Is it really the owner's fault all the time when a dog gets out of control?

Question

What if the owner really tried everything to keep the dog out of the fence, raised it since it was a puppy, provided it care and loved, never abused it nor neglected but still turned out bad and unstable.

I'm afraid to admit that 4 years ago, my former dog (male Rottweiler) hurt someone else's dog. I had him on the leash but for some reason he changed. He still pulled me with its strength (making me fall to the ground), didn't obey my commands and just attacked the other dog for no reason. Luckily it survived and I apologized to them and took responsible in helping them with the the vet bills. I willingly gave up my dog. Didn't want it anymore.

Prior to that incident, he had no issues with people nor with other dogs. I don't know what happened. I don't know. I never abused him nor neglected him. He still dugged his way out and escaped twice (and I would come right back after him and get him inside), even with the fence placed on. He still pulled me even with the leash. Frankly I can't think of anything I ever did wrong. Is it really the owner's fault all the time or is there a point some dogs are just really bad seeds no matter what?

MrOracle · Accepted Answer

You might give a kid a soft ball, or Nerf gun, or MAYBE a slingshot. You don't give a kid an M1 Abrams tank full of ammunition - that's FAR too powerful and dangerous and a kid simply cannot grasp the consequences of messing around with such a thing.

A Rottweiler is much like a tank - it's huge and powerful and bred to be a working animal - meaning it needs VERY strict training and it needs to be given tasks to do 8-12 hours a day. They are NOT appropriate for "pets", even though we legally allow it. They're too big, too powerful, too dangerous, and they are simply bred to WORK, not to hang out at home.

It's not the dog's fault, it was the fault of whoever picked the breed of dog. It was a bad choice, and unfortunately it meant the end of that dog.

There are many different dog breeds. Different breeds have different characteristics, and when you are selecting a breed, you need to take those characteristics seriously. Even a little dog, like a Jack Russel Terrier, is a bad dog for a pet for most people, because that's also a working dog and it needs to be working 8-12 hours every day. If you live on a farm and you need to herd animals, great, good choice. If you live in an apartment and you leave your dog to go to work, that's an awful choice.

There are dogs that are perfectly fine being left home and treated like suburban pets, and so the right thing to do is to get one of those breeds if you want a pet in that situation. It's irresponsible to get a pet that's got characteristics that go against the kind of day-to-day role that dog is going to have. A 10 minute walk once a day doesn't cut it for a working dog - they will destroy things, escape, or otherwise get into trouble, and it's not their fault.

RavVid · Accepted Answer

I think they can be. A friend bought Belgian Shepard which is used by Belgian police. So yes the dog had attack criminals genes. My friend bought his new dog to the local cafe but he just wasn't a social dog like all the other dogs. People wanted to give him a pat but that wasn't welcome.

I had organized a Summer Soltice picnic and everything was enjoyable till one of the girls skirt fluttered in the breeze Belgian leapt and bit. His owner had no chance of stopping him despite being on a leash - very much like your experience. Fortunately Belgian's teeth slope backwards so it was more bruising. She was a dog person so didn't make a lot out of it but she sure wasn't happy.

The dog got a lot of training but eventually the verdict was that he wasn't a dog to be around other people. It might be unfair to call him a bad seed but he was dangerous. I don't think he would passed Belgian police training. Too unpredictable

TheSpaceGnome · Answer

So dogs, like humans, have their own personalities. Most rottweilers are very sweet dogs, just as most humans are, but you are still going to get a few psychopaths here and there.

Anyone who tells you its the breed has no real world experience caring for a lot of animals. Breeds are bred for different physical traits, but you cannot breed for temperment, thats something you raise for, and just like humans, some will be problem children that require training, while most will not and will only be aggressive if mistreated.

And even then, there will always be a select few problem children that simply cannot be trained. This is true for all dog breeds, and in fact all species of animals as a whole that can be trained or are commonly docile/friendly. There is nothing that can be done for those specific individuals, and you just have to keep them away from anything that triggers their aggression. Alternatively, you may simply have let your dog think its in charge. Dogs are usually pack oriented, if you have a dominant personality dog, you have to be the alpha, or your dog will fill that role.

