Ignorance is a wonderful thing, except when its used for locating facts.

Its all about the training. They ARE bred to be fighters. The training is essential, they CAN be as good a dog as any other breed. They can be trained to be loving family members just as an australian shepherd or heeler can be trained NOT to chase things.


hmm....the problem here is (as i suspect with your previous 'stats') that this was located on google by using the search terms "pit bull deaths statistics". Im sure there are other ways that make that site pop up, but you went looking for something specific for pit bulls. Now, lets look at the REST of the stats for that site, regardless of HOW you found it.



Now. You can see that most of the attacks were on children UNDER 12 years old. When was the last time you saw a kid walk up to a dog, while talking to it and gently pet it? Probably not often. Usually, kids are ill mannered and run up to the dog yelling and screaming. Dogs don't like this. This is how my nephew got nipped by my dog, to which i told his father if the kid came up to me like he did my dog, i would have whipped his butt.
Now lets look at the last part of these 'stats'. Ill let you guys read the last 5 lines.

You tell me how that makes the DOG BREED responsible?

 

What is a pit bull type dog? Maybe you can break down the pit bull and pitbull type dogs catagory for a layman here. If you are going to make accusations about a specific breed then be specific. Maybe throw some facts out there about the mixed breed catagory also, for clarification.

 

Gentlemen,

I was a professional dog trainer for several years and have trained over 5000 dogs personally for obedience, hunting, and therapy work. Pit bulls were one breed that scared me. While it is true that training and devotion can go a long way towards the behavior of an animal, the fact remains that the Pit Bull has been bred largely for sport and for killing, mostly to amuse the owners. I do not believe that it was bred with a purpose in mind as many of the other dog breeds (working dogs, herding, sport, etc) I am not certain, but I do believe the origins of the Pit Bull breeding were maining for the use of fighting--I will say that I might be mistaken on this point. It is sad that the breed has degraded to the state that is in today. The problem to me is the ignorance of SOME breeders that think mean, viscious dogs are the greatest thing.

While I'm sure that many owners have no intentions of ever wanting a viscious or dangerous dog, the fact is that breeding will play a part and many times with "backyard" breeders, you have no clue what the line was like 2 or more generations back as the dogs are usually not available. Because of this, it can be very difficult to predict when and IF unwanted tendencies will develop as the dog matures.



The other factor in this is the owners of the dog itself. Many times people "train" their dogs unwittly. For example, the game of "tug of war" with a pup is a lot of fun, but what it can and does teach the dog too many times is that the toy is an object for possession and the only way to win is to keep the toy, hence the dog becomes more aggressive to insure possession. While it's cute when the dogs are 12lbs, when they are 80lbs of muscle and teeth, it can be a different story with a bad outcome. That is not to say that all dogs are like that, but it does happen.

Where breeding and instinct are concerned, both play a crucial part of how a dog reacts to it's environment and temperment. I personally have a German Shorthair Pointer. The dog began to point bird wings in the yard at 7-8 weeks of age, with no training, hence, this is a product of selective breeding to enhance desired traits--the desire to point. Unfortunately, the same selective breeding can be used to enhance agressive behavior and "meaness" and unfortunately, some people do that.

As for the statistics, numbers can be manipulated in any way to serve any purpose an individual seeks. As a case in point, the stats posted on this topic clearly show that Pit Bull type dogs are responsible for X % of attacks. That is reported attacks. But, how many reports of the phenomenon known as "spontaneous rage" which is becoming more prevelant in Springer Spaniels is noted or even recognized by owners. Also on the rise is the aggressiveness in Golden Retrievers, due in part to poor "backyard" breeding practices spurred by the increase in the demand in recent years for Golden Retrievers, but that is rarely reported either because they are "great family dogs".

I'm not trying to side with anyone here or go against anyone here. The point that I am hoping to make is that ALL dog breeds can and do exhibit some form of aggression. Certain breeds are more prone to it and therefore gain more bad exposure. As a dog owner, the best prevention is training, and knowledge about the breed. Learn as much as you can about your breed, then learn as much about your own dog as you can and try to match the tendencies together. As someone else said earlier, learn your dog and it's behaviors, then learn to avoid situations that put you and your dog in the most risk of having an issue. Very Good Advice.

The last bit of advice I would offer is to remember that when you are gathering information on your dog, printed materials are a fantastic reference, but until someone writes a book about YOUR dog, the books are just reference. It is still up to you to learn dog behaviors and then learn to identify those behaviors in your dogs. Just like people they are all different.

Good Luck with the pups and I hope they become the great family pets you are looking for.

 

Brindles are so beautiful, a friend of my brothers bought one for $800 about four months ago. I have an American Pit Terrier, rescued him from a shelter at about 3 months.

 

When I was in school someone broke into my house and stold my room mates stero and a gun from me. Since we both were gone alot my solution was to get a "no ask questions: watch dog. I didnt know what I wanted as long as it was mean and aggressive (figured He would get use to me) Went into the county pound and suddenly this LARGE HUSKIE/CHOW MIX charged his gate like he wanted to kill. I went back to the office and told the guy.. HES the one I want. The guy got a funny look on his face and said "hell .thats OUR night time guard dog . HE will eat you alive.and you cant have him for any price.....One of my first lessons on dogs.... true story

 

Pits are ok.They're a great dog for running wild boar. As for a house dog with the kids, naa. I will stick with my blueticks and deal with the howling...haha

 

Basic fact: Any dog has the capability to bite, harm, and kill anyone. I don't care if you have a Pomeranian or a 120lb Doberman (like me ).

The problem with dogs is not the dog - it is the owner. Not to pick on thefarelaneman or mean anything towards him as he may not be this way, but unfortunately, too many people look at getting a dog in this manner. They do not look at what it takes to control the dog, or see the responsibility in what owning large breed dogs and breeds that have vicious genetics takes. They just look at that they want a big dog.

