Did anyone else catch this story about the innocuous Pit Bull Breed?

Question

http://www.bet.com/News/NewsArticlePitBullAttacksToddler.htm?wbc_purpose=Basic&WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublished&Referrer=%7B0471DDF0-D0D8-48A8-9E30-ADD40CBE0269

Gotta love the Pit Bull owner attitude.....'Oh, my dog wouldn't do that. I trained it properly.' LOL! I say the same thing about my pet Tiger & Grizzly Bear.

Answer 1

The reputation of the Pitbull used to be very different than it is now. It was the first official war dog and it was known as the 'Nanny Dog' because it was known for being so good with children. Why has this changed? Because it's increasing popularity has resulted in backyard breeders and violent thugs thinking that unstable dogs are cool or tough and instead of putting the unstable ones down, which is what used to be the case, they are now being bred at an alarming rate producing specimens that are unpredictable at best.

Don't villainize a whole breed because there ARE wonderful, stable Pitbulls out there that are excellent representatives of the breed. The problem is that there are less and less good breeders that focus on keeping the breed what it used to be. Instead of trying to make the Pitbull's reputation even worse, why not focus on those people that have single handedly ruined the breed? Why not focus on stricter laws for those that own an unstable dog rather than make it about breed? How about we focus on educating people that want to breed dogs and know nothing about which dogs should be bred and which ones should be put down? That's where the problem lies, not with any one breed.  

Answer 2

and your point? yea its sad but how is it all Pit Bulls fault because people dont know how to train and socialize their dog? any breed of dog could bite. you are comparing a tiger and bear to a thousands of years domesticated dog? yea that shows your intellect. if you buy a Pit bull from a reputable breeder then it would never bite, they were bred to never be human aggressive and was killed and so much growled at a person. the problem we have is everyone thinks they are a breeder and they will breed two unbalanced (poorly bred) Pit Bulls, and then you have these young kids, and immature adults that try to train the dog to be a guard dog but have no clue how to train it properly and end up making it aggressive towards everyone.. any dog can bite and any dog can kill.. a chihuahua killed a baby not to long ago, but was that plastered all over the news? No. because it was a chihuahua they are not harmless right? wrong. just like a Pit Bull, Rott, Dobe, Yorkie, Lab etc. if not raised, socialized and trained right there will be problems... but in no way does a few dogs speak for a whole breed. and for you trying to sit here and compare Pit Bulls to wild animals shows your ignorance.

Answer 3

i have only one small, short thing to add as most others, rachael most importantly, have said it all - i would never leave ANY dog, be it a bully breed or a chihuahua, alone with any child, be they 4 months or 4 years old... until the child is responsible enough to know how to treat a dog, you never give a dog, whom can only speak through their actions, the opportunity to harm....

i have 2 young step daughters - we have a 2 year old german shepherd, and a 5 month old mutt - eyes are on the kids and dogs AT ALL TIMES!!!!! both dogs are as sweet as pie, and i am sure they wouldnt harm a soul, but, why take that risk.. for if one of these kids walked up to the dog with a baseball bat, and whacked it, who would you blame then? however, where you might say a good dog is one who would run away and not attack, how could you be upset if it deffended itself in the only way it knows how?

and dont say a kid wouldnt do that, because i have seen that very thing happen - to my sisters labrador by  a neighbor kid... and the lab did nothing.... it took it... but, what if it hadnt?

the daycare operater is clearly at fault for leaving the children unattended with an opportunity to wander into the dogs area.... why wasnt the dog in a more secure place? like afully fenced kennel - if you're going to have a number of children around, you just cant take enough precaution... ugh, i thought this would be short... i quit... people are stupid, thats all there is to it!!!

oh, ps - while i did train and socialize my puppy properly, and i am sure she wouldnt do that, why in the world would i take the risk anyway? ya know, people say that about their families too, until someone gets molested, and then they think "but i didnt bring him up that way?" ah, but look what happened...

Answer 4

On Tuesday, James Hendrix, peered into his neighbor’s yard just in time to witness a large pit bull ripping a toddler’s scalp from his head. The dog was owned by the neighbor who runs a day care from the home. She had taken a moment to use the bathroom and apparently that’s the 18-month-old wandered through a back door (HOW DID THE KID DO THIS? THE DOOR SHOULD HAVE BEEN SHUT AND/OR LOCKED) and into the pit bull pen out back when the care giver turned her head.

GET OUT OF HERE!