There are also going to be selective predations happening, for example if I kept a cat as a pet, it may try to go after someone's parakeet or girbil if given the chance, and thats less about temperment and more about the fact that cats are predators, meanwhile to anything not seen as prey, the cat acts like a needy baby.

Its my job as the owner to not present it with the opportunity to prey on those species. In the same note, a rottweiler may see a smaller dog in the way a beagle might see a squirrel. Or the way a human might see a chicken. in those scenarios, its just food.

But you may also get a cat that won't chase birds or mice, or does but never harms them. So its a crapshoot and even that is personality based.

Kori1236 · Answer

TLDR; both; temperament and breeding not your fault especially if dog was poorly bred or rescue. Inability to control dog yes. If you can’t keep control of a powerful dog you shouldn’t have a powerful breed.

Rottweilers tend to have same sex aggression and some have been known to have dog aggression similar to APBTs. But yes, if you can’t control your animal you are at fault. You absolutely did the right thing taking responsibility but inability to control a powerful dog is the owners fault.

The temperament however is not your fault, depending on where you got your previous dog from, byb, reputable breeder, shelter etc. could play into it. Rottweilers are popular powerful breeds so there’s a lot of them on the market and sadly not all of them come from good breedings and lines. And not everyone knows what to look for in a reputable breeder, either finding one and balking at the price associated with the pup, or not wanting to wait/wanting a specific coat/colour. Socializing also plays a factor and many people think it means exposing your dog to every dog they meet when in reality it means exposing your dog to situations like meeting other dogs in controlled environments (and making sure those interactions are with balanced dogs that will correct bad behaviour but take it no further) loud noises, busy places.

I am curious was this dog your first dog? Did you seek any reputable trainers (if those are available in your area) Did you do research on the breed to determine if it’s a good fit or was it an impulse buy? (100% not judging my dog was an impulse buy and damn did I learn quick lol)

RingOfFire · Answer

Unfortunately, if you choose a dog breed known to be aggressive such as a Rottweiler, yes it is your responsibility if there is an event like that. You either knew or should have known that a Rottweiler is an aggressive breed and no matter how you raise them or treat them they are prone to aggression naturally and it could happen at any time with no warning.

It's very sad when the dog you love has to be given up like that. I had a similar experience when my dog attacked another dog years ago and spent about $25,000 in legal and other expenses to save him and be able to keep him making a deal with the town to keep them from putting him to sleep.

In this case, the other dog only had a very minor and temporary injury. But unfortunately the woman walking it at the time was a police officer's wife. She was rightfully pissed off. But she really went too far with the issue. I understood that her husband told her to back off at one point it was too much but she didn't listen to him and went full Mama Bear.

So we made a legal agreement with the town that allowed me to keep the dog and he was basically on probation for a year. Never had any other problem and he lived a nice comfortable life.

He wasn't aggressive towards other people, just other dogs. He actually liked people. German Shepherd.

But yes, if you choose a known aggressive breed, you are responsible for any damage they do.

Anonymous · Answer

Yes. Had just finished f*cking my ex girlfriend and left her face down ass up on the bed to take a piss and I heard her shout for me and when I got there my great dane had mounted her, I tried to get him off but he was stuck in her. I was going to call 911 but she freaked saying that that would be crazy and didn't want people to ever find out. My reply was either we called 911 or we let the dog finish. So she decided to let the dane finish. The dane went at her for about 10 minutes and my ex came for the first time from penetration which made her feel ashamed and to my shame I was aroused seeing my girlfriend cum with a 10 inch dane's penis in her and I jacked off. After she was sore and she said we should forget about what happened as itvwas a freak occurence and that she would forgive me for finding sexual pleasure in it and that I should get rid of the dane which I did.

We broke up a year later and she moved back home to her city. We never spoke of it again but I did find one time in her underwear drawer a months later two vert large k9 dildos, so she clearly enjoyed it and must have been using these which are frankly bigger than my 4 inch dick.

I saw her briefly last year. Not far from her new place. To my surprise she has a great dane now and is single living on her own. I looked at her in shook and she looked at me blushing and embarrassed and she walked on.

