I guess we should just get rid of all the 30 breeds that have killed someone, because, hey, you never know when FiFi might turn vicious.
Would I be scared of a pitbull roaming around?
Yes, I would. I don’t like to see any dog roaming around. I have no idea how well their owners have taken care of them.
I think porcupine has hit the nail on the head. There are almost always warning signs for anything an animal does, if you’re just paying attention and know what you’re looking for. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t bother to learn what they’re looking for, so they get taken by surprise.
Dogs are quite obvious when they’ve reached their breaking point. Their body language and growling/barking all signal what the dog is feeling.
We were instructed by our obedience trainer to take food in and out of her bowl often when she’s eating. We reinforce this even now. Heck the cats EAT kibble out of the dog’s bowl and only get dirty looks.
I don’t like seeing ANY dog roaming alone. This is an accident waiting to happen as others have said. Although I am more worried about the dog’s safety.
Also I heartily agree with gulo gulo… we need to educate children (and some adults) how to meet dogs. Lots of running and screaming would certainly make me wary of whatever was approaching.
I’ve also seen the six oclock news. These people have dogs that are outside in kennels all day or there was one where the dog had broken out of it’s cage. If you need to cage your dog 24 hours a day then you have some serious problems and yet they seemed genuinely surprised the dog has done anything viscious.
This lady came walking up to me in the mall the other day and looked at me funny. “Can I help you?” I asked.
“I was your pet in a previous life” she said.
“Huh?” I quickly quipped. “Are you serious?”
“Yes” she replied. “You had a pit bull didn’t you and it was hit by a car.”
Now this is wierd because I really did have a pit bull that was hit by a car. “How did you know that?” I asked.
“It was me” she said. “Here, touch my back. You can still feel the scars from where the car hit me.”
“I’m not touching your dang scar lady” I said. “Are you nuts?”
“My name was Buddy and you were 12 when I was killed.”
My jaw dropped because this was true and I gently reached over to touch her back.
“ROWR ROWR ROWR ROWR ROWR!”
Four years ago, in mid-October, I’d stopped by a convenience store to get newspapers on which to carve a pumpkin. When I came out of the store, I almost ran over a dog; scrawny, scared, scarred, and desperate. She was yellow, with big brown eyes, and obviously some sort of pit bull mix.
I got out of the car, and talked to her for a bit. She was desperate for affection; soon she wouldn’t leave my side. I checked in the store, and nobody knew who owned her; she had no collar on. So, I took her home. My Shepherd mix met her out in the front yard, and seemed to approve. Before I let her in the house, I told her that this was only temporary; that the next morning, I’d find her owner, or she’d be off to the Humane Society.
Well, the next morning, there was no owner to be found. And the pound was no longer much of an option after I did some research on how likely pit bulls are to be adopted, versus how likely they are to be put down. So, I took her to the vet.
He opined that she’d been out on the street for months, based on the thickness of the pads on her paws. That she was only about six months old. And that she’d probably been fought. I had him give her her first round of vaccinations, and took her home. Where she became the world’s sweetest, cutest dog.
For about three weeks. Then she ate the couch. Seriously. Totally destroyed it. And later on shoes, bedding, another couch, a wallet, stereo speakers, another couch, and finally I decided that when I’m not home, she’s an outdoor dog.
We built a pen for her; it’s large, is tall enough to prevent any possible climbing escape, has a built-in wire mesh floor that prevents any digging escape, and a nice big doghouse to keep her in the shade. She stays there whenever there’s no-one home. We walk her and our other dog three times a day, leashed, and we make sure we pick up after them.
Our biggest problem? She’s aggressive toward other dogs. The only time it’s a problem is when there are unleashed dogs around. There’s nothing quite as ridiculous as being reassured by an owner whose dog is charging toward yours that “They’re friendly! Don’t worry!” when your dog is yanking on her leash, thinking that she’s about to fight for her life.
She’s fun, she’s funny, she’s adorable, she’s incredibly loving. Every time any of our friends come over, there’s an inevitable ten-minute Gracie introduction, that involves her getting her tummy rubbed vigorously. She snuggles up next to whoever’s on her couch, and is completely content just to be near her favorite humans. And sometimes, when I’m working at my computer, she’ll sneak up and lick my elbow, just to get some affection. She’s the Pit Bull of Love.
