[coasty]

Interesting reading the above posts and hearing all the different views.This is not a post defending aggresive dogs or bad owners but my thoughts about things given my first few months with a new pup...

Our dog,,, see avator is a 6month old choc lab,,, She will lick you to death given a chance but is already a large dog (20 Kg plus ) and is extremely playful she could easily knock someone over,
What hasnt been mentioned above is the incredible variation of reaction that other people have towards her and therefore I guess other dogs and Puppies. From Adults who fling them selves on her and try to cuddle her ( yes really) to people who shepherd their children behind them at the approach of her even on a lead. How is the dog to make sense of these signals?
We have worked very hard to train her and to socialise her with other dogs. and she has worked out most of those doggy signals if the other dog wants to play or wants to be left alone, She will sit , stay and stop on command ( well most of the time ) . I try very hard to stop her begging for food and yet strangers when out have given her chocolate and biscuits behind my back and then wonder why I get annoyed, People encourage her to jump up and dont like when I ask them not to,,

There is absolutely no excuse for a badly trained and aggresive dog. But with all the distractions and conflicting signals a puppy is faced put together with bad owners I am not surprisedthat there are a few...