Bungalow next door just been sold. I met the lady that moving in there. She's a small older lady who has health problems, servere asthma & is reg disabled. She tells me she has a 2yr old Rottie bitch- "loves everyone, prefers to sit on laps" !!!!!!  Says she's often in hospital form her asthma. Though I may be wrong she did not strike me as the type of owner to ensure any disapline in the dog.
I'm worrying myself sick what will happen. I have a border terrier who's a bit on the timid side. It'll make her worse with a massive dog next door & if it does get her, she wont stand a chance. I cant see that the lady is able to manage a Rottie on a lead, strength wise.
Rotties are one breed that scare me. I'm not generally scared of dogs having owned many different breeds over the years but these beasts do.
I just dread what the future holds.

try not to worry too much as you havn't even met the dog next door. i know what you mean about certain breeds of dogs but their not all bad. is your garden secure from hers and can the dogs see each other if their outside? because if you have a 6ft solid fence then there shouldn't be a problem or maybe you can change the fencing which could help.
Have another chat with the lady and ask if her dog gets on well with other dogs, as long as you ask questions in a nice way she shouldn't mind.
i know it's hard but try not to label all Rotties with the same bad name. i've never met a nasty one but met lots of other breeds that you wouldn't think of as agressive yet they have been.
i suppose it's a case of wait and see, hope things turn out ok i'm sure it want be as bad as you think.

Not all rotties are 'beasts' as you refer to them, I agree with the post above mine. Maybe wait and see before jumping to conclusions. Of all the rotties I have met they have all been docile a big love monsters which is why I decided on one as my second dog. The dog doesn't need discipline, it needs good training, if the lady has done this then maybe she doesn't need strength as he will be well behaved.

you may well find with the dog having a physically weak owner that it is far better behaved then the type of rotties you fear owned by big thuggish blokes who try to control with brute force.  frail owners often make best ones as they must control with careful training and persuasion

Never met a nasty Rottie yet (we are lucky to have several excellent breeders in the area, and most others I meet at shows).

you really should not jump to conclusions about all rotties and there owners,
my elderly neighbour is about 78 and he has two rotts, they are so well behaved,
they walk nicely, they do as they are told, one is 4 and the other is 6 they are great
with my little dogs, i have a rottie as well and they all play together on the field not a grumble
he said that he has had rotts all his life, he may of slowed down, but he got a motobility scooter
and both dogs trot along beside him when they go out, they pick his stick up if he drops it, they
opent doors and get his washing out of the machine for him, and on a sunny day he pops into our local and
the dogs wait beside the scooter and he comes out with a bag of crisps and water for them.

he will talk for hours about his dogs and how proud he is of them
but he did say the amount of people that say he is to old to have them
or that they are to powerfull for him, but if he did not have them he said why should he get up in the mornings

so please ask her about her rottie tell her you are interested in her rottie and please tell her you are a little bit wary of rotties and could it be possible to meet the rottie etc, then you will find out yourself what it is like

when we moved to our new house we introduced ourselves to the neighbours with our rottie and akita and said they are ok and please do not worry about them, that is how we found the neighbour with the two rotts and we walk quite often together now, well i walk and he scoots

Never known a nasty Rottie, worse thing they do is drool on you

Ditto.

I've met a few in my time and never yet seen a nasty one, though a couple of very boisterous ones, along the way.

As with many dogs its the way they've been brought up that matters.

You just need to remember that Rotties are prone to get highly aroused when they hear high pitched sounds, as has been the case when Rotties have been left with crying babies or shrieking children and have attacked and bitten.  But basically, they are not nasty dogs at all, quite the reverse, they are often very soft and gentle.

As many others have posted before I have never met a nasty Rottie yet, all the ones I have been in contact with have been teddy bears.

I'm another one that has never met a nasty Rottie....fabulous dogs, very loyal and incredibly protective...Parents had 2 when i was growing up as guard dogs....never had a burglar :)

Another 'rotties rule' post here.  I have one and currently have a papillion next door and there is never a cross word between the two.  TBH of the border terrorists I have known I would be more worried about them winding up the rott. 

