Pit Bulls

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tamalover1918

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Today as I was browsing the web, I saw an article about the "10 most dangerous dog breeds". Curiously, I clicked on it. After reading through dogs 1-9, I paused, filled with dread. I had no doubt about what which breed was "Number 1". I clicked and there it was, a picture of a pit bull. At first I thought, 'Surely the article will stand up for the pit bull as with the other nine breeds?' The other nine "aggressive breeds" had some kind of backing. Whether it was because of their size, or loyalty to their owners (guard dogs), almost each of the previous 9 breeds had some sort of defense. But looking through the pit bull's page (if you could call it that, it was only like, 3 sentences long), there was no defense, no backing what so ever. It just said the pit bull had 66 fatalities associated with it, and it was known for it's extremely aggressive nature. I was shocked and appalled. "Extremely aggressive nature?" shouldn't there be a more detailed explanation?

Many people think of pit bulls as super-predators who only lust for blood. But that is just W-R-O-N-G. Yes, some pit bulls do have aggressive tendencies, but is that really a reason to hate the entire breed? In shelters, most of the euthanized animals are pit bulls and feral cats.

A lot of people have heard of the Michael Vick dog-fighting case, where over 2 dozen pit bulls were rescued from "Bad Newz Kennels", the dog-fighting operation where Vick pitched his dogs out against another person's dog. The losing dog was often killed. Vick admitted killing about 6 dogs, by drowning, electrocution, or simply slamming their bodies into the ground until they died. Some people would believe this is a reason to hate pit bulls, because they are so popular among dog-fighters, and are often ruthless in the ring. Why would the pit bulls fight so hard, if not because of their natural thirst for blood?

Because pit bulls have no thirst for blood. What makes them fight so hard in the ring is their undying loyalty to their owners. These dogs will stop a nothing to please their masters, but dog fighters have taken advantage of this to train them to kill.

Some states have even banned pit bulls! Now that you think about it, saying every pit bull is a ruthless killing machine is like saying every muslim is Osama bin Laden. And that's not true, right?

Many of the "Vicktory Dogs" have been adopted, and have been rehabilitated to become more friendly.

Every era has it's "scary dog", first the baying bloodhounds, then the German Shepherds in WW2 who became associated with the Nazis, and now, it is the pit bull. We can only hope that this comes to an end, and pit bulls are seen for the loyal animals they are.

 
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My family owned a pit bull when I was very young. He was the sweetest and goofiest dog I've ever known. The only time he was ever violent was when he bit someone who was trying to hit me. Because of him pit bulls have always been my favorite breed. I, too, hope that one day more people will realize what great dogs they really are instead of fearing them out of ignorance.

 
I don't know about pit bulls... a pit bull has tried to attack my mom and dog several times. One jumped out from the back of a moving pick up truck just so it could attack my dog!(Thankfully, he was able to scare it away before it hurt him). And from what I've heard, they are a very aggressive type of dog. Most dog attacks I've heard of involved a pit bull or a dog with a pit bull background. I don't know what experience you guys have had but I haven't had very good ones... it doesn't mean I think all of them are bad though.

 
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Its not usually the Pit Bulls you need to worry about, it their owners. Around here, very common to find them. Some of them are really sweet and want to play, where some others you can tell their owners aren't the best/abusing em/etc.

I had one come up to me the other day. It sat in front of me wagging its tail. The neighbor was in a panic and the owner wasn't acting too worried but was coming to the dog with a leash. "Oops, sorray (sorry) hunny, my dog got out again. Always wants to welcome anyone to play with 'em." obviously trained to sit but got a little excited when the dog saw me. The owner didn't snap the leash like they thought. (lol, oops) anyway, its all in the training and respect for a dog. Anyway, I pet the dog and got a lick bath on my hand. Lol. Good dog.

 
I would ban pit bulls from my state because there are too many incompetent owners here. Most dogs are aggressive here anyway.

 
It's true that (generally speaking), the problem lies with the owner of the dog - how the dog is trained to behave and how responsible the owner is at controlling their dog.

Unfortunately, no matter how friendly or loyal a dog breed is, you can't be sure if it has been well trained or is being kept under proper control.

My sister in law has a Staffordshire Bull Terrier (very similar to American Pit Bull) and it's a lovely dog - very friendly, regularly knocks you over or trips you (accidentally) because she is so powerfully built. But no matter how sweet and friendly that particular Staffie is with me and my kids, I'd never trust a powerful dog unless I already know the owner.

True, you can't judge all dogs by the bad press they get (and there are quite a few studies and statistics about the high % of attacks / bites / fatalities that can be attributed to "pit bull type breeds"), but it's smart to be cautious about any dog that is big enough or powerful enough to knock you to the ground and give you a nasty bite.

In the UK , Pit Bull breed types are either banned (as a dangerous dog) or must be assessed by professionals and if necessary, must be neutered, micro chipped, and have a Dog tattoo ID and kept under strict control in public - always on a lead and always muzzled. The owner has to have proper insurance to cover their dog injuring anyone and the dog must not be left in possession of anyone under 16yrs of age. That's the theory anyway. Our newspapers carry regular reports of dog attacks on people - often young children. Many (but not all) are Pit Bull types - bull terrier cross breeds, bull mastiffs, bulldogs, staffies.

