I could spout on and on about this topic, but this article sums it up in a much better way then i could have, and probably ruffles fewer feathers.
Juanitatech… they are…
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/amerpit.html
The AKC eschewed breeds called “pit bulls” until 1936, when it recognized the American Pit Bull Terrier under the alias Staffordshire Terrier, named after the miners of Staffordshire, England, who had a hand in developing the breed for the fighting pit. The name was changed in 1972 to the American Staffordshire Terrier to distinguish the breed from the Staffordshire Bull Terrier of England, the ancestor of the American dogs, which was recognized by AKC in 1974. The British version of the dog is 14-16 inches tall and weighs up to 45 pounds. The American cousin is 18-19 inches tall and weighs up to 80 pounds. UKC’s American Pit Bull Terrier is preferred to range from 30-60 pounds with females generally, but not necessarily, smaller than males.
What about the dogs bred to be watchdogs, attack dogs?
Rottweilers?
Doberman pinscers?
We somehow have made these dogs both ferocious and acceptable.
Doesn’t it stand to reason that if the practice of dog fighting was no longer, then the breeding of AmStaffs would follow toward more docile tempraments?
I personally believe that ALOT has to do with socialization and training (for instance I have a dachshund, but there’s no way that little guy would stand up to a badger without some training, he’s afraid of cats for god’s sake). But for the sake of the argument that temprament is everything…
There’s a bigger societal ill here, and that’s one of people needing to prove how tough they are, and doing it with their dogs. Eliminate the market for vicious dogs first I say, then let the breed stand on it’s own merits.
The only thing that’s worse about a pit bull than other dogs is its tendency to ‘lock on’ when biting, that and their powerful jaws…
That said, I think it’s all about socialization because I know many pits that are sweet as can be.
And Astro I think many people are becoming aware of the pit bull’s plight and adopting them. The people I see with pits are actually the kind that understand that people think pits are mean and aggressive and disagree…and eventually prove the allegation wrong. Also, if you’re getting a puppy from the pound around here, you’d be hard pressed to find a pit-free dog.
I completely disagree with the OP for all the reasons everyone else already cited.
The morons with Pit Bulls will simply move on to another breed, like American Bulldogs. They’re the same morons who gave Dobies a bad name in the 70s, and who’ve given Rotties a bad name.
The Pit Bulls (APBTs and AmStaffs) that I’ve met who’ve had responsible owners have been sweeties.
I have an Staffordshire Terrier. He is a great dog really. There is something about him that make him just not look like a typical pit bull, so when people come up to me in the park they don’t know what kind of dog he is. They will get down and pet him and think he is all great until they ask what he is and when I say pit bull, they always go “oh” and pull back slowly. Greatest part of taking him to the park.
Much like the old saying “guns don’t kill, people do”
It is not the dog, but the owner.
At the day practice where I used to work, we had a very, very high percentage of pit bull patients. We also had lots of rotties. (I’m sure the prevalence of those two breeds was somehow related to our high percentage of clients who lived in the projects, drove brand-new cars, carried hundreds in cash on them, and had "home bisness"es.) The vast majority of these dogs, even the ones who were bred by fighters, were incredibly sweet.
There was the occasional troublemaker, but that was all kicking and scratching type stuff. I never had a pit bull try to bite me, no matter how uncomfortable a procedure might have been for the dog. For the most part, they were the quietest, most stoic patients we had.
I’d trust kids around a pit bull before I would a lot of the “non-dangerous” toy breeds. Little dogs tend to bite a lot more than folks think. It’s just that the bites tend to be less severe, people are less likely to seek medical attention, so the bites don’t get reported to the health department. We used to get several calls a month from people whose little dog had bitten them, either double-checking vaccination status or wanting medical advice. (The standard response was, “I’m afraid you’ll have to call a human doctor for that,” but I always longed to add, “call us back if you decide to bite the shit out of the dog. We can help you out with that one.”)
come to think of it, now that I read cat lady’s post,
the only breed by which I’ve ever been bitten is:
The Chihuahua
My 14 year Pit Bull has never hurt anyone. Neither has her 11 year old son.
Good owner = Good dog
We got a new Vet recently and he flat out said he had never seen a dog as gentle as her.
Blame the deed, not the breed.
I’m so tired of people putting the blame on the animal and not getting to the real root of the problem: Bad breeders and bad owners.
As said many times before me, any dog is capable of being vicious. If backyard breeders are breeding for aggressiveness in any way, then it should blow up on their faces. Ban them. Escalate the penalties for animal abuses such as dog fighting. Slapping a fine on people that are making thousands of dollars on these dogs is nothing to them.
Go to a reputable/responsible breeder of any bull terrier, mention that you want a tough dog to protect your property and your ass will most likely be flying out the front door. Unfortunately there aren’t any regulations to prevent backyard breeding. I doubt there will be any soon.
IMO, the most vicious thing about the average pit bull is their tail. When it’s wagging, that thing will leave welts as it whips against your leg! Yes, they are strong biters, and that’s what gives them their bad name. All it takes is someone to encourage that biting, and it’s going to be game over for the dog.
One day I hope to be Dober-owned so I’ve been researching them for years. The response I get when I tell people I want one is usually negative. “Ohhh, they’re killers!” Some people need to do their homework.
