I don't think it's a pitbull problem, it's a people problem. Any dog that is large and powerful, especially those that were once or are still currently being bred for fighting, are dangerous if they're untrained, not properly trained (or worse, trained to BE aggressive).
The most submissive dog I ever met was a brindle pitbull named "X," you just said hi to him and he flopped on his back and piddled on himself with joy that you were paying attention to him.
Also, "pit bulls," aren't so much a breed as a mix of many or any bulldog, bull terrier, boxer, and mastiff breeds.
I think rather than banning the breed, the penalties for irresponsible ownership, breeding, or training dogs to be aggressive to other dogs and people need to be more extreme. Also, perhaps people with violent criminal histories should not be permitted to own certain breeds of dogs, or a dog over a certain weight. Perhaps anyone who wants to own certain breeds or a dog over a certain weight, should require special licenses and training. I'm not sure.
I believe that in general, we shouldn't curtail freedoms more than necessary, but many "rights" aren't so much rights as priveledges or restricted rights (we have the right to drive a car only if we pass the driver's licensing exam). So there's no real impingement upon rights by adding certain responsibilities attached to those rights.
I hate that pitbulls are given such a bad Rep. I've had a couple over the years and they were lovin machines. Blaming an incident on the breed of dog is kind of racist if you think about it.
Its horrible that they lashed out and attacked this man, but it could have very well been shepherds or any other dog that just has a protective instinct.
Location: i am neither greek nor athenian, but a citizen of the world.
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I'm not sure i'd apply the term racist, but I do hate the media demonising and glamourising breeds. They usually get it all wrong, anyway. Of course you can wreck any dog and any dog is potentially dangerous (but more potentially wonderful). However some breeds do have inherent aggressive traits and the media informs people incorrectly. Female dalmations are notoriously unpredictable - though that's not to say that properly handled they can't make wonderful pets - but people think they're cute and cuddly because Disney says so. I have corgis which get a bad rap sometimes because irresponsible owners don't break them of the heel-nipping habit but I can say from experience that every corgi is an individual, some are borderline neurotics that only love their family and some are happy chilled out fluffballs that would scuttle up to a burglar and lick him/her.
I wish people would stop believiing its all the pit bulls fault. Pit bulls are great dogs...if trained right pitts are great. They are people pleasers and do things that their owners want. I wish people watched the "animal Witness" show that just aired this week on Animal planet. It did an awesome story about the Michael Vic case...did you know out of the all the dog's that they removed from his facility...most escpt for 2 (i think it was) were rehomed without problems. They were trained properly and now live with dogs, children...and one dog goes to hospitals and elderly homes for visits. They were all temperment tested and found to be fine. Most pits that fight in a ring do it because their owners are telling them "good boy" and the pit just wants to please his/her master. Yes they have very strong jaws...but they have a heart of gold if trained right. The media has made the pit into a horrible dog. If bred and raised right they are the best dogs in the world. Heck...petey from the little rascals show in the 60's was a pit.
I blame the owners as well. I've known a few pitts that were wonderful pets. To say it's the pitt's breed is like saying all humans are murderers because a small percentage of us are!
Here's an updated article about the owners reply...
Isn't this a breed that was bred to take down cattle? They are banned in my city and I think that's a good thing. It is a powerful breed that was bred to be powerful and violent. I know you can train a pit to be a great pet, but I don't think the majority of the population can train their dogs to sit, much less refrain from taking the face off a child. It's sad, but I have to leave the dog park everytime a pit shows up because I have seen too many incididents of seemingly docile pits just "snapping". It really is like a switch and I have lost all trust for them.
IMHO...the problem with Pits is twofold. For one thing, they were bred to be powerful and have a love of fighting. The other is the owners. There are so many people who get Pits because they are tough and they want a dog others will be scared of (or protect their drugs...seems like the majority of the drug dealers I've come across either IRL...I grew up in a BAAAAD neighborhood...or on the news have a pit). Then, they don't do any training other than maybe helping to make a dog more territorial and aggressive.
Last edited by CaffeineIV; 08-30-2008 at 10:45 AM.
