Narnian wrote:
- xxxMy dog is a Rhodesian ridgeback mix, likely with a good amount of boxer as well, but because of her distinctive head shape, many people mistake her to be a pit bull. I'm assuming this is the reason for this particular encounter. While we were in the vet's waiting room, sitting quietly and minding our own business, out of the blue someone looked at her and commented, "It's a vicious one!" I didn't respond, but they kept giving her nasty looks until we left.
xxxIt would be a bit understandable to call a snarling/snapping/lunging dog "vicious", but she was just sitting there calmly as I pet her, without even a trace of aggressive behavior or body language.
I have a similar problem with my dog Kito. He's about the size of a large Labrador (No surprise he's a staffie x lab) and has a brindled coat. He's got the staffie head shape and for some reason people think he's a pitbull. I live in the UK and pitbull are banned (I don't see why, they're just dogs). People constantly avoid me or scoop up their children as they walk past. However Kito is aggressive towards some dogs, so I am rightfully cautious. It's irritating when I've put him on lead and a dog comes charging up to me when the owner is further away. He's a vocal dog and has a loud bark, so when he does lunge at the dog who is off lead its 'automatically my fault'.
He's completely fine with people though and gets along fine with some other dogs (my friends staffie for example.)