Would a Lab Attack?

[Genia]

Here's an on-going story from a nearby town

http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/news/stories/20020510/topstories/284265.html

Unfortunately I don't have the original story to post but I think you can understand what happened by reading the story and the link provided. The fight seems ridiculous, just a guy who is trying to avoid a jail sentence. But my question is would a 7 month old Labrador retriever be that agressive? I know he may have been hyped by the training he was receiving but would he go as far as attacking? Mr. Dupree was wrong for shooting the dog, he should have contacted the authorities if this happened but I have never heard of a lab attacking like this.

[Presley]

I don't know if a lab would ever attack.. I know they are not known fot attacking.. I guess if the dog was harmed or feared yes. But i don't believe a 7 month old puppy would just attack someone.
Presley is just 6 months and I know she wouldn't .. Attack with licks maybe but not to harm someone....

this actually made me pretty angry to read....

[aly]

I love labs. They are my heart. My first dog was a beautiful lab. That said, I believe any breed has a chance to be aggressive. Some breeds may have more of a chance than others, but I think it can always be possible. I have seen some scary temperament tests at work where puppies just eight weeks old have been shockingly aggressive. Sadly, they had to be euthanized because it was scary to imagine what they would grow up to be :(

[slleipnir]

I think its the owner that makes an aggressive dog, not the dog breed itself. Personally, I've never seen an aggressive lab, they've always seemed to have the sweetest temperments. Like my baby :rolleyes: lmao

[CountryWolf07]

I agree with her.. it's the owner that controls the dog's personality. If the owner is mean to the dog, the dog will be aggressive.. if a owner is sweet to the dog, then the dog will be friendly and happy.. I'm sure that Labrador Retrievers don't ATTACK people like that, maybe only if he/she was provoked. - Rachel

[Logan]

Although in most cases of aggressiveness, it comes from something "someone" has caused with the dog or puppy, there are other things. I have a dear friend who had to euthanize her Golden Retriever. I won't go into the long story here, but he had something going on in his brain. She spent thousands and thousands of dollars having him tested, going to specialists, etc. There were certain things that would set him off. She had him since he was 6 weeks old. She never learned the source of his fears other than the fact that they called it "Rage Syndrome". He bit unexpectedly and quite often, I later learned. It was the last bite that did it, and it was my friend who was the victim everytime. She ended up with multiple wounds on her hand and arms the last time, he severed an artery. He severed a nerve, and she still doesn't have the use of one of her fingers.

The point of all of this is that it isn't always the owner, and that even the breed of dog that you would least expect it from can have an uncurable problem. :(

Would I condone shooting a dog? NEVER! :mad:

[Rottie]

Any dog can become aggressive. It totally depends on the training (or lack of) that the owner gives. My Mom's friend had a lab that bit one of her kids and they had to put it down. There is a handler-aggressive lab that goes to one of the training classes I go to...

But then there are many labs I've seen that are nice.

[ramanth]

Sadly this will be a case of "he said, she said" so to speak. The puppy is gone and the courts will never be able to find out if the puppy was neglected and thus aggressive that way, or if Mr. DePree was the only angry party involved and lost his temper at an innocent dog.

And who the heck carries a gun while jogging!?!?! :eek