OP/ED: Toronto to Ban Pits... Could the ban be Spreading?!

Much of the media is biased against pit's: it's sensational reporting.

many of the attacks aren't even by pitbulls, but by breeds witnesses 'thought' were pitbulls. Boxers, Bull Terriers, AmStaffs have all been miscontrued as pits.

The Pitbull is not human aggressive by nature. They are just eager to please their master, and willing to do anything the master trains him to do. That is why, when police break up dog-fighting rings, the abused dogs rarely attack the police when being rescued.

The American Pitbull Terrier was the #1 family pet in the early 20th Century.

Originally posted by Netchicken
I totally agree Parr!

Also if cats can be declawed, then Pitbulls should be de-teethed.
No one ever suffered from being savagely gummed by a dog.

All we need ot do is be a little more creative....

One simple problem with that...

The dogs will be forced to eat mush, and the pain that is involved with getting all their teeth pulled may trigger some sort of outburst in behaviour

Originally posted by nathraq
Much of the media is biased against pit's: it's sensational reporting.

many of the attacks aren't even by pitbulls, but by breeds witnesses 'thought' were pitbulls.
The Pitbull is not human aggressive by nature. They are just eager to please their master, and willing to do anything the master trains him to do. That is why, when police break up dog-fighting rings, the abused dogs rarely attack the police when being rescued.

The American Pitbull Terrier was the #1 family pet in the early 20th Century.

As a responsible Pit owner, I'm so happy to see someone here that is educated on the breed and not just spouting off from what they hear...refreshing!

We adopted a pit when he was 4 months old.

He is now 6 months. Let me tell you something.....

Our baby( 1 1/2 year old) crawls all over him. The only danger to the baby, is our pit licking him to death.

So please don't believe the hype. No breed of dog has a 'gene' to make them human aggressive. That is hype. Pits are beautiful, intelligent, and EXTREMELY loyal.

If I wanted an agressive dog, I would have adopted a poodle or cocker spaniel.

I live in Toronto. I am a huge dog lover. I get so angry reading about these people who want to ban pit bulls. The owners are the problem, I just wish those of us that agree could do something about it.
These dogs(actually any dogs) should not be out on the loose. The owners should be responsible and leash their dogs.
The BAD OWNERS are giving GOOD DOGS a bad reputation. Any dog can be trained to kill or trained to be a loving member of any family.
My friends and I just want to have somewhere to vent..........This is just so frustrating.
In todays paper there was another story about a cocker spaniel being attacked by a pit off its leash............GGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

I own a crossed-pitbull and he's the best dog ever, wonderful dog. I would like to invite to all the people from this forum who are against putbull ban to please join in a Demonstration tomorrow at Queen's Park. This is our change for our voice to be heard!!!!
Remember they're baning pitbulls today, what tomorrow gonna be?? Let's stand up for our rights and oppose breed banning

Details below:

Demonstration

There is a privately organized demonstration in protest of the Pit bull ban proposed by Attorney General Michael Bryant.

Date: October 23rd at noon
Where: Queen's Park

Link

Thanks,


[edit on 22-10-2004 by Banshee]

I have a Cane Corso. I researched breeds like crazy when I was making my decision. Some of the more popular breeds I originally wanted were prone to short life spans & 'mental' worries - due to over breeding. Not even getting into the backyard variety, but liscensed & legitimate breeding has destroyed certain stocks - it's a calling for the good ones & not a primary business. The breeder I bought my bitch from ....it was his only litter in the last 4 years.
I'm working from my home office today, and she's sleeping at my feet - the love that comes off of this dog is something else. Yet, she has a jaw power that had her biting through the dense compressed rubber 'chew toy'. She weighs 125 lbs & is all muscle and was sleeping by the front door ( in guard position) as soon as she finished crate training.
Now this dog can kill a man ( they're multipupose &are used as police dogs in Italy), but , and this is a big but, she was actively socialized & trained as a pup. Basic Shutzen & the Monks of New Skeet training .
I've got to upload her pic ( she's a slat blue grey - Weimeraner color ), but here's her father's pic off of the breed club website:



A pitbull is as dangerous as any other large breed dog that is not socialized. A socialized pit is extremely affectionate & loyal to the death. Terrier breeds are too jumpy for my preference , though. I like the breeds in the mastif family. I'm debating getting an American Bulldog, or just having my dog bred.

Its not the dog.... its the owners.... enough said!!!

A chiwowa... not even gonna try and spell that one correct.... can be viscious too!

in fact I think they are more aggressive by nature, but they are small so they are safe... go figure.

Im the proud owner of a Boxer, another breed that has had no justice.

The Boxer breed is lovable good with young children when properly raised.

ever heard the saying a dog is like its owner?

[edit on 22-10-2004 by LostSailor]

Okay,

Here is my perspective after having owned three pits, currently living with one. Allow me to preface this: I am not a gang-banger, drug dealer or thug of any variety. I hold down a full time job as a research scientist, teach at a local college, and have a graduate degree.

Ultimately, the problem with Pits is the owners, and not just the 'thug' owners. The family dog owners probably have some blame in this as well. Personally, I would never own a dog other than a pittie. They are smart, obedient, etc. However I am not unrealistic regarding my dog's potential. Contrary to posts on this particular thread: pit bulls were not bred to be killers. Pit bulls were bred to be highly dog aggressive and highly 'game.' Game here is used to mean the desire to never give up. Based on this pitties have a high prey drive. Pit bulls want to be the dominant dog... specifically with respect to other animals and especially dogs. Certainly there are gang bangers out there who train there dogs to be mean, however in my mind even more guilty are the pit owners who take full grown adult pits to places like dog parks and then act surprised when they latch on to a great danes ear and won't let go. The fact of the matter is pit bulls can never be trusted around other dogs.

