Boy, 4, mauled to death by dog in his NYC home

[dedalos]

Maybe that's because the owner's of those dogs chose that dog because it was a "tough dog" and he made sure it was gonna be a "tough dog" from the day he got it, because he's a tough guy that needs to project his manliness through his pet.  This type of owner isn't going to raise a loving family dog properly.  

You don't hear about aggressive beagles probably because tough guys don't like beagles.

No argument there.  But an aggressive beagle would make smile and say bring it were an aggressive pit is telling that to me lol.  Don;t get me wrong, I don;t hate the dog or anything like that.  After all the dog we are talking about in the OP was not a pit.  But I would never get one while I have small kids.  My Australian is just fine. 

[dedalos]

   Personally,I think anyone wanting to own a dog should have a licsense,not the dog the owner,they should have to prove they can care for and handle thier dog of choice. I also agree with BnZ,no dog is ever going to take me down,hopefully I'm just slightly smarter than any dog so I should have the upper hand,opposing thumbs and all!

It is a good idea that would fail.  How many people do you know that should not be driving, but do have a license?    Although, it would be nice if in order to have a dog, you would have to present proof that it is taking training, going to the vet, does not sleep under a trailer, etc.  But that could start WW3 lol

[BnZs]

I think you should have to have a license to have children.

Well, not really, but if I *were* going act in the manner of a pathological control freak and start licensing people to undertake every activity that could potentially be detrimental to others, having children would be at the VERY top of my list. Dogs, guns, and cars don't kill people, mutants raised without the sense of personal responsibility needed to handle any of the three kill people...

In any case, the contents of one's diet are more likely to be kill you than whatever Dire Threat the news outlets are waving in our faces this week. Wait, maybe I shouldn't say that, it will give someone the idea of anti-cheeseburger legislation.

[morfiend]

  I guess I didnt express the licsense idea correctly,suppose you wanted a certain type of dog,if it's on the list you must show proof of responsibility,insurance,ability to control etc. Now I dont think someone wanting a toy poodle or beagle would need this but if you wanted a Rottie,pit,mastif,wolfhound,etc. it should be a requirement.


   Myself I placed every dog I bred into a proper home,show dogs to show homes,pets to responcible owners with a neuter clause in the contract. I even inspected the homes of a couple of owners because I wasn't comfortable with the people!

  Most breeders wouldnt and dont do these things and thats a large part of the problem,anyone can mate 2 dogs and call themselves a breeder!

  Oh and BTW the most aggressive dog I've ever owned was a toy poodle,he was fierce and would attack anything,he just didnt look like much of a threat!



     

[BnZs]

 I guess I didnt express the licsense idea correctly,suppose you wanted a certain type of dog,if it's on the list you must show proof of responsibility,insurance,ability to control etc. Now I dont think someone wanting a toy poodle or beagle would need this but if you wanted a Rottie,pit,mastif,wolfhound,etc. it should be a requirement.


   Myself I placed every dog I bred into a proper home,show dogs to show homes,pets to responcible owners with a neuter clause in the contract. I even inspected the homes of a couple of owners because I wasn't comfortable with the people!

  Most breeders wouldnt and dont do these things and thats a large part of the problem,anyone can mate 2 dogs and call themselves a breeder!

 

Anyone can knock boots and call themselves a parent...anyone can ingest a few mushrooms and start a religion...anyone can get an internet connection and start posting dumb-ass ideas...it isn't always pretty, but its the price you pay for not having the totalitarian control freaks in your business and up your butt...And its so worth it!

[YGSM]

Pitbulls are already naturally aggressive, but in my situation and the one in New York, its the owners like you said.

The dog would have died from lead poisoning.  The Owners would have been involved in a discussion of responsible dog ownership.  The discussion would have not been to their liking and hospitalization would have occurred.  Pitbulls are a breed that are designed to attack and kill.  I live in a neighborhood that has 2 pitbulls that are in a back yard fenced area.  I have warned the owner if I see them out, the bark of the 308win will be the last thing the dog hears.  Bad thing is I didnt get invited to their "block" party that was busted last week for drug possession.  Man that hurt the ego!

JUGMAN

[YGSM]

Dogs like Pit Bulls are some peoples answer to low self esteem or insecurities. 

What!!!!!   pit bulls are now an ego booster......wow what this world has come to.

