ANOTHER child killed by pit bulls.

I am not a proponent of banning an entire breed but the Southwestern pit bull strains have been so inbred for fighting that the dogs have become loose cannons that the owners can't or won't control. It is not their fault (80% of bad dogs are from bad owners the other 20% just blow a microchip)

I think that the dogs neighbors, AKC, veterinarians need to step up and start a list of dog family lines that disappear when they are young (Clue to dog fighting) and good dog owners need to start avoiding those lines when they buy a dog until then buy a pit from a good breeder in a state where dogfighting to their knowledge is what happens when two neighbor dogs have a disagreement over turf.

Don't get the government involved, It does not solve a thing, makes things worse for everyone else and we need to reduce government power not increase it.

losangeles.cbslocal.com... abclocal.go.com.../local/inland_empire&id=9259751
www.upi.com...

reply to post by VforVendettea


Here in the UK we have just brought in a new law concerning dangerous dogs which hold the owners accountable.

www.gov.uk...

and now they may bring this one in.

www.theinformationdaily.com...

7- years to life...

They should bring in a dangerous dog licence where If you want one of these breeds you have to have training and have to get a dog from a decent source.
It is a shame that we have so many "broken" breeds of dogs, many which are born into pain and have been breed for looks which has given them genetic defects which will never go away until the breed is extinct.

reply to post by VforVendettea


So my close friend rescued a fighting Pitt and in the end the dog couldn't be tamed and had to be put down. Before all that Capone had puppies which Eve came from that litter. Which of course is direct from a fighting dog whos father was also a fighting dog, yet Eve being loved as she was, was simply an oversized lapdog. Did she scratch others at times? Yes of course because she's a large playful dog and that happens but never did and never will take a bite at anyone, ever!

I have a Pitt that is now 7 months old and she too is a harmless creature. The issue isn't with the dogs but the trianers or owners and that is not 80% but 99.99% of the time. Pitt were designed as fighting dogs, meanig they have genes bread for this type of behavior but it absolutely doesn't make them that type of dog. I have never seen a Pitt Bull go crazy because they were simply harwired wrong and I have been around them all my life.

Just like guns don't kill people, it the ones pulling the trigger that does. Same can be said about PittBulls. That being said, the are simply the dog that people love to hate.

reply to post by VforVendettea


Please note, the article linked does not state the girl was killed, but badly injured. You may want to correct title.

The breed is regrettably banned in my Province.

I will mirror your sentiments that a major percentage of the dogs actions are the responsibility of the owner.

Edit to add:

My apologies, I missed the second linked article. A two year old was indeed killed. However, this incident seems to be the result of pure incompetence on the part of the babysitter....

Good catch to share...tragic story to read.

I agree with you on this and share your conflicted feelings as it seems you also have. Banning a whole breed with a stroke of a pen on paper is absurd. Just be ready for the "All breeds are 100% equal and harmless by nature" people who I imagine will descend in droves to argue anything said againt Pit Bulls..or any other known fighting breed.

I think you have it right there too. It isn't their fault for what a good % of them are and have become over generations. They've been bought, bred and specifically trained up to be what they are today. Just like some breeds are exceptionally good dogs to assist with herd animals....while other dogs would see the herd as their personal buffet to eat from at the first opportunity.

I don't know what the answer is...since the Pits that are an obvious danger are...well..Obvious. Usually by who owns them. (Criminals... Dog fighters..etc..) The problem is, those of the long fighting and vicious bloodlines don't carry some distinct mark on them. There is no way to know sometimes. Just the breed known to be chosen for that very trait they share.

reply to post by boymonkey74


I would agree with laws that govern dangerous dogs. The reality is, its difficult to understand who a god dog owner is vs a bad one sometimes. If you as a dog owner don't do what is neccesary to protect innocent life then the onus is on you and not the dog. This of course shouldn't be isolated to a group of dogs but all dogs. A loss of life is a loss of life and if it could have been prevented then it should be manslaughter if nothing else.

Being from the southwest, I can tell you, I have yet to meet a pitbull that isn't good with children. I've never met a pit that wasn't the nicest animal around. If you aren't from this area, or don't have experience with pits then you'll never understand these animals.

rangerdanger
Being from the southwest, I can tell you, I have yet to meet a pitbull that isn't good with children. I've never met a pit that wasn't the nicest animal around. If you aren't from this area, or don't have experience with pits then you'll never understand these animals.

A pitbull is a breed that was bred for fighting and that is it. It was never meant to be a family pet. But the dogs can't be blamed the people that own them are the blame for attacks.

Genetics are partially to blame for the dogs vicious behavior. Granted, owners do play a part but if you go back to the Genesis of the breed, they have been inbred for soo long that there have to be genes of aggression within the breed. Now, with some dogs the gene may lay dormant. Also, Pittbulls have the highest levels of testosterone of all the breeds of dog. Testosterone, as you all know, tends to lead to aggressive behavior.

Case in point. My cousin has a Pitt, it was raised with my aunts dog since it was a puppy. Fast forward a few years... The pittbull attacked the dog, my aunts dog, that had pretty much raised it as its own. It simply, without provocation, mauled my aunts dog in front of her eyes. It had nothing to do with bad ownership. The pittbull was raised as a family dog along with my aunts dog. The pittbull just snapped. Genetics, it's a powerful thing that we don't fully understand yet.

reply to post by VforVendettea


My pitbull is amazing (85 pounds)!! My daughter who is 1 year and 5 months old rides him around! She walks over him and steals toys/food from him and he does nothing but lick her...

