# pit bulls **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 17, 2006, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pit-bulls/361059 "2006-06-17T14:57:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pit-bulls/361059/41 "2006-06-20T09:53:28Z")
A vicious lap dog will give you a nasty nip on the ankle. A vicious pit bull can properly fuck you up. A rhino may not be any more or less naturally agressive than a gerbil, but I know which one I’d rather face down. ---
**Author:** ![Dumbguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dumbguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dumbguy)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pit-bulls/361059/42 "2006-06-20T17:16:32Z")
A few quick Google searches suggest that dogs in the US kill around 15-20 people a year. Around half of these are due to pit bulls. This makes pit bulls roughly as dangerous as balloons, which apparently kill an estimated 7-10 people a year. Dog related deaths and balloon related deaths are both more common among children. Some things that are considerably more likely to kill someone than a dog: Cars, swimming pools, fires, tractors, household poisons, stairs, bathtubs, trains, airplanes, electrical outlets, ladders, toys, hot dogs, your family doctor. In order to keep ourselves safe, we could outlaw everything except [breathing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_pollution), but unfortunately that’s more likely to kill you than a pit bull too. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pit-bulls/361059/43 "2006-06-20T17:28:19Z")
> [@Least Original User Name Ever](#): > > After a while the statistics become too hard to ignore. Yet, you’ve managed to ignore them. Or at least, to refer to them without quoting any. MY imaginary statistical claims show that yours are false. As another poster noted above: > [@sabatobello](#): > > Not to mention that most people, including most local governments and statistics compilers, can’t tell the difference between a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, a Presa Canario, a Bull Terrier, an American Bulldog and an unregistered, unpedigreed, intentionally misbred mutt monstrosity sold to people who want a “tough” dog. If you lump multiple breeds and any mutt who fits the general public perception into “Pit Bull Type”, it becomes impossible to compare number of attacks reported vs. the number of dogs out there (especially when you’re counting unregistered mutts) to then fairly compare to, say, German Shepherd Dog attacks. That’s exactly right. Our local radio station referred to t_hird-hand, reported, claimed_ attacks by breeds, listing each breed by the narrowest descriptor possible, but then lumped a lot of reported claims under “Pit-bull _type_ dogs”. Well, heck. Can I report crimes by individual criminal name and then lump a lot under “crimes by Democrats” or “crimes by rural type people”? There is a LOT of misinformation and generalization going on with regard to dogs and dog attacks. I’ve seen a pit bull get charged by a cocker spaniel. Will the second amendment folks defend that pit bull from the charging spaniel? Remember, if you wait for contact, it’s too late – your shoot/no shoot decision comes as the dog runs up barking and growling. Go! You have three seconds. Oh, and the safety’s on, right? Sailboat ---
**Author:** ![Aholibah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Aholibah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aholibah)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pit-bulls/361059/44 "2006-06-20T17:45:35Z")
> [@e-logic](#): > > A vicious lap dog will give you a nasty nip on the ankle. > > A vicious pit bull can properly fuck you up. > > A rhino may not be any more or less naturally agressive than a gerbil, but I know which one I’d rather face down. OK, let’s keep going. Which would you rather face down: A vicious Yorkie or a vicious collie? A vicious pug or a vicious St. Bernard? A vicious pomeranian or a vicious Old English sheepdog? A vicious dachsund or a vicious samoyed? We can play this game until doomsday and it won’t ever become less meaningless. It says absolutely nothing about pit bulls except that they are larger than smaller dogs. Thanks for that insight. ---
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pit-bulls/361059/45 "2006-06-20T19:20:25Z")
> [@Dumbguy](#): > > A few quick Google searches suggest that dogs in the US kill around 15-20 people a year. Around half of these are due to pit bulls. This makes pit bulls roughly as dangerous as balloons, which apparently kill an estimated 7-10 people a year. Dog related deaths and balloon related deaths are both more common among children. > > Some things that are considerably more likely to kill someone than a dog: > > Cars, swimming pools, fires, tractors, household poisons, stairs, bathtubs, trains, airplanes, electrical outlets, ladders, toys, hot dogs, your family doctor. > > In order to keep ourselves safe, we could outlaw everything except [breathing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_pollution), but unfortunately that’s more likely to kill you than a pit bull too. We’ve had this conversation many times on here - it’s not just the deaths that are the problem, it is the attacks and maiming that are much more common. Like I’ve already said in this thread - what is the solution then? Leave the status quo because not many deaths result from dog attacks? Only one person on here has a solution other than banning breeds or muzzling them and that is to make it mandatory to neuter them. I also believe that it is easier to take dogs off owners (dangerous and otherwise) if it is mandatory to register dogs, as it is here. If the dog control people find a dog without a license tag, they can take it away and destroy. If this is a poorly brought up pit bull, that is one less dangerous dog on the streets. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pit-bulls/361059.md?page=2)