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Pits are the worst by far. More attacks by that breed. Ban them.
I've argued enough about pit bulls not being more aggressive, but let's talk about breed bans. Get rid of pit bulls and the thuggish people who own dogs aren't going to stop having dogs. They own a number of other (usually much larger) breeds and mixes anyway, but the only difference with a ban would be that none of them would be pit bulls.
Just a personal observation on two pitbulls I saw while driving down the street one day.
The first was a large, white pit that appeared to be well-bred (read;expensive). He was very large. He
was walking just behind his owner, with very relaxed body language and a tongue lolling out of his mouth like he had just enjoyed a nice walk with his owner. He looked almost goofy (in a good way). There was plenty of slack in the leash and the woman had control over her animal.
Across the street, walking in the opposite direction was a woman walking a younger pitbull. This dog's body language was very tense, ears back, tugging at the leash. The owner did not have good control of this animal as it was practically dragging her along. Everything about this dog screamed aggression.
This was in an upper-middle class neighborhood and neither women looked like the thug, dog-fighting type. IMHO, pits are NOT for everyone. Waaaayyyy too many people have poorly bred, poorly socialized, poorly trained pitbulls. This dog is a victim of it's own popularity. I don't think they should be banned, but a specialized license may be in order.
By the way, the most obnoxious, aggressive dogs I ever met were my MIL's rotten cocker-spaniels. If they had been larger, they would have been dangerous.
Whoever upthread that made the comparison to owning a pitbull being like owning a loaded gun was dead-on. You'd better know what you are doing with a powerful breed like that.
That is actually a horrible example, and not close to a comparative analogy. A loaded gun will not go out on it's own and shoot someone. A pitbull can at any time get loose from it's property, owner, etc. and attack an innocent animal/person.
As to your observation, while I understand your point, appearances can be deceiving The happy go lucky pit you describe might very well be purebred and seemingly well dispositioned. However many a pitbull that people have raised from a puppy, that "wouldn't hurt a fly" turned out to be a killer.
The example I gave earlier in this thread about the woman and her baby that were mauled to death by their pitbull raised from a puppy is a classic example. She and her nutbag husband were vocal pitbull activists who made many of the same claims our other resident pit apologists do here in CD.
Heck they were even members of an activist group promoting how wonderful and misunderstood pitbull are (BAD RAP). Yet all her supposed knowledge on the breed only served to give her a false sense of security when she and her baby were killed by her little angel.
This is an example where the classic excuses of pit apologists all fly out the window. Hence very few of them even want to engage in dialog on what happened to her.
That is actually a horrible example, and not close to a comparative analogy. A loaded gun will not go out on it's own and shoot someone. A pitbull can at any time get loose from it's property, owner, etc. and attack an innocent animal/person.
As to your observation, while I understand your point, appearances can be deceiving The happy go lucky pit you describe might very well be purebred and seemingly well dispositioned. However many a pitbull that people have raised from a puppy, that "wouldn't hurt a fly" turned out to be a killer.
The example I gave earlier in this thread about the woman and her baby that were mauled to death by their pitbull raised from a puppy is a classic example. She and her nutbag husband were vocal pitbull activists who made many of the same claims our other resident pit apologists do here in CD.
Heck they were even members of an activist group promoting how wonderful and misunderstood pitbull are (BAD RAP). Yet all her supposed knowledge on the breed only served to give her a false sense of security when she and her baby were killed by her little angel.
This is an example where the classic excuses of pit apologists all fly out the window. Hence very few of them even want to engage in dialog on what happened to her.
`
It happened. It was a tragedy. It is rare that a family dog of any breed kills like that. Most dog bite fatalities are caused by dogs that were chained, unsocialized and not part of the family. We don't often hear that in news reports, but when someone's dogs attacks, they don't normally say, oh my dog was stuck out in the yard neglected and mean as can be, and I knew that.
However, some dogs, of all breeds, are just not wired right from birth. Some dogs develop health problems that cause them to become aggressive. We'll probably never know the full story of what happened there. But it was an anomaly.
It happened. It was a tragedy. It is rare that a family dog of any breed kills like that. Most dog bite fatalities are caused by dogs that were chained, unsocialized and not part of the family. We don't often hear that in news reports, but when someone's dogs attacks, they don't normally say, oh my dog was stuck out in the yard neglected and mean as can be, and I knew that.
However, some dogs, of all breeds, are just not wired right from birth. Some dogs develop health problems that cause them to become aggressive. We'll probably never know the full story of what happened there. But it was an anomaly.
You can believe that all you want, but attaching innocuous generalities about any and all dogs being capable of attacking their owners is disingenuous.
There are two reasons for this. One is that certain breeds have a reputation for being more likely to turn on their owners.
