I am an animal lover. I have decided to start this post to gain information on an animal that I have never owned, know little of but hear all kinds of sad(attacks on people)news stories about.

What are your personal views on Pit Bulls? Anyone own one?

chick

Chick,

I'm with you on wondering. Everyone says, "it's how the dog is raised and treated"...I can't help but wonder if this is true...you never hear of Lhasa Apso's mauling someone.

I think certain breeds must be more aggressive and prone to such behaviour.

My son wanted a pitbull for Many years...we just waited through it. He ended up with a shepard blue heeler mix - a lovely tempermented dog!

(she's actually MY dog) :0)

d.

Oh my goodness, here we go again on one of those subjects that everyone hears about but no one really knows for sure. My granddaughter owns Prince a 2 year old Pit Bull. He is without a doubt the sweetest dog and thinks hes a cat becase the cat was his surogate mother when a pup and she still wacks him around BUT he is a good watch dog with an impressive bark. My son has owned 2 Pit Bulls that were both great family pets and good with the children and new baby when he was born. I took care of them when the family was away and never had a problem. I have foster several older Pits who have been lost or owners have died and they were gentle loving dogs. Unfortunately this breed was chosen by some wackos to be fighting dogs because of their massive strength and tenasity. I saw what their training (torture) consists of and any animal would go insane when the things done to these poor Pits was done to them. I have seen an child mauled by a pekinese and also was myself bitten by the nastiest little chihuahua. My own dogs both pure bred Yorkshire Terrier sisters, same litter and both raised by me as puppies and Rosee is so sweet and I trust her completely but Reeta is a snit, she allows us to love her and is loving when in the mood but I always tell people she may bite so don't pick her up. My son always asks when he comes over, "does Reeta have PMS today?" A dog is just like a person, some are naturally sweet and some are testy, no way to tell either. Any breed of dog deserves love and will give back what they get usually...

I agree with Chatty -- the only dog that ever attacked me was a 3 lb chihuahua

the pit bull DOES usually play a little harder and can hurt someone just by playing due to their "locking jaws" -- but my german shephard plays pretty rough herself and she has been raised by my pomeranians since she was 3 days old and has NO CLUE she's 60 lbs instead of 6 lbs

you just have to be very careful where you get the pit bull from -- look for a well known breeder that specializes in FAMILY dogs instead of PROTECTION dogs -- and ask for references -- check with the humane society or the district attorneys office to see how many dogs, from that breeder, have been reported as vicious

and you need to get control of the dog immediately - dog training classes - you dont have to beat a dog into submission but they do need to know that YOU are the alpha dog - they can be WONDERFUL family pets if breed and raised in a loving environment

but that can be true for any breed

A law has been proposed here to outlaw pit bulls except under certain restrictive conditions.

The reason is that at least one child in this area of about a million people has been killed by pit bulls recently and several others have been injured. A baby whose grandmother left him outside in a baby seat while she went inside to get something came out to find him being carried off by pit bulls. She chased them, but the baby was mauled and killed.
The most recent incident was about a month ago when a three year old put his hand through a chain link fence to pet the dogs in the yard next door. His arm was compeltely torn off by a pit bull as his mother tried to get his arm out of the fence. He now has only one arm. The owner insisted the dog was gentle.
As far as anyone can tell, none of the dogs were fighting dogs or were being mistreated. It seems you just never know what will tick these dogs off and that is terrifying to a grandmother.
I'm against over-legislating things, but I hate to think of anything that might endanger a child.
smile

[ June 25, 2005, 09:06 PM: Message edited by: smilinize ]

If that were the case and we let fear govern us we would have to uthanize every dog in America because it might bite....seems like I am over reacting a bit then then??? The real problem is you only hear about the BAD Pit bulls. They are news but believe me I see many other breeds put down because of bad or menacing behavior. For instance it wasn't too long ago Boxers were under attack in the South because of some instances, yep they wanted them all killed and a law issued against breeding them...where would that leave Trixter or my friend Sandys beloved boxer?? Its a crap shoot like anything else. Is the dog good or bad. Is this man faithful or a scoundral. Is this woman your friend or a user. Nothing is for sure, we have to do our best and take it one day at a time...I for one refuse to live or preach living in a bubble.

