Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I own a pit bull and he's the best dog I've ever known not just raised. He is a big muscley loveball! He will only maul you with kisses. Now granted I fully understand my responsibility as his owner. He is very powerful and determined and if his job was to hurt people then he would do it damn well. But it's not. His job is to be a well balanced friendly animal. He spends his days with 2 elderly people and I never even think for a second that he would hurt them. Pit bulls are a very intelligent and sensitive breed. If these traits are not properly managed and trained, they could be dangerous. I believe BSL is complete BS. It's a quick solution for a much bigger problem. I believe their should be a license to own an "advanced" breed (that's what I like to call them, because I believe you need to be an advanced owner to take care of certain breeds) instead of just banning them. Why is it that we still hear stories of banned breeds in the news, because people will continue to own them, laws or not. If our legislature would require people who would like to own these specific breeds to take their animal to training classes and for regular check-ups, I believe we would weed out many of the hoodlums! I personally would be willing to pay a special tax for my dog, especially if the proceeds went to rescue organizations or perhaps to educate the public about animal care and safety.
I own a pit bull and he's the best dog I've ever known not just raised. He is a big muscley loveball! He will only maul you with kisses. Now granted I fully understand my responsibility as his owner. He is very powerful and determined and if his job was to hurt people then he would do it damn well. But it's not. His job is to be a well balanced friendly animal. He spends his days with 2 elderly people and I never even think for a second that he would hurt them. Pit bulls are a very intelligent and sensitive breed. If these traits are not properly managed and trained, they could be dangerous. I believe BSL is complete BS. It's a quick solution for a much bigger problem. I believe their should be a license to own an "advanced" breed (that's what I like to call them, because I believe you need to be an advanced owner to take care of certain breeds) instead of just banning them. Why is it that we still hear stories of banned breeds in the news, because people will continue to own them, laws or not. If our legislature would require people who would like to own these specific breeds to take their animal to training classes and for regular check-ups, I believe we would weed out many of the hoodlums! I personally would be willing to pay a special tax for my dog, especially if the proceeds went to rescue organizations or perhaps to educate the public about animal care and safety.
Advanced? In what? I think we'll have to stick with "aggressive" breed and/or "vicious" breed. Advanced doesn't exactly convey the intended message.
I understand your love for your dog...I have a weimaraner - or more likely she has me - and would do anything before I would ever give her up; that includes moving to a less densley populated area due to a ban on her breed. People in general are not comfortable with and are often afraid of pit bulls and other noteably dangerous breeds, and they want to live without fear of being in their yard or walking up their street.
And please don't say that the fear is irrational or media generated - there are TONS of pit bull attack news articles. I did a search earlier for "pit bull attack" and was inundated with about 30-40 different reports of pit bulls attacking/maiming/killing people and/or their pets on just the first 10 pages of results. I also searched for "labrador retriever attack" and "weimaraner attack" with a result of 3 articles and 1 article respectively. None of the lab/weimeraner attacks were fatal to any animals or humans.
There IS a difference in natural/inherent traits and tendancies among different breeds. I understand the feelings of the owners of those breeds labeled "vicious", but ultimately I think there will be something done to correct the problem and thereby improve the quality of life for those who have been living in fear of dog attacks from nearby vicious breeds. No one should have to live that way.
I certainly do not wish anyone to live in fear but there would be no need for you to live in fear if the owners of these specific breeds kept their animals in control. My dog has never been offleash in a public area, not because I believe he would hurt someone but because I understand the fear.
I do not agree with the label "aggressive" or "vicious" because not all pit bulls/rottweilers/dobermans are aggressive or vicious. It's just not correct.
Also you can pull statistics all day but they are not fully accurate. Plain and simple. There are many many dog bites that do not get reported. I can name 3 people and several dogs who have been bitten by a cocker spaniel in my neighborhood but no one has reported that. I can guarantee you that if my dog bit someone it would be reported and my dog would be put down. Also in my opinion the statistics show more about the owners than the dogs. Most thugs aren't walking down the street with a dalmation. I do not believe you can blame an entire breed just because the types of people they tend to attract are not worthy dog owners.
I do not deny that there are certain traits that my dog has that could make him very dangerous but like I said earlier, I believe they are more than manageable and I don't believe his entire breed should be banned because of the carelessness of certain owners. It takes training, socialization and a very strong hold on reality. I spent lots of time and plenty of money working with my dog and making sure he was suitable for the public and interaction with people. Again, the reason I prefer to say "Advanced" breed is because you can't just stick a pit bull with just any lazy owner. They need a certain awareness and commitment to the safety of their dog and the public.