She left kids unattended and easily able to get to where the dog was.The dog should have been secured somewhere away from the kids and vice versa. Making this thing obviously her fault.

Seriously? What a douche-bag

Answer 5

The problem is, Pit bull is a very general term for a couple breeds.

Bet you didn't know that.

Pit bulls also LOOK like oher beeds t those that don't know any better.

There's also been reports of news stations having to "correct" earlir statements when they get caught up lying about it being a pit bull.

Terriers, ANY terrier, needs good training immedialty.I had a 10lb terrier mix that would chew me up. I got him from the pound and obviously no one trained him properly. If he was a "pit" he would have really hurt me, but seeing as he was only 10lbs *shrugs*

Not all "pit bulls" are bad dogs. It really is the owner. I promise  

Answer 6

it is true that pit bulls and other breeds like rottweilers are given the reputation of being evil because they weren't trained properly. You shouldn't stereotype against dogs because these stereotypes are not true for everyone. I've known so many pitbulls and rottweilers that are the sweetest things ever! Yes, I know they have MORE potential than other breeds to become a hazard, but that's because they are bigger and stronger. If a little shih tzu comes along and runs into someone, the person would just laugh at it, but if a pit bull comes and runs into someone, the person would most likely fall over. It's not the dog's fault that it's so big and strong. A lot of dogs don't know their own strength, so when  a pitbull is trying to play with you and gets a little too fiesty, it is most likely going to accidentally hurt you than if i smaller dog acted the same way. Most people are just so afraid of these dogs that they accuse them of being vicious by acting the same way as any other type of dog, just because they have the reputation of being vicious. Think! I don't know where you came from, but I'm sure all the stereotypes about you, your race, your beliefs, or your background aren't true for everyone that falls into the same categories as you. So don't stereotype against ALL dogs of this breed. Yes, there happen to be more mishaps with pitbulls than other dog breeds, but that is because of their size and strength, and because of their owners not training them properly.

Answer 7

Let me explain this to you so you can understand a bit better.

Pit bulls (and by 'Pit Bull" I refer to ACTUAL APBTs....not one of the many breeds mistaken for a Pit Bull, nor the other breed grouped under the "Pit Bull" blanket term), currently due to the surge in popularity, are terribly over bred, very poorly bred, and tend to appeal to less-than-responsible people. Combine all of these factors (not Nature VS Nurture, but BOTH) and you get many unstable dogs with many irresponsible owners. This is what causes problems like these. That, and a lack of responsible parenting. As far as I'm concerned, dogs and children should never be left unattended, regardless of breed (a pomeranian killed a 4 month old just last year, believe it or not). This day care provider doesn't sound like the sharpest tool in the shed, and should be held responsible for the suffering of the child.

The dog should be put down immediately. Any dog of any breed who behaves aggressively with intent to harm a human should be put down. Before the Pit Bull breed was destroyed by this surge in bad breeding and ownership, any pup displaying aggressive behaviors was culled (and that includes ANY aggressive, dominant, or territorial behaviors). That lead to only balanced dogs being bred and only balanced dogs owned.

There is no greater potential in a pit bull than any other breed. An unbalanced powerful dog, be it pit bull or lab, WILL do damage.

Answer 8

Uneducated people getting dogs they can't handle and this is the result these dogs are not for everyone!

PS Ontario's dog bite numbers haven't gone down by banning the breed and I believe that in the Netherlands they have lifted the pitbull ban as they realized after the numbers got worse that maybe it wasn't the breed that was the issue.

Answer 9

First let me state that I have been a dog trainer for over 30

years.  I have the scars to prove that the so-called lap dogs are just as likely to bit while the owners are more likely to dismiss a problem as " the dog is too small to do any harm".  Despite working with large numbers of "bully" breeds, my worse incident was from a miniature poodle that nearly severed my fingers.

Any poorly trained and socialized dog will bite. Last year one of those vicious dog fatalities was from a Chihuahua but it's hard to fear something so cute !   Pit Bulls are usually LESS prone to biting humans than most dogs...they were never bred to be human aggressive.  Until the recent hype about killer pit bulls. they were known as the "Nanny Dog" for their well-known love for children.

Personally I would trust a well trained PB more than any other breed

with my children.  

Sadly many of the PB attacks are not PB at all.  Seems like it only takes a large head and wide jowls to label a dog as a PB.  I've seen dogs standing 30" and weighing over 100 # named as Pits. (The breed standard is a medium sized dog weighing 30-60#--hardly the Pit Pig that is often touted as "normal".)

