You're 10xs more likely to get bit by a poodle or chihuahua but if a pit attacks you, you're done.

That's why I wouldn't own one. Plus I have assets, unlike most of the scumbags that own them

If you had a choice to be locked up in a room with a rabid pitbull or rabid poodle which would you choose?

I highly doubt it would be the pitbull

That is a popular but inaccurate stereotype. Mastiffs were used for that. Pits are classically a working breed and were mostly used to pull fruit carts and had to be extremely friendly because the last thing a guy selling apples off a truck wants is for a customer to get bit. (Also why the staff terrier was used for the RCA logo, and for "Our Gang" comedies, because it was revered as THE family dog the way Goldens are nowadays)

However, I do know a guy that hunts feral pigs in, get this, Orange County Los Angeles, and he trains dogs to bring them down. One dog is trained to chase and corner until the other dog arrives that will bite the face, ears, lips, etc. and hang on for dear life until the guy can catch up and finish off the pig. Those beasts get huge, hairy, and develop tusks and it is not unusual for him to lose dogs. He says it all comes down to the dog, not the breed, about which dogs work better for which usage.

i actually saved a pitbulls life last summer. I was at a show in cleveland and there was a beach close by so we stopped by after to take ours out to run in the water. This guy was throwing a ball out with his pitbull but wasn't really paying attention to it, he was busy fighting with his gf or whatever.. his dog was in WAY over his head and those dogs are terrible swimmers generally.. i kept my eye on him the whole time and saw him go under. I was a bit nervous because it was a strange dog no less a pitbull in distress but I grabbed him and brought him into shallow water anyway. No issues, no attacks.. but a perfect example of a careless owner though.. I go to a lot of beaches where dogs are welcome and never seen someone that reckless.

shit the guy didn't even thank me.. hehe

this sucks monkey balls...:321GFY

all dogs (including pit bulls yes) are good in my book

Standard Poodles back in the 50s were overbred and developed a nasty reputation as kid killers. Moreover, they were one of the breeds selected for use in the military. Just like any dog, a bite can be devastating.

how much time have you spent with either animal?

I have one and she is a good dog. I had a dog trainer train both of them, I have a boxer mix allso.

I watched a jackrussel knock over and bite the mailman. Not a thing was done about it.

define pit bull. I see quite a few breeds lumped in with the pit bull name

This is the only question that need be asked. "if a sheep dog that was bred to herd animals can run around instinctively trying to herd things, though never trained to do so or having been exposed to similar dogs... why can't a dog that was bred to fight, instinctively want to fight?

haha, I like the little dog on the ground !!! Love the expression on it's face, that's my kind of dog.



.

Chihuahuas as someone mentioned down below do have a highly reported dog bite. I believe they are the highest. And yes, they can do damage, especially to a child. Most owners don't report bites if it happens in their household to one of their own. So you'll never really get the full picture of things. Even friends who get bit by their friend's dog often don't report the bite in fear of alienating their friend.

So what we're left with is mostly data from random dog attacks by people the owner doesn't know. The Pit bull attracts so many unsavory owners. You'll rarely see a thug owning a Poodle. The media also likes to report Pit bull attacks because they know it will make big news. No one cares when a Golden Retriever bites someone. When you see a Pit bull wearing one of those big chains or spiked collars you know there's trouble blooming. Also, there are a high number of reported Golden Retriever bites. This surprises most people. The breed is often considered "America's Dog." But there's been a lot of bad breeding in the past few decades and this has produced a high number of bad blood lines. When you don't breed with good and responsible selection criteria that's what happens.

That's my mom's new dog, Dexter. He and my Pit Bull never leave each other's sides. He's the dog my Pit Bull defended against my mom's old Rotweiler when she went mad and tried to kill them both.

