FFS Creighton, Dogsbestfriend was using an analogy, she wasn't slagging off black people! not that she needs me to defend her, because she's more than capeable of putting you in your place herself
The problem with dogs is that people get them as pets and don't understand their needs or their behaviour. Border Collies for e.g. (and I use that example because they are "my breed").
They are highly inteligent, need a lot of mental stimulation and need to be mentally challenged, as well as have clear guidance from their "shepherd" or family. People forget they are bred to do a job. They see them beautifully trained on one man and his dog, or doing search and rescue and think they can train themselves. If they are allowed to get bored (and this is VERY common in a family home) they become frustrated and "look" for jobs to do. They are nippy, because they bite or nip the cattle or sheep to make them move and go where they want.
BC's don't differentiate between small children and sheep, they consider small children their flock. If they are not managed or trained correctly, they will then herd the kids and it becomes common to nip them... They are NOT vicious or snappy, they are misunderstood and in the WRONG environment. They are not an ideal family pet for the average joe who leaves the dog at home on its own all day, works, with the kids at school and can only walk a dog for an hour a night. They are an ideal pet for someone who is active and able to provide good mental stimulation.
As to "misunderstanding" - we had a BC come back to us from her home because she had "savaged the grandchild". What had in fact happened, was the owner was feeding bits of cheese by throwing them to her 3 year old grandchild across the room, and the dog (who in 4 years had never shown any agression) snapped at the cheese that was thrown through the air. As she jumped, she knocked the 3 year old over.
The rescue I work with has a "take back the dog, no questions apart from the dumb ass excuse you're going to give to justify dumping your dog " policy. We got a call, "come and get the dog otherwise she'll be PTS for being vicious to children and other dogs". That dog wasn't vicious, she was going after cheese that she thought was for her. Fortunately, she's now in a home where she is understood... with 4 other dogs and 2 grandchildren.
SBT's - another VERY misunderstood dog. They "look hard", they are as soft as shit. Infact, they are so unruly and poorly behaved, the kennel club had a rescue SBT in its Good Citizen display team at Crufts this year. My friend lost count at 263 of the number of people who asked what breed the dog her dog was, because they didn't believe he was a rescue SBT because he was "so well behaved".
Deed not breed. Any dog can be dangerous.
The best thing you can do, is train your child not to run up to strange dogs and pat them when they are not expecting it. Always ask the owner if it's OK to approach the dog. An example as to why - my elderly BC is very grumpy, because she has arthritis. She doesn't like being mauled by children, because it hurts. My neices (2 & 7) know that if they are very gentle, they can stroke her, because otherwise it hurts. They had a friend with them once, with her mother (7 years old, so old enough to know better) who started pulling her about and my dog growled a warning growl because it hurt. The next thing I know, the mother is ranting about how my dog is vicious. She's not vicious at all, she's elderly.
People expect dogs to have higher standards than themselves. God Knows why.
Oh and Morloth - good call for your kids to respect farmdogs. A lot of them "DO" bite. including one of ours.