Trey thinks he's master people-herder. He always has... it took a while to keep him from nipping at fast moving feet, lol.
I agree.
Gonzo would LOVE to herd people if he was allowed to... haha. But, of course, he isn't! It's not so much identifying "livestock" and "people" and "dogs" and whatnot, it is the motion that a herding dog is attracted to. Many herding dogs will herd cars... do you really think they mistake them for sheep? No. I find it kind of far-fetched to expect a herding breed to somehow
know that a sheep is to be herded, but running dogs or people are not to be herded; you have to teach them that distinction.
As far as terriers being more apt to bite than Labrador Retrievers, YES, I completely agree. To be perfectly honest, if I owned a Lab... a Lab PUPPY... and he ran over and severely bit a child's face with no warnings, I would not be able to trust that dog ever again. Not only is that behavior going completely against the breed itself, it's going against the dog's age, and against any sign of self control or appropriate manners. By warnings, I mean, growls, snarls, shrieks, etc. Any stable dog is going to make a heck of a racket before even considering air-snapping at a child, and that's if they have no way of getting out of the situation, which this dog did. D:
When I was 3-4 years old, our Cocker Spaniel, Max, bit my sister in the face. He nearly ripped her cheek off, and she needed about the same amount of stitches as that toddler. She was petting him, and he had just gotten home from the groomers. Unbeknownst to my Mom, they had clipped him way too close and he had burns on his stomach. He didn't make any warning yelps, or any snaps, he just latched onto her face. My parents refused to blame him, and kept him. Shortly thereafter, he bit one of my sister's friend's in the face while he was politely petting Max. Max went back to his breeder. I'm not saying that a dog who inflicts this kind of bite cannot be managed and contained, or that they cannot be intensely trained and socialized, but I honestly feel that the "average" person will NOT do that training and will NOT dedicate the constant attention needed to keep their dog completely contained at all times; making a dog who has proven that they will, without warning, inflict potentially fatal bites a huge danger to society in general.
Does anyone know if the owners were punished, at all? Or the dog labeled as dangerous? I really hope
something was done...