The "Pit Bull" Myth

I reject Clifton because he’s a (pdf)tabloid editor relying on media reports who provides no verification of his data, whatsoever. This is not a scientific, * peer reviewed study*. In other words, for the same reason that the CDC doesn’t include his “report” in their dog bite bibliography.

Relying on Clifton is like relying on a media survey that concludes privileged caucasian children represent an “Everest-like peak” in kidnapping events, and that their frequency of involvement represents a “supernova” in proportion to under-priveleged, urban-dwelling minority children. There are fatal flaws in this methodology, which I assume you can spot.

…conducted by the esteemed editor of The Weekly World News, of course.

A scientific. peer reviewed analysis? Ask much.
Ask cops, ask mailmen , ask hospitals that put people back together. Ask someone who’s dog is traumatized for life why they forget to get DNA analysis of the dog that shredded their puppy. Ask anybody why they don’t trust pits. They are dangerous dogs. They are trained to fight. If you are at peace with that fine. Most of us are not.You are dancing in circles trying to pretend that pits are just another dog. You will only convince pit owners. People with no stake in the argument will know better.

Not too much, I don’t think. Here, for example, are several.
Hospitals that put people back together? Sure, let’s see what they have to say on the subject! Hmm… I wonder what a bunch of pediatricians would have to say? Let’s check them out, too, just for the hell of it.

Oh, I forgot. They’re part of the “pit bull cover up” cabal, right?

Question: tomorrow I twitch my nose and all the pit bulls in the world are turned into golden retrievers. Any dog that is part pit bull has that part turned into golden retrievers. All the people who own pits bulls and pit mixes now own golden retrievers and golden mixes. And treat them exactly the same. At the en of a year’s time do you think that the number of incidents—and their severity—involving these goldens would be the same as the past year with the pit bulls? Higher? Lower?

Nothing you’ve posted addresses the nature of a pit bull attack. I could care less if a chow bites me because I can stomp it dead.

You ignore the difference between a dog bite and a mauling.

Heh. Magic and reality are two different things. It’s hard to say–goldens don’t like being locked in closets and fed gunpowder and beaten, or being left neglected on chains for years and years and years any better than pit dogs, do.
I’m not exactly sure what you’re trying to prove here, as we’ve already been over the notion that gundogs are more tractable and amenable than working-breeds. A golden-shaped strawman is no more effective than a poodle-shaped one.

You can, a five year old can’t. You ignore the difference between perceived risk to yourself and the actual reality of the majority of dog bite related fatalities.
The links I’ve posted, relevant information from reliable expert authorities, all focuses on behavior-based strategies for dog bite prevention. Note that none of them say “avoid pit bulls like the plague”, yet they do all say “socialize your dog, interact safely and respectfully with your dog, supervise your dog around children, and don’t get more dog than you can handle”.
That’s because the problem of dog bites and dog bite related fatalities is not breed-specific.

LOL. Good luck with that stomping. A chow is up to 70 lbs of heavy bone and muscle. Their heads are proportionately huge.

They are a fairly rare breed, but are known to have aggression issues, and have been implicated in several fatalities in the last few years. They were originally bred as a tough guarding and hunting breed, and have the personality to go with it - not usually very friendly dogs, apt to bite first and ask questions later, and require careful management.

Back when I had a shepherd and a beagle, a Chow got loose and attacked my beagle. The shepherd jumped in and kicked the Chows ass. It came about 3 times before he found out Gonzo owned him. He left. A pit would not have. It would have been bloody and ugly. The characteristics of the pit are such that it can escalate and get ugly.

How is this even remotely an argument? It’s an anecdote involving a chow chow, a GSD, and a beagle, and you’re saying that a hypothetical pit would have killed your dog? Do you have any proof?

Another non-answer. Okay.

Uh huh. How does your anecdotally-reported, mighty, heroic shepherd’s actions in the event of a dog fight have anything to do with the capability or propensity of a neglected, unsocialized Chow Chow (or Malamute, Husky, or German Shepherd Dog) for killing small children in the event of an attack?
I imagine Gonzo is better at defending himself than your average five year-old, but let’s see what you have to say. Maybe toddlers are better fighters than I think?

:confused:
Do you just not know what a “strawman argument”* is*? Do you want to explain to me what soft gundogs have to do with a discussion about high-drive working breeds and their relative physical strength, tenacity, and potential propensity for human-targeted aggression? It doesn’t matter what I think about how a golden retriever would react to being fed crack cocaine and hit with bike chains. What does matter is that a well-socialized, thoroughly attended, and adequately managed dog of any breed is substantially unlikely to be involved in a dog bite related fatality. The most common factor by an overwhelming degree in such events is not breed, but neglect and human mismanagement.

By the way, I’m still waiting for a follow-up to your first magic-based hypothetical.

I am having trouble dumbing down arguments so you can understand them. Pits are relentless fighters and are able to attack while sustaining bad injuries. They are famous for coming back, over and over. Dogs that are trained to fight are bred and trained to enhance characteristics that do not make them friendly, loving and predictable pets. That would be pits. The Chow was not trained and bred to kill other dogs while taking serious injuries itself. They may have some nasty traits, but they don’t come close to Pits.Pits are different. Everybody but you seems to understand that .

Then, for the umpteenth time, I request you to please explain this.

Failing that, can you please be quiet about stuff that you have no actual knowledge of?

I am having trouble dumbing down arguments so you can understand them.
This also describes any working breed, big game, pastoral guardian, personal protection, or property guardian breed. German Shepherd Dogs and Belgian Malinois, for example, do the police and military choose them for use because if they attack an enemy, they’re easy to shake off and shoo away with a pat on the head?

No, not to kill other dogs, just big game and human beings.

Thirty or forty years ago “everybody knew” everything you’re saying was true for a certain breed of dog, only it was your beloved Gonzo in the hysterics’ crosshairs.

Hell not to belabor the point, but when Pits were first allowed to be shown ,at the turn of the 1900s ,a pit had to have won 3 fights before he could show. No other dog has ever needed that to qualify them. So you figure out what the breeders were interested in. You tell me what that says about the breed.

This needs to be said about twice a page in every one of these threads. Pits are the dog du jour to be hysterically afraid of.

After the GSD it was Dobies, if I recall correctly. Then Rottweilers. Tell my lazy ass bitch Chi Chi she’s a scary attack dog. Half the time she can’t be bothered to stand up to bark.

You know, for knowledgeable German Shepherd Dog breeders, a GSD has to be able to savagely and relentlessly attack a human being, despite clubbings and beatings, to keep fighting and fighting and fighting that person to the death. So, you figure out what the breeders are interested in. You tell me what that says about the breed.