Carol Reiter: 'Good' and 'bad' dog breeds

I had a call this week from someone who needed to have their dog given a canine good citizen test.

For those of you who don't know what the test is, it's basically a test that shows you have a well-trained dog that is under control at all times.

I'm all for the test. After all, I've been holding classes and giving the tests for years.

But the reason for this particular dog being tested unsettled me a bit. The woman said her dog needed to have the test before the woman could rent a home and have her dog with her.

Well, that's all fine and good. I think if more dogs had the training that a canine good citizen test demands there would be a lot less problems with aggressive, untrained dogs in the world.

But this dog needed the test for only one reason. She was part Chow.

Yep, that's right. The landlord wanted proof that this dog wasn't aggressive not because of anything the dog had done in the past. It was all about what breed the dog was.

I have a big, big problem with that. I believe that any breed of dog, if its breeders did their homework, can be a good dog.

That means pit bulls, Dobermans, German shepherds, and yes, chows. I have seen dogs from each of these breeds who are super-dispositioned, well-bred dogs that anyone would be proud to own.

For years, I have seen almost every breed imaginable come through my dog class. From tiny Chihuahuas to Great Danes, they came to class to learn how to sit, how to lie down, how to come when they were called, and, most of all, how to just be a good dog.

And in all those years of classes, I got bit by dogs exactly three times.

The first time I got nailed was by a Labrador retriever. Yep, the most popular dog in the nation, the dog that is supposedly the best one for a family. This dog had a nasty disposition, and I got bit.

The second bite was from another so-called family dog. This time it was a golden retriever. A big, beautiful golden that wanted nothing more than to sink his teeth into someone. At this class, that someone was me.

And the last bite was from a little dog, a cocker spaniel mix. She bit me hard, but she was a rescue dog that the owners had patiently worked with for months, trying to overcome her shyness. I knew that, and I put myself in a place where she felt she had no recourse except to bite.

I have to admit, the bites from the Lab and the golden completely floored me. I wasn't expecting either dog to bite anyone, much less the nice lady who gave them hot dogs and petted them.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that any dog can bite. That's what I tell each class when we start, and I am the living proof of that.

A long time ago, I had the best dog I've ever owned. Her name was Pup, and she was my heart dog. If I could have just one dog that has come through my life, it would be her.

Pup was a sweet, happy, love everybody type of dog. She would play for hours with my nephew, and she met every morning with a big grin, ready to take on the day.

Pup was a pit bull. She was a stocky, big-headed dog that looked scary. I knew if I had that dog in the car with me, no one would bother me.

But Pup wouldn't hurt anything or anyone. She never met an enemy, everyone was her friend. She slept with cats, played with little kids, and went for long trail rides with my friend and me.

And she was a pit bull. If I had tried to find a place to live while I owned that dog, I probably would have been turned away. For no reason other than I owned the 'wrong' breed of dog.

It's too bad that we have the tendency to prejudge an entire breed of dog. I try not to, because I've seen that the "good" breeds, like Labs and goldens, can be downright nasty. And I know that the "bad" dogs, like pit bulls, can be everything but bad.

Like I tell my classes, any dog can bite. But it's an individual thing, and within each breed there are good dogs and bad dogs. Do your homework, and you will end up with a good one.

Reporter Carol Reiter can be reached at (209) 385-2486 or creiter@mercedsun-star.com