As one of the other posters has said make sure you have good fences.  If the dogs can't see each other they are less likely to be able to rile each other through the fence.  Keep a look out on here, there may be a poster in coming days moaning about the house she has bought that has a yappy little dog next door and she is worried for her precious lap loving rott lol

Peanut, I think you need to stop believing everything you see in the media. Rottweilers are NOT beasts, it's people like you who encourage the descrimintaion of the breed by using this and other terms like it.

I won't say that all Rottweilers are perfect, of course they're not, but neither is every dog in any other breed either, even yours. Sometimes you have to look at the end of the lead to see the root of the problem

You have NO reason at present to have any worries about what "will happen", how do you know it will? do you know the dog yet? No, so why 'dread what the future holds'? You can not be sure that this dog will make your timid dog even worse either. It seems to me as if you want it to get more timid so you can blame the breed even further. What makes you think it will 'get your dog'? if you have holes in the fence/or it's not fully enclosed, then make it secure.

As for the owner being 'small' and 'older', IF she has trained the dog from the beginning, and instilled respect, there shouldn't be a problem. As you say, you have been a dog owner for many years, with many different breeds, surely you then know it is not down to pure strength to control a dog?

For your information, PAT dog of the year 2006 was a ROTTWEILER we have many PAT dogs registered, as well as many other ambassadors for the breed in lots of different ways, let alone the hundreds that show all round the country in close proximety to other breeds, large, small, hairy, yappy, etc, with no incidents, perhaps you ought to get to know what the breed is really like BEFORE you make assumptions

And yes, my avatar is a Rottie

Border Terrorists :-) LOL

Another one here who has never met a nasty Rottie...and I know plenty of them.  Lived next door to one for a while years ago too... a lovely big girl who took no time at all to work out how to con my Dad into feeding her biscuits over the wall (custard creams...she turned her nose up at Rich Tea apparently!) :-D

Peanut, as has already been said go and introduce yourself to the owner and ask to meet her rottie, i can assure you if she has been reared correctly with kindness and rules she will be no threat to you or your dog.

As someone who shares my home with 10 Rotts i can happily and proudly say you could meet anyone of mine and i would hope you would change your opinion of them......they do not deserve the media and bad press they get at all and the more people put ALL rotties into one bracket the worse this problem will get as the more feared they are the more the 'Idiots wanting status symbols' will want them which does this magnificent breed no favours.

I hope you can become friends with your neighbour and her rottie, please keep an open mind until you have met her, if she's anything like mine....dont sit down.....she'll be on your lap!!! :)

I agree my sister-in-law has three they are very placid,I also looked after my friends rottie,he was a lovely big boy he used to peep around the door to see were the labs were as he was unsure of them,he made me laugh he was a big softie.

Sheila

Many years ago in Sweden when I worked as a veterinary nurse, there was an elderly lady client that we used to call the Pancake Lady. We called her that as she always worried the vet, who worked long hours (often into the night -despite there being no 24 hr cover in Sweden) did not eat enough, so she would make pancakes for her and bring in frequently, as she lived locally.

The Pancake Lady had a Rottweiler. The Pancake Lady was in her 70s and disabled, walking with a walking frame. Her Rottweiler was THE most wonderful dog and beautifully behaved. He was so soft and cuddly and everyone adored him. In fact, when I moved to England and found people calling Rottweilers "devil dogs" I couldn't believe it. Anyway, the Pancake Lady's Rottweiler had to be put to sleep eventually, he was old, and we were all in tears, the entire practice.

A week or so later the Pancake Lady came back, with an 18 month old rescue entire male Rottweiler. She had NO way of controlling him physically, but  control him she did. In no time at all he was beautifully behaved, just like the old one. It was business as usual. All she needed to control him was her voice and pancakes. :)

A nice little story and yes, now I DO know there are less nice Rottweilers about (as there are of all breeds, but of course a large powerful dog has more potential of causing damage than a small dog) not to mention less clued up owners, but I just wanted to tell it all the same as it shows that the combination of old disabled lady and Rottweiler doesn't HAVE to mean disaster. The Pancake Lady had a lot of experience with dogs and simply never changed breed when she grew old and frail.

