Pitbulls and other violent breeds

[Ruby Shark]

Anyway, keep in mind that if the media covered every dog attack its family or children, pit bulls would not seem nearly so singled out and people would not get the wrong idea that they bite/attack/turn on people more often than most breeds.

I agree with that statement %100!!
I believe there hasn't been an increase of pitbull bites, yet the media discovers a few cases and all of a sudden it's blown way out of proportion as they scrape up every bit of negative information they can on the breed.

I went to a lecture on dog aggression about two years ago and the pitbull was not on the list of the top five dogs who caused physical harm through bites that year. Now the speaker did comment that there are more Golden Retrievers, Spaniels etc. in households than there are pitbulls which probably caused an increase in the rate of bites for those particular breeds; however, the fact remains the same....they still caused harm.

I am well aware of the damage a pitbull can do as their jaws are very powerful (and a valid point); however, any large breed dog can cause severe damage and is capable of killing a human being.

I'm a vet assistant and I have almost been bitten by few different breeds; Poms, spaniels, Chows, etc. I have never been bitten by any of our pitbulls in the few years I have been at my current job. Now these pitts could bite me in the future, but so could any of the sweet goldens, or the gentle Newfies that we have. The point is that any dog (whether small or large) is capable of causing harm regardless of the breed and the problem will not be solved by banning a select few in my opinion.
The problem is irresponsible breeding and irresponsible owners (with the exception of old age and medical problems as that can cause aggression in dogs too). Unfortunately, unless something drastic is done about these issues this will continue to be a problem and more breeds may be in Jeopardy in the future.

Sorry for the rant...

 

[mm_simb]

I agree with that statement %100!!
I believe there hasn't been an increase of pitbull bites, yet the media discovers a few cases and all of a sudden it's blown way out of proportion as they scrape up every bit of negative information they can on the breed.

I went to a lecture on dog aggression about two years ago and the pitbull was not on the list of the top five dogs who caused physical harm through bites that year. Now the speaker did comment that there are more Golden Retrievers, Spaniels etc. in households than there are pitbulls which probably caused an increase in the rate of bites for those particular breeds; however, the fact remains the same....they still caused harm.

I am well aware of the damage a pitbull can do as their jaws are very powerful (and a valid point); however, any large breed dog can cause severe damage and is capable of killing a human being.

I'm a vet assistant and I have almost been bitten by few different breeds; Poms, spaniels, Chows, etc. I have never been bitten by any of our pitbulls in the few years I have been at my current job. Now these pitts could bite me in the future, but so could any of the sweet goldens, or the gentle Newfies that we have. The point is that any dog (whether small or large) is capable of causing harm regardless of the breed and the problem will not be solved by banning a select few in my opinion.
The problem is irresponsible breeding and irresponsible owners (with the exception of old age and medical problems as that can cause aggression in dogs too). Unfortunately, unless something drastic is done about these issues this will continue to be a problem and more breeds may be in Jeopardy in the future.

Sorry for the rant...

It's ok...I agree with you completely. Any large breed dog can cause great harm to an adult human. Any small breed dog can cause great harm to an infant...it's just sad how they banned them over there. I am so glad I'm not from there. I wouldn't be surprised if they do the same thing in Houston though. The shelter I volunteer at euthanizes every pit that comes through the door whether or not they've been fought before.

 

[NinjaSmurf]

I have the perfect solution....





Ban the humans, not the dogs!!!



Lol, I imagine the owners of dogs everywhere would be a lot more careful about training their dogs if they got banned from where they lived and worked if it attacked someone....

 

[Iron Man]

What are we going to do, ban every animal that could potentially bite, scratch, or infect a human? I guess we'll all just have to look into the joys of snailkeeping.

Get real already. Its not like the mailman is known for being chased by cats....

There is already legislation in place requiring certain breeds to be certified. It is this way for a reason. You can't get around the fact that some animals are more threatening to public safety than others. To go on about anything and everything being dangerous is irrelevant and not on subject. Dangerous breeds are that...dangerous.

It is not the dog's fault...it is societies' fault. There is a reason you can't take a pitbull to the public park like you can other dogs, without risk of something getting killed or mauled. That's the facts. I know you love animals. I love animals. But I really hate stupid, trendy, irresponsible attitudes. Its immature and ignorant. I'm talking about ignorant pitbull owners who buy them because they're "gangster" and all cool, not you. LOL

We shouldn't have to ban anything, but if people can't be responsible then its a necessity for the sake of public safety.

 

[ladyhawke]

It is not the dog's fault...it is societies' fault. There is a reason you can't take a pitbull to the public park like you can other dogs, without risk of something getting killed or mauled. That's the facts. I know you love animals. I love animals. But I really hate stupidity.

