We bought some property in the gold country several years ago. Since there is no house on the property, we don't stay there very often. (pop up trailer) We met the couple next door. She had 3 pit bulls and he has 4. Hers were allowed to roam the property. His was confined in a big, and I do mean BIG, fenced in area.
They separated about 6 months ago. She rented a place from some guy in the area. She was away and her dogs got out and mauled that poor man to death.
We've learned since then that her dogs were always leaving their property and wandering onto other properties and threatening people, children, pets and/or livestock. She didn't seem to get too concerned when they didn't return home. She just bred some more. People were shooting them when they threatened them. Can't say as I blame them because they'd complained to the sheriff numerous times and nothing was being done. She just laughed in people's faces when they complained directly to her about those dogs.
Her trial was supposed to start on Monday but her attorney got it continued until the beginning of December.
There is a citizen's committee that has started just to get TPTB to start paying attention to the vicious dog complaints.
This business with her has gone on for about 5 years and the people up there are not going to take it any longer.
I hate vicious dogs and don't have any sympathy for the owners when they get into trouble.
I see a real tragedy here not just for the man but the dogs as well. Even breeds more likely to show aggressive behavior, such as the several breeds known as 'pit bulls', will not elevate to such an extent unless it is at the fault of a human(whether it be by abuse of the dogs themselves, actually rewarding and teaching vicious behavior, or simply neglecting proper dog training..).
It seems here were some dogs that never had a chance when made to live under an incompetent owner and a needless loss of lives as the price to be paid for that- of the poor man mauled to death and the dogs likely to also be killed for it. It's a tragic situation that never, ever has to happen and I hope that any person who allows for it has to pay dearly for their (in)actions.
I agree. While I love pitt bulls, and most other larger dogs, animals must be controlled. We wouldn't allow our children to go around killing people without repercussion, we shouldn't allow it from our animals either. It isn't the dogs' fault, but they can't be allowed to be a threat to everyone around them. I hope this gets taken care of quickly.
ITA about the training. That big dog that threatened me at work is part Lab and those aren't known to be vicious. At least I've never met a mean lab until that guy's at work.
It is negligent owners. Just like bratty kids are a result of parents failing to teach, control and punish if need be.
All of the "pit" type breeds here have to be microchipped as of last year. I agree with the above poster about neglect and the POS owner of the dogs should rot in prison forever.
I know there's going to be an outlash of pit supporters - BUT
My childhood best friend was mauled to death by a neighborhood, well loved, pitbull that we'd grown up around. Later on, as an adult I worked at a vet emergency clinic - and not a single doctor or technician (except the one oddball who had pits of her own ((who have since attacked her landlord and had to be euth'd)) would trust that breed for a moment. Even the really great ones who came in to the clinic were never left unattended, never a back turned on them - and they're definitely known to lunge.
I absolutely, whole heartedly do NOT trust that breed for a second. Rotties, German Shepherds - love 'em. But no way jose on the pits.
All dogs can kill. There's even a recorded case of a yorkshire terrier killing a baby.
Large breeds are especially dangerous because of their strength, and the breeds that look the toughest are the ones that aggressive people choose. I wouldn't trust a poodle owned by an aggressive jerk, because agressive people choose aggressive dogs or train their dogs to be agressive.
The most passive dog I ever met was a pit bull. If anyone looked at her she flopped on her back and piddled on herself. I still wouldn't leave that dog alone with a 3 year old, but I wouldn't leave a 3 year old alone with any dog, be it collie or a yorkie (to protect the child from the dog and to protect the dog from the child).
Each breed has characteristics to be cautious of. Pit bulls are often mixed breed dogs of such unquestionable heritage it's difficult to predict their temperament.
Sadly most people don't research their breeds, or even dog behavior in general before choosing their dog. People too often, buy or adopt dogs based on their cuteness as a puppy, or because they like the look of the breed.
I have two pits, an 11 year old and a 10 year old, neither have attacked or bit anyone both have been around my kids, my kids friends and my grand sons..when my 3 year old grandson goes outside in our fenced yard, the 11 year old goes right beside him...they are very protective I don't have any fears they will turn on them...we watch the 3 year old and the 6 month old from Friday night till sunday afternoon and the dogs get all excited Friday and mope aroubd the house SUnday after they leave
...my fil has a chiauaua that would bite either me, hubby or kids at least once every trip to their house and never felt the need to control him in any way cause he was so little
I do hate people who think that just because their dog is little, that it doesn't matter if it's aggressive (in fact, some people think it's "cute" and actually encourage the dog to be mean).
Just as I said the gentlest, most submissive dog I ever met was a pitbull, the two meanest dogs I ever knew were under 10 lbs. One was a chihuahua and one was a miniature poodle. The mailman actually refused to deliver the mail to the house until the mailbox was moved to the other side of the house where he wouldn't have to encounter the chihuahua. The poodle was more unpredictable. It could be the nicest dog in the world, but it could turn mean and bite for no apparent reason. I'm pretty good at reading dogs body language, but there was no warning with this one, so even when it came up to you all friendly, wanting to be petted, you couldn't trust it. In the middle of enjoying being petting it would suddenly snap and bite. I suspected it had pain issues, maybe arthritis, because it was most likely to bite when it was being petted, but the owner wouldn't listen to me and said "that's just how he is," and didn't think anything of it.
Then our neighbor and friend was bitten by another neighbors tiny dogs (drawing blood on his calf) and when he complained the dog owner acted like he was over-reacting because the dog was so tiny. He reminded her that he had a three year old and the dogs could hurt her seriously and if she fell they could go for her face. The lady acted like her dogs would "know the difference" between a three year old and an adult.
As someone who has a dog, and regularly encounters other dogs and dog owners at the dog park, I cannot agree more with this statement.