MarianneB, what a wonderful account of a remarkable lady and her beloved companion.
I agree that certain breeds get the wrong press and are labelled when like all dogs and people they are individuals. Not meaning to stereotype but in general I find smaller dogs more feisty :(
I think sometimes we are guilty of worrying about things that may never happen and the anticipation is normally worse than the actual event, this is not a criticism of the OP, a lot of us do this as we don't want our dogs to be adversely affected in any way, but I think they are more adaptable than people !!

It is just a matter of making sure the garden is secure and in time the dogs will get used to each others presence of the either side of the fence, if they are unhappy with the situation then you may have to agree a strategy with your new neighbour about each checking when the others dogs is out.
Give it a chance, you may be pleasantly surprised :)

Its great to read so many posts sticking up for Rots.

I have two and sometimes when we are out for walks even though they are on a lead and you come across someone with their dogs I hate it when you can see the sheer panic and terror in their faces as if my boys who arent actually taking any notice of them are going to rush over and tear them to bits.  They have had so many little dogs have a go at them and they just stand there and look down at them.  They have doggie friends who they play with off the leads quite happily and love all people.

I was almost left speechless when asked by someone at what age they will turn on me.

>Rotties are one breed that scare me. I'm not generally scared of dogs having owned many different breeds over the years but these beasts do

Fear is an odd thing and not always entirely rational  (I'm afraid of pigeons!!).  There are many good accounts of nice Rotts in this thread but whilst this might help you understand they aren't all bad it isn't going to help much with your anxiety.

No point worrying unnecessarily though - you'll need to wait until she arrives to determine any level of risk BUT in the meantime you ought to try and help your dog overcome her timidness.  If you are the type to express fear she may have picked up on this from you.  Are there any dog training classes you could attend to help your dog and also expose you to other larger breeds? 

Sharpening her attention on you will only be a good thing.  If you do experience fence dramas between the dogs then the ability to call her inside or distract her will only help, as will the ability to make good eye contact with her to stop them eyeballing each other in the street.

Chin up - 'it' might never happen :)

ok,i dont think peanut meant that all rotties were beasts etc,i can see her point,you see a weak elderly person with a strong large dog and you do think oh my god,what happens if that dog trys to get away from him/her,she wont be able to handle it etc,we have an elderly man around here who walks a mastiff male dog,he is huge and i thought that as soon as i saw him when i was out with my stanley,he was very well trained and he walked the other way,its the same when you see young kids wih dogs,you cant help but automatically think the worst things that can happen,
i dont think you can do much apart from be very vigilant,maybe invest in some high strong fencing and locks and offer her advice if she needs it,you may be surprised and this dog may be so well trained,
jo

> left speechless when asked by someone at what age they will turn on me.

I'm speechless reading this....my goodness, aren't people just incredibly stupid !

a few years ago when I had my old dog I met a young man in the park with his lovely young puppy rotttie- and damn near every other park dog walker had scarpered and wouldn't let their dogs anywhere near it because of its breed.
my girl, a large weimaraner bitch was very good with puppies-she liked to play but would tell them off if they bit her and they had a whale of a time together-and i went and pointed out to some of the small dog owners who were hiding on other side of park it would be damn good idea if they let their dogs play with it now while it was little and make friends! which eventually and sheepishly some did.
I met the man sometime later and the dog had grown into a beautiful well behaved well socialised dog-he still had issues with people being frightened of him but had partly overcome it by giving him a little teddy bear to carry on walks as it broke the ice for him with a lot of people.

Again I agree with everyone, I too have never met a nasty Rott, and I know what it is like to have a breed that people are unsure of because I have Dobes.

Please wait until you meet the dog.  I remember the day we moved into our cottage, at the time we had a large black male Dobe who insisted on seating in the front seat of the removal van ( yes I know it's a no no !!! lol ).  The lovely old lady next door came out of her front door as soon as we pulled up, teapot in hand to see if we needed a drink, bless her.  Well our boy thought it was for him, jumped out of the van and lolled his head over the little brick wall and looked at her with adoring eyes, you see he thought everyone loved him !!!!.  she looked a little shocked to say the least and I thought that's a bad start and blamed myself for the sudden introduction. However in the space of a few minutes the handsome Blue had won her heart, I don't know how he used to manage it lol !!!!

