I have just realized that I have never seen a “dangerous dog breed” in Japan. I’m not a dog owner so I don’t go to places dedicated to dogs but I think I’ve never seen one in the street or in the buildings I’ve been living. By dangerous I mean, the most obvious ones Pit, Rottweiler, etc.
Do you know anyone with those kinds of breeds? How do people react?
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I see rottweilers, pits, bull terriers, chows, dobies, Akitas, shepherds of both the Belgian and German varieties, etc..
Maybe you just don’t live where people with larger more “dangerous” dogs have enough space to live.
Here’s pit puppies for sale.
https://www.min-breeder.com/dogSearch_dogKind_american-pit-bull-terrier_1.html
Pit Bulls aren’t banned in East Asia except Hong Kong. Also large dogs aren’t popular in cities for obvious reasons.
I’ve seen plenty. Tosas, Akitas, etc.
I say that a bit tongue in cheek as many jurisdictions around the world have different definitions of dangerous breeds.
I have seen all kinds of dogs here. Just a few blocks down from me, there live a pair of huge dobermans, haha.
My experience here with dogs is, that most people I met seem not to be able to “read” dogs. Some were absolutely terrified by my golden retriever, who was the friendliest dog you could imagine, while others would want to pet my pretty little spaniel, who actually was red zone at that time.
My impression is that people here are very detached from nature in general, at least in my neck of the woods. As soon as they’re not in total control over it – like with a bonsai – they are a little helpless. There are exceptions, of course.
One of my coworkers has a Rottweiler. I have 2 akitas. And I’ve seen a few German Shepards in a few places. A neighbor of mine has a belgian malinois. I’ve met a few doberman puppies at dog parks too. I haven’t seen pit bulls irl here but I’ve seen instagram accounts and breeder listings so I know they’re here.
A lot of Japanese people are freaked out by big dogs in my experience. One of my akitas (40kg) loves people but plenty of people (old and young) say “kowai” when we pass by on our walks. He doesn’t jump or pull towards them but his existence is scary apparently. A lot of our neighborhood old people love him though and always talk about how well behaved he is.
Also, where do you live? A lot of “dangerous” breeds require more exercise and space than most Tokyo apartments can give. You’ll find a lot more larger size breeds outside of larger cities. A lot of people I know with big dogs have yards.
For most people in Japan, they don’t have the time, money, and energy to care for these “dangerous” breeds. The price for these kinds of dogs is high. Plus it’s a lot more difficult to find housing if you have anything larger than a shiba.
I live in the countryside and i’ve only seen a big dog in my town one time, so same
Was walking my little Chihuahua mix today who’s friendly and calm. Group of school children around 10 years old was walking towards me. One boy jumped into the road when he saw my dog. It happens. Some people are terrified of dogs. Same people would probably not be able to stomach if they went to a farm and saw how the meat they eat is sourced.
Interestingly, try and look around and see how many mixed breed dogs you see. If you live near a dog run like in yoyogi park you will see all breeds. Japan’s not really dog friendly.
I saw a pit Bull in Nakameguro once, near cherry blossom season when it was really crowded too. I didn’t even notice it at first, and then I saw the woman next to me with her eyes popping out of her head looking absolutely terrified and I looked to see what she was looking at and it was a large Pit Bull. Frankly I’m glad they are extremely rare here.
Depends on where you live probably. In the big city esp in the center people usually have small apartments/houses and usually have small to medium dogs. People in the suburbs and smaller cities can have bigger dogs because they have space. But I don’t really notice breeds and can’t remember if I’ve seen any that you’ve described.
Tosa are pretty “dangerous” if not trained correctly
I saw some guy walking a pit bull in a summer festival las year. The audacity of it just left me shaking my head.
Why someone would think that owning one of those demon spawns is a good idea is beyond me, much less exposing a bunch of innocent people to it.
Coming from an extensive background with animals of all stripes…
A “dangerous” dog is one that has not been properly socialized or trained; or worse yet, has been actively taught aggression.
With very, very, VERY few exceptions, dogs that are socialized, treated well, and have a modest amount of training, are NOT dangerous. Of course any larger animal should be monitored around small children, but this is in case the dog accidentally knocks them over etc.
Please do not stigmatize certain breeds as dangerous. I have volunteered at animal rescues since I was 14. I have yet to meet an aggressive/dangerous dog where the owner (or breeder) was not the problem.
Depends where you live. In an area full of apartments?
It’s hard to have big dogs in apartments, mostly because most of them don’t allow such size of dog. Also because these places that allow, has such huge fees for dogs.
Had to pay almost 100k more just because I have a Golden
A guy who rescued pit bulls used to have a bar near the New Sanno Hotel in Tokyo, under the expressway. Had 4 dogs in the bar at one point.
He now runs a dog rescue in Chiba.
A few of my Japanese friends have Pit Bulls. They’re super cuddly.
In my home country, Shiba’s and Akita’s are on the dangerous/ high risk breeds list and I see lots of them here. But yeah, I’m happy my kid doesn’t have to share the park with irresponsible owners of pitbulls, Staffords, bull terriers and other breeds that I don’t want anywhere near my family no matter how much the owner ensures me that ‘they don’t hurt a fly’. Yeah, until they do. Glad I know I won’t see those without a leash around unsuspecting kids here.