The moral of the story, then. Some people own pit bulls for other reasons than the desire to have aggressive dogs. And everyone should leash their dogs, whenever they’re out. Period.
As a kid, I was attacked by a doberman X while selling girl-scout cookies. I was walking down a public sidewalk, not through a yard or a private driveway.
I was also attacked by a golden retriever while riding my bike down a residential side street. Again, not invading what a dog might deem as ‘his territory.’
I’ll second, third or fourth the opinion that it’s how they are raised. Not the breed.
My last doggie was a black lab pitbull (staffie) mix. Got her from the shelter when she was 6 weeks old and had her until I moved to England a few years ago - so she is 14 this year.
She has never bitten anyone. She loved cats and even adopted them - ie brought them home to love. She loved kids, heck loved people in general. Protective? Yes. Agressive… never.
It is up to people to train their animals. Don’t blame a breed. Blame the owner.
Smaller breeds (poodles etc) bite more than the larger breeds IIRC from various readings and investigations.
And as the hubby likes to say, if Yorkshire terriers were the size of German shepards we’d all be f***ed.
I worked as a dog groomer for a summer…the little ones were the ones to bite, never the pitbulls (yes, people brough their pampered pitbulls in for a groom and bath!). I also volunteered at an animal shelter, working with dogs…many of the pitbulls, stray ones too. No problems at all. I would have adopted one if this goof instead!
So which one of these dogs should be banned?
Breed specific banning makes no sense. A well trained, well cared for pit bull is no more likely to attack someone than a golden retriever.
Pit bulls that attack are dogs that have generally been mistreated and trained to attack. Being a pit bull has little to do with it.
Now, if you want to talk about owner bans, that’s much more logical.
While I agree that the majority of ‘bad’ dogs are down to bad owners, I also believe that dog breeds are predisposed to certain behaviours, and different breeds require different handling to ensure they dont go ‘bad’. A pit bull is predisposed to react to certain situations more aggressively than, say, a spaniel. A border collie is predisposed to needing more exercise and stimulation than a retriever etc etc
It is down to owners to educate their dogs that aggressive behaviour is unacceptable, no matter what the breed. Unfortunatley, the type of thugs that seem drawn to these types of dog do so purely for ‘image’ rather than anything else (I dont mean EVERY pitbull owner…you know what I mean 
)
As has been said before, every dog has a breaking point. My own dog is an English Springer. You will not meet a more submissive dog, in fact it can be a little embarrassing as he greets people on his tummy and will pee when nervous. He had a very tough start in life, was kept in a cage in someones garden until he was 1, then we found him. H’s always been fine with our kids, very tolerant, and will get up and leave if they get on his nerves. I would have bet my house on the fact that he would never bite anyone. One day my toddler daughter fell off the sofa onto him while he slept and his refelx action was to snap his head around with his mouth open. It wasnt a bite as such, but he caught her face and marked her cheek. I saw the incident, he was absolutely mortified and slunk off at high speed, peeing everywhere. Even the best’uns have a limit.
Where’s astro?
I agree with the “it’s not the dog, it’s the owner” crowd. I also agree with the “certain dogs are bred for aggressiveness” crowd. I think we can marry the two - how the dog is raised is the greatest factor in determining whether that aggressiveness shows, if ever.
My father is a doctor in small town America. Based on the dog bites he’s seen (and I’m sure the number would sadden me), the most dangerous dog is the Lab. I’m sure this is partially due to sheer numbers - the Lab’s a popular breed - and I’m sure it’s partially due to owner negligence.
I’m a cat person. Grew up with cats, owned cats, the whole bit. However, I’ve lately been interested in getting a dog, and if I ever get to the point where I could manage it, I might. Right now it’s not feasible with mine and my husband’s jobs, where we’re gone 10 hours a day (weekdays) and couldn’t spend enough time with the dog to make it a “good dog.” I’m fond of dobermans, but the dog I’ll eventually get will be a small dog (dox, schnauzer, some such). I’ve a small niece (who rules my world) and will not trust any large dog around her or the others in my family (all adults), no matter how convinced I am that the dog is not aggressive - even if it’s my own.
