Opinions needed

[JillysWorld]

Ok so I need everyone’s opinion. Last night I got into this huge fight with my father-in-law. He thinks Dalmatians are very aggressive dogs to the point where he pares them with the pittbulls reputation. I say they are not unless as they say bad owner=bad dog. I know this might give me some answers I don't like, but I wanted someone else’s opinion since I've owned Dalmatians since I was 7 and my father-in-law has never owned a dog in his life nor been around dogs very much. So I guess maybe I'm to close to the issue to be objective, but then again with him never being around dogs I think he needs to keep his mouth shut. So what do you all think are Dalmatians aggressive?

[Sheltiemama]

Dalmations can be very protective of family members, but I don't consider them to be in the same class with the pitt bull (sorry pit lovers, not all pits are viscous)

[JackLover]

I have not owned or even had contact with a dalmation, but your father in law is very wrong to base an opinion on these dogs when he knows nothing about the breed or about dogs in general

[Novel]

Dalmations have a "reputation" of being biters. The experience I've had with them is that they can be bad tempered, or rather, tend to be grumpy. They won't bite without provocation, but I've found it doesn't take much to make them upset.
They are good dogs, as I think all dogs are (except that Shar-pei that bit me), but their breeding brought them up as guard dogs. Dogs in that "class" can be very protective, and I myself would not raise them with children, as, like I said, they seem to have shorter fuses than I've experienced with other dogs. They need to be raised in a firm environment, with a loving person, but again, that could be said of most breeds out there.

[mulroony]

I have had very little contact w/ dalmations, but i have heard them to be much more aggressive then their REPUTATION puts foreword (101 dalmations, fire dogs, etc). I have heard they can be very aggressive if not trained correctly, but so can other dogs. I have heard little of their dog aggression, only that they are more people aggressive (unlike the pitties who are typically dog aggresive only) I am sure some dal owners here will chime in.

Just having a hard time giving you a real answer because all the dal owners i know are very good owners and would have a great dog no matter what he breed. I do think he was wrong though.

[Novel]

Yes, thank you Mulroony, let me clarify. Dalmations have a reputation among dog people as people biters. Disney and the media definitely have created another reputation altogether.

[dalfriend]

Well I think I should be able to help out on this one. I have two dals. Dalmatians are NOT agressive dogs and for that matter neither are pit bulls. Neither of my two would ever bite anyone. Dals can be stubborn and hardheaded. I can also see a non trained dal who thinks he is the alpha causing a lot of problems for someone. My oldest dal is 3 and he constantly "argues" with me.

*l* and tell my two they are supposed to be guard dogs. Actually a man comming to fix our air conditioner went into the backyard while I was at work. He said neither of them acted like they were going to bite. It is all in how you raise a dog but dals should not be aggressive. Again you have to go back to the 101 dal craze when every puppy mill in the country was breeding dals. Obviously these breeders cared nothing about temperment or health and just wanted to make a quick buck.

Neither of mine as I am sure I said earlier would hurt a fly. As long as they are properly raised and socialized and made known who the alpha is then they will be fine.

And "all" dogs of a certain breed cant be grouped as one. Pit Bulls are not agressive. There are some stupid people who either through neglect or training teach their pit bulls to be agressive. Dals can bite also they are very smart and stubborn and bossy. As I say dals are NOT by any means labs. They are not the easiest dogs to deal with. They are very smart so they have a lot of potential.

I actually had a pet store once (before I knew about them) tell me how they would never sell dals because they were so agressive. It's a lie! You cant group a breed of dogs based on the actions of few. And properly trained both dals & pit bulls should be wonderful loyal loving well behaved pets. If you are thinking of getting one I would suggest doing a lot of reading on the breed and making sure that you know what you are getting yourself into (they can be quite trying sometimes and can have a LOT of health problems. one of mine is deaf and the other is epeleptic) . They are extremly intelligent also and sometimes that makes them harder to deal with (they will quesiton things you ask them to do, they can also figure out what you will let them get away with and then will push you)

I can give you a list of some good breeders if you are looking for a pup or else there are hundreds of dal rescues that have great pets. PM me if you would like to know more.

[dalfriend]

I have to say that my oldest one is a bit grumpy too but not grumpy like he will bite but grumpy like he sighs and moans. (He also has to take pheno though and I think that might be a major cause of this behavior.)

From what I can tell I am the only dal owner on here.

[Novel]

dalfriend,
I hope I didn't offend you with my post. I definitely did not try and group all dogs of any class together and make any blatant statements, however there are generalizations that can be made, from time to time, about dogs, and there are always exceptions to that rule.

