Pit Bulls

[Sandman]

Originally posted by Animal
Yeap, and the Pit's natural disposition is very meek.

Now, you're disagreeing with your own post from dogbreedinfo.

[Masherbrum]

Have a 3 yr old Siberian Husky never had a problem.   Most people walk on the other side of the street, not realizing the worst thing he would do is lick them to death.  If ignorance was bliss.

It is the OWNER not the DOG.  Wolves don't count either.

Karaya2

[AKDejaVu]

Originally posted by Masherbrum
Wolves don't count either.

You've got that right.  Wolves/Hybrids are illegal inside of the metro city limits around here.  I saw one once, it was beautiful... the owner was walking it down the street on a very short leash when the dog straightened up.  It was huge.  A boxer had come running from a nearby shop straight at the hybrid and I don't believe I ever saw the hybrid move.  I only saw the boxer turn and run away yelping with half of his face tore up.  The boxer instigated the fight, but that hybrid was born for it.

AKDejaVu

[AKDejaVu]

BTW... no Rotweiler breeders here?  I've heard there's an agression classification assigned to them based on parents classification.  Something about a scale of 1-4.  Something about the parents not being able to add up to more than 4.  Agression can be bred into a dog.  But it can also be bred out of one.

AKDejaVu

[midnight Target]

I was actually curious as to whether the responses on this thread would echo the responses in a gun control thread. For some sick reason I expected a correlation.

Sure labs are strong and bloodhounds are big and Newfies have strong jaws etc. etc.

None of these were bred for fighting though. The purpose of the Pits strong jaws and tenacious demeanor is to KILL. Now you may be a perfectly good owner and have a perfectly good dog, but dogs get sick, dogs get injured, dogs get lost from their yards. If I happen upon a lost, sick lab my chances of receiving permanent injury from this dog are slimmer than if I were to happen across a lost sick pit.

Many times in the news we hear about a family pet that went off, or that the dogs were great around the family's kids but attacked a friend that came over. I don't think it is always the owner.

[Animal]

Originally posted by Sandman_SBM


Now, you're disagreeing with your own post from dogbreedinfo.

The site points out that they may be aggressive towards other dogs, thats not the point of the thread.

According to the site and my own personal experience, the pits are very meek towards human, unless trained to be otherwise.

Their natural aggressive tendencies are toward other dogs and animals, not people. However if they are properly socialized they will not even be aggressive with them

[Animal]

Originally posted by midnight Target
I was actually curious as to whether the responses on this thread would echo the responses in a gun control thread. For some sick reason I expected a correlation.

Sure labs are strong and bloodhounds are big and Newfies have strong jaws etc. etc.

None of these were bred for fighting though. The purpose of the Pits strong jaws and tenacious demeanor is to KILL. Now you may be a perfectly good owner and have a perfectly good dog, but dogs get sick, dogs get injured, dogs get lost from their yards. If I happen upon a lost, sick lab my chances of receiving permanent injury from this dog are slimmer than if I were to happen across a lost sick pit.

Many times in the news we hear about a family pet that went off, or that the dogs were great around the family's kids but attacked a friend that came over. I don't think it is always the owner.

That is roadkill, you are comparing a living animal, each with its own individuality and personality, to an inanimate object.

Apples to bananas buddy.

You are just plain uneducated on the subject.
A strong adult lab is just as capable of hurting someone as a pit bull, probably even more due to its size (a pit is a dog killer not a people killer, therefore it was bred smaller for balance)

A German Shepperd is MANY, MANY more times capable of killing a person on a viscious attack than a pitbull (considering both animals are extremely aggressive)
And the German Shepperd has the most naturally aggressive tendencies towards people of the both, by the way.

If your kids are unlucky enough to encounter a rabid aggressive pit on some alley, they will meet the same fate as if its a lab, or a german shepperd, or a great dane.

The pit bull will make more news though.

[Animal]

By the way the 'American Staffordshire Terrier' is NOT the same as the Pit Bull, do some reading.



!=





The AST is naturally a more aggressive breed than the Pit Bull.
In a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the highest level of aggressiveness, the AST should be a 4, while the Pit Bull should be a 2.

We are talking generally, not taking into consideration killer gangsta dog training.

[Sandman]

I retract my statements regarding pit bulls. From what I've been reading, the media calls all sort of breeds pit bulls. They make no distinction between pit bulls, staffordshire terriers, bull terriers, etc.

I'm probably wrong and defer to Animal.

WRT to the german shepherd biting people. You bet. Herd dogs are all prone to bite and they don't make distinction between human or dog. Herd dogs can be dangerous, but they are working dogs. It's part of what they are.

[SirLoin]

I'd be more worried about HTC sheep than Pit Bulls.

[midnight Target]

I wasn't comparing the pit to a gun Animal. I was just expecting the responses to my post to fall along similar lines. Big difference bud.

I visit our local animal shelter often since it is right next door to my job. I would estimate that 40 - 50% of the male dogs in the shelter are AST's.

If you say AST is different I will accept your expertise. In that case most of the trouble seems to be from AST's. So should that breed be eradicated then?

