Fine, I'll concede that every dog should be a social butterfly regardless of what its genetics tell it and that I'm a horrible person because I don't let people touch my vicious dog. It's not like I'm the one having the reading comprehension problems or anything.

 Quote: Scott Garrett

Fine, I'll concede....

Oh, Mr. Garret, no need to concede, we all know you use ancient Roman War Lord dog training techniques, I was just concerned Ryan might not.

Don't forget that I beat my dog, too. You can't forget that. It's what really makes him vicious.

And yes, actually knowing the history of the breed you love is such a bad thing. I absolutely hate being intelligent and being able to understand what I read.

edit:
I'm not going to further engage in this nonsense. Drive your bandwagon off a cliff for all I care.

 Quote: Scott Garrett

Don't forget that I beat my dog, too. You can't forget that. It's what really makes him vicious.

And yes, actually knowing the history of the breed you love is such a bad thing. I absolutely hate being intelligent and being able to understand what I read.

Copy and paste is a nice feature, I agree…

OK I’m done, back to productive things…

 Quote: Scott Garrett

I absolutely hate being intelligent and being able to understand what I read.

“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”

-Albert Einstein

I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. Intended to be all in good fun

I'm a writer, so I tend to be fairly verbally competent. I also know there's always more to the story than the one on paper. I know how my dog's breed standard reads backwards, forwards and sideways. I have a lot of experience living with individuals of my breed too, and the standard is relevant.

At the same time, if all there was to my dog's personality was what I read in the standard, he would be a very boring, one-dimensional individual indeed. I give him credit for much more depth and many more facets to his personality than a generality written on a piece of paper. I'm just saying...

JMO, I'm with you that it's very wise to learn/understand the history of one's breed (I am not knowledgeable about this one) . Even though in so many cases, individual differences ride roughshod over breed characteristics, it's still a very good thing to understand from whence your breed came; it's not at all irrelevant.

Also, as Kristel says, " ... there's always more to the story than the one on paper. I know how my dog's breed standard reads backwards, forwards and sideways. I have a lot of experience living with individuals of my breed too, and the standard is relevant. ... At the same time, if all there was to my dog's personality was what I read in the standard, he would be a very boring, one-dimensional individual indeed. I give him credit for much more depth and many more facets to his personality than a generality written on a piece of paper. "




That woman who loomed over the dog, tried to pet (and pick him up!? ) without asking was so far wrong that the fact that she was an actual "trainer" there would, for me, trigger a face-to-face with the manager as well as written follow-up.

I agree 100% with folks who do not consider asking their dogs to tolerate handling by strangers "socialization." Even if I wanted a social butterfly of a dog, that's not the way to get there, and, in fact, can easily be completely counterproductive. The BBQ situation triggered lots of great suggestions, including ever-available relief for the dog from being surrounded by eager hands, as well as a constant eye on the dog and always being alert to signals that it was time for him to be removed to a quiet place (with me) or time for everyone to leave him alone for a while.

For me, regardless of what my goals are for my dogs (the goals that are realistic in view of the individual dog's disposition, including the temperament tendencies of his breed and even more his own particular personality), no one handles my dog without my OK. A stranger heading for my dog the way that "trainer" in Petsmart did would experience my calm but immediate stepping between them.

(Stepping in front of my dog when there's something going on that would trigger reactivity/anxiety/fear is, I think, a clear signal to my dog that I'm in charge and he has no need to be.)

All JMO .... working with reactive "problem" dogs can make someone very sensitive to the problems that can be exacerbated (and even directly caused) by too much too soon and by any perception that the leadership-and-protection-of-the-pack position isn't completely and reliably filled.

This is from the ADRK website's breed standard, it differs from the AKC a bit:

 Quote:

Behaviour / Temperament
Good natured, placid in basic disposition and fond of children, very devoted, obedient, biddable and eager to work. His appearance is natural and rustic, his behaviour self assured, steady and fearless. He reacts to his surroundings with great alertness.

It doesnt say they should be aloof or anti-social at all. That said, I generally follow the who pets my dog advice from here. It's a great way to just remove some un-certainties from your dogs thoughts and keep their focus on you.

Need to add this: http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp&q=adrk+rottweiler+aloof+with+strangers&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=b5e7b30361da4917

From a rottweiler forum: http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/working-rottweilers/72757-working-schutzhund-lines-7.html

 Quote:

Jenecks Wotan was 130lbs and 9X Sch3. But he was a once in a decade dog IMHO. I think more than the size, the hard temperment of Rotts has been watered down by "nice doggie" type breeders. They anger me. Rottweilers are not supposed to be a breed that run around the neighbourhood licking every stranger they see.

If one were to look in the breed standard they would see the words "aloof of strangers". Most "rottweiler" breeders today havent titled their own dogs let alone trained them for a real civil protection scenario. Their more interested in producing shy and submissive dogs that couldn't fight their way out of a wet paper bag in the interest of producing a "positive image" for the breed. I think bad press is good in a way for getting those "nice doggie" types to avoid our breed as a choice for their homes. These people are the folks who's dogs end up biting people anyways.

Brodster from the Rottweiler forum, undeniably the final word on all things Rottweiler.

As opposed to a GSD FORUM?

Not going to fling poo with you.