Anonymous · Answer

About ten years ago my neighbor, a single older lady, had a pit bull she raised from an 8 week old puppy. She was a nice and responsible person. She loved her dog, trained it well, took it to puppy school, and she believed he was harmless. When the dog was four years old it attacked a 22 year old women at a park in our neighborhood. She survived but she had more than 100 stitches on her face, leg, hands and arms, and she'll be badly scarred for life, physically and emotionally.

Was that the owners fault? Absolutely. It's also the fault of all the ignorant people out there who push the narrative that pit bulls only attack because their owners don't train them right. Pit bulls are responsible for almost twice as many fatal attacks as all other breed combined, and the reason for that has little to do with their training and everything to do with their genes.

Anyone who is ignorant enough to own a pit bull, and that dog attacks a person, is 100% responsible for it, because they should know better but they do it anyway. There is a very good reason why pit bulls are banned in some countries, and some cities in the US. It should be illegal to breed pit bulls anywhere so the breed can die out and never kill or maim another innocent human. Anyone who disagrees IS AS FAULT.

Your story about your dog has played out countless times among pit bull owners. "He just changed". Yep he did, but not really. He just did what his genes programmed him to do. At least your dog just harmed another dog and didn't kill or maim someone.

molonski2 · Answer

YES , always..

Once the conscious decision is made to take on that animal , then YOU are boss , you are totally responsible for that animals actions , and that includes the beasts death if it attacks a person , when you start from this point , you will be extremely careful with dangerous breeds , ( many should not exist ) ..

If the beast is not controlled , its 100% your fault as you take that responsibility with the animal , I'd like to see it extended , should the animal KILL a child , the owner must be charged with not only manslaughter , but massive civil actions , this would clean up some of these utterly stupid owners.

See them do jail time.

Anonymous · Answer

If you had a child, and most of the time your child was really good, but decided one day to slap a teacher, and a few months later, punches another kid, as a parent, you are still responsible for what happens "after" these incidents even if you were a nice and loving parent. You must evaluate your child and get them help or put them elsewhere to prevent such violence before it can happen again, because there is now an established pattern. Same goes for your dog. Your dog was pulling you and escaping, you were aware of this, so yes, there is more you could have done. Some dogs, and yes, some children despite best efforts need more attention and training and control then sometimes we can or are aware we need to give them. It's not enough to say, well, I didn't hit the dog, but that dog may still need a stronger alpha (human), more training, or a different environment for them to thrive despite your best efforts.

bolverk · Answer

"provided it care and loved, never abused it nor neglected but still turned out bad and unstable." You missed out TRAINING & Exercise, Training instils control and Exercise is to burn off excess energy, the vast majority of dogs who've "turned out bad and unstable" usually have had neither TRAINING and/or Exercise, I've raised 3 dogs a Newfoundland - Mastiff mix, A Standard Poodle, and a Border Collie, All full trained, would remain at heel without a leash, be controlled by voice/whistle command and were exercised for an hour at 6am in the morning and the same at 6pm, with another 15 min walk before bed.

MrGSpotHer · Answer

I love rottweilers but you have to accept they were bread for killing bears and just because you think you raised him right don't mean you did, my mum had the same problem she had a female that was fine no issues then got a male and thought it would be same it's definitely not I don't think women realise these types of breeds take more work they baby them to much and don't treat them with the respect they deserve they command respect you can't treat them like a human it's a dog, I'm just assuming you did this..

Razp_Sorbet · Answer

Not always the owners fault. Sometimes dogs just have bad temperament.

I'd say the only times when it is the owners fault is:

- inefficient fencing of property allowing the dog to easily escape

- lack of training

- walking the dog off leash with poor/no recall.

- not doing anything when an incident occurs

-knowingly taking a reactive dog out without a muzzle

Possible there's more I can't think of

strateguy632 · Answer

call it responsibility. "your" dog therefore your responsibility.

if it does not obey you, put it to sleep. it isn't human. if a kid is wild they put him in delinquint orphanages, separate from the parents and force discipline using authority.

PeachyPie93 · Answer

Well certain breeds have a tendency for violence. But I still think it is the owners fault, since you chose a breed that can be violent. I have never been attacked by a dog, even around dogs I don't know like rottweilers, doberman or pitbulls since they all seemed to like me but you can't really be surprised if they do.

DryGermanGuy · Answer

Not enough dominance to deal with this breed or this particular dog. I often went on walks with various dog owners and some dogs would try to take the dominant role with a woman on the leash, which they never dared with the man. Have you ever tried to throw a mutinying dog on his back? Because that’s what happens to him in a pack.

Finchie40 · Answer

Yes, my German Shepard barked at my neighbor from a long distance away from her , and the wack job called the cops on me , I had to pay a fine and apparently it’s on my background report over a dog barking , it’s labeled Animal out of control , so pathetic

GeminiDiamond · Answer

I seen two dogs at a park. I watched the German shepherd go up and piss on a tree nearby. Moments later, I saw a boxer piss on the same tree. I witnessed the shepherd approach the boxer, he leaped at his throat. The boxer stood up to fend him off. If it wasn't for the  leash  on the shepherd, there would of been a dead boxer. The owner managed to pull his dog off right before the killing blow.

Ladsin2 · Answer

There are a couple of things that can cause dogs to misbehave that are outside of an owner’s control ie certain illnesses. Majority of the time though it’s going to be bad parenting. Dogs, particularly big ones, go through rebellious phases after a few years just like kids do in their teens. Raising a big dog particularly frequently leads to a challenge for authority when they’re ~2 years old. It’s something to be expected as it’s the same time wolves fight for pack positions.

Staximus · Answer

You have to socialize dogs with other dogs regularly from the time they are young, so they don't react adversely to a new dog being around. If you didn't then that may be why. Also the fact that dogs are like people in one respect, there is always one person or another dog that they just hate.

LiamJHayden · Answer

I have been on several cases where a seemingly fine pet randomly injured an individual who was not doing anything illegal. If there was no history of that type of thing, the owner is generally able to avoid criminal liability, but the civil liablity can be crushing.

OhLongJohnsoning · Answer

only if it acts out of normal. so, if it's normally a calm dog, and something happens, then that's not the owners fault. nothings perfect in this world

plus, there's rumors that if a dog is barking and or acting weird, it's "seeing something". I don't believe in the stuff, but, sometimes i wonder...

Agape93 · Answer

Not really. If the dog is secured reasonably and is trained, no.  My dogs are well trained. They're secured. But if you cross into my property and aren't known to them, they will kill you.

dustybiker2 · Answer

The owner is always responsible. There is always a reason. The dog felt it was allowed to take control of the situation. This happens with some training and weak and inconsistent follow through.

WhitneySnow · Answer

Sadly I think you’re right. Luckily I’ve never had a dog like that but my grandpa years ago before I was born was attacked by a dog he always loved and took care of.

Anonymous · Answer

For breeds that are not known to bite or be aggressive there is a "one free bite" rule for owners.

spartan55 · Answer

You don't have to abuse a dog for it to attack other dogs or humans. Certain breeds are more likely to attack than others.

DarkLegacy · Answer

In most cases yes. There are so many irresponsible dog owners these days that we need tougher dog laws. Some dog breeds should be banned and dangerous dogs should be put down.

DaveJord · Answer

I'm not going to say it's the owner's fault. But it is the owner's responsibility, ignorance is not an excuse for negligence.

noohair · Answer

The dog had a reason. Dogs attack out of fear. You should not own a dog that you can't control. A Rott should be on a choke chain when it is out in public.

Anonymous · Answer

You willingly gave up on the dog and gave up the dog. It's not the dog's fault. I guess that leaves you.

DrPepper12 · Answer

Yes. Yes it is 💯 the owners LIABILITY but not always 💯 their fault.

SugarSugarplum · Answer

Yes, it is always the owner's fault.

Dargil · Answer

Yes. Dogs can't reason. Owners can.

exitseven · Answer

If it is your dog, you are responsible for it.

Crazzyyworld · Answer

Euthanize him.

jahaims · Answer

Yes.

In_Trance · Answer

It absolutely is

Is it really the owner's fault all the time when a dog gets out of control?

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