They're such sweet dogs

[soonerguru]

blah blah blah.

OWNER KILLED BY PET PIT BULL

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012...-pit-bull?lite

[Pete]

So sad.

The story said they had one dog since it was a puppy, and also one of it's sons. That means they bred the one dog.


I have great respect for anyone that adopts a pit bull because once they hit a shelter, they are absolutely doomed -- nobody wants them.

But BREEDING them??? For God's sake, how stupid can you be? There are thousands unwanted pits and you are purposely bringing more into the world?


What this also means is the publicity around this story (and others) will doom yet more dogs to being euthanized in shelters, as even fewer will now be adopted.

[LaceyNewman]

Yet pitbull puppies are on craigslist all day every day. > Last time I was at the shelter, three pitbull dogs were brought in to be surrendered just while I was standing there. One major problem with even adopting them is what if you needed to move to a city like Denver with breed specific legislation?
I think they are great dogs but it's so so wrong to breed them right now. This article talks a little bit about why we erroneously think pitbulls are more aggressive or dangerous than other dogs. Large dogs in general have the capacity to kill you under the right circumstances, but it's far more widely reported when the dog attack was from a pitbull-looking dog. Also pitbulls are much more likely to be used as guard dogs and chained up outside, leading to more behavioral issues.
Not sure that was the deal with this case, but you don't know what provoked the dogs.

[Roadhawg]

I have a rescued Pit and he's the sweetest thing. I got him when he was about a year old and had him fixed right away. He sleeps on the bed with me and likes to give me lots of kisses. He is protective and doesn't like strangers around or in the house when I'm not there. There are many many other pit bulls out there that don't make the news or attack people. It's a matter of breeding and training the dog gets, any dog can be made vicious. Labrador Retriever's have also been know to attack and kill a human as well as German Shepard's and Rottweiler's. Unfortunately there are too many people out there who don't breed or raise them right. Sometimes the old saying is true, there are no bad dogs, just bad owners.

[Pete]

The difference with Pits is that they were bred to fight and even kill and you never know when that instinct will be triggered.

[HewenttoJared]

<30 deaths per year. I think if we're going to start damning behaviors we have bigger fish to fry than feisty dog breeds.

[RadicalModerate]

A friend of mine had a "brindle" Pit Bull. I some ways it was the friendliest, smartest dog I'd ever seen--next to a Border Collie. But in one second my friend could turn it into a death dealing psycho dog. The only more bipolar dog I've ever seen was a Doberman. I just remembered that at one time I was "part-owner" of an unclipped (ears and tail) pit bull puppy . . . but it got "parvo" and died. The other "co-owner" was supposed to have taken care of the shots and so forth but didn't.

[Pete]

I don't think the breed should be regulated -- it's not realistic anyway because there isn't even agreement as to what a "Pit Bull" is. It's not a recognized breed and many are mixes with other types of dogs.

I'm the biggest dog lover you'll ever meet but I had an incident at a dog park that forever changed the way I see Pits. My Labrador (who rolls on her back submissively when approached by almost any dog) was brutally attacked and it was the scariest thing I've ever seen. The Pit went absolutely insane -- it was terrifying. It never got a good grip on my dog's neck and was pulled away by it's owner, but I had to run with my 90-pound bleeding, screaming (she made a noise I had never heard coming from a dog) Lab in my arms back to my car and to the emergency vet.

My dog just had a bunch of bite marks but I was so shaken I haven't been back to the dog park and this was years ago. And this park is in what is considered to be one of the nicest areas of Southern California.


Doesn't mean all Pits are bad by any means, but having witnessed this incident personally, I will forever just steer clear of those dogs.

Again, much respect to those who take them in, but I am never going to take that risk myself.

[Martin]

<30 deaths per year.