Also in my opinion the statistics show more about the owners than the dogs. Most thugs aren't walking down the street with a dalmation. I do not believe you can blame an entire breed just because the types of people they tend to attract are not worthy dog owners.
EXACTLY!!!
Quote:
I don't believe his entire breed should be banned because of the carelessness of certain owners. It takes training, socialization and a very strong hold on reality. I spent lots of time and plenty of money working with my dog and making sure he was suitable for the public and interaction with people. Again, the reason I prefer to say "Advanced" breed is because you can't just stick a pit bull with just any lazy owner. They need a certain awareness and commitment to the safety of their dog and the public.
It is all about statistics and the idiots that often own the dogs, not the breeds themselves.
You have a point. Pitbulls, for instance, are the favorite breed of gangbangers, crack and methamphetamine dealers, rapists, murderers, and other violent offenders. As a matter of fact, one study in Ohio showed that every owner of a vicious dog had at least one brush with the law, and 30% had at least five citations or criminal convictions. However, one must keep in mind that pitbulls are genetically different from most other dogs, just as pitbull owners appear to be genetically different from normal humans. Pitbulls comprise 2% of the dogs in the US, yet are responsible for 32% of fatal maulings. Goldern retrievers and Labs comprise 32% of American dogs, and yet, are responsible for only 2% of fatal dog maulings. That means that pitbulls are 256 times more likely to fatally maul a human being than Labradors and Golden retrievers combined.. This number is simply too high to attribute to the criminal tendencies that seem to be universal among pitbull owners. Sociopaths who believe that they have a 'right' to keep and impose on society a monstrosity that has the drive to attack and murder hardwired into it via dozens of generations of selective breeding, are just as genetically flawed as the vile sub-canines they so love.
It should also be pointed out that the entire, shameful situation feeds a vicious cycle. The subhumans who breed ptibulls are infinitely more likely to be criminals, just as pitbulls themselves are infinitely more likely to be vicious, murderous beasts, and thus have fewer scruples than any other dog breeders. As I pointed out, pitbulls are the favorite dog breed of gangbangers, and other assorted scum, so much so, that a pitbull is a necessary accessory for any violent felon. Because the unscrupulous scum who breed pitbulls breed them primarily for scum of the two-legged variety, the already irreparably flawed genetic of the APBT which render it unfit to live alongside humans or (truly) domesticated animals are thus even further degraded. Psychopath dogs are bred in frightening numbers to satisfy psychopath owners, who, when they find out that the murderous instincts of their beloved pitbull exceed their own drive towards violence usually get rid of these worthless dogs at dog shelters which are already bursting with irredeemable vicious pit bulls and pit-bull mongrels.
It is true that pit bulls were originally bred to only murderously maul other dogs, and those pit bulls who turned their murderous instincts upon humans were culled. However, the mechanisms that originally insured this have been discontinued for over 150 years. In their place, unscrupulous breeders have deteriorated the genetics of this monstrous breed to the point where it is equally dangerous to dogs and humans, and attacks adults with the same impunity as it does children, a level of psychopathy that differentiates it from every other breed. Besides, no dog owner should leave his home to walk his dog fearing that his beloved pet will be murdered by an unprovoked pit bull. And, unlike a gun, to which some advocates liken these Frankensteinian abominations, a pitbull is never completely under your control. 'He was the sweetest dog ever, I never thought he would do something like this' is what virtually every pitbull owner says after his child is killed by his beloved 'nanny dog'. Pibtulls are unpredictable - they were bred to never display the classical signs of a dog attack, and thus maintain the element of surprise in their murderous rampages. This is why virtually all pitbull owners are genuinely surprised when they sweet and cuddly pitbull finally shows what's encoded in its DNA by murdering another dog or a person.
Ban these useless, irredeemable, irreparable, vicious, monstrous dogs!
Last edited by Anti-idiotarian; 01-29-2009 at 04:35 AM..
In 1977, Alfons Ertel10 designed the American Temperament Test in hopes of creating a uniform temperament test for dogs. Since then, about 930 dogs are tested annually. [mod] copyright article [/mod] http://www.dogsbite.org/dangerous-dogs-pitbull-myths.html (broken link)
Last edited by leorah; 01-30-2009 at 07:47 PM..
Reason: Copyright violation-post two sentences and a link
As a matter of fact, one study in Ohio showed that every owner of a vicious dog had at least one brush with the law, and 30% had at least five citations or criminal convictions.
Those Ohio folks are scary!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
