Man kills pit bull who attacks his wife & dogs

[Cougar68]

by this comment I guess you don't drive cars, or have children, or bathe either right.

Of course I do all of the above.  But I drive a safe car to mitigate my risks, I take excellent care of my child and when I take a bath I make sure that there aren't any electrical appliances about to fall in the water.  I like to be as in control of my risks as possible.

[Cougar68]

Every dog has an instinct to kill, they are domesticated predators.

The instinct to hunt and kill passed down through their ancestors is still present, but definitely not dominant.  Plus the hunt kill is completely different than the defense kill that is so prominent in the pit bull situations.

[Elfie]

The instinct to hunt and kill passed down through their ancestors is still present, but definitely not dominant.  Plus the hunt kill is completely different than the defense kill that is so prominent in the pit bull situations.

The *defense kill* is not prominent among pit bulls as evidenced by the stats provided by another poster.

The instinct to hunt and kill can be brought out in any dog by simply no longer providing food.

[dkff49]

Of course I do all of the above.  But I drive a safe car to mitigate my risks, I take excellent care of my child and when I take a bath I make sure that there aren't any electrical appliances about to fall in the water.  I like to be as in control of my risks as possible.

while you may may be the safest driver in the world accidents still happen. You can not control the other drivers and you being out on the road illistrates to me that you are trusting that everyone else operates their vehicle in a responsible manner since they have the ability to kill.

In the tub you can still slip and fall knocking yourself unconscious and drown in the tub.

You are more likely to be injured by another driver in a vehicle than you are bit by any dog let alone singling out any one breed.

Those of you who use the pit bull leads all other breeds in the attacking human stats must realize that once you take them out of the picture there will another one that will take it's place then right. After you eliminate that one another will take it's place. Will we continue to wish for the number offender to be killed off until all dogs are illegal. A little far fetched I know, but using the pit bull is the number one human attacker is a bogus reason because there will always be a number 1.

[Cougar68]

I have to trust the other drivers to do their thing unless I want to use some other form of transportation.  As of right now, there are no other options than motor vehicles and bicycles to commute to work.  So I make the choices that I can to mitigate that risk.  There are alternative dog breeds available, so why the need to have the most dangerous?

Yes I may slip and fall in the tub, but I have no other alternative to getting clean, so I just take care of myself and accept the risk. 

dkff - After doing a touch of searching, statistics show that pits are responsible for three times the number of dog bites as the second place Rottweiler.  Three times over is more than just one dog having to be at the top of the list. 

[Simaril]

Bottom line: Dogs commonly referred to as "pit bulls" kill more humans than any other breed. Even though they are far from the most common breed around.


Yeah, the ones who attack are probably the least trained, worst handled, maybe even abused dogs in the breed. But there are poorly trained dogs in every breed, and other breeds simply kill people less often -- or not at all.



Would be great if there was a way to limit ownership to the competent, but don't see how we could license owners (any more than we could license parents!)

Sensible solution I've read about elsewhere would hold owners OF ANY BREED DOG liable to both civil and criminal penalties when attacks occur. Certainly makes more sense than destroying dogs who happen to carry a certain label, but unfortunately as things are now the dogs are the ones who pay the (ultimate) penalty when their owners fail them.

[dkff49]

cougar you can sponge bath not that anybody here needs a visual

but the pit bull attacks are the exception as a matter of fact most of the breeders only breed dogs that have a tendancy to be more gentle, not all are bred to be aggressive that is falacy. The ones that don't usually are bred for dog fights and are illegal.

None the less using the number attacker is a bad reason. using the 3 times more likely than other breeds is an ok reason to not own one yourself but the fact that there are many more that never even some close to biting anyone is a good reason to believe that it is not the breed as much as it is the owners.

There are other breeds out there but it is a persons choice as to what breed they like the most and I don't think it is right to expect someone to give that up because .000385% of that breed ever attacks anybody.

[AAJagerX]

I own 2 Rottweilers, and when one was a pup she was attacked by a pitbull.  From experience, they're pretty easy to take care of if ya get em by the throat and squeeze till ya feel your fingers on the other side.  It's not lethal, but they don't enjoy it a bit. 

Rotts and pitts which are so-called "vicious breeds" both require A LOT of training and a dominant owner.  These types of animals are far too powerful to take lightly.  Given the right owner and training though they can be great companions and protectors.

[Elfie]

Even though they are far from the most common breed around.

In many places the various breeds known as pit bulls ARE the most common breeds around.

[Roundeye]

Bottom line: Dogs commonly referred to as "pit bulls" kill more humans than any other breed. Even though they are far from the most common breed around.


Yeah, the ones who attack are probably the least trained, worst handled, maybe even abused dogs in the breed. But there are poorly trained dogs in every breed, and other breeds simply kill people less often -- or not at all.



Would be great if there was a way to limit ownership to the competent, but don't see how we could license owners (any more than we could license parents!)

Sensible solution I've read about elsewhere would hold owners OF ANY BREED DOG liable to both civil and criminal penalties when attacks occur. Certainly makes more sense than destroying dogs who happen to carry a certain label, but unfortunately as things are now the dogs are the ones who pay the (ultimate) penalty when their owners fail them.

+1!