We lost our boy a long time ago now, but our lovely neighbour went on to love the Dobes that were to follow and even my wayward Basenji !!!!!  It wasn't until years later that she admited she didn't really like big dogs until she met my Blue.  All my lot always looked for her, listened for her and knew they would get a fuss if she saw them.  Unfortunately she died last year and my guys couldn't understand why the house stood empty.  It has now been bought by a young couple who are gutting it, they aren't really that sociable and I've yet to find out if they like dogs ( that's a bit tough considering they are surrounded by dogs in my road lol !!), as for the dogs they don't even look at the cottage as they go by anymore, they seem to know that their friend has left them.  So you see neighbours can surprise you and you'll probably end up loving the Rott

I have to say that there are breeds i'm wary of, only on the dog aggression side of things and the media has a lot to blame for the way many people think about the Rotties.

I spent a lot of last night with a friend and her bitch who was whelping, the bitch was great around me and had no issues with me holding her pups and was an excellent mother, she is a Rottie. A docile girl at heart.

Yes there are some bad examples of the breed just as there are with Border Terriers, I know people with these and they bark and snap at other dogs, which in turn can create fights.

I would go to your new neighbour and explain your concerns and that you'd like to meet her girl in her own home and you never know both your dog and the Rott may become best of friends :-)

Would you be happy if it was a Golden Retriever coming to live next door??? 

I have owned Rotts for over 13 years and all have had fantastic temperaments and get on well with other dogs.  I'm not sure why a Rottie bitch would worry you.

Why do you presume it will 'get your dog'?  You will more than likely find out she wants to play with other dogs.

Please don't be biased by a certain breed.  I have met many dogs with dodgy temperaments and the majority are terriers, however I do not have an dislike of them at all and give all dogs a chance.

And please do not call them 'beasts'!!

Well I must be an exception then as I have had two bad experiences directly with Rotties :-)

First incident was back over 20 years ago and I was out with my then six month old Lab and from no where 'Emma' appeared and went straight for my girls neck and started to attack her. Meanwhile the owner far behind was heard shouting "Emma, Emma you naughty girl leave that puppy alone' He tried to get her off by calling her but to no avail and so I had to intervene and kick her off. I gave the man in no uncertains terms a good 'talking' to about his repsonsibility as an owener to have control at all times and suggested he go to a training class to learn how to train her.

Second incident was a few years ago with a friend who had Reggie the rescue Rottie. He was very unpredicable and was never trusted off the lead.One day I made the mistake of going over to him to say hello whilst eyeballing him directly as I approached him. (my silly mistake as I should have known better but anybody else who didn't know....) and he went for me. Luckily he was on his lead and so was taken out of the way before he made contact.

I would say do not make judgement until you have met the woman and the dog in situ and then assess the situation as she is more than liley a lovely girl who you will not have any problems with. As a precaution as well I would check the fence to make sure it is secure.

It is the same for all dogs though but the risk of injury because of a dodgy temperament and or the owners inability to train and control the dog is comparable to the size and structure of the dog.This means the risk is greater in certain breeds of dogs.

We have two Rotties in the village that get walked without leads and are the lovliest wee beasties, it's normally my small cocker yipping to get to them! 

I have met a nasty one - but it was obvious it was 'status dog', the guy was straddling it with both hands on the collar trying to drag it across the road, I shouted, it's ok I'll cross. 

I would love to own one in the future, and hope the one moving in is every inch the lapdog!

A bit of breed prejudice is displayed here me thinks.

Rather than get all worked up about what will probably never happen  , take stock of all the good experiences on the breed here.

if you are really worried about this "beast"  getting to your little one,  use the time before she moves in, to re-enforce your fence , so the beast cant get access to your garden.

Not saying I have never met a bad one, but then you can say that about all breeds, big and small.

I have friends with Rotties, fabulous big lumps of lard !!!   I often wonder (with her latest boy) if there are any lights on inside his head LOL!!

I remember going into PAT a coupel of yrs ago,  in comes an very old dear, with her enormous Rotti,   as soon as she gets in the store she take the lead off the dog!!!

As the old dear  goes about her shopping, I though I must intervene (she must be losing her marbles)   "Oh no dear"  she says...  Maggie (rotti) if off to do her baby sitting ..she likes to sit and mind the bunnies in the store.LOL!!

Had to go and take a look, and bless her, she was laying down next to the bunny pen (they where not distressed , btw)  keeping an eye on them.

