r/TikTokCringe • u/GhostofTinky • Aug 25 '26

Discussion This is a disaster waiting to happen.

The dog isn’t allowed to be around a toddler because he growls at her. I don’t get it. A family dog is supposed to get along with the whole family. Why are the parents concerned about why the dog “doesn’t like her”? What about the child’s safety?

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u/ValdisHound Aug 25 '26

I'm alright nowadays, enough that I don't judge dogs too harshly based on breed; I stay aware of the purpose of each breed, and learned a lot about dog behavior and body language so I can make accurate threat assessments.

It may have been a rottweiler that got me, but the other rottweiler in the house did her best to fight him off, she was just smaller and older so she couldn't overpower him. His name was Bruiser, and her Sugar; Sugar was very protective of me for the rest of her life, and between her a fantastic rottie by the name of Ms. Wiggles, I learned that it's the dog, not the breed that is violent.

Honestly, it boggles my mind when people don't consider the purpose of each breed. Bulldogs were bred for bull baiting, yorkies for hunting rats, dachaunds for hunting badgers in their dens, those kinds of things. Hell, golden retrievers are hunting dogs. It's not a surprise when some dogs develop aggression issues because they aren't trained with their original purposes in mind, even if it's just to mitigate unwanted behavior. Of course a dog that's hard-wired and bred for certain things is going to need consistent and full training, they need to learn self-control and proper socialization.

Even pitbulls need careful socialization and training to be the best they can, both with all variety of people and pets. They aren't a beginner dog; it's the novices that think they're all cuddly babies as a baseline and bad people who encourage aggression and poor socialization that give the breed a bad rap.

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u/ashoka_akira Aug 25 '26

I don’t know if there really is any such thing as a beginners dog. There’s just dogs that are small enough to manage easily. I have a small dog and if he doesn’t want to do something, I just pick him up and put him where I need them to be, and then I have a husky and there’s been a few occasions when I had to do things like put eardrops in and if he doesn’t want something to happen, it’s not happening.

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u/ValdisHound Aug 25 '26

Ah, huskies. Huge personalities, incredibly intelligent, and prone to throwing temper tantrums like a kid when they aren't on board with something 😅😂

Small dogs often require quite a lot of training, though, depending on the breed and temprament.

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u/Adventurous-Brain-36 Aug 25 '26

Huskies are definitely not for novices lol. But even when you’re very well versed with them, when their answer is an ‘absolutely not’, just forget it because it ain’t happening.

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u/Evamione Aug 25 '26

Golden retrievers aren’t exactly hunters - they were breed to help people hunting water fowl by swimming into the water, gently grabbing a dead duck, and bringing it back to a human undamaged.

This means if you have a pool and a Goldie, they will follow you in and keep retrieving your floats back to the deck. It gets very annoying.

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u/Thin_Explanation1334 Aug 25 '26

Lol wait that's so cute

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u/nikstick22 Aug 25 '26

Curious about the "hound" in your username. Considering your incredibly traumatic history with dogs, what inspired it?

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u/ValdisHound Aug 25 '26

I've spent most my life being told I have similar loyalty to a dog. Unwavering once someone has earned it, and willing to plant myself between those I love and danger without a second thought.

There was a point when I was a kid that I tried to convince myself I love and trust all dogs, and viewed the comparisons between me and a dog as a badge of honor. 😅 it stuck, and while I'm trying to grow past unquestioning loyalty, I do still view myself emotionally as a loyal hound most the time. Sweet and relaxed most the time, but will throw down to protect those I love. You won't lose me as a friend unless you do something I deem unforgivable or align yourself with bad ideologies, but it takes a lot for me to give up on someone

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u/sherpasunshine Aug 25 '26

I’ve dealt with many hounds and owned a beagle, and I have to say that their loyalty stops at food. 🤣

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u/ValdisHound Aug 25 '26

Oh, offer me some chicken nuggets and I'm sold 😂 offering to feed me is guaranteed loyalty, I've learned most people don't offer free food unless they actually want to, and I appreciate it when it is

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u/tiny__e Aug 25 '26

You seem like a really wonderful person. I'm really sorry that happened to you and glad you've had a successful recovery.

I love dogs and I love children. Few things infuriate me more than folks being careless about children's safety around dogs.

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u/LikesToNamePets Aug 26 '26

My husband really REALLY wanted a rottweiler, and purchased a puppy. Our nephew, who was at our house often, was only 3 at the time. I was so worried knowing how strong rotties are, and the fact that the dog would eventually be the same height as our nephew.

