Dogs are often referred to as “Man’s Best Friend.” Sadly, some are portrayed to be mean and vicious, often carrying reputations of being bullies. These misconceptions, however, are not true and are merely assumptions due to certain traits that they possess. Bulldogs, Doberman Pinschers, and Rottweilers are three out of numerous breeds that have been misunderstood by society.

Bulldogs are a breed that often gets called out for their tough attitude, beefy body, and upside down smile. Their obstinate attitudes date way back England where lots of blood was shed by these precious pups. Bulldogs were originally bred for bull baiting, a sport in which dogs tried to take down bulls by biting onto the bulls’ sensitive noses and holding on for dear life. These bloody battles trained bulldogs to be fierce little fighters to keep themselves from getting hurt. After these fights fell out of fashion, bulldogs became outgoing, lively dogs with lots of spunk. They are also very loyal and protective of their families.

Another breed that has been stereotyped as a notorious bad boy is the Doberman Pinscher. This slender, pointed ear dog was bred in Germany to act as both a watch dog and as a friend. One trait that bothers many is their hostile nature. The truth of the matter lies in the fact that they have not been properly socialized. Just like us humans, dogs too need to be around other dogs. Otherwise they don’t know how to act around them. This particular breed can either be exceedingly shy or belligerent when around other dogs if not trained at an early age. Nevertheless, this breed shows many endearing qualities such as being devotion towards their owners, attentiveness to whatever the task at hand may be, and an intelligence that will make training one very easy.

This next breed is a dog with a frightening reputation. When the name Rottweiler comes up, people think of a scary dog that will shred them to pieces. What most don’t understand, however, is that this aggression only occurs when they sense that the lives of their owners are at risk. In the past, they were used mostly for guarding their owners’ possessions, so they have grown to have a very domineering attitude. They remain to be a very loyal breed of dogs that will always want to protect those that they love most. When trained properly, this breed exhibits a very composed, keen, and collected nature.

Many dogs are only aggressive when not properly trained. An owner’s negligence to interact with his or her dog can lead to all sorts of problems, one of which includes aggressiveness. So before you judge a dog by its “cover,” find out a little more first.