Posted on 11/22/2008 5:19:40 PM PST by Chet 99
Inaccurate statements re pitbulls
http://www.understand-a-bull.com/Articles/InaccurateMedia/SetRecordStraight.htm
> Do you even know what breed of dog that is? Is it an Am Staff or is it an American Pit Bull Terrier? Based just upon the appearance of that dog, what do you consider her to be? You’ve repeatedly said you can tell the difference by just looking at them. I’d like an honest response.
Well, it’s not a poodle.../s
(grin!) Yes, I did give you a dodgy answer because it is difficult to tell from that photo alone.
Based on that photo I would put her as a Staffy. I draw that conclusion from the jaw-line, her coat, her dimensions and what appears to be her build (Staffies being smaller than APBT). I might conclude differently if I saw her in person: she has defined muscles that suggest that she could be an APBT, for instance. I put that down to her being quite fit, tho’.
I would also hazard that she is a purebred. She looks nothing like a dangerous mungrel mutt ie a “Pit Bull”.
You would still have difficulty bringing that dog into New Zealand: in theory, Staffies should be permitted. In practise it would be difficult to persuade Customs that your dog is a Staffy and not an APBT.
> I’ve seen experts unable to distinguish a APBT from a Boxer.
That surprises me: Boxers are slight with longer legs and they have faces that look like they have been chasing parked cars.
Other dogs probably laugh at them. Mine does.
> I’ve seen news reports of ‘pit bull attacks’, but later it was determined that the dog was not, in fact, a ‘pitbull’.
Pit bulls are dangerous mungrel mutts often bred for vicious temper and fighting in Dog Pits — hence the name. They have random, dubious parentage.
I would hazard that pretty close to 100% of the time, when the news reports a “Pit Bull” attack, that is what they are talking about. I seriously doubt they actually mean Staffies or APBTs or Boston Terriers.
The problem is, breeders of these dogs persist in calling them “Pit Bulls”. Even if that was their original origin, that’s just stupid branding that is begging for Breed Bans.
> ‘Pitbull’ is NOT a breed.
We agree. Pit Bulls are mungrel mutts of dubious and often random parentage.
> breed specific legislation cannot be soundly or even logically enforced with regards to ‘pitbulls’ as technically they don’t exist. It is a term that encompasses many breeds and mixes; some so far away from the true American Pit Bull Terrier that the difference is like night and day.
For that reason I strongly suggest breeders re-brand their breeds to drop the “Pit” part in their dogs’ name. If you’ve got a brand that is being tarnished by another brand, if the other brand won’t change you might be smarter to change instead...
Ok, PeeWee. You win.
Diehard can’t even grasp the fact that words mean things...I’m done.
Quiet by nature, he can under some circumstances be courageous and brave. He is at ease with people, faithful and devoted to his master. As a watch and guard dog, he is unsurpassed. In quiet situations, he is trusting and self assured. When roused, his expression is piercing. Were one to find a purebred Mallorquin Bulldog one would possess a guard dog of unsurpassable ability- a dog that would require discipline and attention. This breed is strong-minded but obedient if properly reared from puppy hood. They adore children. Although it remains formidably powerful and alert, and retains the tenacity of its bull-baiting past. This breed is not for the causal pet owner. Makes a good watch and guard dog. Needs an owner who understands a dogs natural "pack order".
> The dog in the pic is neither an Am Staff nor an American Pit Bull Terrier, but the resemblence is very close. The dog pictured is a Ca De Bou.
Never heard of that dog — it’s a new one on me. I just did a lookup for New Zealand-based breeders and there do not appear to be any. None in Oz, either. That tells me that it is unlikely that there are any Ca de Boux here in NZ at all.
It would be interesting to see if it could be imported: I’m guessing Customs might take one look at the funny name and conclude that you were trying to pull a fast one on them, and try to ban it anyway.
If you could get them in, might be a business opportunity.
dogbitelaw is a site made by lawyers, not dog breed/behavior experts.
By the way, why is this so heated? Did anyone actually see the bite in the video? My hamster did a better job. Yet, this is news.
