That’s a fair statement. A puppy is potential- what becomes of that is in large part on the owners. I see, almost daily, people raising dogs to a poor potential, or people who just should not have an animal in their trust. A Pitt bull or a Yorkie both have potential to be aggressive or ill tempered, to be raised with poor discipline or sociability- and both can maul or kill- but the Pitt bull as the larger and stronger breed, is obviously more dangerous if entrusted to an individual who cannot properly care for the dog and raise it to meet its potential as a gentle and loving companion.
It is no fault of the dog, nor anything that the breed should be penalized or stigmatized for- small dogs on the whole are quite often the most poorly trained and disciplined breeds simply because due to their size and bred in temperaments tend to not be seen as dangerous, and so people do not tend to approach their are and training with the seriousness that an Therese responsible person would give to a larger more active breed. Perhaps even worse however, is when a person who lacks even the responsibility to raise a breed known for issues with socialization or aggression like an Akita or Malinois- I had such an animal in their care. You are wise to judge a dog by its care taker and avoid those animals who’s care takers show a lack of care or ability.
The German Shepard, even the retriever- these are large working breeds that require discipline, routine, and stimulation. Even a “lap dog” shouldn’t be subjected to such lack of care- but not only is it cruel but dangerous to pick a breed for fashion and treat it with carelessness.
Even the sweetest dog can snap. Even the sweetest dog has sharp teeth. I'm a dog lover, our two dogs are nothing like pitbulls, but I'm always aware of this. I keep mine on a short leash when unknown people or dogs are near.
As someone who's insanely aware of the presence of teeth in every dog, I'd like to thank you for doing that. It's always sweet when people pay attention and take others in consideration.
Sweet yes cool, they are. My 14 pound toy poodle sniffing a bigger dog (regardless of breed) could kill my dog instantly. I've seen to many peoples courts of just that. The judge tells the story of her two little dogs, she will never allow them to meet or get close to any other dogs. Not worth the risk!!
We each must gauge risk independently and have our own thresholds. We bred and raised (and sometimes kept) toy poodles through my childhood and teens. My fathers favorite of all time wore his teeth to nubs chewing up 100 feet of solid pine double slat fence made of 8” wide planks- so that he could get to the neighbors Rottweiler that was always trying to start a fight. Fight they did, and Sir <redacted for privacy> the Third, he F$CKED up that Rottweiler when he got through that fence. He also chased deer and would pluck birds from the air mid flight. We used to keep him away from bigger dogs for THEIR safety because he’d lay down curly vengeance on any of god’s creatures he felt had slighted him.
He was often covered in pee and needed frequent cleaning because he stood on his front legs to pee so that he could pee higher than his height implied. It would run down his chest. He lived to abnormally old age but passed some many years ago. Breed plays some role in a dogs destiny, but there are toy poodles out there like Sir <redacted> the third, who are themselves monsters of fur and fang.
And side note- we did breed him, his children have all passed by now, but his line lives on. I got to help raise his kids and his grand kids. They were little fur monsters too. We kept one of the kids as well, but my father stopped breeding after Sir <redacted> the third passed. I think he loved that dog as much or more than any human including me- and I am not upset at him for it. His passing was hard on my father.
My wife took our 100 lb shedding machine to the dog park. She was approached by a sweet old lady, outside the fence, who asked if she'd mind if her 30 lb nondescript dog could play with our dog, who was pretty cool with calmer, smaller dogs. She said sure, the gate opened and the two began to play.
It was at THIS point that she mentioned that the reason she'd asked, is that Mr. Jones(her dog's name) had an incident at a pet friendly hotel a few months ago. A guest had exited the elevator with his Pitbull off-leash and she suggested he put him on leash, he said his dog was well behaved, she said she wasn't worried about her dog. Then, evidently, the pittie got close, looked at Mr. Jones sideways and sealed his fate. Mr. Jones went for his throat and mortally wounded him. My wife is hearing this while psychotic Mr. Jones is playing with our dog. She smiled, got our dog, thankfully unscathed, and left.
Followup: On her next visit she's talking to some of the regulars and tells the story. They tell her she was lucky and how Mr. Jones is permanently banned. Evidently an owner of two Pitbulls brought them to the park, and history repeating, she warned him, he said they were calm and Mr. Jones, which I'm sure is some kind of alias, lol, tried to kill them both, but thankfully failed this time.
The moral is that crazy is in the individual, not the breed.
It was at THIS point that she mentioned that the reason she'd asked, is that Mr. Jones(her dog's name) had an incident at a pet friendly hotel a few months ago. A guest had exited the elevator with his Pitbull off-leash and she suggested he put him on leash, he said his dog was well behaved, she said she wasn't worried about her dog. Then, evidently, the pittie got close, looked at Mr. Jones sideways and sealed his fate. Mr. Jones went for his throat and mortally wounded him. My wife is hearing this while psychotic Mr. Jones is playing with our dog. She smiled, got our dog, thankfully unscathed, and left.
The moral is that crazy is in the individual, not the breed.