Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I don't know what is going on in the rest of the country, but in my area, the mini Aussies are very popular and are being cranked out in large numbers by backyard breeders and puppy mills. Those are dog sources where temperament is not considered. So, it is possible to buy a mini Aussie with a genetically flawed temperament.
There are not many mini Aussies that are good enough to be bred, so to meet the demand, dogs are being bred that should not be bred.
This is a manufactured breed and there was some careless breeding involved. Shetland Sheepdogs were used by some breeders to get the size down-- not that Shetland Sheepdogs should be bad tempered, but that breeding wasn't entirely ethical in some quarters.
Australian Shepherds are usually good with kids, but they are also high powered, high energy, overly intelligent dogs who are not suited for beginning dog owners. The same can be said of Shetland Sheepdogs. The minis are very cute and being bought for cuteness, not because they are suitable for the home. I know there are some good ones out there, but there are also a lot where Australian Shepherds were bred down in size and some cross breeding being done, and not a lot of attention to temperament.
It's a breed where you want to be extra careful who you are buying from.
Add the issue of too many parents who allow their kids to treat a dog like a stuffed toy and some dogs do not tolerate abuse well.
Mini Aussies are one of those non-breeds that have been quickly developed and bred en masse. They have a lot of Aussie attitude and often very odd features. When you take a herding temperament and introduce a lot of other inbreeding factors and then throw in an ignorant owner, it's a recipe for trouble.
This happens all the with us. The lady down the road has this little maltese named Buddy and it always tries to attack our pit bull. The owner just laughs it off and says "oh buddy, be nice!". If this was our pit bull attacking her dog, she would be calling the cops telling them we have a vicious dog that needs to be put down.
It really annoys me when I see people with small aggressive dogs and they think its funny or cute.
Me too. Whenever I see this sort of thing I think to myself "why don't you put your foot up that dog's {donkey} and teach it some manners?"
There is one older lady who in the overall sense of things is nice but we no longer visit her home because her Yorkshire Terrior is overly territorial and she won't control it. We were there with our 6 year old and all my son was doing was playing with trains in a corner, his own trains he had brought with him, he was minding his own business, and this dog would not stop lunging at him acting all aggressive. The owner a few times asked the dog to stop, it didn't, then she told my son "maybe you should stop playing on the floor it upsets the dog" I said back "maybe you should put your foot up that dog's {donkey} and MAKE it stop before I do so." We left, and haven't gone back since, and won't.
I have seen this stupidity firsthand. A friend of mine has a Pomeranian mix that growls and bites almost everyone that enters the house, they just laugh and actually record videos of their tiny dog acting tough. If my GSD even looked at them wrong, they would freak out and ask me to lock him up.
Yup, I started another thread about my friend's little dog who attacks everyone when we come over. She has an especially bad hatred for me and has started biting (she used to nudge my pants with her nose, now we've graduated to grabbing & tugging the pants with her mouth). People laugh and think she's cute. The other day, they sent us a video of her boyfriend putting his face in her face, while she bears her teeth and growls. I told him I wouldn't do that if I were him. He responded he does it all the time, and it's funny. Stupid.
There is nothing wrong with tiny dogs. They are dogs just like any other dog. The owners of tiny dogs, on the other hand, are sometimes self-centered idiots with zero common sense.
Not too long ago in my neighborhood a man we know was walking his pit bull and as they were waiting to cross the road this tiny aggressive dog came out of no where and attacked his pit bull. His dog defended itself and picked up the little dog and held it in its mouth and caused some serious damage. This was all because the owner of the little dog was on her phone chatting away and not concentrating. She took the man to court to pay for her vet bills but the judge said the pit bull was defending itself and the woman needed to be more careful especially when you walk a dog that's aggressive. I'm so glad that our community has not blamed the pit bull and understood that it was the woman's fault.
Not too long ago in my neighborhood a man we know was walking his pit bull and as they were waiting to cross the road this tiny aggressive dog came out of no where and attacked his pit bull. His dog defended itself and picked up the little dog and held it in its mouth and caused some serious damage. This was all because the owner of the little dog was on her phone chatting away and not concentrating. She took the man to court to pay for her vet bills but the judge said the pit bull was defending itself and the woman needed to be more careful especially when you walk a dog that's aggressive. I'm so glad that our community has not blamed the pit bull and understood that it was the woman's fault.
I'm not a fan of pit bulls but I am glad for how the judge ruled. I am a HUGE fan of small little dogs who are aggressive having their butt handed to them on a plate in manners like this. If their owners would take charge and put those little runts in their place, others wouldn't have to. As long as owners of little dogs refuse to discipline their brats, I fully condone other people or dogs doing it for them. I bet you that little runt won't harass someone else.
The mini aussie is still an aussie and aussies can be protective. It sounds like the kid that got bit was playing with another child perhaps he did something that made the dog feel it needed to protect the other child.
This is an example of why young kids should never be left alone with a dog---regardless of breed.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
