HAVE BEEN ASKED THIS A LOT LATELY!

How do I raise a gentle gladiator breed of dog? Which breeds are considered gladiators?

Let me answer the first question :

From the first day you bring a puppy home you need to assert yourself as a leader. We need to be clear what we expect from the dog, assert ourselves in the new relationship from day one and teach the dog how we expect them to behave.
If we don’t lead, the dog does not know what the rules are. He/She must know their place in the pack.
Some tips:
– Always be calm, focused and fair.
– Never correct your dog with anger or frustration.
– Food is a powerful enforcer, be careful how you use it.
– Only enter a situation when the dog is calm, submissive and not in a reactive state.
Whether approaching a person, meeting a dog, entering your home or your car, do not let the dog lead (pull) you into the situation or it will try to control that situation. Only proceed to the stimuli when the dog is collected, calm and you are in control.
– Get a solid foundation in obedience to have control over your dogs will. The more your dog listens to you, the more you will trust your dog, this means more freedom for the dog because you are confident you always have control of your dog in any situation.
Remember, if your dog doesn’t listen to you, chances are it does not respect you.
– You choose when to give the dog affection, make your dog work for it and only give affection to the dog when it is in a good state of mind, never in panic, fear or aggression.

Now I will answer the second question:

American Bulldog, English bulldog, Boxer, Mastiff, Pitt bull, Rottweiler, Dobermans, American Stafordshire, Olde English Bulldog, Cane Corso,  Boerboel, Dogo Argentino, Presa Canario, American Pit Bull Terrier  This is just to name a few, There are many and depending on where you live in this world, there are hundreds of what we call gladiator breeds and Banned breeds.

Before you even think of owning one of the strong willed and strong minded animals you have to do some serious soul-searching and then twice as much research on the breed that you pick. Some of the dogs on the list above can be awesome dogs and awesome family dogs if raised properly from the get go! Never ever teach a gladiator breed dog the art of fighting or even play games such as tug of war, these all can bring out the ” bad ” side of these dogs, they require a firm, non aggressive handler, who can be kind, consistent and fair but always in control. If we teach our dogs to obey out of fear or aggression, one day our dogs will raise their heads and say ” no more ” aggression breeds aggression!!!!!!!! If we raise our dogs with love, respect and kindness, along with control and obedience these are the dogs we can all be proud of and the dog will never turn on their owners.  We as humans and responsible humans need to take responsibility for the dogs we raise, If you have a big mouth and can’t back up your words, then keep it shut! Do not go get a gladiator breed to fight your battles!! Do not get these breeds to do your dirty deeds or to fight your battles, these dogs can be very loving and protective of their loved ones we do not need to teach them to be mean, we need to teach them how to be tolerant and gentle, so if you have a gladiator puppy or are thinking of getting one,  please, do not yell, hit, rub their nose in pee, shame them, be cruel, heavy-handed, or growl or bark in their face! This will only lead to a dangerous ending where you get bitten ( or someone you love ) and the dog gets put down!!!! I am sick and tired of the dogs paying the ultimate price for the ignorance and extremely bad behaviors of the humans raising them! There are No bad dogs, just bad owners!!!

 

The dog breed most likely to bite was not the Pit Bull, Rottweiler, or German Shepherd, but …wait for it…the Dachshund. And second was the Chihuahua, followed by the Jack Russell Terrier. Research involved 6000 dog owners