Breed prejudices: they always surprise me

I was at the Dollar Tree the other day.  I frequently go there for rope toys for Elka; they have a variety of lengths and knots and what have you, and as I've mentioned, she loves playing Tug.  She'll also chew up a rope, if I just let her have it and am not vigilant, so it's best if they're cheap, really.  Many of the Dollar Tree ones appear to be undyed cotton, which is a bonus.

As I was leaving Dollar Tree, I glanced at the quarter machines that they have at the front.  Typically ,it's one machine full of varying fake tattoos and then the rest are plastic junk.  I've always had a love for these machines, and as a grownup, I don't need to beg quarters off of anybody should I want to indulge.  There are worse things, really.

But, this time, the fake tattoo ones included an interesting selection: Dawgz  4 Life (picture from the distributer's site, http://www.ssmvending.com/index.html, not owned by me in any way)

I of course saw the Doberman right away and thought, reflexively, "Hey a Doberman."  Then I realized that they were all spikey collared, frowning "mean dogs" and thought "Oh, are you kidding me?"  

English Bulldogs and English Bull Terriers are both breeds that were for fighting and bull baiting and what have you.  I don't know about English Bulldogs, but I do know that, depending on the line, English Bull Terriers can be dog aggressive.  Are they ever people aggressive?  To tell you the truth, I don't know that I've ever seen one mentioned in a dog bite article or report.  It's hard to find mention of English Bull Terriers without finding society's bogeyman, the "Pit Bull Terrier", instead.  They are also prominently featured in the frowny spikey fake tattoo dog breeds, as you've noticed.  

Rottweilers were, according to Wikipedia and other sources, used to pull butcher's carts, and to herd livestock, though the breed in fact dates from Roman times.  I've seen videos of Border Collies at work herding, but never a Rottweiler, and the idea delights me.  Can a Rottweiler big a big intimidating dog?  Yes.  Can a dog be a territorial dog who prefers dealing with family to strangers?  Yes, and I know that first hand; one of my best friends in high school had a Rottweiler named Jessie.  Jessie was a very sweet dog, who listened to the family and, strangely (or perhaps not), to me.  For whatever reason, be it lack of sense or personal confidence, I tend not to be intimidated by a dog out of hand. I guess that's useful when dealing with Rottweilers.  

And, of course, the breed feature that hurts my feelings the most is the Doberman.  Granted, the Doberman is the breed for personal protection, or at least that was the original intent.  The Doberman is meant to be with her people, and protect her people, and be able to both take cues and decide whether a person is to be worried about.  Are Dobermans involved in accidental bites every year?  Yes.  So are Labs, and Cocker Spaniels, and Dachshunds.  

Granted, these fake tattoos aren't "that bad".  They're macho pictures of "dawgz" as status symbols, really.  It takes a tough guy (or girl, I guess), to handle a tough dog.  Tough guys/girls shouldn't be messed with and should be respected.  They may or may not be dangerous, so be careful around them.  They wear sunglasses and bandannas (apparently. That one is cute, actually).  So, am I truly offended by these fake tattoos?  Not entirely.  Not fire-breathing letter-writing angry.  But, as mentioned, I was a little perplexed.