Old lady, says, we come in every day,  she does love those bunnies , like they were her own babies!!

I have BT's and a Rottie, would trust my Rottie before my terriers!!!

Nope neither have i...:) there a few who go to ringcraft, very boisterous but lovely.... also frequently meet a lovely big boy out walking with 2 weimaraners (sp)......he's a big dope! :)

Oh dear, I seem to have opened a can of worms here and I certainly didn't mean to. It just came as an awful shock to me to find out about it. Of course Rotties are not all bad, I didn't mean to imply that. But the fact is IF the dog is either aggresive or simply boistrous its size and weight is what makes me nervous for my girl, who hasn't a nasty bone and is NOT, cheekychow a "yappy little dog" In fact she hardly ever barks. She's been to training classes, is well socialised and loves a good play with other dogs. Knowing what Terriers can be like I have trained her and she is very obedient, I'm actually quite chuffed with how she's coming on.
I have already wondered if its me thats made her rather timid. My last dog, some of you may remember Cassie and her long illness, was attacked 4 times by dogs with crap owners who never attempted to retrieve their dogs. So I'm always on my guard when meeting dogs I don't know. That doesn't mean I stop her meeting them.!
Some of your posts have helped. I shall just have to wait and see.

i hope you have taken comfort rather then critism from the posts as I think everyone is just trying to reasure you.
I do understand your fears as myself have a terror of offlead staffies being walked by youths in local park-i don't wait to see if friendly-just leave and likewise if i see any large guardy breed that doesn't look 100% under control I've got my dog out of there!
however without wishing to be sexist/agest all the large traditional unnerveing breeds I've seen walked by older ladies have without exception been well behaved- its ones owned by young men I tend to get twitchy over until sussed whether the young man has a brain.

I never intended to criticise either.  :-) 

> and is NOT, cheekychow a "yappy little dog"

lol, my point was that your neighbour may make a judgmental statement about your dog in the same way as you passed judgement by describing rotties as 'beasts' that you are worried will get your girl. 

I haven't met any nasty Rotties, but in my old park there used to be 2 with absolutely no training, owner had no control and these dogs would just rampage over the park without even a collar, let alone a lead. Think someone must eventually have complained as after a year or so he started walking with someone else, one dog each, on the lead at least! I can understand why you are worried with a smaller breed nervous dog of your own, but as long as you make sure you have a sturdy fence or even brick wall so they can't see or get at each other in the back gardens, you should be fine.

> I have a border terrier who's a bit on the timid side. It'll make her worse with a massive dog next door

Try looking at it another way - the rottie could prove to be a blessing for your dog. If the rottie is a friendly sweetheart, she could really help your dog gain some confidence around big dogs, using controlled greetings (so the size of the rottie will not intimidate your dog) & positive association. :)

I hope the rottie turns out to be a great big teddy-bear of a dog, it would be brilliant if you and your dog could get a positive experience with the breed.

Having a big dog myself, I do get a bit frustrated that people judge him on his looks and think he's a meanie - he is a big darling, but to be fair, we all have to make judgements. Being wary/cautious of a large dog that we don't know is perfectly sensible (infact being wary of any dog we don't know is perfectly sensible!)

Make sure your garden is secure (always best to be prepared :) ) and look forward to what could be a great freidnship and huge help for your dog :-)

Totally agree with you mastifflover,

Being the owner of 2 big dogs it really annoys me that some owners of small dogs think it is totally acceptable for them to come up and get in my dogs faces barking and growling, and the usual response is " there too big for you they will eat you alive" as if, now if it was the other way around there would be a big deal about it, because lets face it if one day they did have enough then yes they could do some damage.

But back to the op, i'm sure all will be fine, remember to give the dog next door a while to settle in to the new surroundings, i know when we moved into our new house every little noise set the dogs off barking, but now not a peep from them.

Dont worry we all have a ideas about dogs based solely on their breed. I always felt uncomfortable around gsds growing up. When I moved into my own house which is rural, I decided I would get one. Well honestly now you would swear I was getting a lion! Lots of people with stories and tales about them. How they turn on their owners. But yet none of them had a gsd. So I got my boy anyway. Tiny little thing looking up at me and I laughed! Ferocious indeed. He is 2 now and yes he is always plotting mischief with his "brother" my saint bernard, and always lets my cockers rule the roost, but I would trust him entirely. If I ever scold him, he just stands there laughing and wagging his tail taking absolutely no notice! But when we are out walking, very few people react to him as they would any other dog. They look at him warily but love my saint. I can tell you his teeth are bigger, he is twice the weight of my gsd and far stronger but his breed makes him cute in their eyes. 