You want to know why this is??

PARENTING!!! I TRAINED my dog to be gentle and kind to everyone by stealing things from him at a young age, letting him bite me, and training him NOT to do this!!

If owners would actually take time to train a dog, this WOULD NOT happen!! The owner needs prison time, sued etc....For not training the dog proper and being an actual parent!!

Dogs are like children, they will behave only if the parents teach them well....

/rant

buster2010

rangerdanger
Being from the southwest, I can tell you, I have yet to meet a pitbull that isn't good with children. I've never met a pit that wasn't the nicest animal around. If you aren't from this area, or don't have experience with pits then you'll never understand these animals.

A pitbull is a breed that was bred for fighting and that is it. It was never meant to be a family pet. But the dogs can't be blamed the people that own them are the blame for attacks.

edit on 25-9-2013 by buster2010 because: (no reason given)

I 100% disagree with this statement....The owner should be held accountable! Train the effing dog and this doesn't happen....ACTUALLY TRAIN them, not yell at them and forget it....It takes time and patience, but that is a responsibility taken on by an owner of any pet!!

reply to post by Chrisfishenstein


There's only soo much an owner can do when genetics is involved. See my previous post.

I've known many pitts and people that own them. Granted, the majority are docile. My cousins pittbull was and still is docile aside from mauling and killing my aunts dog for no apparent reason.

reply to post by MDDoxs


The articles are out of order, look to the lower link.

reply to post by Rosinitiate


Read closely I said 80% of BAD dogs.

Example- five dogs have bitten people four of them had badclueless owners the fifth dog was just wired wrong from birth and it would not have mattered who owned it.

reply to post by kimish


Oh, refer to your previous post? Since that makes a difference...

Listen, my pit bull was outside with me about a month ago...A neighbor and his dog came out of my woods on my property and my pit took off like a bolt of lightning....He was about to murder this dog, he jumped at the dog and tackled the dog when I saw this going on I yelled immediately at him....He tackled the other dog and while he was a half a second away from ripping the other dogs throat out, I yelled and he stopped immediately, sat down, looked back at me and I told him to come to me right NOW!

So, he stood up, ran back to me and sat down beside me while still looking down my yard toward the other dog....The neighbor and his still healthy dog walked back into the woods and continued around my property instead of walking through my yard.

Needless to say, if my dog wasn't very well trained BY ME, the other dog would have been dead and I would be answering for his actions, as I should be.....BUT he didn't because I said so and I can tell about this as a story now instead of showing my arrest papers.....As it should be!!

Point of all of this is, I took the time to take responsibility for my dog, trained him properly and he listens to my every command no matter what! This is how a dog should act at all times, with absolutely zero chance of attack when I am around to give him orders....Hence, my fault if I am present and he does something bad...

As someone who has grown up around all dogs, including a majority of all the "fighting dogs", all I have to say is this:

"In the 70's they blamed Dobermans. In the 80's they blamed German Shepherds. In the 90's they blamed Rottweilers. Now they blame the Pitbull." -Ceasar Millan

If you raise your child to be a horrible monster, you get blamed for bad parenting. The exact same can be said about dogs. I'm the proud owner of a "fighting dog" myself; a Doberman. And that Doberman is the most docile dog I have ever met in my entire life.

A childhood friend of mine owns a Pitbull, and aside from the normal "puppy energy" he is the sweetest dog I've met, aside from my 75+lb lapdog of a Doberman.

It all comes down to how you raise the dog. What you teach them to be okay behavior along with what is inappropriate behavior. EVERY dog breed has the potential to be a "fighting dog", just as EVERY dog breed has the potential to be the most wonderful dog in the world. Banning dog breeds will not solve the problem; proper puppy parenting and education will.

Hell, in my experience, all those little dogs (Chihuahua's, Weiner dogs, MinPins, etc.) are more vicious and untrustworthy than the "fighting dogs" everyone keeps wanting to ban.

reply to post by VforVendettea


I have four dogs not one has ever been a problem with snapping or biting people but one thing I will never do is trust any animal alone with kids, that's just bad parenting.

reply to post by Chrisfishenstein


A well trained dog will not chase people or other animals without you allowing it.

How about we leave the dogs alone, and instead impose tougher penalties on people accused of Animal Cruelty and Dog fighting?

Dogs don't know any better, if they're about to attack a child they don't actually stop and rationalize that they're about to attack an innocent child. They just attack any moving target. These instincts come from abuse and being raised to fight.

You remove the asshats that participate in dog fighting, then I guarantee you these dogs grow up to be just like any other "non-fighting" breed.

Wrabbit2000 The problem is, those of the long fighting and vicious bloodlines don't carry some distinct mark on them. There is no way to know sometimes. Just the breed known to be chosen for that very trait they share

Yes they do. It's called DNA testing. Horse associations do it all the time and it is under 100$ for a test that can tell you not just that your horse is 99.609375% x breed but in the breeds that have implemented DNA testing they can pin the grandparents on both sides and you can by elimination figure out who your horse you are holding the reins to is.

This test is a lot less expensive than a trip to the doctor or a lawsuit so if you want a to keep the canine equivalent of a loaded gun in your nightstand for home protection wouldn't you want to make sure that it didn't come with a manufacturing flaw that could prove fatal?