Irresponsible behavior has it drawbacks
 

statistics seem to highlight a problem.

http://www.dogsbite.org/img/2012-fatality-chart.gif

38 U.S. fatal dog attacks occurred in 2012. Despite being regulated in Military Housing areas and over 600 U.S. cities, pit bulls contributed to 61% (23) of these deaths. Pit bulls make up less than 5% of the total U.S. dog population.

http://www.dogsbite.org/dog-bite-sta...ities-2012.php

Relying on dogsbite.org for information is like relying on some whacky right winger for news on politics. The owner of that site, Colleen Lynn, is very biased against Pit bulls. She was bitten by a Pit bull in 2007 and that fueled her anger. Her story has changed multiple times on the matter. She bases her information on opinion, and not on fact. She is a nobody, and is not educated in canine behavior.

http://dingo.care2.com/pictures/c2c/...435098_370.jpg

her facts matches wiki facts

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatal_d...ported_in_2012

her facts = the national canine research center's facts

http://nationalcanineresearchcouncil...ed-fatalities/

the fact is pitbulls account for more dog bit fatalities than any other dog.



/

And black people account for more murders and robberies than any other race, should we start putting black people down when we see them out and about? Dogs are no different.

certainly you can't be this myopic. when did i sy anything about putting anything down? when did i say anything about it being solely the dog?

the fact is black on black murders do account for more murders.

the fact is pitbulls do account for more dog bite fatalities than other breeds.

now you can bury your head in the sand and ignore that fact or you can realize it's a fact.



dogs are no different than people? :1orglaugh

3rd post in this thread.

My bad, I mistook your response as being one of those ignorant people who use biased opinions as facts against a dog who yeah, is gonna do damage when it bites, but is no worse than any other dog.

I'm hungover, give me a break. :Oh crap

hey no worries. the thing to me that is important is realizing that pitbulls do rise to the top of that list and if folks don't sort out the root of the problem and address it, there will be more misunderstandings and shit surrounding the dog.

Unfortunately the stereotype is set in, just like it was in the previous decades for other dogs, the only way to change is to educate the ignorant one at a time, and punish abusive owners who shouldn't have the dogs.

I was speaking of your chosen website of referring data from. I wasn't disputing the numbers she has compared with wikipedia. The problem with this is these statistics on dog bites and fatalities are skewed. That's because any dog that looks like a Pit bull will be labeled as a Pit bull. So even if a dog that was a Labrador/Pit/Chow but resembles a Pit bull they will write it down as a Pit bull.

It's funny that you should now refer to The National Canine Research Council. That website is the opposite of the other one... it is very reliable with accurate data. But you need to dig deeper into that site. Numbers don't mean a lot to me. Research does. Take a look at the Council's The Pit Bull Placebo. It's quite a long read, but is well worth it.

The main problem is people who think dogs are human-like, and have human traits, and are not dumb animals. Sure, you can train a dumb animal, but it will always be a dumb animal. And I say that as a dog lover.

it's not me that's the concern, i've owned a pitbull, tj hooker, cool dog.

i was trying to highlight that people glob onto statistics and it will get to the point that that statistic will doom pit bulls.

it's a big deal right now in los angeles area, that woman was the 2nd woman recently to be attacked and killed by pit bulls.

the dog will be dealt with by the masses if pit bull owners don't get their shit together and sort out that statistic.

60% of fatalaties but only 5% of the dog population? see what i am trying to get at here?

bye bye pit bulls.

Sorry, I didn't realize your point of view. It came across as a bit ambivalent. I wasn't aware of the LA attack. I just looked it up. This story here from early May reads: "The attack marked the first fatal attack in L.A. County's history, according to ABC7." Was there another one that just happened then? That is pretty aweful what happened to that woman. Horrible. No one deserves that.

The profile of the owner is typical, though. Says he is growing marijuana in the backyard and has 8 other dogs. And there's been complaints already about him. They need to create laws where if you own Pit bulls you need to prove that you've been through extensive obedience training. They also should put a limit on how many Pits you can own.