Some of you may have seen news on BBC's Breakfast. They were saying that dog charities, I think Dogs Trust was one, are very concerned about the increasing number of attacks on small dogs by large dogs. They showed a poor spaniel that had been got by 2 Huskies.
Perhaps I'm right to be concerned. I've had dogs all my life including german shepards, so I am aware of the big dog senario. After todays TV I don't feel guilty for expressing my fears. Before you all start on me again, I don't blame the dogs whatever the breed, its the owners. Unfortunately certain owners pick certain breeds !

> Unfortunately certain owners pick certain breeds !

I agree with you, but also responsible owners pick those same breeds. I find it highly unlikely that a frail old lady has a rottie for the macho status, to start with if it was poorly trained it would be far too large & powerfull for her to share her home safely with - an untrained, playfull large dog is like a bull in a china shop and the dear old lady would often be sporting broken bones.

As I said in my earlier post, we all have to make judgements and it is best to err on the side of caution when the dog is large/powerfull, but it would be better for you & your dog if you approached this situation with an open mind. Be calm, collected and ready. Ready to take defensive action if needed (make sure your garden is secure) and ready to ditch your fears when you see a lovely dog - despite her size :)
Going into this with fears about your dog being 'got' will only make the first time your dog meets the rottie a very tense situation. It's best for them to meet under no tension, with a calm attitude. If your dog is so tense that it attacks the rottie and the rottie gives a warning snap/growl back then it will only serve to prove you right, when it could easily be avoided with a calm attitued and would not have been a sign of an ill-tempered rottie (even big dogs should be allowed to give a warning snap/growl when being attacked, afterall they are the same species as the small ones).

Hi Peanut :)

I do understand your fears. Much as we should all live without prejudice, the truth is we each form our own judgements based on what we see and hear. And yes, sometimes those can be false judgements. I am VERY wary of certain breeds of dogs and I am also aware that those are judgements based on things I have "heard". Perhaps a victim of media hype!

I am wary of breeds such as rotties, dobs, ridgebacks....to name but a few. However, and this is the biggie...the only bad experiences I have had with dogs were with labs!! All the dobs I have met have been "pah, no interest in you or your collies"! Rotties have always bowled me over with love and affection!

However, I remain anxious because, sitting there in the back of my mind is the fear of what they "could" do.

I would take the bull by the horns in this situation and explain to the lady you have a rather timid dog and would like to introduce the new neighbours in a controlled way :) Much as what mastifflover has said :)

I bet they will become great mates!!

They showed a poor spaniel that had been got by 2 Huskies

This surprised me a bit, not that the spaniel had been attacked but that the culprits were said to be Huskies, most owners would not let their huskies off lead in an open area and certainly not two, it is also not usual for them to be dog aggressive anyway. Did start to wonder is it was an Akita or a Mal or even a couple of the Mal/GSD crosses that seem to be everywhere and then realised I was as bad as everyone else in labelling the breed and not the deed.

>Some of you may have seen news on BBC's Breakfast. They were saying that dog charities, I think Dogs Trust was one, are very concerned about the increasing number of attacks on small dogs by large dogs. They showed a poor spaniel that had been got by 2 Huskies.Perhaps I'm right to be concerned.

I had to separate a Jack Russell from my neighbours Miniature Schnauzer right outside my house when the JRT launched itself at the Schnauzer and locked onto it's back leg.  The Miniature Scnauzer had the muscle ripped clean away from the bone and needed fairly major surgery to repair the extensive damage to the muscle and soft tissue.  So don't be lulled into thinking that only larger dogs can inflict damage on a small dog.

re the husky attack on news. 
I like huskys and have meet some lovely ones with sensible owners.
however I am not at all suprised by this attack as there is a women who runs her two in our local park and frankly they are terrifiing and have already bitten several dogs.
she stands at one side of park and turns them loose and they clear off to other side of park to do their own thing - she occassionally and pointlessly calls them and they take not a blind bit of notice comming back only when they are bored with the park.
when they see anyother dog they run at it snarling-if the other dog instantly submits it gets bowled over and then they get bored and usually amble off- if it dares growl back or make any other noise then they have bitten :(   owner of dogs is too far away to do anything except make her pathetic come here noises (whicvh are ignored)
I scan horrizon of park now when go there and if I spot that idiot owner leave immediaty.