To use an example other than a pitbull, a Chow has that type of reputation. The second reason is that while any dog can turn on their owners, most do not have the destructive capability that a pitbull does. If you understand anything about their original breeding, you would know they were used to bait huge animals, much more powerful than humans. They also had characteristics bred into them to be tenacious, to disregard the self preservation instinct(to the extent it could be diminished), impervious to pain, relentless in it's attack, etc., etc.
That combined with developing a compact, agile, muscular breed makes a lethal combination if the dog attacks, compared to say a retriever. So if a Chow or some other breed turns, you are much more likely to come out with a few stitches and antibiotics, rather than either a plastic surgeon or a mortician.
Also keep in mind that this woman was not some anomaly as you imply. Many a pitbull owner has had their seemingly loving pet turn into a real life nightmare. The reason I use this woman as an example is because she was such an apologist/activist, yet was killed along with her baby. While the pit apologists can always throw out their classic excuses when pits attack their owners, none of the excuses can even be implied in this case.
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One other thing I've been meaning to mention is that pit apologists want to not only defend purebreds and/or properly raised pit puppies, but they want to proffer the notion that pits can and should be adoptable.
While I would never own a pitbull, given a choice between a puppy that I could try to trace the lineage, vs. adopt one(at any age) with no clue of it's lineage, it would not even be a choice.
I know of one pitbull that is from a litter born down here, but who's parents were from NYC. It turns out it's line was traced back to a prized fighting male.
Now some of the naive/less informed in this thread will probably think so what, if you raise the pup properly, what difference does it's line matter removed by the generations of litters. The same will be true when this dog in question sires more pups in the future. What they and others do not realize is that these dogs will be even more likely to snap compared with other pits. That is not to say the other ones will not snap, nor will every one of this line be guaranteed to snap. However the risk is not worth it, and will only further enhance the destructive reputation of the breed.
So any of you out there with adopted pitbulls(including pit mixes), you may have an even greater chance of a ticking time bomb in your home.
That is actually a horrible example, and not close to a comparative analogy. A loaded gun will not go out on it's own and shoot someone. A pitbull can at any time get loose from it's property, owner, etc. and attack an innocent animal/person.
As to your observation, while I understand your point, appearances can be deceiving The happy go lucky pit you describe might very well be purebred and seemingly well dispositioned. However many a pitbull that people have raised from a puppy, that "wouldn't hurt a fly" turned out to be a killer.
The example I gave earlier in this thread about the woman and her baby that were mauled to death by their pitbull raised from a puppy is a classic example. She and her nutbag husband were vocal pitbull activists who made many of the same claims our other resident pit apologists do here in CD.
Heck they were even members of an activist group promoting how wonderful and misunderstood pitbull are (BAD RAP). Yet all her supposed knowledge on the breed only served to give her a false sense of security when she and her baby were killed by her little angel.
This is an example where the classic excuses of pit apologists all fly out the window. Hence very few of them even want to engage in dialog on what happened to her.
`
a pitbull can not maim or kill me from a block away......
and fwiw, dogs in reputable rescues are not adopted out without having first been spayed or neutered ..... if you had the TINIEST clue of what you are talking about, you would know that.....
Many experienced dog trainers, who deal with all breeds, disagree with you. After 4 years with these dogs, and a lifetime with previous dogs (all larger mixed breeds), they all understand who is the boss. They know the difference between play and serious business.
amazingly, so do all of mine!!
and i have never once had to alpha roll or any of that other nonsense.....
Again, the ratio of Pit attacks compared to all the other breeds is quite telling isn't it. You can't deny that but Pit lovers will. It's no coincidence that at the animal shelter here there are 50% Pit Bulls in the cages ready for their bye bye shot and all the other breeds make up the other 50%.
How about comparing attacks by pit bulls to the number of pit bulls owned?
You do understand that playing tug of war with a dog is a bad idea, right? It is your job
to be the pack leader. You do not let them play tug of war with you, and you do NOT let them get away with growling at you, regardless of breed, regardless if it's just for fun, and certainly with not with a powerful breed.
Best of luck.
This is incorrect. Tug is a great game to play with your dog. Its good exercise, and teaches the dog self control. There are rules, which the "leader" controls, as in all resources. I've always played tug with my large powerful breed dogs. They also growl, its playing,not aggression. Take a look at some really well trained dogs that the owners use tug as a reward.
This is incorrect. Tug is a great game to play with your dog. Its good exercise, and teaches the dog self control. There are rules, which the "leader" controls, as in all resources. I've always played tug with my large powerful breed dogs. They also growl, its playing,not aggression. Take a look at some really well trained dogs that the owners use tug as a reward.
Oh yea, playing tug of war with a Pit Bull. I don't see how anything POSSIBLY could go wrong there.
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could go wrong there.