When you look at the statistics and the newspaper reports you can understand why people are wary of the breed and scared. Of course not every dog is like that - but it's difficult to assess if a dog's owner is responsible and caring when you spot them in the park near where kids are playing.

I have a small terrier cross and I watch her like a hawk with young kids and tell them or their parents that she's getting old and grumpy so sometimes she can be snappy.

https://www.tamatalk.com/IB/gallery/image/5233-tilly-the-other-dog-in-our-family/

 
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There are many myths about pit bulls, like how they apparently "lock their jaws onto their opponent", This is false, no dog can lock their jaws onto something. The other myth is that pit bulls exert an extreme amount of pressure when biting down on something. But this is also false. When testing the bite pressure of the pit bull, they included other breeds of dogs, and among them, the pit bull's bite exerted the lowest amount of pressure.

Every pet comes with a risk. If you own a cat, you might get scratched, if you own a dog you might get bit. No, I wouldn't recommend pit bulls for families with young children, because of their size, body build, and yes, how they can be sometimes be violent. But as others above me said, it all depends on the owners. If the dog needs an active life style but the owners can't provide that, then the energy will make the dog restless. But that energy can be converted into training. It's that people don't do that stuff, so dogs can frustrated. (Sorry if that makes no sense).

Yes, pit bulls have a bad history, but so do a lot of other dogs. Like I said before, each era seems to have a "villan dog", and right now that dog is the pit bull.

 
While the owner has an effect on their pet, genetics can still affect an animals behavior. Hence the reason why specific cat and dog breeds are usually described as having certain traits e.g. Persian cats are generally placid. Of course there are exceptions for the breed-specific traits but nonetheless, an aggressive nature was bred in pit bulls and that is probably why there are so many pit bull attacks and fatalities.

https://www.dogsbite.org/blog-posts-fatal-dog-attacks.php

dogattacks-annals-surgery-april2011.jpg


I do not dislike pit bulls, nor do I think less of them than other dogs. They're quite cute dogs to be honest and many of them are very sweet and gentle. But, I am aware that they even though they're not evil dogs, they're not completely risk-free either and it's better to be safe than sorry.

I think that how a dog is treated when it's young can influence its personality, so giving them enough love and attention and encouraging them to be gentle could reduce the risk of them attacking people when it's grown up. But it's not always the owner's fault... I'm sure there are plenty of people who neglect their dogs besides pit bull-owners. How come pit bulls are the ones that cause so many injuries and deaths?

By the way, I read about the Micheal Vick dog-fighting case yesterday. How horrible.

 
Many dogs were created by humans in order to be able to kill great beasts. Where I live, I have a house in the mountains. That place is filled with boars and they like to go into people's orchards to get something to eat. Sometimes, the dogs of the shepard that lives here hear them and go try to chase them. I can tell you that boars easily killed the majority of the dogs. And that dogs are a sort of wolf-like. Now, a boar is not as big as a bull or a bear. Pit Bulls, and dogs like them, were created (by years and years of cross-breeding strong and aggressive races) in order to be able to kill bulls and bears. If a bunch of pit bulls can kill a bear, what could they do to a human? That's why they're potentially dangerous and you'll never know what could come into their minds. The "aggressiveness" is inside them, is what WE HUMANS looked for and created. It's not something that makes a dog a "bad" dog. He's not being purposely bad, he's just being himself. He's an animal and as a animal he follows his instinct. And his instinct clearly tells him he's stronger than you. It's in his nature.

Just a very very skillfull person can train them properly and try to control their instinct, and I don't think every person I see with a Pit bull is that kind of trainer. That's why I don't like to see people treat them like they were "cutie prettie doggie", as I mostly see. And not only pit bulls: many other kinds of dogs are dangerous, people just prefer to think "it's my pretty sweety doggy! He never hurted ME, so why should he hurt YOU?". The main problem is that too many people nowadays can't tell a plushie from a predator! D:

 
Here's a chart to get a better idea of the majority of dog attacks:

2unyoso.jpg


I value the life of a human being more than the life of a dog and if I had to choose between killing a dog or a person I'd kill the dog. (don't shoot me for saying that)

I understand very well why people would want to ban pit bulls. Just think about how many people and children were killed by them :( Of course, other dogs kill as well but the amount of deaths caused by pit bulls is astronomical in comparison to other dog breeds.

I think promoting them as sweet innocent angels does much more harm than good. People should understand the risks of pit bulls so that no more lives get taken by them. :(

Jeez, 283 deaths in 9 years. That's 2 - 3 people getting killed by dogs per month, and that's only counting the US...

 
To me, wanting to ban pit bulls would be like banning an entire race of people if that race commits the majority of murders. That might sound extreme but it's the truth about how I feel.

 
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I haven't read all of the posts of this topic, so I may be repeating someone, but I honestly don't think Pit Bulls are that aggressive.