I don't trust any animal with teeth bigger than mine.
But on a serious note - I don't like pit bulls; I don't trust pit bulls; I don't want them any where near me. I had neighbors with them - I rejoiced when they moved. They didn't abuse their dogs - but they were unregistered, unlicensed, and called themselves 'breeders'. In a residential neighborhood full of small children and they had no FENCE. Glad they're gone and glad the dogs are gone, too.
People on a paper route in Florida had a pitbull...they needed a logging chain to keep it restrained. Have you ever seen the size of a logging chain?
Sorry, Chatty. We will have to disagree on this one. I see no useful purpose for this breed in this day and age. I feel sorry for them (the dogs) but they were bred to be what they are.

Maybe this is an issue of nature vs. nurture. I guess there is an on-going debate over whether any amount of nurture (either kindness or cruelty) can overcome what nature has instilled in the genes.

Reminds me of another incident that happened here a year or so ago. A lady from California established her own personal sanctuary for older exotic animals. When she came out to visit, she went into the cage with a previously gentle tiger. It killed and partially ate her.
smile

[ June 26, 2005, 04:23 PM: Message edited by: smilinize ]

I asked other half what his opinion was on Pit Bulls. He told me the story of the one he owned. Kind and gentle. His was a Staffordshire?

When I see a story on TV, BY accident, about dogs mauling, my heart goes out to the child, man, woman etc. No matter what, a piece of that same heart goes out to the animal responsible for the mauling. They showed the dog after the attack and he was just looking "normal?"

Would I own a Pit Bull? No, never. I am sorry. Too afraid.

I owned a beautiful smart Black Labrador Retriever. Grew up with the kids, and would protect me or them IF and only IF he sensed danger, which was once and that was a warning growl to someone who approached me at night from across the street.

One day, Sparky turned on me, for no reason. No one believed me and when my boyfriend(we both owned Sparky)tried to approach him, he bit his arm and ripped his pant leg. He looked savage.I watched it happen.

I immediately called the vet who said, put him down, he has a brain tumor. The rest is sad history.(20 years ago)

I can't help but wonder. Maybe this is what happens to certain breeds of pit bulls?

Surely someone would have figured this out by now, if it were true, don't you think?

Sparky went for a ride in the truck and was as normal as he was all of his life, 10 minutes after the attacks on us.

I am glad I started this Topic. It has been informative as I hoped.

I am going to continue to do more research, but I wonder...i just wonder.

chick

Dear Chicadee

You're right, any dog will turn in a heartbeat if they're sick because they feel a threat in some moment, and then they can switch back to being okay! I think what you are doing is great! So many people misunderstand large dogs.

I have never owned a pit bull but my family has owned rottweilers for the last sixteen years. With pit bulls and rottweilers they have to be trained and never let off leash without supervision if outside...it is this breeds nature, as well as other breeds nature to protect there terrain...wherever they are, whether on a walk or in the owner's house or in the yard.

Unfortunately, different breeds get a bad name because of the owner not training the dog...letting the dog run loose...not creating a secure enough yard for the dog or the dog comes from back yard breeders that don't have a clue on how to breed pit bulls ie...you have to study the lines of that particular breed as with any breed to discover the tempermant of the female's line and the male's line and their history because this will show up in the puppies.

I'm speaking about perfectly healthy dogs here to give a little understanding on how to treat pit bulls, rotti's, shepards etc. I have a german shephard myself. She's the most obedient, well trained and well liked dog. She came to me in the early nineties and she's fifteen now. She has the sweetest tempermant and loves people, even the mailman, the electrician...people she doesn't know.

In Ontario, up here in Canada, they're banning the Pit Bull because of dog attacks...the interesting thing about the attacks is they were done by dogs that had pit bull in them, they were not pure bred pit bulls, they were mongrels.

In many cases when an owner is going to buy a pure bred dog...because of the amount of money invested in them which can run into the thousands for the best line of that breed...you don't just willy nilly let them loose to create mayhem...you train them...socialize them and let them know where they stand with the family. In many cases these dogs are raised to be show dogs because of their pedigree.

Dogs are hierarchy inclined....they have to know where they stand in the pack...WITHIN A FAMILY UNIT...they are at the bottom of the pack and the master is the head of the pack.

They have to know that their survival depends on the head of the pack and thus they will be submissive to authority...they also have to be taught that the youngest child within a family is also above them in station...as this will keep the dog in its place with regard to aggression.

If different breeds are taught there place from the point of puppyhood and are treated well...their agressive tendencies can be handled with a minimum of fuss.

But there are a lot of irresponsible owners out there who aren't willing to put in the time to train their dogs and teach them the rudiments of good behaviour.

Just a few pieces of information here Chicadee. I think your studying up on dog attacks relative to the dog's brain and health is a really smart move...I don't think anyone's thought of that...I never see information like that in the papers.

With love
Leigha