...in the u.s., around 350,000 people per year are seen in emergency rooms because of dog bites. around 850,000 people per year seek some form of medical attention. -M

[RadicalModerate]

The only dog that ever bit me was a scrawny collie of some sort. I was a little kid and it bit me on the leg (calf) because I was running across the neighbor's/its backyard, a small patch of ground that was shared by my playmates (their kids), on my way home (in proto-suburbia). I think mom took me to the doctor. It was a nasty bite. I think that was the day that I made up my mind that the next dog that bites me will be the last time that dog bites anyone. My plan has worked for over 50 years. I think dogs can sense it. =)

[LaceyNewman]

I have a rescued Pit and he's the sweetest thing. I got him when he was about a year old and had him fixed right away. He sleeps on the bed with me and likes to give me lots of kisses. He is protective and doesn't like strangers around or in the house when I'm not there. There are many many other pit bulls out there that don't make the news or attack people. It's a matter of breeding and training the dog gets, any dog can be made vicious. Labrador Retriever's have also been know to attack and kill a human as well as German Shepard's and Rottweiler's. Unfortunately there are too many people out there who don't breed or raise them right. Sometimes the old saying is true, there are no bad dogs, just bad owners.

Getting the dogs fixed may have a lot more to do with attack tendency than breed. "For example, since 1965-2008, there have been 17 different breeds/types of dogs have been identified in connection with dog bite fatalities in Texas. All of the dogs have been intact (not spayed/neutered)." Quote from the article I mentioned in my last post. I don't see "ball specific legislation" coming on the books any time soon. lol

I've also owned an older cocker spaniel that was mean as heck. It pretty much couldn't leave the yard without attacking every other dog it came across. Lots of times when I'm at the park there is some dog that is just a jerk, barking and lunging at other dogs that aren't doing anything. In my experience little dogs are often jerks but nobody thinks much of it because they are little. Nearly every chihuahua I've ever met is just vicious. Supposedly this actually is caused by how much little dogs are spoiled causing them to develop "small dog syndrome" http://www.moderndogmagazine.com/art...syndrome/26546

[Roadhawg]

<30 deaths per year. I think if we're going to start damning behaviors we have bigger fish to fry than feisty dog breeds.

30 per 200+ million people.... 49,400 deaths per year from secondhand smoke exposure... Not trying to downplay this sad thing to happen but death by dog attack is really very very low.

[Roadhawg]

Getting the dogs fixed may have a lot more to do with attack tendency than breed. "For example, since 1965-2008, there have been 17 different breeds/types of dogs have been identified in connection with dog bite fatalities in Texas. All of the dogs have been intact (not spayed/neutered)." Quote from the article I mentioned in my last post. I don't see "ball specific legislation" coming on the books any time soon. lol

I think a few wives might be in favor of that lol

[RadicalModerate]

<30 deaths per year. I think if we're going to start damning behaviors we have bigger fish to fry than feisty dog breeds.

Take tame killer sharks for example . . .
Or look at the rare instances of tapir and chimpanzee attacks fer cryin' out loud.
This doesn't mean that I trust pit bulls or their owners . . . But c'mon . . .
And lightening--especially global warming caused lightening.

Have you ever been around a full-sized poodle?
Untrimmed, (uncoiffed) it's a pretty scary dog. Or at least worthy of genuine respect.
And don't even get me started on Ayredayles . . . or those creepy Norweigian Wolf Dog/Hounds.

Now imagine a "toy" chihuahua (of the yapper line) about the size of a Great Dane.
That would be a dog worth avoiding.



All rights and wrongs reserved.
(but note the absence of The Monster Chihuahua or anything resembing a Pit Great Dane)

[OKCisOK4me]

My friend has pitbulls and he breeds them and they go for hella big bucks and they sell quick, so I don't know where you're getting your information. All dogs can love if shown proper love.

[RadicalModerate]

Tru' Dat.
(now whut?)

So . . . where does "Hellabigbucks" in the private sector rank on the scale of "DangerToThePublic"?
in terms of fiduciary concerns and stuff like that there?
not counting cruelty to animals and dogs an so forth etc blablablah

I think that Political Attack Ad Salespersons for Both Parties are overlookin' a niche market.
No?

[HewenttoJared]

...in the u.s., around 350,000 people per year are seen in emergency rooms because of dog bites. around 850,000 people per year seek some form of medical attention. -M

Still pretty small beans IMO.

[HewenttoJared]

30 per 200+ million people.... 49,400 deaths per year from secondhand smoke exposure... Not trying to downplay this sad thing to happen but death by dog attack is really very very low.

Exactly. And regulating smoking took forty years of controversy and bickering.

[RadicalModerate]

There is an old, overused, contemporary parable related to this issue ("bickering") that you may have by-passed in the course of your studies of current events . . .

Non-Denominational.
Dogs are involved.

[WilliamTell]

The difference with Pits is that they were bred to fight and even kill and you never know when that instinct will be triggered.

I would never own a pitbull.

I have been involved first hand in an unprovoked attack on another animal where myself and 2 others were fighting to get the pittbull off of the other dog after the pitbull broke away from its owner, charged over 50 yards across the street at a blue healer that had just jumped out of the back of my truck. I dont want to go into it more but i've also witnessed another attack. I dont care what type of owner you are, they are unpredictable dogs around children and other animals. The attacks that I have personally been involved in have all been with dogs who 'were good dogs and have never done this before'.

I would have no issue killing one if it came into my yard.

(Im a huge animal lover, I've had my own dog since i was a child and have 2 right now)

[RadicalModerate]

Yet another good argument for Open Carry.

If you don't have a pistol or other assault dog deterent readily available, I have it on good authority that you place your fingers at the base of the dog's jaws, where the jaws connect to the rest of the head, and squeeze like you mean it, the dog will stop biting (itself) long enough for you to leverage yourself into a position in which you can literally break the dog's jaw and render it non-threatening. From now on.

Yes, it will hurt.

[PennyQuilts]

Once, I was in a local pound on behalf of a breed specific rescue organization checking out whether a particular dog was a Samoyed. I expected it to be depressing but I was truly shocked at the number of pits that were in there - cage after cage after cage. Just awful - how can people keep breeding and abandoning them? The pound/shelter had even kept the name of one owner surrender - Cudjo. Come on - that dog was never going to be adopted unless it was to go into a fight pin (this wasn't far from where Michael Vick had his kennels).

I have always had good luck with pits - they are the sweetest things - big babies. But one day, it dawned on me that I go out of my way to talk about the "typical" Samoyed temperament and realized how inconsistent that was. If Samoyeds have a certain temperament - and I believe they do - there is no reason to think Pits don't have their own personality traits that could include abrupt violence. The scary thing about pits is not just they can be violent or that they can do real damage - the scary thing is how it can turn off and on with no warning. The thought of having a child around a pit sends shivers down my spine.

[WilliamTell]

The scary thing about pits is not just they can be violent or that they can do real damage - the scary thing is how it can turn off and on with no warning. The thought of having a child around a pit sends shivers down my spine.

4000 Dollars in vet bills and 1 animal death that ive personally witnessed so far.

[LaceyNewman]

^You could always carry one of these around if yer worried. http://www.pbrc.net/breaksticks.html
Also good for staking the odd vampire.
Nobody was saying that no one buys/wants pitbulls, obviously they do and probably pay hellabigbucks for them. That doesn't mean they won't dump them in the shelter later when they need to move into a rental with a no dogs or no pitbulls policy, or when they want to get a cute new puppy. My friend had two gorgeous pit puppies dumped on her property last week with docked ears.

[RadicalModerate]

in all honesty,
i'm a bit peeved
at the rogue cat
that trespassed into
our natural animal sanctuary.

we put out feed
for the birds and the squirrels steal it.
the lurking, unpredictable, cat
has me wondering
if the birds
are at risk

but
at least one
of the squirrels
was "barking" at it
so
i don't know
for sure

my wife
has suggested pellet guns
and vaseline for the feeder pole
to challenge the squirrels
in their neverending quest
for seeds

now
a stray cat
has entered the picture
and i'm not sure what to do
except for no dog. =)

P.S.: The Sonic Egg from PetSmart works GREAT to deter annoying barking neighbor dogs.
It is far kinder than chicken bones or chocolate.