No, not at all. I've always had Rottweilers, and now have a Rottie and a Dobe. I'm used to people running from them, I'm used to all of the comments, etc. Does it bother me? Yes, of course it does. Morgan and Winston both love attention and rarely get it from the public. Would I switch breeds because of this reason? No. I won't ever have another Doberman I don't think, but that has nothing to do with how the public views them. I also won't have many more Rottweilers, but again, not because of how the public views them. In a few years, I plan on getting a Belgian Shepherd...one of the most feared breeds by those who have heard about them around here. I don't really care. If people want to make fools of them selves and run (and seriously, I mean run! - you wouldn't believe a few of the reactions I've had if you didn't own a 'dangerous' breed) the opposite direction, oh well. That's their problem, not mine. I know my dogs are friendly, I know they love people...that's really all that matters to me now. People are even afraid of Tango (retriever mix) because she has a gold/brown eye colour and that Border Collie stare, so I've never really had a dog of y own yet that people actually want to approach. Yes, it would be a whole lot easier to socialize my pups/dogs if people wanted to pet them, but I didn't get dogs to make friends in the public. In fact, I think I prefer that people fear them as it makes me feel somewhat safer while out for a walk or such. I don't want people crowding my dogs, and as much as they love people, I think that would be too much for them also. I don't go up to parents and say "oh, your kid is so cute...may I come visit her/him?" - I view my dogs about the same way. Why would everyone need to pet my dog?