A great many of the attacks are of guard type breeds crossed with

PB types (i.e. dog aggressive and human aggressive ).  No dog-loving breeder would create such a monster.  These are treasured only by street punks that need to have a nasty dog to look tough.  They neither train or care for these dogs that are bred to be psychopatic extensions of the owner's ego. Far too often the dogs are beaten, burned and starved into madness.  All the while the public and media demands the death of the real victims.

Nearly all the common knowledge about these dogs are wrong.  They do not have locking jaws nor are they  bred to be human aggressive. Historically they have been bred for pit fighting as have many other breeds such as Boxers. Manchester Terriers, and yes, even the

Cairn. In tests that rate bred aggressiveness the PBT tests better than

those dogs that never make it into the newspaper.

The link below will take you to the American Temperament Test Society.  Truly it is surprising how many of our family dogs test far less trustworthy than the much maligned Pit Bull.

Nan

"You're not looking at the symptom, you're looking at the disease," .  "The symptom is the breed of dog created for a negative function. The disease is us."

Answer 10

not all pit bulls would do that.  She obviously didn't train it well, and someone that isn't going to properly care for the breed shouldn't have one.  My pit is the one dog around the family that protects the young children from the other dogs.  Even if the other dogs are not even posing any threat to the child.  She keeps them away from children.

Answer 11

Unfortunately the Pit Bull is an aggressive breed of dog that has shown time and time again that it's able to inflict lots of damage when it attacks.

   The big problem is not the dog, however, it's the owners. As you say the "Oh, my dog wouldn't do that" attitude and the aggressive training that Pit Bull owners seem partial to are going to end up making sure that the breed gets banned.

Answer 12

you are ignorant and uneducated and need to stop beleiving everthing the media says dude your going to get some harsh answers here i want you to no i agree with every one of them

Answer 13

i think that too many of you hold way to religiously to the mantra of "good breeding". any dog has the potential, regardless of whether the breeder did his homework or the parents were "good stock" or not, to be vicious and dangerous. much of the blame is with the owners who don't train and socialize the dogs properly, but people have to take into account that people choose that breed to have a 'bully' (i.e. mean, aggressive) dog because they are apt to learn the bad habits.

many claim that they have had bully breeds and successfully socialized and trained that dog to be a part of the family, that's fine good for you, but you wont find me leaving a child alone with a dog who is truly is this day bred for a vicious look and dangerous attitude...

Answer 14

Are you kidding me... ANY dog has the potential to be dangerous. h**l a golden retriever could snap one day and attack anyone.

h**l my Italian Greyhound likes to attack me. Granted at the moment he knows when enough is enough but still, if you didn't know him, you wouldn't think he was a friendly dog. Just listen to him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsTXxhXH-...

Answer 15

SO ONLY PITS ATTACK?

NO, did you know they are not number 1 dangerous dog. ....

All dogs have it in them to kill, not just pits

Answer 16

Well, having a pitbull is the same as having human children. When they are young, the kids are fine. But there is no telling what they wil grow up to be: Thugs, Killers, or just plain, honest People. I'm guessing its how you raise them, and what the enviroment they grow up in is like. But every Human has the potential to be dangerous..

Answer 17

Did you know that in Ontario, they have the same number of dog attacks as they did before they got rid of all pit bull terriers? And the same number of deaths caused by dogs? Hmmmmm.... I wonder if that has to do with the irresponsible dog owner, not the breed.....

Stop hating. Nervous dog owners are just as much to blame as owners that fight dogs. Any unsocialized dog will attack, an ill bred dog will attack, a chained up dog will more then likely attack. My boss's husband had his lip ripped off when he was 5 from a golden retriever, if his father wasn't right there to snap the dog's neck, who knows how long it would have taken to have finished the job. I have been bitten by small dogs, two of my friends' parents while growing up put there little pet store pooches to sleep after attacking several people and my aunt put her bichon to sleep after  it attacked her grandchild. The dog in France that ate her owner's face was a Labrador.

I have never been bitten by a pit bull. My friends' daughter is their breeding *****'s (retired now) shining light, following her everywhere, sleeps under the crib and lactated when she got home from the hospital. They got their breeding dogs from reputable breeders, none of their puppies have ever shown aggressive characteristics, all the puppies went to very carefully screened homes, all were contracted to be neutered and spayed, and had to be seen by my friends' vet of choice, and only one dog came back due to the owner who purchased the dog having to move to Miami for his job.