Rottweilers can make excellent family pets. They are loyal and loving of dogs. They can be attentive, even tempered and have been known have a sense of humor. These dogs are very adaptable and make great companions.
             Rottweilers have a bad reputation. They have been involved in some vicious attacks against humans with some of these attacks resulting in death. These large and powerful dogs can be aggressive when not properly trained. There are dog owners who train them to be aggressive for dog fighting which gives people the perception that they are dangerous.
             Dog bites get a lot of public attention fueling the perception that the dogs are vicious. Some of the blame for their bad reputation falls directly on television and newspaper reports. The thing about dog attacks is that the common victim is a child. Dogs and children make a perfect combination for news.
             Over the years, different dogs have suffered their turn at being labeled a bad breed. This label changes breeds every twelve to twenty years. In the 1960's, it was German Shepherds; in the 1970's it was Doberman Pinschers; in the 1980's it was Rottweilers; and in the 1990's it was Pit Bulls. Rottweilers and Pit Bulls continue to have the bad breed image today.
             Generally, the most popular breeds of the time are the ones involved in the most attacks simply because they are greater in number. Dogs are no more dangerous today than they were decades ago. There were fatal dog attacks in the 1950's and 1960's. German Shepherds were one of the most popular dogs during that time, so they were involved in more dog attacks than other breeds. They had a bad image then like Rottweilers do now. In fact, there were no fatal attacks attributed to Rottweilers during those years.
             Fatal dog attacks are rare. There are about fifty million people in the United States and only about twenty dog attacks that result in death per year. There are millions of Rottweiler
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