I do not think pitties, staffies, dogos, etc are aggressive. They are however dogs that can do a great deal of damage to another thing. Last week when Alley, my boxer, got ahold of a rooster, I'd pretty much written the poor thing off. Topper catches them every once in a while, but has always brought them back, minus a few feathers, but generally OK. Alley, I put no hopes on. Her breeding gives her power and strength that my "hunters" do not have. She is also more alert than the others. Her breeding has given her traits that make her a good "guard" dog. Sure she doesn't have to be, but she'd be better at it than the Weimies. They were not bred for that job, and are missing some of the traits and characteristics that make them more adapted for the job.

Dalmations, bred originally to be carriage dogs, were supposed to be protective. They were supposed to be able to defend people and property against men that meant someone harm. That is what they were bred for. In my experience, the Dalmations I have cared for, would fit that bill. They are different than other "guard" type dogs, but because they weren't bred to also be baiters or fighters, which happened to the other guard dogs, they maintained their sleek proportions. Kind of a Boxer in a Weimie body, in my mind. However, they can not be treated like a Weimie, they have to be treated more like a Boxer. Again, that's how I have it arranged in my mind.

I'm glad your two are so gentle!

[kerriebeth21]

As far as bad owners = bad dogs...bad owners is A factor in that, but not entirely true. My mother is a fantastic dog owner, she has two pitbulls. One of those has killed a dog trespassing on her property, the other has nipped two people and drawn blood. I think ownership CAN be a factor, as well as BREEDING. A dog's personality has a lot to do with it, and sometimes a fantastic owner can't change that fact.

We had a German Shorthair for 1.5 years...85% of the time he was loving and wonderful. But he had a dark side that we couldn't keep under wraps. He tried to kill our aussie when she was a pup, and tried to kill my jack russell when we first got him. Then he bit me. We are awesome dog owners....and yet we had a bad dog!

Dalmations~~personally I haven't had any real contact with them. My husband was biten in the face by one when he was 14years old. He did NOT provoke an attack. He was a paper boy and we just delivering the paper like he had so many times before. All he did was pet the dog ...which he had also done before...and it jumped up and bit his face!

A friend of mine was also bit in the face by a dalmation...I don't know the story behind it. She was under 10 years old when it happened...I forgot the exact age she said she was.

[dalfriend]

I undertsand Novel. I was on a pit bull advocacy web-site and they had listed all of the non PB bites and I would say 5 out of 50 were dals! I could not believe it! I can see how they can turn agressive though. Weston (my oldest) for sure thinks he is the boss (we have been working on the NILIF program and it is helping) and he will growl at me to "argue". (he is not angry by any means, he just likes to tell me when he is unhappy or not getting enough attention).

Yeah my two show absolutly no guard instincts. Except I have to say when me & my boyfriend play fight. Weston gets very concerned for my well being. (Which is something you want in a dog). He wont bite him but he will sure make him know that he doesnt like it. Like I said though that air guy came into our backyard & he said Weston barked at him but didnt even think about biting. (Which the guy was stupid in the first place to go into a backyard that had two dogs in it when the owner's were not home. I would have never okayed it.)

I do acknowlege as do all dal owners that dals are definantly not easy to deal with dogs. They are stubborn, hardheaded and VERY opinionated! (I just found a dal board and it is crazy how many people tell me their dogs groan and sigh & argue all the time!). You have to let them know from day one that you are the boss or else they will take over (sadly enough I let weston do this, he is getting a little better but I should have never let him get away with it). As I said they are not labs or weimers.

[dalfriend]

Yeah not everyone should own a dal. As I said too I think the poor breeding of the 101 dal puppy millers only contributes to their bad qualities (agressiveness, deafness, epelipsy, hip dysplacia). Anyone looking to get a dal needs to do some major research on the breed and breeders and for sure needs to talk to someone who at least owns one.

Kerri-I am sorry to hear about what happened to your friend and your husband. It must have been really horrible for them. (The dog should not have been running wild though). Especially being biten in the face. That must have hurt something awful. Not all dals are like those two. The most damage either of mine would do is to lick someone to death.

[Mutts4me]

MY grandma used to have one and when I was little and went to visit it jumped up on me the entire time and nipped me if I remember correctly. Since then I have not cared for the breed but my grandmother did not train the dog , and so I have always thought of them as a bit overactive but meaning well. If your father-in-law has not had much expierence you might just try explaining to him and if he doesn't listen pass it off as he is uneducated in the area of Dalmations.

[Kelly]

I think out of all the dalmations we have come in to board at my work, only one is nice. This isn't to say the whoe breed is bad, but from my personal experience, I haven't met many nice ones except one.

I don't think I'd personally have one unless it came from a great breeder. But then again, I'll never have a dog from a breeder anyway. *shrug*

[kerriebeth21]

Originally Posted by dalfriend

Kerri-I am sorry to hear about what happened to your friend and your husband. It must have been really horrible for them. (The dog should not have been running wild though). Especially being biten in the face. That must have hurt something awful. Not all dals are like those two. The most damage either of mine would do is to lick someone to death.

The dogs weren't running wild. They were in homes/yards.