There is one big dog that attacks other small dogs in a very aggressive way, including picking one up by the throat (this particular dog is a yellow lab). The owner said, and I quote, "Well, they have to work out their pack order, and the ones that can't figure it out get picked off by the pack". Yes, good idea to encourage dogs to pick off others at the park. Oy.
Of course, this is the same guy who chastised me for working on a behavior issue my dog had (she was starting to guard tennis balls from other dogs at the park - which was, in itself, fairly normal, but we wanted to discourage since first, we didn't know if the other dogs would take her warning growl and escalate it into a fight, and second, we didn't want the behavior to escalate to guarding tennis balls from, say, kids at the park who were trying to play with her). So we were doing some work at the park to train the behavior out (taking ball away when she growled, and leaving it if happened more than once). He called me a "helicopter dog parent" and said people like me made him crazy.
And that's not to mention the people who bring dogs known to be aggressive to the park (hey, if your dog has to be muzzled, and you're actively managing the situation to try to acclimate your dog to other dogs, perhaps the busiest park time is not the appropriate time to bring him in...also, if you feel your dog needs to be muzzled, don't take the muzzle off to "try out" how he does, because when he attacks my dog, and I have to literally put myself in danger to protect my pet since your dog is going for her throat, I'm going to be irritated at you), or people who bring their dogs in and then ignore them while reading or sitting on the phone, leaving other owners to deal with their squabbles and poor behavior.
My dog has a great history with kids (she tends to treat them like puppies...gentle play, tends to lay down when they pet her, etc, and tolerates a LOT of petting that is more like slapping, tail pulling, etc), but if she's around one, I still watch like a hawk. So many owners don't. And so many parents bring their kids around dogs and AREN'T careful...cannot count the times I've had to tell a 4 year old (parent on the phone or off somewhere else) that running like crazy in the dog park will excite the dogs into chasing him, and that will NOT END WELL.
End rant. But yes, love dogs, but some owners...well, no.
I totally agree Amanda! We don't go to the dog park anymore for various reasons. My 35 lb dog can get defensive sometimes and yes I've had to leave the dog park because her personality and personalities of other dogs didn't mesh. She was playing with something and a pit bull wanted to play with her but she wasn't having it. The pit bull had a good 50 lbs on her and she snapped and started growling at him. He barked at her but they actually didn't get into a fight. Some of the other dog owners started talking about the 'aggressive pit bull'. I had to tell them it was my dog that started it but the pit bull owner ended up leaving the dog park because of the perception. I felt bad and we left too.
I believe that if you're a regular dog park attendee, and you've never left the park because your dog was having an off day or not meshing with another dog, you're probably neglecting to properly supervise (there are exceptions, of course, but not many). Even the sweetest dogs who are normally great with others have off days, or don't get along with a particular dog. We have regular friends who are very responsive to their dogs at the park, and every single one of them has had a day where the owner has had to say "Wow, today my dog is off...time to go"...including me, more than once. Doesn't mean the dog is bad or aggressive, but DOES mean the owner needs to do the responsible thing and remove the dog, then try again another day or another time of day. Most of us also have at least one dog that our dog DOES NOT mesh with (with Ellie, it's a dog that follows her around trying to mount her - he does not take her hints and it ALWAYS ends in a scuffle). So the owners learn that dog, and either keep their dog focused in another park area when that dog arrives, or leave.
So many problems can be alleviated, either at parks or at home, with good supervision and basic training. So it makes me crazy when owners fail to do that, especially because it usually ends up with the dog catching the blame.
This is a classic case of an irresponsible dog owner AND an irresponsible system. Why wasn't there intervention before when an issue arose? If it was to the point that people were SHOOTING her dogs, why in God's name weren't her dogs taken away then?!
This makes me ill. Any dog breed is capable of becoming aggressive. I live on a military base, a very large, very wooded one, and there are packs of wild dogs on base. We get warnings every year warning us to avoid the packs, and to notify the authorities if one is seen. The biggest and most dangerous pack was comprised of a golden retriever (pack leader) some shepherd-collie-mutt mixes and a few smaller dogs similar in size to a small beagle. This was the pack that was sighted in in the housing area. They were attacking animals and tearing up garbage. They killed several cats, some were feral, some were house pets that owners let outside, and mauled quite a few dogs. One dog-victim was tethered (which you're not supposed to do on base...) and one was inside a fenced yard. The dogs either jumped the fence or squeezed through the gate, but the owner saw several dogs, including a golden retriever, attacking her dog through her living room window. Every single one of those dogs used to be pets that negligent owners just let run. They caught the golden, who was microchipped (as all dogs are supposed to be on base) and the owner wasn't even living on base anymore.
I have 2 large breed dogs. One is a 65lb hound-mix, and the other is a 46lb 5 month old lab-mix puppy. Both of them are obedient, though the younger is going to require actual obedience training outside of our home. Our hound mix is 6 years old, and literally grew up with my son. She withstands a LOT of toddler love from both kids and is very protective of them, but I still wouldn't trust her to be completely alone with them. When I leave the room, she follows me. Our lab-mix is still very much puppy and doesn't quite understand how big he is yet. We have to keep a much tighter rein on him than our older dog, but that's to be expected.
I hope they throw the book at her (dog mauling)
Even breeds more likely to show aggressive behavior, such as the several breeds known as 'pit bulls', will not elevate to such an extent unless it is at the fault of a human(whether it be by abuse of the dogs themselves, actually rewarding and teaching vicious behavior, or simply neglecting proper dog training..). 
Our lab-mix is still very much puppy and doesn't quite understand how big he is yet. 
We have to keep a much tighter rein on him than our older dog, but that's to be expected.