In our neighborhood recently we learned that the people just 2 doors down from us (renting the house) had 2 pits, they got loose and attacked a springer. When the owner of the house found that out the renters had to leave because they were in violation of a no-pets clause. I'd think any dog can be good or bad depending on how it's treated and socialized (I think the one of Vick's pits that became a therapy dog is here in Minnesota), but my mom is like pits baaaad, springers gooood, and you won't get her to believe otherwise
I see the problem with banning pits, because they "could become" dangerous, is that it a "technicality" solution. It's like banning swimming pools filled with water, because people have drowned in water - but people are abe to get around the law by simply filling their pool with orange juice.
You've made a law, but you haven't solved the problem.
Chows are notoriously dangerous dogs, because (there are tons of exceptions, but) they tend to be very protective of their family (or sometimes one owner) and seem to hate everyone else in the world. If I had to be stuck in a room with a strange dog, I'd pick a pitbull over a chow any day. Chows tend to freak me out, because I had such a bad experience with one, especially after I found that of everyone I've talked to about it (including vets) I've heard more horror storries than good ones.
The Mastiff breeds all have very powerful jaws, and some were bred to be killing dogs, others to watch sheep, but a Newfoundland or St. Bernard can be just as dangerous (if not as ugly) as a Neopolitan Mastif or Presa Canario
There are over 40 mastiff breeds (I just counted from a Wikipedia article and it reports that the list is not complete, who knows how many there are).
The Presa Canaria is often banned, because it is a popular choice among criminals and violent men wanting to show off (especially in places where pitbulls are banned) because it's a rare breed, expensive, large and can be agressive and is able to be trained to be very mean.
But banning dogs one breed at a time is a ridiculous solution (people who want them will just keep moving down the list of mastiffs and bull terriers). And banning several hundred breeds of dogs, is that any smarter?
I have an american bull terrior 'pit bull' and it is trained well and friendly. I think its all about how the owner trains and keeps the dogs. The reason these dogs get such a bad wrap is 1 because when they do attack (just like any other dog does i might add) they can do more damage. BUT if the owner trained the dog this kind of thing would happen. In my area many pit bulls are bred to fight and THATS why they are mean not cause they were born that way. If you dont train your dog and you beat it and train it to fight sure its gunna attack and i think the owner should be the one going to jail for it.
ETA: I also have to take out seperate insurance on my house for my pit, rottweiler and german shepard because they are 'dangerous.' In my area its illegal to have more than 2 of the 'dangerous' dogs. I was grand-fathered in because i had 3 before the law was passed. Stupid people not caring enought about the animal= a potentially dangerous situation
Last edited by CandyKisses0204; 08-30-2008 at 12:48 PM.
I don't think that people being wary and afraid of pit bulls is in any way the same as racism.
People purposely bred pit bulls to have more fighting instincts, and a stronger, more powerful jaw. They were bred, on purpose, to be this way-just like other dogs are bred for certain characteristics. People of different races were NOT purposely bred in this way, to create new races-except for one particular instance in history.
I don't think that the breed should be banned...I think that the purposeful breeding of them should be. This would not be making an animal "extinct" because it wasn't a naturally occuring breed in the first place-people made them. I think they should be controlled, like guns. If people want one, then they need to go through the hoops to get one, and the said animal should have to be spayed or neutered as well-so you don't have idiots that don't know what they are doing breeding them when they have no business doing so. (What I call backyard breeders...)
My father works for the electric company, and he goes around reading your meters on your homes. People who own pit bulls, and do not have them trained properly OR secured properly put his life at risk every single day. His job is to go and read your meter, so that your eletric bill is correct. You have homeowners who get pit bulls, and then build their fences so that my father has to ENTER the fence to get to the meter. How smart is that????!!!
This is something to think about-is YOUR power meter accessible to the person who comes around each month to read the meters, or does this person have to risk facing your pit bull, german shepard, boxer, or other large breed who will want to "defend their turf"?
People put meter readers, postal employees, and other honest, working people at risk everyday by owning animals, and not being responsible with them. If you have potentially dangerous animals, then they need to be secured so that they cannot hurt others-especially innocent people just doing their jobs.
3 pitt bulls attack 70 yr old man
