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.
You should be able to figure it out. Since I can't really tell it like it is, let me give you a 2 word hint: Michael Vick.
I agree, totally. A lot of people seem to overlook the logic behind it. If you're trying to look like a badass and want to be feared, are you going to go to the library & research (or google white papers & research data) to find the breed that science has proven to be strongest or deadliest (of course you wouldn't find any REAL research on the subject)? When was the last time anyone saw people like that actually perform "research" or put any amount of effort into something productive? No, if your of the persuastion that you want to have a dog as a status symbol to make you look cool, tough or to be feared, you're going to get the dog that everyone is afraid of, whether it's valid fear or not. People don't realize that the amount of irresponsible owners of 'pits' could very well be higher than other breeds, but its nots because of the pits themselves, its because of the fear the public has of them. So in essence, the fearing public is more than likely inadvertantly contributing in a major way to the high amount of irresponsible owners that end up with extremely poorly trained pits because thugs decide to get the dog that will send everyone running in fear.
Just like people who see stray pits and instead of leaving the dog alone & calling animal control, they decide to throw things at it, kick it, scream at it, try to poison it, anything they can to run the dog off violently, essencially TRAINING the dog to hate people and turn into the very thing they claim they don't want around their house, never realizing they had a hand in TRAINING the dog to behave that way around people when it tried to beg for some scraps, because dogs very, very rarely 'just snap'. Some dogs might get tired of being treated like crap by every person on the street they meet & some dogs might not get the crucial inhibition training they need, but that's not 'he's fine and then he snapped one day'. People's projections and actions really can create the very thing they fear when it where it wasn't there to begin with. That's were EDUCATION about dogs, dog handling, dog avoidance, & dog behavior is needed, whether people are dog owners or not.
I like dogs, they (usually) like me. I have been bitten by Dachsunds,
Chihuahuas, Pekinese, Beagles (worst bite ever for me), and many
mixed breeds, but never by a Pit.
A friend of mine used to breed them and I would visit. My wife was
scared of them and wouldn't get out of the car. I would wade through
12-14 of them to get to his door. They were lovable, albeit strong. I
saw a female around 85 pounds just throw 4-5 young steers on their
butt, numerous times, just for fun. But she would lick me like theres
no tomorrow.
Dogs are more like people than any other animal, circumstances mean
more than instincts.
Again, I recommend you all read this, to have a better understanding of this breed. It gives info on how the ''hard wiring'' of the breed has an effect.
Pit bull terrier fatalaties 207 % of dog population .033 Rottweiler fatalities 78 % of dog population .003
What these stats show is a Rottweiler is actually about 4 times more likely to kill someone than a pit bull.
And not nearly as like to kill someone as a punk with a gun in Chicago. And since it's been well established that punks, not guns, kill people, we should ban punks.
Actually, that's not a bad idea. Or maybe we could go all out and ban Chicago.
Again, I recommend you all read this, to have a better understanding of this breed. It gives info on how the ''hard wiring'' of the breed has an effect.
This article gives a speculative history of the breed and it starts off by stating such 'Like many modern breeds, it is impossible to be completely sure of the details of the American Pit Bull Terrier's long history. However, many pit bull enthusiasts believethe origins....'. It's a statement of belief, it's not a lead into evidence or showing of research. It doesn't state/claim that Pit Bulls are 'hard-wired' to fight and can't be programmed out of it unless paired with an owner who has a special license to train aggression out of them and it doesn't claim that this history is THE history we know to be true about the breed, so I'm not sure how it confirms that pit bulls are inherently dangerous, unless I'm missing your point and that's not what you are saying about the article?
Should some people not own 'pit bulls'? Absolutely. Those same people shouldn't own many breeds that are also capable of killing people. You're right, pit bulls are stronger than a lot of dogs, stronger than a Lab. Does that mean a lab can't/won't kill anyone or has a lower chance of killing someone? Absolutely not. A 3/4 truck is alot bigger than a Malibu, but that doesn't mean it is inherently more dangerous to a pedestrian than a Malibu. Both have the same chance of killing a pedestrian in a collision. Just because one will only smash in your skull instead of smashing your whole body flat doesn't mean it's somehow safer.
What's the #1 rule that shelters & rescues preach to people looking to adopt a dog? Pick the breed that fits your personality & your lifestyle. Yes, 'pitbulls' can kill. So can labs. Labs are now on the top of the bite list in many cities that have pit bans. The severity of the bites have not decreased & the number of the bites have not decreased, but I'm certainly not going to call for a ban or special licensing on Labs, because I know that it is due to many factors well beyond the 'dna'. Although, Denver already has a group of people who are trying to get the word out about how dangerous Labs are, since they are now at the top of the cities bite list. The argument for the Labs is inbreeding has lead to inherent defects in the breed and should now be considered unpredictable.
I will say that the same kind of person who I believe is not a good match for 'pit bull' is the same kind of person that I feel is also not a good match for Chows, Akita's, Labs, all bull breeds, Cane Corso's, Dogo's, Jack Russell Terrier's, in fact MOST, if not ALL, Terriers (Silky's might only be three or four lbs but I have personally witnessed a brat Silky tear off two fingers from an 80 year old woman. Thank goodness the dog wasn't ever around a baby, or it would've been worse than fingers), etc. 'Pit bulls' do not have the market cornered on strong-willed, independance, nor on strength. Now, obviously we're not going to have as many 'death by Silky' as we will have by 'pits', but I won't make that same statement about Labs. We're getting increasingly more irresponsible with dogs and we've only hit the tip of the iceberg with bites/attacks unless we all start making changes. Killing off a breed won't mean squat because we're seeing more and more bites & attacks with EVERY breed.
Another thing to think about: If 'pit bulls' were so hard-wired to fight, the majority of the bait dogs that fighters use to train 'pit bulls' wouldn't also be 'pit bulls'. If a pit bull is hard-wired to fight, it wouldn't be an effective bait dog because it would fight back, risking damage to the prized fighting dogs. Yet, in almost all the fighting rings that have been busted in recent times that have mainly 'pit bulls' as fighting dogs, the bait dogs confiscated are also 'pit bulls'. These 'pits' are chosen as baits dogs because of their refusal to fight, not because they can train other pits to fight.
Last edited by AMidnightSoul; 07-13-2012 at 06:17 PM..
The breed is not to blame. The human who trains the dog is to blame.
absolutely right. if you want to see just how cool a pitbull can be, check out the ones ceasar milan has in his pack. daddy was the king of pits, and extremely well balanced, and though he has passed on, junior is taking his place as the new king of pits. ceaser can change your mind about pitbulls, and other powerful breed dogs, and he can teach people how to be the pack leader and keep their dogs balanced.
Im pretty sure if you gave these people weiner dogs they would have them dog fighting within 1 year. Its really the humans fault for training them. "Its not the guns fault, its the person holding the gun." applies here.
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.