I know a shepherd friend who, on two occasions, almost lost livestock (sheep) to husky dogs.

Of course, this is not the dogs fault. From what I understand, they have a very high prey drive and should not be off lead around livestock. Whooops...going off topic! lol

I do hope your feeling a little better about things now Peanut :) We are each very protective of our dogs and worry, often unnecessarily, on their behalf.

on sky news, a rottie that heard screams when out walking with his owner and he ran off towards the scream, and sent a rapist packing and stayed with the woman who had been attacked till the police got there,
the rottie has been awarded a medal from the rspca and the owner said she got him as a rescue and she was so proud of him,
the attacker has got 4 years
so thank god the rottie stepped in when he did

Peanut, I for one can understand what you mean.  As someone has pointed out, fears are sometimes not rational.

My ex husbands mum had a very nasty JR and it put me off the breed.  Years later, my next door neighbour died, who loved his JR girl.  None of his kids would take the dog (all around my age), and I couldn't see her go to a shelter, and took her in.  Judy proved to me what an assumption I had made.  I had a blind dog that would get very nasty if he walked into another dog (which happened often.)
Judy learned in a day, with no prompting from me.  She went out of her way to fit in, and I had her another 8 years.  She was very much loved.

I have had dogs forever (I'm getting on) and have always been in love with Border Collies - yet I have friends that say they can't be trusted.  I know one Chi breeder that says he doesn't like the way they give the "eye"  :-)  I have never had a bad BC.

But I have always been petrified of Rotties.  I can't even tell you that I've had a bad experience.  I don't know if it's because they look so powerful, as well as boisterous, so making me think that I wouldn't stand a chance if they went for me (probably a bit of media hype picked up by me somewhere along the line?)

The warden at a caravan site that I went to had a Rottie, and I was always worried when he did the rounds with the dog.  However, I regularly saw him going out to training classes with the dog.  I had to go down to see the the warden, and he was inside the bungalow.  As I went up to the low gate, a big head appeared, and I was immediately covered in slobber.  However, his strength as he pushed against me, made me realise that it was this that probably worried me.

A couple of year ago I had just started taking a young Chi pup to ringcraft.  I saw the largest male rottie I had ever seen in my life.  And asked the owner if I could stand next to her, to accustom my pup to large dogs.  It was really worth the effort, as there is nothing worse than a snappy yappy toy dog, that is noisy just from fear.  Of course - there are always repurcusssions!  I ended up with a 3lbs Chi that fell in love with with the St Bernard bitch in the class!  Talk about ambitious!  :-)  :-)

So yes, I fully understand, but give your girl a chance.  Slowly, slowly.  Good Luck.

> I have trained her and she is very obedient, I'm actually quite chuffed with how she's coming on.

:-) I can totally understand you wanting to keep the peace and I think we should now continue in that vain and look at the positives and not the negatives!

I think members have already addressed the issue of 'Rotties' and 'Beasts' :-D With some lovely anecdotes of what is a lovely breed.

So perhaps now Members might consider some positive practical advice?
How have others helped ease the transition of new neighbours and shared boundaries?

Peanut... what is the fencing like? (If there are areas where the dogs can eyeball each other) Can an area be screened off completely to give your dog her privacy and respite?

A shared boundary can be initially stressful for some dogs, so it might be pertinent for those that have had experience to share how they worked round the problem..if there were any problems??

:-)

> This surprised me a bit, not that the spaniel had been attacked but that the culprits were said to be Huskies, most owners would not let their huskies off lead in an open area and certainly not two, it is also not usual for them to be dog aggressive anyway.

I think you meant to see IT IS UNUSUAL for this breed to be dog aggressive as they are very gregarious as a rule.

Another reason for my dislike of crossing breed which when it goes wrong give the breeds used a bad name.