Anyone noticed the increase of Rottweilers around at the minute?

[Ploppi]

I saw 3 on my walk this morning alone. (Not all together).

I like Rottweilers so this isn’t a negative post about them - it’s a concern.

Apparently since the XL bully ban was announced last year there has been an increase in the buying of both Rottweiler and Cane Corso dogs. The new “Status breeds”.

Ive not looked but I’m assuming Rottweiler puppies are a hell of a lot easier to get hold of than Cane Corso pups - so let’s assume the Rottie becomes the next breed of choice for wrong uns.

Are we likely to see an increase in the number of Rottweiler related attacks/deaths? If so - will the government really ban one of the most popular breeds in Britain? I don’t think they could … it would be akin to banning the German shepherd. So what then?

AIBU to think the way we’re heading is a semi- ban on all bull type/guarding breeds? Meaning you will need a license for certain breeds? Would it actually work?

Rottweiler
all bull breeds over a certain weight
All Mastiff breeds
German Shepherd
Cane Corso
Dobermann
Malinois …

Where is all this heading?

FEIW I supported the XL Bully ban but I’m now worried about where all this will lead. They will always find a new status breed.

Beautiful breed ❤️

@Mumof2NDers aren't they!

@kisstheblarney

@Mumof2NDers I may be a teeny bit biased but she's beautiful isn't she 🤩 !

@Mumof2NDers for you to enjoy too 🙂

@Greenshake OMG!!!!

Just gorgeous!

That first photo sums up Dobies in one go!

I know a lady that trains and works with police dogs. She has a spaniel and a Mali. She said when they’re at retirement age she will definitely keep the spaniel but not the Mali. She said most people who buy them as pets don’t know what they’re taking on. They’re so highly intelligent they need to work.

Ooooh that face! 😍

@kisstheblarney I know, I adore him but he is without any backbone or common sense! I had no idea he would be so childlike.

Mine hides behind my legs a lot, she's scared!

🙄

This is our Staffy with his best mate 😁

True love.......

But I bet the cat is the boss?

Absolutely!! 😂

@Mumof2NDers our Staff/Dobe cross

@Greenshake beautiful 🤩

That's a lot of deaths.
I wasn't aware of there being that many - especially of young children.
That's alarming.

I haven't seen a Pure Rottweiler for years- a Rottweiler x is muzzled locally - and has been for years.

Dogs when they do attack, seem to target children, women and the elderly.
Basically 'vulnerable' people.

It's a huge number, especially when you consider how many Rottweilers there are in the UK compared to say, Labradors or Spaniels.

According to the KC there were 2,650 Rotties registered in 2022. There were 44,311 Labradors registered in the same period. Yet no Labrador has ever ended up on the list of dogs responsible for a death in the UK.

Personally I think it's a bit daft to ignore your dogs' breeding and what it's capable of - and it actually does them a disservice as it means they end up (innocently) in the hands' of people who don't realise what they're taking on.

Stats from here - KC lists

If a breeder wanted to start breeding friendly, lazy family pets, why would they pick a breed of dog originally bred for fighting and aggression etc?
Bull dogs were bred for bull baiting originally. So why would that particular breed be chosen by whoever to start a breed of family pets? And why, despite it apparently being meant to have traits of being lazy and friendly is it the breed of choice for twatty yobs?

XL bullies are a relatively new breed: not even really recognised in the UK - hence the very poor and broad definition (including arms as a descriptor) rushed out by the government to enforce the ban.

Originally dogs meeting the breed spec and aim were selected for temperament with the specific aim to keep the size and build but have a friendly companion dog not liable to aggression unlike their predecessors.

Unfortunately their size and build appeals to those wanting status dogs, this coupled with poor breeding, handling and socialisation means that the breed has devolved with bad breeding and ownership.

Despite humans domesticating dogs for tens of thousands of years these animals are still apex predators guided by instincts and drives. When humans do not understand, recognise or meet the needs of any dog, regardless of breed, problems ensue leading to potentially dangerous and neurotic animals.