This story made me think of this thread again.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/nation...607-story.html

So it is the dog or the owner? I'm not sure anymore. I'm a dog lover for sure, but why is it so often this one breed?

It is the owner 100%. I own a pitbull and most of my friends do as well and they are the biggest goofballs and sweethearts. Mine personally is aggressive towards other dogs, but only when we're in the few blocks around my house and it's a territory issue. Once we're away from the house he's just interested in other dogs like any other dog.

He's never attacked another dog and he was actually attacked by a bigger dog one day when someone came up behind us with no warning while we were waiting to cross the street. However little dogs ALWAYS act aggressive towards him and try and attack. I had to punt a little lap dog the other day cause it came at us and the owner had it off the leash. If I didn't kick it away my dog definitely would have finished the job.

I've been chased by a rottie when I was a teen because it thought I was coming on it's property, I've been chased by MANY small dogs while biking, but NEVER had an issue with pit bulls and I've been around dozens.

Fuck bad dog owners.

Any dog can be raised to be sweet and loving, or neglected (or spoiled) enough to attack. Small dogs are usually the worst offenders, but when a chihuahua attacks, you push it away and put up a baby gate when company comes over. Pit bulls are often the sweetest dogs, however their size and build are menacing which leads people to be afraid. Also, when a large and physically intimidating dog attacks it is much more likely to do major damage. I wish I could have a pit, but they are forbidden by my HOA and home owners' insurance. :(

It's 100% the breed and not the owner. That's why pit bull's are responsible for fully 70% of fatal dog bites. Think it's not then you're first in line to be the next "shocked" owner or parent. Play with fire and you're closer to a burn than one who doesn't. Stats are all there for the open minded.

yet another example of a dangerous animal.. congrats you are part of the problem

owners can't fix GENERATIONS of breeding for violence and aggression and lack of breed standards. no matter how good the trainers are.. and believe me, i know some of the best in our country and in the US...

I know this is an old ass thread but pits were bred SPECIFICALLY to have a great temperament towards humans.

Check yourself before you wreck yourself.

The demand for pittbulls is very high (guard dogs, fighting, or otherwise), and their breeding is out of control. California alone has a massive population of rescue/shelter pittbulls who have been abandoned or abused. Other comparable sized breeds may be less likely to have such a troubled history.

Pittbulls are only the most recent headline-generating media frenzy target though. Before pittbulls it was dobermans, german shepherds, rottweilers, mastiffs, dalmatians, and even chow chows.

Another issue with headline-generating media frenzy is the misidentification of the breed. "Labrador-Shepherd-Terrier Mix bites child" won't generate the clicks.

Find the pittbull: http://www.pbrc.net/misc/PBRC_find_the_pitbull.pdf

(hint: there's only one)

My oldest daughter got attacked by a Poodle and my youngest son was attacked by a very small chihuahua mix - they just didn't maul them or rip off body parts - but they are equally as mean - just smaller scale. I actually hate small dogs, yappy little fuckers. lol

It is the dog...and it isn't. Pitbulls are more likely to be an aggressive dog, which is why they need a good dog person to raise them. Same goes (to a lesser degree) for Rotweillers, Chows and German Shepherds. They need a strong leader or there could be trouble.

My lab plays with a pitbull quite often, and he's a sweetheart, but so is the owner -- and the owner also knows his shit when it comes to raising a good dog. Some douche kid with his ballcap twisted sideways wants a pit for one reason....to look like a bad ass.

whatever aggressive breed bites things and won't let go - sucks.

those taco bell dogs suck too. they're actually worse than pit bulls. ever look into a taco bell dogs eyes and not want to punch it?

Maybe because that kind of owners are less likely to buy a poodle and most likely to buy a pitbull?

No offense, but claims like that are ignorant.
Part of the issue is dog and part of the issue is the owner. Who knows 90/10, 80/20, 70/30, 20/80, 10/90 or anything else. Once thing for certain - definitely not 100/0 or 0/100.