[F22RaptorDude]

  I guess I didnt express the licsense idea correctly,suppose you wanted a certain type of dog,if it's on the list you must show proof of responsibility,insurance,ability to control etc. Now I dont think someone wanting a toy poodle or beagle would need this but if you wanted a Rottie,pit,mastif,wolfhound,etc. it should be a requirement.


   Myself I placed every dog I bred into a proper home,show dogs to show homes,pets to responcible owners with a neuter clause in the contract. I even inspected the homes of a couple of owners because I wasn't comfortable with the people!

  Most breeders wouldnt and dont do these things and thats a large part of the problem,anyone can mate 2 dogs and call themselves a breeder!

  Oh and BTW the most aggressive dog I've ever owned was a toy poodle,he was fierce and would attack anything,he just didnt look like much of a threat!



     

Why are the poodle's always the seemingly nice aggressive dogs? I don't understand it at all, its crazy 

[dedalos]

What!!!!!   pit bulls are now an ego booster......wow what this world has come to.

Depends on the trailer size 

[ink]

The dog would have died from lead poisoning.  The Owners would have been involved in a discussion of responsible dog ownership.  The discussion would have not been to their liking and hospitalization would have occurred.  Pitbulls are a breed that are designed to attack and kill.  I live in a neighborhood that has 2 pitbulls that are in a back yard fenced area.  I have warned the owner if I see them out, the bark of the 308win will be the last thing the dog hears.  Bad thing is I didnt get invited to their "block" party that was busted last week for drug possession.  Man that hurt the ego!

JUGMAN

 

you are another that has absolutely no frigging clue as to what you are talking about.

oh your so bad bellybutton your gonna shoot the dogs just for being "out".

90%(if not 100%) of dogs were breed for attacking and killing something.

I will say it once again....PITTBULLS today are not American Pit Bull terrier's.....plain and simple. they are NOT the same dogs as they were 30 years ago, yes you can find True American Pit Bull Terriers, but they are exceedingly rare, and that is the LAST dog you would have to worry about hurting a human.

they are NOT big mean dogs, they absolutely LOVE humans it goes against 200 years of breeding to hurt a Human. PERIOD

the dogs that they call "Pitts" today are so far from the original dog they are a completely separate breed and Have lost that love of Humans, They are NOT American Pit Bull Terriers.


I am so sick of the ignorance that surrounds this dog.

at one point in America the American Pitt Bull terrier was the most loved and respected dog...petey from the little rascals was a true fighting American Pitbull Terrier..oh ya he was a big mean dog that was viscous and just wanted to kill every thing, right.....

oh man im gonna stop now, before I blow a gasket.

[YGSM]

 

you are another that has absolutely no frigging clue as to what you are talking about.

oh your so bad bellybutton your gonna shoot the dogs just for being "out".

90%(if not 100%) of dogs were breed for attacking and killing something.

I will say it once again....PITTBULLS today are not American Pit Bull terrier's.....plain and simple. they are NOT the same dogs as they were 30 years ago, yes you can find True American Pit Bull Terriers, but they are exceedingly rare, and that is the LAST dog you would have to worry about hurting a human.

they are NOT big mean dogs, they absolutely LOVE humans it goes against 200 years of breeding to hurt a Human. PERIOD

the dogs that they call "Pitts" today are so far from the original dog they are a completely separate breed and Have lost that love of Humans, They are NOT American Pit Bull Terriers.


I am so sick of the ignorance that surrounds this dog.

at one point in America the American Pitt Bull terrier was the most loved and respected dog...petey from the little rascals was a true fighting American Pitbull Terrier..oh ya he was a big mean dog that was viscous and just wanted to kill every thing, right.....

oh man im gonna stop now, before I blow a gasket.

Well sir....I have witnessed two attacks and one near miss of the so called tame dogs.  Since you are so knowledgeable about the breed why do many of the drug pushers station these great dogs as their first line of security.  Surely it is to help their PR with law enforcement and the community.  I have witnessed two instances of a Pit Bull breaking their chain and attacking a walker and a person brave enough to try to help the walker.  Both the dogs were taken down by neighbors with my same thoughts.  We have gone from having 6 Pit Bulls down to two and those just moved in.  If its my family or a stupid animal Ill give the dog two steps and he can RIP.  Tame Dogs....My arse!   And please blow that gasket it might help your BP.

[BnZs]

Ink, I'm told my beloved mongrel Holly is largely APBT.