We shouldn't have to ban anything, but if people can't be responsible then its a necessity for the sake of public safety.

I agree that some pit bulls can't go to the public park but you are stereotyping all of them. I attended a public "walk for paws" with hundreds of other dogs of various breeds yesterday with my pit bull and children. It was held at a public park to raise money for the local spca. All of the breed is not bad. Many are well socialized family pets. I don't know why I answered this thread as most people see the whole breed as bad, its a losing battle to those of us that have the loving pet. I happen to have 5 loving pit bulls. Does anyone want to hear about them? No, the media doesn't give a **** about reporting about happy dogs in family homes.

 

[Iron Man]

Maybe we should just ban irresponsible owners instead of the dogs....I'm MORE in favor of that....

I just hate the fact that people feel the need to bring about something so viscious. There are enough viscious animals in the world already...why do you want to bring one up into society? What is going through these people's heads? Anything?

 

[The-Wolf]

Its not like the mailman is known for being chased by cats....

erm actually I had a cat once that was so bad, (he loved the milk man though)
the post office put us on the ban list.
We had to collect our mail due to no postperson
willing to deliver to us.


sorry for the slight hijack

 

[Angry_Platy]

LMAO

 

[RandomWiktor]

Get real already. Its not like the mailman is known for being chased by cats....

WOW. I really need to start putting [/sarcasm] at the end of a comment I clearly posted in jest, because apparently my very obvious joking tone on the comment about banning everything was not observed. I really think your entire response was unncesarrily rude in nature.
And frankly, I do feel that talking about other dangerous animals is relevant to the subject matter because the way we deal with other dangerous animals could reflect upon how we will deal with the pit bull "problem." I used those examples to point out an inequity. We don't ban (at least not in the US) the ownership of dangerous wild animals like big cats and wolves even though statistically, they bite, maul, and kill far more people in proportion to their captive population than dogs do (note I said in proportion to their captive population; obviously dog bites are greater in number, but when you look at the percentage of wild animals being kept as pets who become a threat, it exceeds that of the percentage of dogs being kept as pets who become a threat). Yet we will ban pit bulls because currently, a trend in pet ownership and a few over-covered media cases of them being vicious has turned public opinion against them?

Dangerous breeds are that...dangerous.
There is a reason you can't take a pitbull to the public park like you can other dogs, without risk of something getting killed or mauled. That's the facts.

You have some effrontery telling me to get real when many of the things you have posted so far are assumptions and stereotypes. How can you say that it is a "fact" that pit bulls are vicious when a massive bed of statistical evidence has proven that they are less inclined to attack humans than other dogs, and are more often loved family pets than vicious maurauders? Did you not read everything people here posted regarding data collected from temperament tests, statistics on dog attacks, etc? Sorry if I'm getting temperamental now, but frankly I am bothered that you are telling me to "get real" when you're pushing your assumptions on vicious animals as fact.

On a lighter note... agreed to everyone's statements regarding the fact that we need to ban violent people and bad pet owners, heh.

 

[GSD]

treat the dog as you want them to treat you!
if you kick and hit and starve the dog dont expect it to want to sit on your knee....

 

[Angry_Platy]

People need to stop anthropomorphising their animals. That is inflicting human values onto dogs, cats etc. Dogs are, by nature, creatures of instinct. Some are hunting dogs, some are retriever dogs, some are guard dogs. I am not arguing either way for banning of pit bull terriers, or any dog for that matter. But in the end, dogs will be dogs and all dogs will attack if they feel threatened/are injured/need food etc. And that goes for the cute little maltese terrier that sits at an old ladys front doorstep with ribbons in their hair. All the training will not change the fact that a dog is a dog and in the end all animals revert back to their natural instincts.

I have a 12 month old Jack Russell Terrorist. By nature he is a digging dog and a hunting dog. We provide him with areas where he can dig and he hunts all the cockroaches out of the house The digging side becomes apparent at night when we are in bed (yes, he is spoilt) and he digs at the doona cover, or digs at the lounge, or digs at the carpet. When he digs he is 100% focused. When he hunts he is 100% focused (this is quite unfortunate for the cat but luckily he hates water). It his INSTINCT to dog.

Well, thats enough big words for the day. And it is only 6am!!!

 

[Iron Man]

Its not like the mailman is known for being chased by cats....

erm actually I had a cat once that was so bad, (he loved the milk man though)
the post office put us on the ban list.
We had to collect our mail due to no postperson
willing to deliver to us.


sorry for the slight hijack

LOL