(I walked up to a dog [small terrier] when I was a kid, and my head was level with the dog's. It bit me in the face, but thankfully it was just a nip or small warning bite and immediately backed off. Didn't even leave a scar, just scared the daylights out of me).

Anyway, our rottweiler is now 8 years old and the BEST dog in the world. I watched so many training and socialization videos when she was a pup. My husband and I put in the work to train her together. She's great around kids, other dogs, and our cats and chickens. I will never understand people who get a dog or puppy and just... plop it into their home like it's a pre-programmed robot.

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u/annewilco Aug 26 '26

An old boss had two dogs: a Female pitbull rescued as a puppy from a breeding mill & a male purebred Golden Retriever. His toddler son got bitten by the Golden.

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u/ValdisHound Aug 26 '26

Oh, that's common- golden retrievers got popular so a lot of people started breeding them for profit, not behavior and conformation. If I went for a golden, I'd look for a breeder that shows their dogs and has a good lineage, as they have much better behavior and less aggression issues

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u/finalina78 Aug 28 '26

Oh, I love Sugar. She saved your life ❤️

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u/ValdisHound Aug 28 '26

She really did her best, even though she was older and Bruiser was her son ❤️ she, my brother who was 7 at the time, and my grandma tried so hard to stop him, but my uncle wasn't home to step in and stop his own dog.

To this day, I count it as a blessing that I had them to help and that he didn't redirect his aggression to my brother; the only time he bit someone else was when my grandma shoved one of her hand in his mouth in an effort to pry him off me. (Not a good plan in practice, but she was panicking)

Sugar was very patient with me while I got used to her again after the attack and was terrified of all dogs for a while, even though she very much wanted to be up in my space and nannying me. The fear made sense, but I can't help but feel guilty for her sad, confused expression when she'd approach and I'd go so far as to climb onto the back of the couch to get away with her while yelling for my grandma. To the day she died, she never let another dog come close to me when she was around, and would follow me around the yard while I was playing outside to keep an eye on me. I wish I had pictured of her...

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u/finalina78 Aug 28 '26

Oh what a sweet and lovely dog , she really loved you❤️❤️❤️

I am glad that they together finally managed to save you and that the dog didn’t turn on your brother also. 🙏

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u/[deleted] Aug 25 '26

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u/ValdisHound Aug 25 '26

Where did I mention pitbulls' bred purpose? I said they need careful training and socialization. I didn't think waxing poetic of the exact method of training/socializing and why was needed.

Rottweilers were originally bred as herding dogs, for starters. Each breed you've mentioned requires training and socialization tailored to their breed and temperament, but as a baseline I'd suggest extensive socialization to help negate the territorial and aggression issues, avoiding negative interactions with other dogs(especially pitbulls, because they're bred in a way that makes it incredibly easy for them to learn how to fight better the more often they end up in them), consistent training in recall, paying attention to you over outside stimuli, discipline(not pulling on leash, jumping on people, or stealing food, those kinds of things), and plenty of exercise so they're not having to combat pent-up energy.

Of all of the dogs that are known to attack, how many were pure, well bred dogs? And I don't mean backyard bred. I mean properly bred, with all of the health testing, careful tracking of lineage, and done for the purpose of keeping the breed alive and strengthening it, not for profit. If they are well bred, their temperament would be much more stable. The breed standard for Doberman Pinschers states they should be loving to family, great with young kids, open to/friendly with strangers, moderately good with other dogs, vigilant, and adaptable.

I will stand by that it's not the breed. Each individual dog is it's own representation due to breeding, temperament, and how well it was socialized/trained. Yes, some breeds are prone to territorial and aggression issues, but proper training, socialization, and enrichment are required to mitigate that. If the dog's needs aren't supported, they will not be the best they can be.

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u/Bitmush- Aug 25 '26

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u/ValdisHound Aug 26 '26

How many of those dogs were backyard bred, poorly trained/socialized, and were lacking proper exercise? Set a dog up for failure, and it will. I'm a staunch supporter of behavioral euthanasia, but even excellently bred dogs can turn out aggressive if they never get proper socialization or training.

Pitbull isn't even a breed, it's a catch-all term. Damn near any medium short-haired mutt with smallish eyes and blocky head is called a pitbull. Boxer/lab mixes are often misidentified as pitbulls.