I mean, sure they don't look very "friendly", but you could say that to everyone who hasn't exactly got a smile on their face all the time.

I think people have just seen the Pit Bull; seen an accident with a Pit Bull; and thought: "OMGZ ALL PITBULLS ARE BADDIEZ!!!111"

I mean, yeah, there are bad pit bulls around. But there are bad other-dogs around too.

Like normally you would associate Jack Russells with being all cute and small and lovely. I met a dog once which was a Jack Russell and was so ferocious it jumped at me and almost took a chunk out my neck.

We put it down the next day, hmmph.

But it was the owner's fault. It had become a "brat" by the un-training it had bee given.

I guess a dog is similar to a child. Don't think the breed has anything to do with it, except that some dogs are stronger than others.

I also thing the Pit Bull is being used. By people, by weirdos. Being trained to make it live up to its name which has somehow become renowned for "OMGZ BAD PITBULLZ EVERYWHERE."

I don't think Pit Bulls should be banned. I don't think you can do that, that's kinda animal-racist XD But yeah, it's man's fault, not beasts'.

 
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I have had a couple of pits over the years, and in my experience, they were no different than any other dog I ever had. Both of my pits were neutered males, and were the biggest babies you ever saw. I'm in agreement with those who say it all depends on the owner; owners make them what they want them to be (and that is true for ANY breed of dog). My dogs did not have cropped ears, and were very well socialized as pups. I took them everywhere with me, and they were used to kids, horses, cats, and other dogs. I would not like to see them banned; maybe ban certain types of people from owning them (backyard breeders and those who fight them).

 
i got chased by one when i was younger, it didn't bite me or anything, it was just growling, aaaand i was terrified...

 
the reasons "pitbulls" are "constantly" known for being aggressive is because half the darn dogs they call pitbulls are a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT BREED.

"pitbulls" is a group of dogs, but they mainly pin it on the American Pitbull Terrier. Did you all know that in UK back in the day, Pibulls were nicknamed "nanny dogs" because they worked so well with kids?

Its not there "genetics", but it is at the same time. Pitbulls bred in a long line of family dogs have fantastic tempermants and arent aggressive in the slightest.

But on the other hand, there are people that will buy a puppy, unknowing it comes from a possible line of fighting dogs, that dog WILL MOST LIKELY grow up and show signs of aggressivness. And it's NOT the owners fault for that. But it does become the owners fault when they let there dog escape from the house.

Pitbulls tend to be more dog-aggressive than human aggressive.

So, the only real way to stop this is this. IF YOURE GOING TO BUY A DOG, ESPECIALLY BULLY BREEDS, (mastiffs, rotties, pit bull terriers) I suggest getting an adult dog who's tempermant has been assessed or to know the background of the puppys parents. End rant.

 
^^ So true. Anyone wishing to buy one of these breeds needs to get the puppy from a reputable breeder, not from someone from down the street, just because they have a litter of pups. Visit kennels, meet the parent dogs, get to know the owners well, and see how they treat their dogs. Also, a reputable breeder will take back a dog, or make an exchange, if the new owners and the puppy don't "click" well. The backyard breeder will not.

 
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Let me kind of add on to what 2pvaporeon said. Part of the reason why pit bull fatalities are so high is because pit bull or "bully breeds" is a very general term. It refers to dogs with "pit bull" like appearances and possibly genetic inheritance.

American Staffordshire Terrier is the main dog associated with pit bulls, but there are other "bully breeds" as stated before. So maybe if "pit bull" was actually breed specified, then the rap wouldn't be as bad.

Yes, there are some pit bulls who don't have specific breeds. So shouldn't there be a "mix/other breed" thing on the charts?

My aunt's dog is a Jack Russell Terrier/Maltese mix, and she's aggressive towards dogs and humans. But we don't fear Maltese dogs. We think of them as cute little dogs who are spoiled rotten with treats, gemstone collars, and beds. Dalmatians aren't good with young children, but we ignore that stereotype. We see them as the heroic fire truck dogs. So why do we only gang up on the pit bulls?

**rant over**

 
Oh the Dalmation thing it SO true. Everybody thinks they're just perfect firefighting dogs when in reality, they're more likely to bite your head off than the average family bully breed.

dont get me wrong I love Dalmations as much as every other dog, but they just dont put up with things that kids do, such as tail/ear pulling.

If you want a gentle dog, Dalmations arent the best choice.

My great grandmother owns 2 bully mix-breeds, both with different quirks.

Oso has a mental issue, he's on meds for it and it really helps. He's basically OCD with chasing his tail. He doesnt. Stop. EVER.

Anyway, point is she's also raising my Nephew since my sister sucks. She's 78 years old, takes care of 2 large dogs, 4 cats, (not including the strays who sleep in her garage)

She even goes out into the forest in her backyard and gives big bags of food scraps to the wolves so they dont hunt her cats.

Shes an amazing lady, im telling you. Point is, if she can do all that, these stupid pet owners can take care of one measly dog.

Oh gosh im ranting again KEEP ME OFF THIS THREAD seriousLY

 
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