I have seen toy breed dogs with terrible attitudes, they snarl, snap, etc., but they get away with it because of their size.

I had a pure breed female German Shepherd (my 3rd) who was a fear biter. She was raised with love, never hit (I don't believe in that either). She bit the UPS guy and a kid that snuck up on her from behind. We had to train everyone around her, and we were all walking on eggshells.

She then fear bit my daughter, who was 9 at the time. I had her put down (the dog, not my daughter lol). In retrospect, I should have done it sooner.

I susequently found out that this dog was the offspring of a first-time mating, and the other female exhibited the exact same behavior. Who knows?

Any breed can develop a problem in the line. You don't hear about it when it is a Yorkie or a Chihuaha. I know 3 Pit Bulls and they are sweet tempered family dogs, and very loyal. I was also a cop in Harlem in the 80's during the crack epedemic, and I shot 3 of them, one while it was locked onto another cops leg, and was the first cop on the scene of a notorious case where a pit bull killed a toddler. Those dogs were trained to fight/maim/kill. It was not the dogs fault but the piece of s%#t owners, who would starve them, torment them, fight them, feed them gunpowder (yes some of those idiots thought it would make the dog meaner) and all others sorts of stuff that would make Mike Vick look like a nice guy. Most of the times, the dog was doing exactly what it believed the owner expected it to do.

So, my point is don't believe the hype, be as careful as you would be with any other big breed. Best of luck! Everone should know a few good dogs in their lifetime!