Pitbull discussion started in The Awesome, Cool and Random Pic. Thread.

[Joshua223]

 

[NewLeaf]

Just in case you are considering a Pit Bull for a pet..? I've never had a more loyal (my dogs would die for me or my family) or loving (as loving as our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and that says A LOT ) dog . They're the most forgiving as well , I've seen little kids and big kids do stupid stuff to these dogs and not get bit

 

[Bear44]

I've raised several and mine never attacked anyone . I'm sure any one of'em would have if someone tried to do harm to family or if they had been raised by the wrong kind of folks . This breed is the favorite among "the wrong kind of folks" (dog fighters, drug dealers, and such) ; so I'm not surprised at the numbers . But the breed is not to blame IMHO and in my 40yrs experience with them. Now my PomChi ....she's a different story = naturally a mean B**** haha

Even of the dogs that are raised specifically for fighting, about 90% are not mean. I've worked with the DA's office evaluating dogs that had been confiscated from dog fighting rings and there were only a few that could not be placed due to aggression.

These dogs came out of horrible conditions and some had horrific scars, yet as soon as it became clear they did not have to fight for their life they rebounded and exuded relief and gratitude.

 

[Bryan]

Oh look a graph from dogbites.org

Might want to do some research on that website, it's basically just an emotional outburst and screeching from one delusional woman who was bit by a pitbull.

The data shared by that website has been debunked by professionals time and time again but that never stops the person who gets in a "pitbull discussion" runs to Google and searches "pitbull bad" then goes back to whatever forum the discussion was on and acts like they've done some kind of research into dog behavior.

More research done

 

[Bear44]

From the AVMA site.

Conclusion
Maulings by dogs can cause terrible injuries47 and death—and it is natural for those dealing with the victims to seek to address the immediate causes. However as Duffy et al (2008) wrote of their survey based data: "The substantial within-breed variation…suggests that it is inappropriate to make predictions about a given dog's propensity for aggressive behavior based solely on its breed." While breed is a factor, the impact of other factors relating to the individual animal (such as training method, sex and neutering status), the target (e.g. owner versus stranger), and the context in which the dog is kept (e.g. urban versus rural) prevent breed from having significant predictive value in its own right. Also the nature of a breed has been shown to vary across time, geographically, and according to breed subtypes such as those raised for conformation showing versus field trials.37

Given that breed is a poor sole predictor of aggressiveness and pit bull-type dogs are not implicated in controlled studies it is difficult to support the targeting of this breed as a basis for dog bite prevention. If breeds are to be targeted a cluster of large breeds would be implicated including the German shepherd and shepherd crosses and other breeds that vary by location.

Thank you!

 

[MRH]

The AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) did a study of several thousand reported "Pitbull" attacks and found that the breed identification was wrong 82% of the time. A lot of them weren't even close misses. Dogs like Bernese Mountain dogs were being called Pitbulls in the reports. I personally know of a case where the dog was represented as a Pitbull on the news when in reality it was a Cocker Spaniel.

The statistics are wrong.

That sounds about right. I am no expert, but I am no fool either, and most common guardian/attack dog breeds are also owned by morons who are irresponsible d-bags. Pit bulls and their relatives are the most common among the d-bags. It's no wonder they are often singled out. There are good owners of big breeds and there are plenty of bad. Sure, there are cases of a dog simply being a bad apple, but they are minimal. You are a trainer, Bear, and so you obviously know what I'm saying when I say almost any dog can be obedient, to a degree. The lady who sold me my Cane Corso is also a trainer, and she specializes in aggressive dogs who have been picked up and/or taken to a shelter. When I first met her she had a pit bull in her back yard that was as gentle as a lamb. She then showed me a video of him a couple months before, when she first took him in. It was unbelievable how vicious he was when he arrived. Downright scary. He had previously been a fighting dog for some scumbag. Anyway, the difference was like night and day after she had worked with him. He may never be completely normal, and she said as much, but for the right owner he will be perfect. She said he was, in fact, a big chicken, but his fear made him seem aggressive. When he was afraid, he allowed his nerves/emotions to overcome him and he lashed out. He had never been taught any different. Just the opposite, in fact.

Again, I'm no expert, but I do believe most "bad" dogs are the result of a bad owner, or they are simply wild dogs.

 

[Bear44]

In my expieremce Chihuahua’s are easily the most aggressive dogs most likely to bite.

People tolerate aggression in small dogs much more than in larger breeds, thus genetic based aggression is much more likely in small breeds because people are more willing to breed an aggressive small dog than an aggressive large dog.

It's not Natural Selection, it's Human Selection.

 

[Bear44]

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Don't know about that breed risk rate, but the Lab thing makes sense. The Lab is the most popular dog breed in the US, so there would naturally be more incidents of Lab bites.

 

[Fatal_Bert]

Showed Thor the graph, he doesn't approve.

 

[MRH]

My Mastiff is the spawn of satan.