It should be illegal! (Blacksburg: condo, daycare, homes)

[PaperTrail]

Originally Posted by j1n

i'd like to train a pack of vicious attack chihuahuas and run the iditerod with a team of boston terriers

Hey now, a pack of angry chihuahuas is no laughing matter:

Pack of Angry Chihuahuas Attack Officer

....well, OK, maybe it is

[j1n]

Originally Posted by PaperTrail

Hey now, a pack of angry chihuahuas is no laughing matter:

Pack of Angry Chihuahuas Attack Officer

....well, OK, maybe it is

"The officer suffered minor injuries including bites to his ankle"

including bites to his ankle? what were the other injuries??

[whynot?]

Jon Katz has written a heart-rending book called "A Good Dog" about his border collie Orson, who kept biting people. It's as thoughtful as a person can be in assessing one's own dog's personality, its "character," and the risks and responsibilities of ownership. There's an excerpt still on the Slate site: An excerpt from Jon Katz's A Good Dog: The Story of Orson, Who Changed My Life. - By Jon Katz - Slate Magazine

[Anders15]

The dogs are not the "beasts" they are just being what they are.. Humans need to be more responsible. If you get a dog don't leave it alone with a toddler.

[texaschic]

well i haven't been on here in 4ever... but this blog caught my eye. I guess it's because I have personal experience on the issue.
See... when my son was 5 years old he was bitten in the face by a relatives rottweiler mix. Long story short, he required plastic surgery and 30 stitches around his eye. He will forever have the scars and trama for the rest of his life. We thank God that he didn't loose his eye... or even worse. There was no warning before the bite... and my son didn't provoke the dog at all.... I was about 3 ft away when it happened. Ah.... but after the injury we found out that the dog had indeed tried to bite before... but the owners kept that a secret.
Do certain breeds have tendancies towards biting.... sure they do. Are there very many irresponsible dog owners out there... you betcha. See... we would have loved to see this dog put to sleep... but guess what; we were in a state that didnt require it because that was the first bite documented. Of course the family member completely ignored the fact that the dog was dangerous... and was aggravated that the doq had to be quarrantined for a week to check for rabies. Needless to say this caused a major rift between us that is still there 7 years later.... who would choose a dog before family? I guess the kind of people that ignore the warning signs in the first place.
My point... anytime you have a dog that exhibits aggressive behavior then it should be put to sleep... no second chances. Pit Bull, Rottweiler, Lab.... whatever... an aggressive dog is a danger to everyone around.
And that's my 2 cents.

[Justme2010]

Sorry to hear about your son's horror story.

"but the owners kept that a secret. " - that's CRUEL!
One may construe that to some owners their pet is actually more important than fellow human beings or at least to some degree. I think that's wrong and probably my view is shaped by the fact that I've never owned any pet. On the other hand, I've lived in a house where pets runing around...

Also, technology might be able to be helpful a little bit... a combo of solution working together could help.

[texaschic]

Originally Posted by Justme2010

Sorry to hear about your son's horror story.

"but the owners kept that a secret. " - that's CRUEL!
One may construe that to some owners their pet is actually more important than fellow human beings or at least to some degree. I think that's wrong and probably my view is shaped by the fact that I've never owned any pet. On the other hand, I've lived in a house where pets runing around...

Also, technology might be able to be helpful a little bit... a combo of solution working together could help.

That's what our thought was... obviuosly their dog was more important than their nephew... which is messed up in soooooo many ways! Even more concerning was the fact that the dog had tried to bite their own son before this incident. Go figure.
My stance is why keep a dog that has showed aggression towards people.. and just hope that they don't bite? I can't figure out the thinking in that. To me it's a no brainer... you wouldn't keep a person in your home with a history of violence... and just hope that they don't harm you or your family right? A dangerous dog can kill... and it's a known fact that if they bite once, they will bite again.

[matthews1965]

I owned a wonderful, kind dog 30 years ago. SPCA didn't know the breed - and we found out later that he was a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. This dog was devoted to family and children - I mean all children.All the kids would play at our house and he would walk them home one by one. If he returned to find someone missing (parents came by) he would go to their home see that they were there and return.(prior to the leash law!) I think we need to recognize that there are many breeds that can become dangerous for many different reasons, and if you will check out animal planet show about different breeds you may learn more about "pit bulls" and "rotties". The most frightened I've ever been was when I was attacked by a weimeraner(sp?) Also, I suggest that you watch animal planet "silent witness" about the Michael Vick case which gives huge insight into the true nature of pit bulls. What people turn them into is another thing. All that being said, because of what certain people do with their pets I won't go near ANY large dog I don't know. (and some that I do know!)

[Upstate Dave]

Seems the conventional wisdom of many is that once a dog has a reputation for biting, (even once), it can never be controlled. Education of people (owners) is the key. Once the owner confirms he/she is the pack leader and meets the needs of the dog we have a "rehabilitated" animal. Are there extreme cases? Sure.

[Justme2010]

"Education of people (owners) is the key", respecfully disagree in that that alone is not good enough for the problem at hand. Every society has criminals, with your logic, why not educate each citizen to be decent and law-biding, no, that seems just a lofty ideal. Do good, contribute in whatever measure then you'll be rewarded, plus government (at all levels) have policies made by highly competent people with integrity and that truly reflect a high degree of fairness to all, then it is more likely to flourish... well with fundamental freedom of course... ok, I got carried away....