But I did find this: "The AKC eschewed breeds called "pit bulls" until 1936, when it recognized the American Pit Bull Terrier under the alias Staffordshire Terrier, named after the miners of Staffordshire, England, who had a hand in developing the breed for the fighting pit. "

[gatso]

Dangerous dogs act 1991 in the UK:

1. The following dogs, and also cross-bred pit-bulls, are dangerous dogs under the meaning of the Act:

Pit Bull Terrier
Japanese Tosa
Dogo Argentino
Fila Braziliero
It is illegal to possess such a dog without a certificate of exemption, which is granted once the dog is neutered, insured, and has a transponder implant. These dogs cannot be "in a public place without being muzzled and ... being securely kept on a lead by a person who is not less than 16 years old."

introduced after a pit bull did this to a small girl in Bradford


Sorry, the picture isn't very nice.  Some of them are a lot worse though.

Gatso

1991 dangerous dogs act in full

[mauser]

We have a weekly TV show here called "The Hawaiian Moving Company."  It showcases ppl, events from or about Hawaii like actors, other tv shows, local homes.  A couple weeks ago there was one segment about a local dog show.  They were all pit bulls (the real ones I assume) who were trained to pull weight on wheeled sleds using a special harness.  One dog was able to pull a sled full of weights and really big guys (it was about 4000 lbs) to the required distance (looked like about 8-10 feet).  However, the show was about dispelling the myths behind the breed and showing how great a dog it is.  It was a family outing with many dogs around different people.  The owners didn't whip the dogs to make them pull, instead held a toy or something while kneeling in front of the dog and encouraging it "come on boy/girl.. come on."  The dog would then be rewarded with a vigorous rub/hug and a snack.  When I first heard about pit bulls it was through the news and of course it was someone getting attacked.  But with a little more knowledge I began to wonder whether it was more poor ownership than the dog itself.  The owners interviewed on that show said similar things to what Animal has been saying about the breed.  But I'd still be wary when seeing one b/c you never know who the owner was; but this is true for any dog, not just the pit bull.  

Personally, I'd like a greyhound (I guess most would think they look funny, but they're kinda graceful looking to me) or a husky (beautiful dog, esp the blue-eyed light furred ones).  Collies are nice too.  Dobermann if I wanted to be like Higgins in "Magnum P.I." but would prefer raising those types from pups so I'd have more control over how they end up.  My soon to be wife likes the look of lab pups and beagles but due to the way she lost her dog when she was a child, she has a fear of handling animals (her dog was run over).  Can't own one yet though, since we're apartment dwellers and will be for a while.  

Interesting tidbit:  Here in Hawaii, we're used to seeing stray cats around.  When I went to Thailand to visit my fiance's relatives for the summer (Chiang Mai city), I found that stray dogs were common instead.  They generally didn't bug you, but you'd be wise to stay away (possibilities of rabbies, other diseases).  

mauser

[loser]

You cant own pitbulls in the city where i live.  There was a rash of horrible attacks about 10 years ago and one little girl was even killed.

And lots of dogs were killed in dog on dog attacks too.  The reason? bad owners.  

And this is really fediddleed up.  The reason there was so many dog on dog attacks was because the owners heard about the odd attack and thought, "hells i better make sure my dog can defend itself so i will train it to be aggressive and violent so it can protect itself."

Using the same techniques as described by animal, pit bulls were "de-domesticated" by a bunch of bellybutton clowns.

Then the dog on human attacks started happening and the city basically just said "enough is enough, we are getting rid of these dogs."   They didnt round up and destroy them, because that would be hella wrong for reasons which are obvious.  They just made it illegal to buy one.  So the existing pitbulls owned by resposible people just got old and died naturally.

Hasnt been one pitbull attack since.  

Lastly, have you ever seen two cats who dont know each other in a room or outside in the same area?  Talk about violent and unpredictable!  

My one friend has a purebread abysynian (sp.) And one day we were hanging out back of my friend's garage when some dumb assed stray black lab walked by.  The dog made the mistake of coming up to sniff around and that cat finally got pissed off that there was a dog on "his turf."  

The aby runs at the dog full tilt, makes one pass over the dog kinda flying through the air biting and scratching...extends...and the dogs is bleeding everywhere.   The dog didnt have time to crap its fur before it had its bellybutton kicked.

My point?  get a cat.  They are tough as nails, can kick ass, make ten times the guard animal of any dog (as far as alerting you,) but are gentle as all hell to kids, never attack when not provoked, and they are predictable! (eat, sleep, eat sleep )

[Animal]

You are right Sandman, the media will call the staffordshire terriers, bull terriers, american pit bulls, and even bulldogs! as Pit Bulls generally. The AST and the Pit Bull, even though they may have SOME physical semblance to the Pit Bull, has a VERY different natural character. They are dangerous dogs if not trained well. The Pit Bull however doesnt require training, just a lot of love and attention.

The reason why there are many attacks coming from the fighter terrier breeds its because the bellybutton clowns, as loser eloquently put it, prefer them because of their mean, manly look.

And most "Pit Bulls" you see the gang retards around with are not even a real breed, but inbred mixes of staffs, pits, and a horrible attitude. Yes, maybe these inbreds should be "eradicated" and I'm all for controlled breeding of the pit bulls and other fighter terriers, mainly because that way they can lose the monster reputation, and no more inbreeding.

gatso,

That girl would be just as mangled if she were attacked by any other big dog.

By the way, the only time I have been seriously biten by a dog, it was a trained, adult German Shepperd, wich attacked me for no aparent reason. German Sheppers are working dogs, yet they are sold at any pet shop. A poorly trained and raised GS is a dangerous dog.

Maybe yes, the Pit Bull should be controlled because its reputation, people are terrified of them, too bad, because its a great family dog.