Community Forums

GraciesMom · 07-26-2008, 09:38 AM

I have a German Pinscher. She looks like a Doberman as long as she's not standing next to a Doberman. If she is, you can see that a Doberman is twice her size, very long nose, longer ears, etc. But try to convince an RV park owner or manager that's she's not a doberman! I keep hoping to run into a doberman owner so I can take a photograph of Fancy standing next to a full sized dobie. I've downloaded photos of dobermans and german pinschers and I have one sheet that I carry with me with photos of both breeds and details of both breeds. I got a letter from my vet stating that she is a GERMAN PINSCHER and not a DOBERMAN. The funny thing about it is . . . when have you seen anything on the news about Dobermans attacking anyone? The dangerous breed nowadays is the Pit Bull - and mainly due to bad breeding and training them to BE mean. Dobermans are the most loving, laid back, and sweet animals you'd ever want to have around you. But only true dobie owners or people who have been around dobies understand that. Even with her pink spike collar ( a joke to hopefully make her look less menacing) people still stop or go the other way when they see her coming. But as for RV park owners - if they don't want German Pinschers, they'd better have a restriction from their insurance company banning them or I won't be a happy camper!!

GraciesMom · 07-26-2008, 09:38 AM

I have a German Pinscher. She looks like a Doberman as long as she's not standing next to a Doberman. If she is, you can see that a Doberman is twice her size, very long nose, longer ears, etc. But try to convince an RV park owner or manager that's she's not a doberman! I keep hoping to run into a doberman owner so I can take a photograph of Fancy standing next to a full sized dobie. I've downloaded photos of dobermans and german pinschers and I have one sheet that I carry with me with photos of both breeds and details of both breeds. I got a letter from my vet stating that she is a GERMAN PINSCHER and not a DOBERMAN. The funny thing about it is . . . when have you seen anything on the news about Dobermans attacking anyone? The dangerous breed nowadays is the Pit Bull - and mainly due to bad breeding and training them to BE mean. Dobermans are the most loving, laid back, and sweet animals you'd ever want to have around you. But only true dobie owners or people who have been around dobies understand that. Even with her pink spike collar ( a joke to hopefully make her look less menacing) people still stop or go the other way when they see her coming. But as for RV park owners - if they don't want German Pinschers, they'd better have a restriction from their insurance company banning them or I won't be a happy camper!!

ET · 07-26-2008, 10:59 AM

I had a Red Doberman named, "Red." She was the sweetest thing, always wanting to be around you, sleep with you or sit on your foot to make sure she'd know if you moved! But you're right... whenever we ruff played she would scare the **** out of anyone that didn't know her. On the other hand our Westies aren't intimidating.

hondo122 · 07-26-2008, 03:44 PM

People just jump to conclusions when they see large dogs. Zeus is an American Bulldog, people confuse him with pitbulls all the time. By the way our grandsons pit Ziggy is the friendliest dog you will meet.

GraciesMom · 07-28-2008, 06:35 PM

I've always been a big dog person and had up to 6 dogs I was rehabilitating at one time. A Schnauzer, Pepper, raised my boys - she lived to be 16 years old. And guess what kind of dog has been the ONLY dog to ever bite or threaten one of my kids? Yep - a Schnauzer. We were at a balloon festival and we walked by a couple with a Schnauzer and for no reason at all, she jumped up and bit my then 8 year old son on the back - really tore a hole in him. You just never know . . . I truly think a lot of it has to do with breeding and how the dog is treated. I've had a german shepherd get aggressive with one of my rescues, and a pit bull was literally foaming at the mouth across the street one day when I was walking my first dobie, Mochi. There's a group of people here in Denver that walk a bunch of thrown away pit bulls from the pound at the park every morning, trying to rehabilitate them. I've read stories about successfully rehabilitated Pits . . . but I'd be too afraid to have one. And I know what you mean about Red, Ted. Fancy is the same way. There are many nights when she and I and Gracie are snuggled up on the same little RV sofa. Since I've been visiting my son, he's started letting her sleep in bed with him. I'm definitely going to have a problem when we get back in the RV!!! Sitting on my foot to make sure I don't go anywhere is the most endearing thing though - she's a total love bug!!

Steve Rankin · 10-26-2008, 06:26 PM

The only time we weren't allowed in an RV park was because of our Collie. Yep, a standard Rough Collie, just like Lassie. Only she was about 6 months old then and less than 40#. Pathetic.

OTOH, we never had a problem with our Rottweiler. We heard from a lot of people about how they were problems but no one ever said we couldn't stay.

IMHO, the big problems are the outrageously behaved small dogs owned by folks that don't seem to care that they're dogs have nasty temperaments.

Tom and Patty · 10-27-2008, 06:54 AM

Only time we had any problem was on the Colorado River in Needles. We were on our way back from Mo. and just needed an overnighter. We called a campground for reservations and they asked if we had a dog.....yup a GSD. Well after some fancy footwork they agreed to give us a spot away from the other RV'ers, plus they would have to meet Kayla.

We met, and they instantly took a liking to our old girl. However, we were still asked to stay in the lower part of the campground so we wouldn't scare the other guests. On my walk around the campground that evening, I spotted a Bouvier des Flandres.

It just shows us that recognizable breeds, or look alikes, get restricted, while other more rare breeds of like (perceived) temperament get the free pass

.

LindaH · 10-27-2008, 08:02 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by GraciesMom:
I've read stories about successfully rehabilitated Pits . . . but I'd be too afraid to have one. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I used to feel that way, too...until I started watching the Dog Whisperer. One of the dogs he uses often in the show is a Pit Bull named Daddy. While I would no longer be afraid to own one, since we are fulltime RVers, and there are too many parks that wouldn't allow a Pit Bull, regardless of the fact that it wouldn't hurt a flea, we wouldn't get one.

Wicked Whippets · 10-27-2008, 12:01 PM

Next time they ask you if you have a dog you just trot this out...

Dog? What dog?

(This is Jonnie at the Arizona Whippet Assn Fun Day costume contest yesterday in Phoenix).

ronharp · 11-02-2008, 10:50 AM

Now, that's enough to make any dog vicious. lol
A couple of years ago, or was that over 40?, there was a saying in our office: take the recruit if you have a vicious dog in your way. I never saw so many chickens in my life as the LEOs I worked with over the next decade. One guess who the recruit was. I had a weeny dog jump high as he could and scratched my winter boots with his teeth and another occasion with a blind dog that I had left the house and came back in without acknowledging him and scared him. He put a hole in my jeans. It was entirely my fault. The dog and I were fine but the owner was hysterical.
I thought I would never see anyone with the dog whisperer's attitude of calm/assertive which I've always subscribed to. It does work much better than sticks or yelling or just about anything else.
Heck, I still feel like I could take most dogs in hand to paw combat, well unless I'm looking at that ol' guy in my mirror. He doesn't look so tough to me.

Ron