Is your dog discriminated against due to Breed or size

I have a two year old american bulldog (Buster). i have owned him for just over a year. he's around 9 stone in weight. When i take him for walks and he's off his lead i am often told he should be on a lead by other dog owners and non dog owners.(but not all people) when i ask why i get "because of his size, the damage he could cause if he attacks another dog/person" the other line i get is " that breed is aggressive"

Now Buster plays well with all types of dogs from jack russells to Rotties and there is never a problem. He is also very good with people of any age including children.

it hacks me off that i get stick for having my well mannerd good temperament dog off a lead.

I was wondering if anybody else has suffered discrimination due to breed of dog or size of dog?

No not really, I have 3 Dobermanns, a staffy and a terrier who keep pretty much to themselves and never give anyone any grief. They are walked off lead everyday although not at the busiest times of day and no one has ever suggested any of them should be on lead. Maybe it depends on where you walk, I walk in the country park or Epping forest and it's a rare event to encounter any dog on lead, I tend to avoid local parks etc even though my house backs onto the park I never walk my dogs there, it's a fair size but too small for a decent run for my lot.

during the working week i do take my dogs to the local park with a really large field and this is where i get these comments. during the weekend however, i take them to a nature reserve and have not really encountered these comments. so i think your right it does depend on where they are walked.

You will get that with some breeds, it has been discussed here on another thread; many people have misconceptions about dogs, or have had personal bad experiences or are just afraid.

It is up to those of us who have these breeds to demonstrate the fallacy of these generalisations but we also have to respect the fact that due to the publicity given to dog attacks on people that there is a heightened perception of danger, even if that perception outweights the reality.

i get it with mine because they are small dogs. both weigh about 5kg each, and one has no hair...

i get things like "why are you walking them?" as if they belong in a handbag

is he not cold? (about my hairless)

you shouldnt let her get dirty (my small white longhaired one)

dont touch small dogs theyre snappy

theyre not even dogs!

what is that?

the list goes on and on......

I think all breeds have someone somewhere who will make an adverse comment , maybe some more than others, wish I has a pound for every time someone has asked in conversation usually when the dogs are not there ,

What breed is your dog ,

I have a greyhound

Oh they are viscious arent they , thats why they wear muzzles !

To be fair it is usually a non dog person comment.

We only get nice comments about my breed when we're out on walkies but as I show Parker I have had a few people move away from him and one woman showing a Red Setter was nasty to me and said "keep your Kerry Blue terrier away from me and my dog, they are not nice temperament!"

I lodged a complaint against her with the judge and went and had a few calm assertive words afterwards! Not acceptable as Parker was on a lead and is well-behaved and sociable. The strange thing was that this woman couldn't handle her Red Setter at all! When I mentioned this to her and pointed out that my dog had an obedience trophy and hers couldn't even walk with her round the ring she made a bizarre comment "have you felt how strong he is"! I thought about small children who handle large breeds at dog shows in junior handling and politely suggested she took her dog to training classes but I think she'd left it a bit late as he was 9!

Apparently the Kerry Blues shown at a higher level are known to be sometimes not nice temperament sadly.

To be honest though, if I was on the park and I saw a 9 stone American Bulldog I would probably be scared too, until I had seen it a few times and known its temperament. There have been some nasty cases in the press with children being attacked and people do tend to remember this. My dogs have both been attacked by breeds which are often in the press for aggression. Does this mean I label the all with the same brush? No but it means I am wary when I meet these breeds until I know they are ok. However, I certainly would not make snotty comments to people who had a dog of this breed on a lead in a show ring!

Most people instantly like Muppet. But youths (teenagers to mid twentys i guess) & the 'older generation' snigger & grumble about him being a sheep or a doodle

I normally like any dog & untill recently would have been quite happy with almost any dog bounding up to me. But due to a very recent incident involving an american bulldog I'm more than a little nervouse & would probably 'run for the hills' at the sight of any large dog running loose. But that is my problem, & if I was in a large field I would have to accept that as a possibillity, but for now i'm not going to any large parks.

I walk a lovely am bulldog that got attacked recently by two springers resulting in him needing stitches. He did not even retaliate, bless him.

The BC's don't have much said about....other than ''are you mad to have 4''

But we do get it from time to time with Mojo the JRT, usually non dog people or mothers with children........as ALL JRT's are snappy ankle biters...didn't you know