I really don't care what type of animal is involved, the owner/custodian has a responsibility to control it and should be held accountable for it's actions.  It's not just a moral responsibilty, it's common sense. 

The owner/custodian should be charged/sued for whatever action that animal takes.  If it attacks someone, the o/c is guilty of assault and should be prosecuted as such along with being responsible for any medical bills, lost wages and payment for any long-term disability caused.  If an attack ends in death, the o/c is guilty of murder. 

Doesn't matter if its a dog, cat, snake or whatever.  Pits do seem to end up as the culprit most of the time when you hear of a dog attack in the news.  People can argue all they want...there may be some docile ones out there, but you often hear the owner and neighbors comment on a pit involved in an attack as being nice and playing with the kids just fine and then one day SNAP...it's got a toddler in it's mouth.  How many collies, labs, sheps, dobies, etc. do you hear snapping and attacking people?  Some interesting findings can be viewed here http://www.dogbitelaw.com/Dog%20Attacks%201982%20to%202006%20Clifton.pdf.

Pit bulls are responsible for as many attacks as all other breeds combined.  This is unacceptable and needs regulation.

[Cougar68]

The numbers show that a pit is three times more likely to injur someone than the Rottie which is second. The pit is also THIRTY times more likely to bite than the third place dog, German Shepherd.  And the pit only represents 8% of the dog population.  Those kind of numbers can't be ignored.

Back to the bath/driving analogy for a quick sec.  Yes these two can be dangerous, but I'm not going to own a car with pointy spikes on the steering wheel and my bathtub doesn't have rollers in the bottom for me to step on.  I wouldn't buy objects with inherent safety defects, and I wouldn't buy a dog with an inherent safety defect.  There are sooooo many other breeds available that there just isn't any reason that I can see.

[dkff49]

cooger the driving/bathing analogy was simply to show you that no matter how careful you are you can not control all the aspects and remain 100% safe and you still be more likely to be injured in one of those types of incidents than to be attacked by any dog let alone a pit bull.

as far as the numbers go the numbers also show that it is very unlikely that anybody will be attacked by a pit bull since the statics show that only approximately .000385% of the dogs will ever attack anybody. I would be willing to bet that the percentage of drivers involved in a vehicle accident is higher than that.

I realize that you will never own one and that you will never trust one. That is ok I just don't feel that this breed of dog should be made illegal all together just because a few dumb arses can't control of train their dog and it is only a relatively few dogs.

In answer to the statement made by another about the pit bulls that are little angles one day and attack the next, I would have to say that I don't remember hearing many stories to that effect and most of the ones that I have heard or read about have been exactly the opposite and that is for all breeds. Most of them have been dogs that are tied or behind a fence all the time and act aggressive through the fence and many times what a kid calls playing with a dog involves throwing things at them or teasing them with food or other things that most adults would not do.


Look I know that everybody here has an opinion and nobody here is going to change theirs but it is the right for everyone here to choose the dog that they like or no dog at all if they wish. The ownership of these dogs are regulated in many places and many insurance companies won't insure owners of these dogs and those that have rotts (not so sure I agreeor disagree with this but it is what it is). There are municipalities around here that do not allow these 2 breeds to be kept as pets though it is not enforced very much, only when something happens or someone complains.

I just wanted to get acrossed that the likelyhood of ever being attacked by one of these great dogs is very low adn therfore should not be exterminated or made illegal.

[Dago]

In many places the various breeds known as pit bulls ARE the most common breeds around.

Places like trailer parks and Michael Vicks back yard?

[Cougar68]

Dave,

I agree that I'm not going to convince you of anything and vice versa.  The point I am making (and I'll leave it at this) is that the attacks do happen and that it's thirty times more likely to be bitten by a pit than a german shepherd.  And this is only going off of the reported statistics. 

I will also refute your claim that they do not go from angel to devil in a heartbeat.  I've seen it happen with my own very eyes.  The really scary thing is that he went back to angel just as quick.

I don't advocate outlawing the breed.  We have enough laws to police without that.  I believe that as more people are educated about what these dogs are capable of that it will take care of itself.  Whenever a thread like this comes up I feel the need to weigh in so both sides are heard and out there for people on the fence to read. 

[dkff49]

Dave,

I agree that I'm not going to convince you of anything and vice versa.  The point I am making (and I'll leave it at this) is that the attacks do happen and that it's thirty times more likely to be bitten by a pit than a german shepherd.  And this is only going off of the reported statistics. 

I will also refute your claim that they do not go from angel to devil in a heartbeat.  I've seen it happen with my own very eyes.  The really scary thing is that he went back to angel just as quick.

I don't advocate outlawing the breed.  We have enough laws to police without that.  I believe that as more people are educated about what these dogs are capable of that it will take care of itself.  Whenever a thread like this comes up I feel the need to weigh in so both sides are heard and out there for people on the fence to read. 

Well put and I did not say or want to imply that they never go from angel to demonand back I simply said that most of the stories that I have heard and or read about were not this way. I rarely ever use the terms never and always because you can generally find an example of anything if you look hard enough.

I appreciate your opinion in not taking the extreme like so many others here have and agree that eduacting the masses is the right approach to the issue of pit bulls. I also believe that this will resolve the issue as well whether it be to the effect that no one wants one anymore or the ones that get them will be more responsible in the way the train and care for the dogs.


Again well said