It doesn't matter if what type of animal you own, you are responsible for it. I personally will not tell anyone they cannot own any certain type of dog. I just hope they are responsible enough to have the dog. If not and something was to happen, God help the person if they have to deal with someone like me.

 

some say bull mastiffs are mean...hell, my insurance agent told me to pretend i never called him to ask if i needed to add him to the homeowners...

Bad owners produce bad dogs.

 

Sorry double post?

 

Without making any insulting remarks, I have had three bad experiences with pit bulls.

1. My daughter was 4 years old, when she and a cousin were playing on the swing set in my fenced back yard. The back gate was open. A pit bull came into MY yard, drug my niece off the swing and damn near killed her. My wife and her sister, ran out into the yard , the pit let go of my neice, and bit my daughter on her head. She still has the scars today, and that was 29 years ago. Police destroyed the dog, and we sued the dog owner. But you cannot get blood out of a turnip, or money out of a loser.

2. I had a boxer puppy. My stupid second wife, allowed one of her friends to come over to the house with a pit. I did not have a boxer puppy when I got home from work that night. I don't have my second wife anymore either.

3. About two months ago I was walking my golden retriever on the same route that we have taken for 2 years. A darn pit bull was loose on the street. It came up and started circling us. The owner came out of his garage just as the pit started getting very aggressive. I called the police, but as usual in Vegas, if no blood is spilled then metro don't pry themselves out of the donut shops. I have a concealed carry permit, and now I carry my weapon on our dailey walks. The owner of this pit knows darn good and well I will use my gun if his dog is loose again and attacks.

I am sure there are good Pit Bulls somewhere. And that is good, as long as they are not around me or my family

 

And oh, about the remark about Golden Retrievers being good family dogs. I have owned three. NO one has ever been bitten or attacked by my dogs. My current Golden would probably help a burgler haul the goods out of our house.

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/3...ghbor+attacked

Another thread on the same subject. Read my posts (#23 & #30) if you care to.

Wezol5484: Come to the next TX gathering and I'll show you the scars in person. I'll bring pics of my neighbor's encounter if you've got the stomach for it. Why did you want them may I ask, why this breed/type of dog in particular?

 

Well we came across the first one by accident, and was told it was a pit/terrier mix and it was 9 weeks old. In reality it was 4 weeks and it was an American Pit Bull Terrier, we found that out a few weeks later.

My aunt has had two and my cousin has one. They are great dogs and have been great to everyone in the family and friends, never shown any aggression that wasn't necessary.
Bad owners make bad dogs, Ive known many people attacked by chihuahuas, chows (me personally), labs, and cocker spaniels.

Most pit attacks aren't full blood pits, or came from a bad owner who didn't care about their dog (ie: chaining them up, not socializing them, not taking the time and patience to train them, not feeding them, abusing them) and only wanted them as a status symbol. THAT IS THE WRONG REASON TO OWN ANY DOG.

If the time is taken to train a Pit the RIGHT way, (and I am still learning but am doing all the reading I can to make sure I do it right the first time) they will be a GREAT family addition.

I am sorry your neighbor had a bad encounter, that dog should be put down along with any dog who attacks anybody and seriously injures them (without provocation).

Like I said, we came across the first one by accident. Hell my girlfriend wasn't even looking for a dog. She just fell in love with this one outside her work and so did I. She is VERY smart, energetic, and loving to everyone and everything. I fell in love with her, so I wanted one of my own, and I don't regret it at all. He is a very good puppy, very mild mannered (although still shy but Ive only had him for a little over a week), listens well and if I don't say so myself, is pretty dang smart.

Everyone is entitled to their thoughts and opinion, thats what is great about this country and it's why myself along with MANY other great people are serving our country, to protect everyone's right to opinion and speech; and like most opinions, they are based off of experiences. Some people have negative experiences, some don't. I guess I have just been one of the ones to have very positive experiences with Pit Bulls.

tdister: if by chance I can make it to the next TX gathering, maybe I can bring Boss and Dakota. I know once you meet them you will realize that not ALL pits are bad

 

No, bring them out! I will never trust them 100%, but that doesn't mean I won't get near them and pet on them. Heck, I let them lick my chin at the dog park. My point is, these aren't just some stories, these were all previously well behaved dogs with what I would consider decent owners. One day though...and that's how a lot of these happenings seem to go. I work around some scary guard dogs (Maremmas) that were never socialized with people. They tolerate me but could easily kill me if they wanted to. Well, one is probably the sweetest dog I've ever met, but 2 of them just give me "the look" all day. They aren't the only creatures to be cautious of there, but I won't live my life in fear.

Meremmas are another dog that is NOT a pet IMO, they need a job. Without that intended job they develop characteristics later in life that many would not like.

I always have these situations and the one's where people get attacked by bears (semi-domesticated) that seemed calm 2 seconds before. They're sitting there fine and Bam (!), out of nowhere. I know they're way different creatures with different motives, but when you've been through it...

There were put down the same day, all but the one that got me. There were 3 of them in my case and, in all the craziness, they never figured out exactly which one it was. Owners were in another room and they all looked the same to us.

They say to go by "deed not breed", but I don't take much stock in that. It's true to a point, but I've been around too many types of dogs and seen them mature. I know breed has much much to do with attitude and drive. That saying is a one way street for me.

Have fun with them. It sounds like you are trying to be responsible, a good thing to hear. I would never recommend instilling complete trust in them though, no matter how long they have a good track record. Much like any animal, reactions to what THEY consider a stressful situation can be very different from how it normally/previously acted.

Sorry, rambling .

 

I agree 100% Back then I all wanted was a weapon and wasnt ready to love and care for a dog,,