In my animal rescue experience I’ve been attacked three times. Once by a collie cross, the other two were cockers. I hate cockers, but don’t think they should be banned.
(I hate watching “Animal Cops”. All the pitbulls they keep seizing and they all go straight for euthanasia. How sad.)
The following was in our mailbox (anonymously) last week:
THERE IS A PACK OF 3 PITBULLS ROAMING THE NEIGHBORHOOD. BE CAREFUL! THEY COULD KILL YOUR CHILDREN AND DOGS!
I mean, WTF? I am not aware of any recent maulings. I was thinking of calling the fuzz but then I’m not really sure why I would be calling them.
I’ve been bitten twice by small dogs, each time I was being very stupid and pretty much deserved it (like, don’t grab a strange dog when it’s moving in to check out a recently cooked Thanksgiving turkey).
That said, I’d be VERY unhappy to see a pit bull, a Rottie or a Doberman wandering around unescorted in my neighborhood, which has many small children, and if I saw it more than once I’d find out where it lived and have a talk with the owner.
Don’t care for my attitude? One mauling is too many. Don’t care whose fault it is.
Also, I gotta ask: all you people who say the problem is bad owners. I agree that some people are bad owners.
But so many people whose animals maul kids wind up on the six o’clock news saying, “I don’t know what happened. He never showed any sign of being aggressive before. He’s always been friendly and lovable.”
How do you know it won’t be YOUR face on the six o’clock news saying these things someday? Do you just KNOW? Maybe those other people KNEW it wouldn’t be THEM, either.
My theory is they say that to cover their own ass - but I have nothing other than a hunch to back it up.
it’s not just training a dog to be aggressive that makes it aggressive. Not training a dog AT ALL can also make it aggressive. A dog that is just left in the back yard on a rope with a water dish and no attention, exercise or obedience training may snap someday because it hasn’t been socialized.
no one should let a dog roam around a neighborhood unleashed or unsupervised, but that doesn’t mean the breed should be outlawed.
My dog has particularly odd socialization and obedience problems because she was removed from her mother about four weeks too early…but because I’m a responsible dog owner I addressed those problems and she’s now a nice dog.
Just to clarify – my “WTF” is in regards to just dropping an anonymous note like that with no explanations in someone’s mailbox. I started to even get a little paranoid and thought someone might be trying to mess with us. I haven’t seen any pitbulls (or any dogs) roaming around freely, although we have lots of dogs around here. I am extremely concerned if it is an issue because I run. I wish the messenger of the note had been more responsible in “reporting” this interesting news if it has any merit.
There is a lot of misinformation about dangerous dog breeds. I used to be afraid of Rotties, but now that I have my own dog and take her to the park I have met several, and they have all been very sweet and good-natured. In fact, I would argue they were some of the most gentle and affectionate dogs I have ever seen. It really is a matter of temperament brought out by how the owners handle the dogs. If you get a dog with the intent of making it vicious, you can do it with any breed. Stupid people who want scary dogs go for pit bulls and rotties because they look intimidating, but if you take those breeds away they will do it with shepherds, dobermans, or huskies, etc.
If it were really true that pit bulls were inherently dangerous I would agree with the OP. I think any dangerous animal needs to be put down, but it is really about the individual dog and not a breed. There is no evidence that proves pit bulls trained and raised correctly will still be dangerous.
I don’t like seeing any dog out wandering the streets, be it a Rottweiler or a Beagle. That’s always an accident waiting to happen especially when they start to pack up with other dogs. That’s what it’s like where I’m presently living. Dogs roam and kill livestock, or get hit by cars and left to die.
And as ** jarbabyj **said: socialization is another big issue. I can walk down the road and see at least 15 dogs that are always in kennels or tied to a tree. I’d be wary as hell if one of them were in my yard.
A good owner will also recognize the shortfalls of their dog. If your dog is bad with children, don’t be taking it to any parks without a muzzle. All it takes is one kid to come flying up and grabbing your dog’s head, get snapped at, and bingo: lawsuit!
Too many people don’t train their children to meet dogs. I always wanted to start local programs to take dogs to schools and teach children how to approach people with dogs, or dogs on their own.
Excellent point, jarbaby.
Also, I think a lot of people whose dog bites them “with no warning” often had plenty of warning, but they were just rather clueless about dogs. How many people do you know who say “Oh, don’t bother the dog when he’s eating - he’ll growl at you.” That IS a warning sign. Not that I agree that you should make a point of pestering your dog when you are eating- you shouldn’t The point is that you, as the pack leader, should be able to take something away from your dog at any time for any reason at all without any fear that he’s going to bite you. If you can’t, there’s a problem.
[aside]If you’ve got a rescue who’s a bit of a food-guarder, one of the ways to help him get over this is to throw really yummy treats in his dish when you’re nearby - that’ll teach him to associate you being near his food dish with good things.[/aside]
The first time I gave my dog a real bone, after about 15 minutes I went to take it back. He growled - not a serious challenge, but a challenge nonetheless. So I took the bone away, made him do obedience work for about 10 minutes, gave him the bone back for a few minutes, took the bone back, made him do obedience, until he learned that the bone was mine and I was only loaning it to him. He never challenged me over a bone again. If I’d backed off and left the bone with him, I’d have taught him the absolute wrong thing - that he was the boss, not me.
Also, if my dog misbehaves I take away her playstation for at least a week.
We don’t screw around at my house