on "temperament"

no seriously….go to the Wikipedia on “dog fighting breeds“. Start picking dogs and page down to the “Temperament” link for them all.

“strong character”. “suspicious of strangers”. “suited for very experience dog owners”. “take a socially dominant role with other dogs”. “If poorly socialized or trained, it can become especially territorial and aggressive.”

Have you ever seen such a bunch of denialist, dog-bothering crapola? So many ways to try to avoid saying “Gee, d’ya think maybe breeds bred for fighting each other, for guarding medieval potentates, for ‘protection’, for ‘bull-baiting’ (wtf), for taking out wolves that are attacking sheep flocks, for catching slaves*…MIGHT BE FUCKING DANGEROUS???!!??? What are you, stupid?”

At least this one is honest:

renowned for sneaking up on intruders as opposed to first alerting them of its presence…this guardian breed needs extensive proper socialization to learn to accept strangers, especially within the home; without proper early socialization and training, these dogs are likely to become aggressive towards strangers and unfamiliar dogs. Like with other breeds, forceful training methods, “alpha roles”, and a general “dominance” mentality will not work with these dogs, especially since it is difficult to try to physically dominate a dog that is nearly as large as an adult human;

of course, the inevitable BS apologetics:

one should prevent problems before they happen by using positive training methods, beginning socializing early, and continuing socialization throughout life.

so, when it DOES bite someone’s hand off, well, that was just a failure of “continuing socialization throughout life” you know. Ooopsies, bad owner.

*ok, that one’s extinct thank goodness!