And unfortunately, despite their overwhelming tendency to love humans, the thug element has bred more human aggressive blood lines as of late. Personally, I blame the media and things like pit bull bans. Everytime you hype these dogs up as killers and dangerous, you inspire thugs to 'getapit'
I feel bad for those you who've not a had a positive experience with pitties. I've owned 8 dogs in my life, but I'll never own anything but a pit bull again. The key is responsible ownership and the first part of that is recognizing your dogs background and history.

Thanks for reading.

Matt.

Well people can say what they will about these dogs. My dad attended a citizens training class offered by our local police department. One night they were treated to a demonstration by the K-9 unit. The head of the department stated directly that they do not use Pits because they are dangerous and unpredictable. That says alot. This is a trained professional. Someone who knows the dogs better than anyone here. If someone with that background says the dogs are dangerous and unpredictable I would certainly bet on it being correct. It just confirms what most of us have seen in the news.

um... p[olice are going to say they are dangerous and unpredictable because chances are if they ae responding to a POLICE call its going to be a dangerous pitbull they run into... go figure

We that have responsibly owned these dogs for years...raising then with my children know better. I work with dogs every days of my life....I know the breeds and I know the ones to be careful of..in my 18 years, I have never heard of one of being bit by a Pit....Chows? yes, Poodles? yes, Lhasas? yes, Goldens? yes....a dog is dangerous if you make then dangerous...WTH do you think the police force is going to tell people? They are trying to get rid of the breed because your idiotic gangs and druggies use them and make them mean.....there's no getting that through to some people who have no experience with the breed at all and go by what they're told...for me...this is useless and a waste of trying to share my first hand knowledge of the subject. so I'm outa here.

Originally posted by LadyV
Chows? yes, Poodles? yes, Lhasas? yes, Goldens? yes.

I can't believe there is still something left to say on this subject, 9 pages.
Chows, poodles, etc, let's also throw in German shepards, dobbies, etc. The fact of the matter is that this breed, when it loses it is more vicious than any other breed. You can say this breed, or that breed, bites more and you'ld probably be right. I've been bitten more by chiquaqua's than any other dog. Point is one of those couldn't kill a cat let alone a human. The viciousness of a pit attack is akin to that of shark. You don't believe that? Check out the pics of the victims.

A chiwowa... not even gonna try and spell that one correct.... can be viscious too!

Lost Sailor,

It's Chihuahua and I have one of those mean little dogs along with a Rott, a Pit and a Pom. Out of the four dogs, guess who has actually drawn blood? - The Pom but she was in pain. My Chi thinks he is the size of the Rott and the Rott thinks he is the size of the Chi!

I own a Pit Bull and consider myself to be a responsible owner. My dog is now 5 years old and has been desexed without producing a single litter.

I have had my dog since she was a pup, and her sole job is to protect my property from burglars. Before we got the dog we were burgled three times. Since "Middy" has been here we have not had a single break in.

She has full run of the front and back yards(fully fenced) and I have complied with my councils requirements as to the height of the fences and the posting of signs.

She has only bitten one person(the postman) who actually got off his bike and reached over the fence to pat her. He didn't wish to press charges as he believed that he made an error in judgement. The post office, however, insisted that the dog be put down. When the ranger came to collect my dog, I told him I would only surrender my dog if he came back with the police and the appropriate paperwork stating that a dog can be put down for biting. He never returned.

The only other incident was when I was walking the dog. She was on a lead minding her own business when an old couple came walking towards us. Their poodle was not on a lead, so I yelled out to them to "hold your dog". To this the woman just laughed so I asked her again. I moved off the pavement and held my dog on a really short lead. The poodle ran to my dog, barking and snapping in quite an aggressive manner. Needless to say, my dog took one bight to the poodles head, crushing it's skull.

Well, this woman started going ballistic screaming and carrying on about how my dog had killed hers and was causing quite a scene. About 3 mins. later the police were on the scene(Police station was across the road) and asked me what had happened.

Once they knew the details, they issued the old woman a $253 fine for walking her dog without a lead. I felt sorry for her, but I did warn her twice about holding her dog.

I would not trade my dog for anything. She is loving, smart and I believe she would lay down her life to protect me and my kids.

This is a photo of "Middy" on her chair on the front verandah.

Interesting.

Today there is a human only protest here in Toronto. No dogs allowed, they are fearing for their lives.

thats a beautiful dog pshycosis... it would be a shame if you had to give her up due to someone elses ignorance...

Well there you go. One bite and it kills another dog. And it bit a postman. And this is supposedly a good Pit. This is the measure of good? Then what is average or below average? Imagine what it could do to someones 2 year old child. Actually we've seen enough pics in the past to know what a Pit could and would do to a little child. Any other dog bites you and you are going for stitches. A Pit bites you and you have to fight for your life. That is the breed and nothing else. The dogs physical power makes it so dangerous. That and its unpredictability. Those two combined make for a deadly weapon. And most Pit owners know that. That is the reason they own one.

Update! See original post!

"The question is whether or not pit bulls are inherently untrainable and uncontrollable by human beings."

This was confirmed by a professional in the local police K-9 unit. If you have a Pit and it attacks someone and kills them you should be charged with some level of murder. And if your Pit attacks someone you should at minimum be charged with assault with a deadly weapon or perhaps attempted murder. These people know what they are doing when they get a Pit and chances are they are doing it simply for intimidation. I have no respect for the dog. My neighbors have two of them. And these morons leave their back yard gate unlatched and a few times I have found one of their dogs roaming loose. That dog will not live to see the next day if it comes anywhere near me.