dog isn't bad at all, he's just poorly behaved on his leash, and it's my fault. If he bit someone while off leash, sure it would be my fault... but as it's been so many years and he's so acclimated to being off leash and is way calm.. I know that will not happen. BTW when he barks at people, I'll let him bark for a while THEN I'll tell him good boy and he'll settle down, knowing mommy is pleased. I want him to bark, but NOT bite without warning. I'll be sure not to make this annoying mistake with my next dog. Though I'll never have another dog as great as Brownie. Thank you for your comment... thank you.

Hi MJ - could it be lead/nervous aggression. Did something happen to him or you when he was on lead when he was younger? Have you ever tried to distract him with a treat when walking past a man - and reward him for not reacting? I am no expert sorry - but one of our Goldens has a similar issue when on lead. Hope it helps. By the way - he looks in great shape for a 14 year old!!

He just always hated his leash and just didn't do well. I trained him to kind of walk without yanking, but he just HATES it. He's used to his freedom and leashes just seem to make him upset. I want him to react, but not in a dangerous manner such as lunging or snapping at the man, so I've never tried to train him away from this behavior. In the future, I will ensure the dog is more comfortable on his leash. When he is off lead, we are in a comfortable environment usually. The only time I wish he'd NOT react is act PetSmart etc. where nobody can possibly cause any harm to me. If he's leashed any other place, we are far away from the comfort of home.. so I want him to react. At the local park, I usually illegally take him off his leash... he does fine off of it and the park is full of friendlies. If we're fishing etc. further away from home or something else I keep him on the lead and I want him to react since I don't want men approaching me in unknown areas, but the snapping is BAD. He takes it a step too far sometimes, so these days I simply avoid these situations. Not taking him far and rarely using his lead, he does fine. And thank you for the compliment on him. He's my strong healthy mutt man. I love mutts....

Personally I think Brownie looks gorgeous, what a lovely face and in great condition for his age. (I looked at the photos on the link that someone else posted). I don't think he's bad as aggression is usually borne from being scared themselves. I do think you should address his behaviour on a lead though, just in case he's on a lead and someone simply walks too close to you! I think he is simply protecting you from everyone else in the area and he needs to know that on a command from you that all is OK (that's providing it's not some lunatic).
You say he roams freely in your unfenced garden, but what happens if someone crosses the (unfenced )boundary. Does that make him anxious and would he attack?

Please please don't refer to me as that! It really makes me cringe and is even worse than calling dogs 'fur kids' - that's bad enough!