What do you think is the most intimidating dog?

[Google]

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[Firnafth]

I love dogs, and find especially attractive the ones with short fur where you can see all of their muscular structure.

This was a really hard question! I ended up picking the Doberman because after looking at the pictures, there was something frightening about the refined keenness of that head and body. A second choice would be the Presa Canario, which I actually hadn't heard of before.

But the truth is, if I saw any of these coming after me, I would head for the nearest tree.

 

[squiggle]

The dead to rights retribution dog

 

[Shiroi Tora]

The one that has his teeth sunk into your flesh!

 

[Firnafth]

The one that has his teeth sunk into your flesh!

I have to say, this (having a dog sink its teeth into my flesh) has happened to me more than once. I got bit in the face by some dog when I was a baby. When I was in junior high my grandfather's Great Dane bit me in the hand and its canine went right into my palm. Also, one of our family dogs (basenji) who was a psycho bit me a few times before he got so bad he was put to sleep.

I am not the best at interacting with dogs:S.

 

[PanPaniscus]

The Presa Canario looks the most intimidating, I would not want to come across one of those in the street.
Once, when I was half asleep in my bedroom in the middle of the night, I had a sort of hallucination of a doberman growling at me. I wasn't dreaming because I could tell that I was awake, but obviously not alert enough for my thoughts to seperate themselves from reality. Well that really scared the **** out of me and I hid under the covers, and for a while afterwards could only go bed with some light in the room.

 

[superboyian]

Presa Canario looks more intimidating to me just by looking at the picture.

 

[PanPaniscus]

Just imagine this coming at you.

I'd rather not :unsure:

 

[Ste11aeres]

The most intimidating dog is a huge one that is in attack mode aimed at you but not a defensive fear based aggression, rather a self confident mode/ears forward, not back, tail up, not down.
Breed is only important insofar as it affects size.
The only reason we don-t often hear often about deaths from huge breeds, is that there are hardly any of those types of dogs around.

 

[umbrellabeach]

Any dog that runs around yipping and barking and jumping on me while its entitled owner stands by and insists it's "just being friendly" is intimidating and I will hate it for eternity.

 

[Shawn D]

 

[Judge]

The only reason we don-t often hear often about deaths from huge breeds, is that there are hardly any of those types of dogs around.

A sad pathological reality.

https://www.insidescience.org/content/large-dogs-age-faster-die-younger/953

Any dog can be potentially intimidating. I'd think the real-time circumstances would be far more relevant than whatever dog breed is involved. And of course, how frequently it may or may not happen. Keeping in mind the difference between how an animal might intimidate you versus how they might physically attack you.

After all, in many dog attacks well after the fact it's likely to go far worse for the pet than their human victim.

 

[Cinnamon115]

Personally, I find smaller dogs more intimidating. Nearly all of the bigger dogs I've met are kind and friendly. But most of the smaller dogs I've met are... unpredictable. Like one minute they are happy to have you petting them and the next minute they are growling at you.

 

[Ste11aeres]

Any dog can be potentially intimidating. I'd think the real-time circumstances would be far more relevant than whatever dog breed is involved. And of course, how frequently it may or may not happen. Keeping in mind the difference between how an animal might intimidate you versus how they might physically attack you.

Yes, yes, there's a big difference between a dog attacking a human (concrete action on the part of the dog), and a human feeling intimidated by a dog (subjective feeling on the part of the human).
A dog attacking a human is a very rare occurrence. A human feeling scared of a friendly, well-behaved dog is an every day thing.

 

[Rosebud975]

I picked the 'other' option, in my honest opinion, the most intimidating dog for me would be either a Tibetan mastiff (the sheer size of them is amazing, not to mention that they were used to repel bears) or a Caucasian shepherd (as a puppy, it's a little powder puff but as an adult it's a huge angry puffball with teeth that wouldn't look out of place on a dinosaur). Both are magnificent dogs and I'm sure they can have lovely temperaments, but I think I'll refrain from keeping one

 

[AspiePie]

Poodle cause mine is very intimidating...

 

[unsurewhattoname]

I'm gonna go ahead and say non-domestic dogs, like wolves and coyotes.

 

[Kari Suttle]

I vote 'other' because for me, any large breed dog, especially a more muscular-looking breed like the mastiff or the presa canario breeds, is a dog i'm going to find scary and intimidating. But that might be moreso a personal bias than anything. My old school friend had a red mutt that looked like he was some sort of pitbull mix or a related breed and he was the most well behaved, loyal dog i've ever met. I was never once scared of him.

When i was small we had a very energetic, inadequately trained Dalmatian that i believe my mom got as a pup from a friend whose dog had just had a litter of puppies. I don't remember if the dog ever bit me per say, i was so young, but i just remember that it was all up in my face and overly excited all the time and i was always afraid it would bite me. It left an impression, i guess. Plus my mom's a cat person so i don't have much experience with dogs aside from those of kids i've babysat before.

 

[Naturalist]

I am generally wary of pitbulls because two of them killed our pet cat, in front of my young son. But I can't say they intimidate me, because we beat them off our porch with our metal patio furniture. Many people say they can be very kind, sweet animals but I don't trust them, historically many of them were selectively bred for persistence and aggressiveness until dogfighting became illegal. I am not convinced there have been sufficient generations since that time to erase the fighting genes. That said, dogs are like people and have a wide range of dispositions.

I like many dogs in general, unless they have an annoying bark or hyperactive behavior. Most lap dogs fall in one or both of these categories, especially the ones people carry around in bags or baskets. I prefer big, easygoing dogs. They make me feel calm.

 

[Ste11aeres]

I am generally wary of pitbulls because two of them killed our pet cat, in front of my young son. But I can't say they intimidate me, because we beat them off our porch with our metal patio furniture. Many people say they can be very kind, sweet animals but I don't trust them, historically many of them were selectively bred for persistence and aggressiveness until dogfighting became illegal. I am not convinced there have been sufficient generations since that time to erase the fighting genes. That said, dogs are like people and have a wide range of dispositions.

Pitbull aficiandos-of whom I am one-all agree that pitbulls are usually very very sweet towards humans, but inclined to fight with other dogs, and often have a strong prey drive in regards to non-human non-dog species.

My own dog is a good example of this. He is the most loving dog in regards to humans-all humans, friends or strangers, any age (he really loves one year olds, although of course I exercise commonsense caution where small children are involved, as I would with any dog).

Many dogs treat other dogs differently than they treat humans. My boy used to get in fights with other male dogs, til we worked with a behaviorist. Now he is friendly towards dogs that are friendly, but if another dog shows aggression, my boy would be very happy to take that dog on in a fight. (That's why I will never just let him loose in the chaotic environment of a dog park).
Sadly, he clearly sees cats as prey animals. This is based on body language, as I've made the judgment not to give him a chance to interact with them. I never let him off leash outside, and when outside, he is under my control at all times. I will never let him interact with a cat.
But the sweetest dog in the world when it comes to humans, especially kids.

You are right, the fighting genes have not been bred out. But those genes were oriented towards other dogs, never towards humans.