It’s a tough thing, because dogs can be destructive (even little ones). I applaud all you dog owners for being so responsible. Wish everyone was.
Snicks
But when people kill people, they use guns to do it. More of a cooperative effort.
We can’t deny that the AmStaffPit terrier was bred for tenacity, jaw strength, etc. Were they bred to hunt vermin like most terriers? Guard dogs? anyone have the history on that? Anyway, you could say that they are naturally disposed to things like fighting.
But dogs, like humans need nurturance to develop their skill and behavior patterns. The soil may be fertile to grow corn, but if all you plant is beets, well…
I have a dachshund. There not being a whole lot of badger hunting to be done where I live, well, he doesn’t do what he was bred to do.
I say get rid of the phenomenon that makes dog fighting appealing, the rest will take care of itself.
Our Westie was a lovable dog, but she was also sort of cranky-especially in old age. She only rarely bit, but even when she did, she knew what she did was wrong and would slink off and lay down and look ashamed.
We used to give her flavored bones-but my mom stopped because she was so protective of them.
My grandmother had a Yorkie that was the most lovable little thing in the world. My parents are thinking about getting one, in fact.
Every dog has it’s own limits. It has nothing to do with breed, and everything to do with training.
I did some research,
it seems they were originally bred to: bait bulls, fight bears, and yes, for pit fighting
The most gentle dog I’ve ever owned was a female Pit Bull. I adopted her from the Humane Society–she had been beaten by her previous owner and was scared to death of people. It took six months of a lot of love and attention just to get her to stop cowering every time anyone even so much as looked in her direction. She was wonderful with my kids and never once demonstrated any aggressive tendencies.
I also worked as a vet tech for two years and in that time period the most aggressive, vicious dog I ever encountered was a Bassett Hound. We also had lots of trouble dealing with certain Cocker Spaniels, Chows and grumpy little yappy dogs, but never once during my employment there did we have trouble with a pit bull.
I think a dog’s aggressiveness depends more on the individual dog’s temperment moreso than being a specific breed. I think that pit bulls have been singled out because a lot of them are bred for fighting and they’ve earned a nasty reputation because of it.
This is Mr. Norinew, I spent 10 years training patrol dogs for security work. In that time I found that any dogs of any breed can be made to bite, or not bite, by using the correct training. The only exception is the dog that bites out of fear. That dog is unpredictable because you never know what will scare the dog enough to attack. The only thing you can do with a fear biter is put it to death because it cannot be trusted.
In my never to be humble opinion trying to ban a breed of dog to stop attacks is like trying to ban guns to reduce crime. Neither one will work because they defy logic and ignore human nature.
Also note that lines of APBT and other bully breeds that were bred for fighting dogs had to be easy to handle by the trainers, and dogs that were aggressive towards humans were generally culled immediately (i.e. killed). Bully breeds are traditionally very gentle with people, and very eager to please. The phenemenon of bully breeds being aggressive towards humans is a very recent one. Take any ill-bred dog, isolate it, encourage it to be aggressive, encourage it to bite, and what do you think you’re going to get?
[small hijack] It is often the smaller dogs who are not good with children. My personal experience is that well-trained larger dogs are more able to withstand children jumping on them, pulling their tail, running at them, etc. and are not as threatened by a child as a small dog. (Naturally, a child an be intimidating to a small dog and can easily hurt it - causing the dog to snap at the child). I am not saying no small dogs are good with kids - just that the size of the dog does not automatically mean they are safe around kids.
I know how you feel though, I have a young nephew too. It is important to always be careful with kids and animals. Good luck if you do get one! [hijack]
I just wanted to say that the amount of compassion and common sense being displayed in this thread warms my heart. The prejudice against pit bulls runs deep, and it’s gratifying to see so many people rise above the media hype and judge animals on their individual merits, rather than panic at the mention of a breed.
My pup Gracie would like to lick all of you, if she could. Of course, she’d like to lick just about everybody.
