here's the poll for Knuckles' G.D. spiked collar...
 

Hi,
I am trying to set a multil poll here. Please vote three times, once for each three groups.
My dog is being debated. He is a Boxer and Pitbull cross. Weight 100#.

1. The first three: Do you find his collar unacceptable or acceptable with a nod to irony?

2. 2nd Three: If you saw him appraoching with me, how would you react.

3. Last three: Do you find his name threatening or humorous.

BTW he is not a police dog, just friends of the cops.:thumbup:

realchef, you can incorporate this poll into that other thread you first opened.

Think I did it

cab you find this?

I like the collar, I am a dog lover so I would go up to him

I don't really like the way they look and would probably just think it silly of the owner to put one of those on..... however after reading your story in another post, I can understand why you have done so.

NONE of the dog parks I go to have had issues with dogs fighting, at least none that I've seen. Well, no serious fights, dogs tend to play rough at times and people think it's fighting when it's not.

I have 2 dogs, both adopted shelter pups. One is a lab/chow mix and the other a pitt/akita mix. They are both the sweetest and friendliest dogs yet people shy away from the pitt A LOT! They really have a bad rep and I think if I were to put a collar like that on mine, people would def avoid us wherever we went.

Here’s my opinion on the matter – I’m not going to get into the politics of it nor will I defend my position beyond the explanation that I give.

When I’m in an unfamiliar part of town, especially late at night or when I’m with my girlfriend, I become much more aware of my surroundings and take careful notice to what’s around me. If I have to cross a street two ways to get to my car (straight first, then turn, or turn then straight), I make a decision on what’s a “smarter” choice. If one choice will make me walk right in front of a group of teenagers sitting around on the street and another choice takes me in front of a group of tourists wearing fanny packs and have street maps in their hands, I’m going to walk by the tourists. If I have to hop on public transportation and the whole train is empty and I see someone who is dressed in a trench coat, wearing makeup, has piercings and jewelry everywhere, etc. I’m going to choose to sit by myself or next to a little old lady.

Now each of those individuals may be the nicest, smartest, well intentioned people on the planet. But they also might not be. I would rather not find out because I would rather reduce my chances of any sort of confrontation, especially when I am with a woman or a child. Likewise, if I’m driving down the road and I see a 25 year old clunker car with expired tags, body damage all over the place, with six occupants in a car made for two, guess what? I’m going to either stay behind them or drive quickly pass them. Is that discrimination? Absolutely not – it’s just assessing a situation and choosing an option that, in my opinion, is the less “risky” choice. I don’t care what anyone says about this, but in the SW part of this country, there are a LOT of people that drive without insurance and I would rather drive down the road next to a Bentley than a Yugo.

Now, to equate this to the question at hand. I have a 15 year old Sheltie who is terrified of anything that moves that’s not a person. If I was out walking her, not only would I avoid you and your dog, I would most likely pick my dog up and carry her until you were out of sight. Discrimination? Not a chance – that’s just again assessing a situation that in my opinion carries risk and mitigating that risk. You cannot judge a person who avoids dogs or people they find intimidating because you have absolutely no idea what that person has experienced in their life that may cause a certain type of behavior or other factors at play. For you to assume anything on your part about that person’s behavior is naïve and a much greater transgression in my opinion.

Frankly, I find it very peculiar that you have such an avid paranoia about your dog’s collar that you seek so many opinions on forums about BMWs. It seems more than anything that you’re seeking to start arguments to bring up ancillary issues that you want to talk about. For what it’s worth, if I was out jogging by myself midday at the park and a dog like yours came up to me and I could clearly see that it was a friendly dog, I would probably stop and pet him and give him water (it’s hot here!). However, that totally changes when there are other variables involved.

Vegas,
Nice comments. I am not innocent here.

A forum memeber with showing a tag line that read "ban pit bulls at dog parks" and confronted him, not looking for a fight.?! I have empathy for their fears from been attacked. I do not empathise with their intent to ban an entire breed and that's where the grey started. They sucked me into a seemingly civil discourse. Any way, the whole thing IMO has gone way too far and out of hand.

However, the good news is the poll. It was put up hoping to show them that nobody really cares about my dog's name or the collar he is wearing. And behold!! pretty much, nobody cares. It's my dog, responsiblity, choices. All the public cares about is how anyone's dog behaves when they are around.

I do not find your or anybody's hesitations about my dog distasteful. He can give plenty of presence when first seen from a distance. We deal with hesitant people a few times a week, but it quickly becomes a non issue. That dog has more lipstick on his collar than I do somedays. As of right now, every person we have met off leash has given him a fair chance and he has not disappointed. What is distasteful, is their reluctance to even acknowledge the potential for good behavior. As well, them trying to regulate their fears/opinions onto the populace.

SOOOOOOOOOO done with this. Thanks for the comments and a great 3rd party summary.

Thanks to everyone who commented.

Not a huge dog fan and esp. not of big/aggressive dogs
as it's a bit of a phobia of mine...but I voted for the
"looks good, kinda funny, no prob" pick.

If he was coming at me, I'd try to become invisible. :yikes:

A friend of mine had a similar dog and its name was Killer
and it had a "don't Fook with me" collar which seemed appropriate
for the breed, imo.
GL,mD

Vegas,

BTW, they brought up the collar:dunno: , and even said because his name is Knuckles:rofl: , he is destined to KILL!!:wow:

come on......
:p: