poor dog...

[Ste11aeres]

So, I have a bit of an obsession with pitbull type dogs, especially American Pitbull Terriers. I've noticed however that humans go sort of nuts at the mention of these dogs. We all know that lots of people think these are evil bloodthirsty dogs, unlike any other dog. This has sad consequences for many perfectly nice dogs, who are quickly put to sleep by shelters, etc
Some pitbull advocates, on the other hand, go too far in the opposite direction. They go so far in portraying pitbulls as dogs that for some reason can do no wrong, that it worries me. I worry that maybe if they are too succesful, this will backfire if it leads to people who don't know what they are doing, adopting pitbulls. People who are well intentioned bad dog owners, bad because they don't understand dogs, don't understand animals in general, and don't know how to lead a dog (or any animal.)
If such well-intentioned bad ownership were to cause problem dogs, it could have bad bad effects for all members of the breed. (because if someone has a distrustful pre-conception about one member of a group, it only takes the bad actions of one representative of the group to cause the distrustful person to say "See, this proves that they are all bad.")

I want to state a daring idea...that pitbulls are dogs. That they are dogs before they are a breed. That different breeds of dogs are all the same species. And that we should focus first on understanding the species, before going to far in villifying or eulogising any breed.

Sorry about the glass on your head buddy. I think you'd be sufficiently cute if they just let you be a dog.

 

[tlc]

While I don't like dogs at all, and was attacked by a pitbull, I have to agree with you that a pitbull is more than anything just another dog. Any dog can be raised well, can be raised poorly, or can cut loose if just the right thing trips off its animal instinct. There's no reason to single out pitbulls.

 

[Turk]

Ceaser Milan has oftened refered to the mental state of the owner, as being key to stability of a dog. Which makes perfect sense. Unstable owner = Unstable dog. Ive seen exactly the same stability problems, in small dogs because of their owners, so its only the size that creates the issue. I had a Rottweiler in my younger days who was a gentle giant, who accepted my son, when he came into our family, and a anyone who wanted to give her a pat. Funny how us humans can hide behind mental instability, when we perform violent acts. So yes Stella, would have to agree with you. Perhaps prospective owners should go through some sort of screening process ,like gun ownership. Its so easy to point the finger of blame at an animal that cant speak

 

[Ereth]

Turk, prospective pet owners do go through screening processes---at least most do. I'm sure some pet stores and breeders don't give a damn who gets their animals as long as they get paid. (But I'd better stop talking before I start ranting about how irresponsible animal breeding has led to so many problems . . .)

 

[Ste11aeres]

I'll admit that I am not a fan of the breed. However, my only experiences with the breed have been negative...
With all that said, I'm sure in each instance the owners/handlers could have done a better job of handling their pets. They were guard dogs in the last scenario, as it was obvious there was some sort of drug operation going on.

All my personal experiences with dogs of that breed were very positive...I think the difference had to do with the owners, and the purposes for which the owners had their dogs, as the dogs I met were pets rather than guard dogs.

 

[Tarragon]

Ceaser Milan has oftened refered to the mental state of the owner, as being key to stability of a dog. Which makes perfect sense. Unstable owner = Unstable dog. Ive seen exactly the same stability problems, in small dogs because of their owners, so its only the size that creates the issue. I had a Rottweiler in my younger days who was a gentle giant, who accepted my son, when he came into our family, and a anyone who wanted to give her a pat. Funny how us humans can hide behind mental instability, when we perform violent acts. So yes Stella, would have to agree with you. Perhaps prospective owners should go through some sort of screening process ,like gun ownership. Its so easy to point the finger of blame at an animal that cant speak

Totally agree with you here. Screening people before they are allowed to have pets should be mandatory. It certainly is the case if you want to adopt a rescued dog here in the uk. This is done for a reason, and it is to stop bad people abusing animals. However, these sorts of people are unfortunately free to buy a dog with no checks about their character (people not dogs!!)

Certainly, it should be legal that all pet owners have to register their animals, and have them checked by a vet every year. Then at least it would help prevent abuse.

 

[Kelly]

The way I see it is that there are no bad dogs just bad owners, sure any dog has the potential to just randomly snap for any number of reasons but in most cases it is due to the owners neglect/bad training/idiocy.

 

[ChildoftheCorn]

I was a dog trainer for many years. Miss the dogs, not the people.

The last dog I lost was a Pit Bull (AKC AmStaf/UKC APBT). He was a certified therapy dog, had a herding instinct certificate, and was nationally ranked in competitive obedience in 2005. I had another APBT before him.

I agree with you 100%. The breed advocates are digging the hole deeper and deeper.

We moved to an area surrounded by BSL, so I doubt I'll get another anytime soon. The evolving breed community isn't making me all that interested in jumping back in, anyway.

 

[Ereth]

The father of a friend of mine owns a perfectly well-behaved (and well trained) Rottweiler named Taz. Unlike his namesake, he is an obedient, sweet-tempered boy.

 

[Judge]

Dog bite was always a serious, yet common hazard when I used to underwrite homeowners policies. But the results company-wide were usually indicative of mixed breeds and the most common of purebred canines. We never had any preemptive policy regarding the breed of dog.

Never even saw a claim regarding a Pit Bull. Not one.

 

[Ste11aeres]

Dog fighting is a big thing around here with a "certain element." I can't think of too many things more barbaric. In fact, a rescue shelter here took in a dog that had been used to train fighting dogs.

Do you mean a "bait dog?" I once watched a touching video about such a dog.

 

[Critterlover]

Wow, what a moving video. Thanks for sharing it!!! I'm sure that's what the dog was that that shelter took in. The local news merely said it had been used to train fighting dogs. The shelter from where I got Pitch was a "no kill" rescue shelter. Most of the animals they took in had been abused, neglected, etc. It was sad to see some of the animals. Fortunately, Pitch had not been abused or neglected. His first owner died and the second one couldn't keep him.

So, I have a bit of an obsession with pitbull type dogs, especially American Pitbull Terriers. I've noticed however that humans go sort of nuts at the mention of these dogs. We all know that lots of people think these are evil bloodthirsty dogs, unlike any other dog. This has sad consequences for many perfectly nice dogs, who are quickly put to sleep by shelters, etc
Some pitbull advocates, on the other hand, go too far in the opposite direction. They go so far in portraying pitbulls as dogs that for some reason can do no wrong, that it worries me. I worry that maybe if they are too succesful, this will backfire if it leads to people who don't know what they are doing, adopting pitbulls. People who are well intentioned bad dog owners, bad because they don't understand dogs, don't understand animals in general, and don't know how to lead a dog (or any animal.)
If such well-intentioned bad ownership were to cause problem dogs, it could have bad bad effects for all members of the breed. (because if someone has a distrustful pre-conception about one member of a group, it only takes the bad actions of one representative of the group to cause the distrustful person to say "See, this proves that they are all bad.")

I want to state a daring idea...that pitbulls are dogs. That they are dogs before they are a breed. That different breeds of dogs are all the same species. And that we should focus first on understanding the species, before going to far in villifying or eulogising any breed.

Sorry about the glass on your head buddy. I think you'd be sufficiently cute if they just let you be a dog.

Yes Pitbulls get a bad rap. Because they are a strong powerful breed that have been bred to dog fight they often end up in the very wrong hands. This is so unfortunate because they also have the ability to be a nice people loving breed.
The problem is that in the wrong hands these dogs can be a lethal weapon, because they are SO strong that if they get in to a fight they really mean it and can do a lot of damage. Unfortunately this is an issue that is never going to go away, they will always be in demand by the wrong people and the breed is going to suffering greatly from this.
Thank god there are wonderful caring people out there that can at least save some of them.....

 

[GallacticGorilla]

Pitbulls are great and I dont have a strong oppinion one way or the other. BUT- Pitbulls are responsible for nearly 10 times the deaths of any other breed. About 70 humans to date. They were breed to restrain 2,000 lb bulls for godsakes. I once watched a pitbull almost kill another dog, and the only reason he didnt was because 4 people ripped the two dogs apart. THere was blood everywhere, it was amazingly vicious. I never realized just how capable of killing they were till i witnessed that. Personally, I would never in a million years leave a small child alone with a pitbull. They are actually illegal to own in the Denver city limits. There is a reason they are illegal to own.

But hey- Maybe thats why they are so cool. Because they are capable of being these amazingly ferocious animals.

Sorry, I know Im going to tick off pitbull lovers, but these are the facts.

 

[Ste11aeres]

Pitbulls are great and I dont have a strong oppinion one way or the other. BUT- Pitbulls are responsible for nearly 10 times the deaths of any other breed. About 70 humans to date. They were breed to restrain 2,000 lb bulls for godsakes. I once watched a pitbull almost kill another dog, and the only reason he didnt was because 4 people ripped the two dogs apart. THere was blood everywhere, it was amazingly vicious. I never realized just how capable of killing they were till i witnessed that. Personally, I would never in a million years leave a small child alone with a pitbull. They are actually illegal to own in the Denver city limits. There is a reason they are illegal to own.

But hey- Maybe thats why they are so cool. Because they are capable of being these amazingly ferocious animals.

Sorry, I know Im going to tick off pitbull lovers, but these are the facts.

Check out the 2013 American Veterinary Association study on dog-caused deaths. Dog Bite-Related Fatalities | Canine Research Council study found that in more than 80% of all dog-caused deaths, the actual breed of the dog could not be verifiably determined. The study (not surprisingly) found no connection between the breed of the dog and the attacks. The study found that in 76% of the cases, the dogs were not really pets, and in 85% of the cases were not "fixed".
(Based on my experiences with male sheep, wethers and rams, castration has a huge behavior impact.)

This study relied on first-hand sources, rather than on media reports. (previous studies and statistics had relied on media accounts rather than on first hand sources.)
http://nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/uploaded_files/tinymce/Co-occurrence Whitepaper - 2013.pdf

 

[Critterlover]

Well you do have a strong opinion obviously....lol. Nothing wrong with that.
The problem is that the Pitbull breed is noticed because if they get in to a fight or attack a human then much damage is done because they are so strong. That's where they get the bad rap. It's not that the breed is more ferocious. My guess is that Chihuahuas bite more humans.....but who notices?
It's the people that are to blame not the dogs, the wrong people have taken advantage of the breed. Makes me sad.

 

[Ste11aeres]

Well you do have a strong opinion obviously....lol. Nothing wrong with that.
The problem is that the Pitbull breed is noticed because if they get in to a fight or attack a human then much damage is done because they are so strong.

That's why Cesar Millan said that it takes a lot more knnowledge to drive a semi than to drive a Mercedes Benz. He said a rottweiller or pitbull is like a semi, while a tiny lhasa apso is like a Mercedes Benz.
The law doesn't ban semis, but it requires a special license to drive one of those things. I could agree with breed specific rules if it consisted of requiring classes or training for owners of powerful breeds.

If I was an apartment owner, for instance, I might require that.

 

[GallacticGorilla]

This study relied on first-hand sources, rather than on media reports. (previous studies and statistics had relied on media accounts rather than on first hand sources.)
http://nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/uploaded_files/tinymce/Co-occurrence Whitepaper - 2013.pdf[/QUOTE]



I dont think the study you quoted is academically accurate. I just did a google search on "dog related fatality" and the overwhelming amount of information points to pitbulls. The overwhelming amount of research targets pitbulls and rotwillers as being responsible for majority of fatalities. In fact in numbers much higher than i quoted. Look it up yourself.

That doesnt mean people cant have them as pets, but I think owners should respect that compared to other dogs, they are far more capable of serious violence. Pitbulls are responsible for over half of dog related fatalities and statistically still MUCH more than any other breed. Micheal Vick didnt go to prison for fighting labs or golden retrievers.

Maybe i do have strong feelings. I just know pitbull owners who think there pits are harmless and they aren't. Especially around children as half of deaths were of children.
Now, consider this. that is a couple hundred deaths: out of hundreds of thousands of pit bulls. So still statistically low chance of it happening.

I'm sorry. Even your name is Critter lover, so I imagine you are for more sensitive to the plight of these animals than myself. I know this will offend the pit lovers out there. I just personally think they are dangerous. I ve witnessed a pitbull almost kill another dog, and it seriously is burned into my mind. It was seriously traumatic to witness.