Pit Bulls

What I'm getting at -- Irresponsible owners are the problems, not the dogs.

I never denied that they were bred to fight other dogs. However you don't think quite a bit of pushing the behavior went into making them fight? And ANY ANY dog can be a killer. Do not villify one breed.

Anyway I'm going to lunch. This argument has exhausted me.

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Originally Posted by darkangel

Any dog, any breed, could turn on you at any moment. This is fact of owning dogs.

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True. I'm sure that given the chance, my standard poodle of 14 years would have maimed me in my sleep. I firmly believes pitbulls have some breed-specific issues, namely aggression. Combinded with this so called "gameness" (do i have that right?), they won't stop until they've finished (killing, maiming, etc.) Good dog! In all seriousness, It sounds like it's really a matter of our experiences with different breeds. I for one have had a traumatic experience with a pitbull.

One day in 4th grade, my mom came to pick me up from school with our dog (Buddy, the standard poodle I mentioned earlier) in toe. She was entering the park next to the school when a young man approached her and started talking to her. Apparently, he was asking if she had seen his pet pitbull. Next thing I knew a pitbull came flying out from behind the park's bathrooms and launched itself toward my dog. It latched onto the side of his head, nearly taking out an eye.

My mom repeatedly kicked the dog in the b*lls, but thanks to their "gameness" it had little effect. I ran to a nearby closet and retrieved a baseball bat with every intention of killing that pitbull, but the principal stopped me at the door. That's all I remember.

I guess the kid finally pulled his pitbull off. Buddy's face, especially his ear, was awfully bloodied. He had puncture wounds near one of his eyes, but no damage to the eye itself. I don't believe the pitbull was ever found.

No one will ever convince me that pitbulls are not aggressive animals. I love dogs, reptiles, amphibians, rodents, you name it. Even cats and I'm horribly allergic. Those numbers do speak volumes. Half of all dog v. dog attacaks, human attacks, maimings and killings. Damn.

That sounds like a horrible experience. I was attacked by my grandmother's Poodle as a child. However I haven't made a breed-wide assumption that they are evil dogs.

By all means take positive personal expierence into account, but people have had both good and bad. In fact you probably have had to defend your reptiles at one time or another, or even your right to own them. No one should take that right from you, if you are a responsible owner.

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Originally Posted by darkangel

I was attacked by my grandmother's Poodle as a child.

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You must've been the single child-victim of a poodle attack since 1982. I'm sure the 495 children who've been attacked by pitbulls would really sympathize.

I understand both sides of the story and I understand the issues with the figures in that report. I'm a researcher, I know the ins and outs of data.

Based on personal experience and experiences others have shared with me and taking into consideration everything I have been taught, taught myself, read, etc., etc., I believe pitbulls are dangerous. Own them if you'd like, I can't stop you. You could be the most responsible pitbull owner in the world, but it wouldn't matter. Your dogs would still more likely than any others to harm another dog or a human.

Now I'm going to lunch.

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Originally Posted by nebby3103

You must've been the single child-victim of a poodle attack since 1982. I'm sure the 495 children who've been attacked by pitbulls would really sympathize.

I understand both sides of the story and I understand the issues with the figures in that report. I'm a researcher, I know the ins and outs of data.

Based on personal experience and experiences others have shared with me and taking into consideration everything I have been taught, taught myself, read, etc., etc., I believe pitbulls are dangerous. Own them if you'd like, I can't stop you. You could be the most responsible pitbull owner in the world, but it wouldn't matter. Your dogs would still more likely than any others to harm another dog or a human.

Now I'm going to lunch.

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Thousands of people get bitten by poodles every year. The poodles are just more likely to be forgiven for it.

I worked at a humane society for 3years! hundreds of pit bulls were put to sleep, because nobody would adopt them! everybody went for the sheppard mix, chow mix, LABS (AMERICAS FAVORITE DOG) and any animal that was small! for a number of reasons guess what! more than half of those dogs come back, are are put to sleep! Pits are aggressive because young kids, breed them over and over again, for that reason. they set up these fighting rings and make them fight! i know of a Pit rescue, where 50 pits, run around, play, and eat out of the same bowl! you put any dog in the wrong hands and you'll get bad results!

you see pit attacks all over the news! because rappers glorify them, boxers, sport players...they all have these dogs, and people see that and want to be like them! but what these people don't understand is that these dogs, are stubburn, determined, and need to be trained and socialized at a very young age (SIMPLE) Check out the dog whisper! My boy Ceaser will train anything!

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Originally Posted by reediculous

I worked at a humane society for 3years! hundreds of pit bulls were put to sleep, because nobody would adopt them! everybody went for the sheppard mix, chow mix, LABS (AMERICAS FAVORITE DOG) and any animal that was small! for a number of reasons guess what! more than half of those dogs come back, are are put to sleep! Pits are aggressive because young kids, breed them over and over again, for that reason. they set up these fighting rings and make them fight! i know of a Pit rescue, where 50 pits, run around, play, and eat out of the same bowl! you put any dog in the wrong hands and you'll get bad results!

you see pit attacks all over the news! because rappers glorify them, boxers, sport players...they all have these dogs, and people see that and want to be like them! but what these people don't understand is that these dogs, are stubburn, determined, and need to be trained and socialized at a very young age (SIMPLE) Check out the dog whisper! My boy Ceaser will train anything!

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Absolutely! I heart Ceasar! I got to see him talk live last year and he is even hotter in person. :D His body language is intensely communicative.

My brother worked for a dog obiedence school and he I and both were around dozens of pitbulls (I would visit as I liked seeing the dogs). Not a single one ever showed any aggression towards a person or other animal.

The problem are the owners not the dog, any violence they show can be easily squelched when they are young, the same is true of just about any dog. The problem is the owners do nothing about it. Another problem are people get a pitbull just for the very reason of wanting it to be aggressive. People using them to "sick" on other dogs, pitbulls, or people.

If a dog is never shown the difference between right and wrong it will never know. The same holds true for people, all little kids are violent sociopaths (they are most violent between ages 2-4). You have to teach them what's right and what's not.

This is starting to remind me of the nature/nurture debate. It's NOT JUST THE OWNERS, and it's NOT JUST THE DOGS. The dogs are predisposed to be aggressive. They can range from not very aggressive to killers on leashes. They are not born a blank slate, the are born with an aggressive instinct. Can you completely destroy that instinct through good training and responsible ownership? Probably not. But you can reduce the degree to which the trait is expressed.

Great post Tyree! I too worked at a shelter actually for the SPCA for a few months when I was 17. I know A LOT of pits were put down because no one wanted them. I also know that a lot of the other breeds of dogs that were adopted many came back to us. I didn't work there long because I couldn't handle their rules (pretty much just do what you are told and ask no questions about anything and god forbid it was about a certain cat or dog!!) and just being in that kind of environment really takes a toll on one's emotions.


Also Nebby, that's horrible to hear! I've seen some pits attack other dogs and cats around here. Never ever a pretty sight. My neighbor lost her dog to a pit fight like I said above. The police and animal control said they could not do anything about it since no one the boys and dogs do it. Made a lot of us around my neighborhood super mad because everyone knew where the dogs lived. My neighsbors son took it in to his own hands to well let's just say he took care of those two pits that killed his dog. I don't agree with killing an animal, but those dog's were just used to fight and do what they did and that was kill.