I do not think any breed should be stereotyped. There are good and bad dogs of every breed, color and size.

Okay, I have to admit that sometimes I'm intimidated by big dogs, but I still love them! I will generally ask the owner if it's okay to approach them. It all stems from when I was a child. Friends of ours had german shepherds and the dogs scared the living daylights out of me. I still have to fight fear of GSDs.

I have to tell you this. I went out to dinner Friday night with Lynn and Titus (pittie) and I brought Deuce. We sat outside at WB Pizza. It was interesting to see the expressions of the comers and goers of the restaurant. Titus was approached cautiously by many people...they always asked Lynn. A couple people kind of freaked out about him.

Deuce, on the other hand, was approached without anyone asking if it was okay to pet him. It's a good thing he's a pug! Just because a dog is small doesn't mean they're friendly. I think we all saw that list a couple of weeks ago showing the ranks of dogs that attack. Doxies were #1 and Chihuahuas were #2, I think. Ironic, isn't it?

By the way, I love Zena! She's beautiful. One of Deuce's first friends at a bark park we used to go to was a mastiff. It was like watching a volkswagon and a semi truck! :-)

I've had parents quickly pull their children to them when I take Colton to Petsmart. He's a 130# black, mastiff mix and I think the combination of his size and his color make people scared of him. He is SUCH a goofball that I can't imagine why someone would be scared of him. He is definitely more well behaved than many smaller dogs I see there.

And yet it is funny becuase when I take Jake, who is the same size as Colton, to Petsmart everyone wants to love on him, especially kids. Jake is big, but he's white and fluffy and for some reason people don't find him as intimidating.

I have never been asked to leave any public place, but it still irriatates me when my well behaved large dog is given terrified looks and the smaller, ill mannered dogs are eagerly run to. Not that I want kids/people running up to my dog, but still....

Drives me crazy. Charlie's not THAT big, but he is black with short hair. Sheila's a bit taller, and she is ALWAYS approached. I recently ordered him a shiny fancy, yet boyish, collar for Charlie. Not many people put fancy collars on mean dogs. I've seen people go from being terrified of a dobie to loving the animal with just the addition of a "pretty" collar. People can be so silly. If it works, I'm all for it. I'll let you know how the experiment goes once the collar comes in.

Same experience with my Great Dane - Casey is the most loving dog but most people back off because of her size. I had one older man yell at me during our daily walk - "that dog is too big - you should get rid of it!!!" As if...

.... and here is Mom with my little butt. Mom had to tell a little girl not to pet me during my first shopping trip and the girl ran to her Mom saying how mean Mom was because she wouldn't let her pet me. After all I've been dealing with, Mom did NOT want any chances and it was my first trip.

It's funny to think changing a collar or being fluffy could possible make a difference. I understand some people have a fear of dogs. I have a friend who was one of those people but after getting to know Zena she has overcome her fears.
I am always approached by children but their parents will yell at their child to get away from her. I simply say, Zena is fine, we have four children she plays and wrestles with and they range in age from 4-13. But she was raised with my youngest son from the time he was a year old.
I couldn’t imagine someone telling me to get rid of Zena because of her size. I took her to the Johnson County Fair and we were told at the gate it was ok to bring her in because of the dog show. Once we paid and were on the fairgrounds about ten minutes later a lady told my husband we had to leave because she was too big. It amazes me the discrimination people have for large dogs, especially after I read the article regarding the most aggressive dogs. My mother owns a Jack Russell named Carla and she is territorial and growls at my children if they touch anything of hers. She has snapped at my five year old and my four year old children. My mom defends her and says the kids are tormenting her but it happens when the kids are playing and laughing with each other and the dog isn’t included. I have a bigger fear of Carla biting my kids more than Zena ever thinking about it. I just think it's where their raised. If a dog isn't socialized with kids, people, animals and their environment they are scared. Since Carla isn't around children a lot she doesn't really tend to like them. I think its jealousy too.

My parents have a 6 year old Shih Tzu named Jake, that was raised with my nephews and niece. My sister and her family live 2 blocks from my parents and the kids are ALWAYS over at my parents house. The kids know that they can't pet or touch Jake because he is getting very grouchy. We KNOW the kids have never tormented him, but I just think that some smaller breeds are just not meant to be with children. Jake is fine with adults and my parents have even tried taking him to a behavioralist, but nothing has helped his nipping at children. Luckily they now have a poodle mix also that absolutely loves the kids. My nephews and niece always want to come to my house because my big dogs are fun to play with and Colton and Maize LOVE to lay on the floor and be petted by them.

I grew up with GSD so I'm actually more comfortable with bigger dogs than smaller ones. To be honest, small dogs make me nervous because I've been around more small dogs that are nippy than I have larger dogs that are aggressive.

Our GSD Bailey was a barker, but scared of her shadow :) She was the most gentle, chill dog. Our first GSD, Jake was one of the best dogs we've ever had. We got him when my brother was 4, and Jake was the most patient, loving dog.

People were intimidated by them though. It's funny, now that Bailey is gone, and Nigel hangs out with my parents at their house, the reaction we get when walking him is TOTALLY different than with Bailey. People feel much more free to approach us, pet Nigel. That never happened with our GSD's.

Regardless of size, looks, you should ALWAYS ask if you can pet a dog - you never know their temperment.

I totally agree about asking before you pet. I also notice Zena doesn't bark when she sees people or other animals. She just makes a low almost throat noise then she jumps and her tail goes like crazy. Her tail is dangerous when she gets excited.