But I don't understand why that breed of dogs were chosen in the first place. Why use a breed which was originally bred for aggression etc and try and find individual dogs that were less aggressive to make a family pet?
Because surely just because one collie is crap at herding doesn't mean if you breed it all its offspring will be bad at herding. These dogs have been bred for generations to have these instincts. It would take many many generations to breed herding instinct out of collies. So why would people choose a dog with previous generations of breeding for aggression to try and make a family pet?

Because they weren’t bred to be aggressive to humans and humans like companionship.

Bull breeds in general will bend over backwards to please their human. Hence why in the wrong hands things don’t always end up going well. See other comments upthread explaining this!

Robert Cabral specifically mentions dangerous dogs on his you tube channel- it's a long listen, but the upshot is -XL Bullies and anything from a fighting breed mix will retain that drive.
A neurotic Collie is not the same as a triggered fighting breed that went all out and dismembered two children and put the mother in hospital.

They had owned these 'Bullies' since puppies.

@oakleaffy it depends if they're talking about all dogs, or just certain breeds, out of control, and/or behaving aggressively.

It's a reasonable thought process for out of control, aggressive dogs of any breed, especially if you live in an area where it's an abnormally regular occurrence.

I have those thoughts myself, but with labradors & poodle mixes, as they are the most commonly problematic dogs in my area, but even then we only really have problems when the tourists descend in summer.

But I'm not comfortable with the idea that someone's immediate reaction to seeing any dogs in public, no matter how under control, is 'how can I kill it' rather than 'how can I avoid it'.

Their love of people is exactly why they have remained consistently popular with the demographics they do.

There are bigger, badder dogs out there, but they aren't 'low maintenace' like most bull breeds.

Bull breeds are literally the perfect dog for attracting people who treat dogs like shit- loyal, human friendly (possibly due to their original purpose- pointless having a 'prize fighter' if the owner can't get near it to patch it up after it's won), high pain threshold, forgiving of poor treatment or harsh training methods, does OK in flats & urban environments.

And they're relatively 'lazy' in that a couple of hours or so a week being encouraged to hang off tree branches or paraded around as an intimidating accessory in their owner's posturing about town is adequate exercise.
Then they can go home & be a 'nanny'/floor cushion for the kiddies.

I wrote a fairly detailed post about it on one of the bully threads, but in a nutshell, 2 of the main status dog contenders in the last few years have been caucasian shepherds & belgian malinois, but neither are dogs that do well under amateur handling, unless the handler is truly dedicated, or most pet homes.

Thankfully there has been a decline in caucs being bred in the last few years & malis also seem to be heading the same way, I do wonder if malis being popular with the police being part of the reason.

But sadly there are a lot of adolescents & adults of both breeds in rescues or being rehomed on selling sites.

Corsi are also still predominantly descended from imported high drive working dogs, & as they're not recognised by the KC they haven't got established, more watered down, biddable show lines over here like some popular breeds like border collies, labs & spaniels have, so I don't see them really getting traction in the UK.

It's still not very smart for popular media to speculate on what the next status breed will be, it plants too many ideas in too many of the wrong heads.

The linked video is mainly about Bull ( xl and Pit types - and Cabral is very experienced with these.
They are not a good fit with many people- and too many have “ Game” lines and aggression latent in them and are “ high drive “ dogs.

He himself has four dogs , but says most people ought not have a dog that they can’t physically control if it should attack.

The “ Pits” that killed the children and savaged the mother as she tried to lie on top of one child to protect her were crosses ~ American Bully types - He said those dogs had no place in that family ( who were pro Pit advocates) as the adults were not capable of physically controlling should the dogs flip out.

No child should pay with it’s life because of the parent’s unwise choice of dog.

He showed in another video a heavily pregnant woman with a reactive Bully - that too was far from a wise choice as the bully took zero notice of the owner, just wanted to be aggressive with other dogs.

He speaks about it far better than I can- but I agree totally with what he says.

Dog owning should be safe , stress free and fun-and children should not suffer.

He has worked with hundreds of shelter dogs-He is realistic and practical.