A purpose to which a considerable number of dogs are put to where I live is the hunting large, dangerous wild hogs. This is not a task for a Yorkie. They are a severe nuisance animal that can occasionally attack people, and dogs are about the only effective means of hunting them. I wonder how hog numbers shall be controlled when only "politically acceptable non-threatening" breeds are allowed.

[VonMessa]

Ink, I'm told my beloved mongrel Holly is largely APBT.

A purpose to which a considerable number of dogs are put to where I live is the hunting large, dangerous wild hogs. This is not a task for a Yorkie. They are a severe nuisance animal that can occasionally attack people, and dogs are about the only effective means of hunting them. I wonder how hog numbers shall be controlled when only "politically acceptable non-threatening" breeds are allowed.

A wild hog can do some serious damage.  Some of those suckers are huge!

[ink]

Well sir....I have witnessed two attacks and one near miss of the so called tame dogs.  Since you are so knowledgeable about the breed why do many of the drug pushers station these great dogs as their first line of security.  Surely it is to help their PR with law enforcement and the community.  I have witnessed two instances of a Pit Bull breaking their chain and attacking a walker and a person brave enough to try to help the walker.  Both the dogs were taken down by neighbors with my same thoughts.  We have gone from having 6 Pit Bulls down to two and those just moved in.  If its my family or a stupid animal Ill give the dog two steps and he can RIP.  Tame Dogs....My arse!   And please blow that gasket it might help your BP.

ok I obviously came off wrong and I apologize for that.

now just because they are registered as APBT does not mean that's what they are, the dogs the Drug pushers and what not, have and use are NOT American Pit Bull terriers.

I am not saying you did not see two dogs break their chains..I am saying you did not see two American Pit Bull Terriers break there chains....they are not PittBulls.

A true Pitt Bull would not attack a human, for no good cause, even then they don't want to. They were NEVER intended for Guard duty, against humans, it goes against every thing they are.

this is my whole point the Dogs they call "Pitts" "pitbulls" are not true American Pit Bull terriers.

I would bet my Life on the fact that 100% of attacks that are attributed to PitBulls are in fact not Pit Bulls at all, but a breed of dog that came from PittBulls being crossed with other dogs so many times that they are very far from the original breed.

I truly hate what has been done to this dog breed.

[mtnman]

What about statistics?  Are they any good?  I just spent about 30 minutes searching the internet, and basically found the same information everywhere I looked.  Of course, this data does not rule out the possibility that the owner/trainer can be a huge influence, and that there could be a correlation between "personality type" and the type of dog they choose to own...

In all fairness, I honestly thought I'd find some surprises (like a bunch of labs that hadn't made it into the the popular opinion poll).

"22 reported dog bite related human fatalities in the United States in 2004.
2005 - 29 human fatalities.
2006 - 26.
In 2007, there were 33 human fatalities. 45% of the attacks occurred to adults over the age of 18, and 55% occurred to ages below. Pit bull type dogs were responsible for 67% of fatalities, the next closest breed was the rottweiler at 12%. But all dog breeds are potentially dangerous. In 2000, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that 25 breeds of dogs were involved in 238 fatal dog bites from 1979-1998. Here it is the compiled list of the most dangerous dog breeds:

1. Pit Bulls
2. Rottweilers
3. German Shepherds
4. Huskies
5. Alaskan Malamutes
6. Doberman Pinschers
7. Chow Chow
8. Presa Canario
9. Boxer
10. Dalmatian

- For each US dog bite fatality there are about 670 hospitalizations and 16,000 emergency room visits, 21,000 other medical visits (office and clinic), and 187,000 non-medically treated bites
- 46.1% (nearly half) of dog bite injuries were triaged in emergency rooms as "urgent-emergent"
- Dog bites are the second highest reason why children seek emergency treatment

That's about 60,000 bites per fatality and that information is dated. It is reported today that a US citizen is bitten by a dog every 75 seconds."

And-

"While all dogs are potentially dangerous, some are more dangerous than others. Some breeds of dog are significantly larger and stronger than the average person, and it is the duty of their owners to use training and discipline to restrain their pets. Although socialization, training, and care can make an enormous difference, some dogs are by nature aggressive and violent creatures."

According to the Center for Disease Control, the top 10 most dangerous dogs are:

    1. Pit Bulls
    2. Rottweilers
    3. German Shepherds
    4. Huskies
    5. Alaskan Malamutes
    6. Doberman Pinschers
    7. Chow Chows
    8. Great Danes
    9. St. Bernards
    10. Akitas

Largely the same dogs listed everywhere I've looked...