This isn't what the topic is about. Except your last paragraph.Originally Posted by butterballpython
I disagree quite strongly with you regarding certain breeds of dogs. Years ago I was a rep to the Arizona Dog Council when breed specific legislation began cropping up in California, and I was one of the people who fought against breed specific legislation. Since then, I have educated myself on the topic (not via popular "poor misunderstood pit bull" propaganda, but by looking at statistics and amount of damage inflicted), and now regret having taken that stand in the past. I highly recommend looking at the web site www.dogsbite.org for compiled statistics. I've been threatened by stray pit bulls on my own property, and a coworker's grandson was the victim of an unprovoked pit bull mauling several weeks ago. My neighbor's sheltie puppy was mauled to death by unleashed pit bulls while she was taking it out for a walk, and the pits went for her, too. There are some breeds that are more dangerous than others, and need to be controlled.
On the other hand, I do agree with you that people fear snake bites way out of proportion to the actual damage inflicted--at least in the case of smaller to medium sized, non-venomous snakes.
And, unfortunately you are looking at manipulated stats. That website has an agenda which I fully expected. By the way pit bulls are typically more difficult to protection train due to the fact that in their creation dogs that bit their handlers or others were culled or never used for breeding. They don't want to bite people generally. They are one of the most man friendly breeds out there. Pete The Pup from the Little Rascals TV show was the ultimate kids dog. He was the first dual registered American Pit Bull Terrier / Amstaff.
It's not the breed of dog but irresponsible ownership that is the problem. Every instance you personally mentioned was with an unleashed dog or a dog not being supervised properly. Leash laws solve 95 % of all dog issues when followed. Maybe there are more "reported and sensationalized bites" puplisized but just like with snakes the media will run with what it can. ANY large dog can inflict significant damage. Try using a similar mindset with races of people and crimes committed and see how it flies when you want to categorize something. It's the owners NOT the breed of dog or snake. It's the individual person, not the ethnic background of the person comitting the crime. I have dealt with more dogs than most people and can tell you where the problems come from and it's not breed specific.
As I said earlier, if this topic starts to stray from its intended purpose I'll ask the moderators to remove it or delete comments negative toward snakes or dogs especially certain breeds. Do not infer that pit bulls are a problem breed because they are not. Nor are snakes owned by responsible people.
As far as comparing bites, the purpose here is to show more often than not, the pet considered safe by the general public, will usually cause more damage biting than a bite from a snake which is considered wild and dangerous by the ill informed. Dogs generally outweigh snakes until you get into the larger constrictors. True giants in the snake world are potentially every bit as dangerous or more-so when in full feeding mode.
Do not use this topic to defame pit bulls, bull breeds or any other dog breed for that matter. That is the EXACT mentality anti-reptile fanatics use to wage war on our snakes and I don't want it here.
If I didn't make that clear in the first post it should be now.
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