About a month ago, I was attacked by a vicious dog. My knee is still swollen, stiff, and the bruises cover the kneecap. The offending dog? A daschund.
“Attacks by pit bulls accounted for about a third of the 238 fatal dog attacks in the United States during a 20-year study, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
The CDC stopped publishing these statistics for a very good reason. Their “facts” came from media stories, not public records at hospitals, shelters, or any other accurate source. They admitted that the media focuses on attacks from pit bull type dogs, and many times misidentify dogs as pit bulls, either through sheer ignorance or for ratings.
To top that, the UKC lists the American Pit Bull Terrier the #2 most popular breed right now, and many of these dogs aren’t registered with them, or aren’t registered at all. And to answer a question posed earlier “what percentage of pit bulls attack”, compared to their population, 1-3%, which is the same for all dog breeds.
Cite your assertions.
There was a time in this country when "Dog Bites Man" was the gold standard for what was not newsworthy.
“Cite your assertions.”
Ok, here goes:
“Although fatal attacks on humans appear to be a breed-specific problem, other breeds may bite and cause fatalities at higher rates. Because of difficulties inherent in determining a dog’s breed with certainty, enforcement of breed-specific ordinances raises constitutional and practical issues. Fatal attacks represent a small portion of dog bite injuries to humans and therefore should not be the primary factor driving public policy concerning dangerous dogs.”
“Our search strategy involved scanning the text of newspapers and periodicals for certain words and word combinations likely to represent human dbrf followed by a review of articles containing those terms.”
“Numerator data may be biased for 4 reasons. First, the human DBRF reported here are likely underestimated; prior work suggests the approach we used identifies only 74% of actual cases. Second, to the extent that attacks by one breed are more newsworthy than those by other breeds, our methods may have resulted in differential ascertainment of fatalities by breed. Third, because identification of a dog’s breed may be subjective (even experts may disagree on the breed of a particular dog), DBRF may be differentially ascribed to breeds with a reputation for aggression...”
“...fatal bites constitute less than 0.00001% of all dog bites annually....have remained constant over time...”
“To decrease the risk of dog bites, several communities have enacted breed-specific restrictions or bans. In general, these have focused on pit bull-type dogs and Rottweilers. However, breeds responsible for human DBRF have varied over time...since 1975, dogs belonging to more than 30 breeds have been responsible for fatal attacks on people, including daschunds...”
“Breed specific legislation does not address the fact that a dog of any breed can become dangerous when bred or trained to be aggressive. From a scientific point of view, we are unaware of any formal evaluation of the effectiveness of breed-specific legislation in preventing fatal or nonfatal dog bites.”
All quotes taken from http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/duip/dogbreeds.pdf
I don't see a cite for that.
I’m curious about pit bull owners and my questions are sincere. No sarcasm intended.
Does your insurance carrier know you own pit bulls? Do you have higher homeowners premiums because of it? Do you have enough assets to endure a personal injury lawsuit? What precautions do you take to lock up your animals? Do you post signs on your property that warn people about your dogs? Do you walk your dogs, or do they have room to roam free on your fenced property? And why exactly do you choose pitbulls rather than other breeds? Do you get an emotional high from owning them and having your neighbors afraid of them? Do you seriously think it’s worth it to own them?
Everyone gets so defensive when us “non-pitbull owners” ask questions like this — I would really like to hear some honest answers. Would help the rest of us understand if we could actually TALK about the issues, rather than just sling mud at each other. Whenever I hear about a pitbull attack, as a mother of four, I always ask myself how our family can prevent a tragedy, rather than speak out to make ownership illegal. I cannot control what others do, but I can protect myself and those I love. The pitbull owners I know always have a HUGE chip on their shoulder, and treat the rest of us (potential victims) like WE are the ones who are irrational in our fears.
Just curious...thanks...
“U.S. Population / Fatal Dog Attacks
Year Human Population Dog Population # Fatal Dog Attacks
1950 151 million 20-22 million 10
1970 203 million 31 million 12
1980 226 million 40 million 15
2000 281 million 60+ million 19 “
Taken from http://www.nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/historicCases.asp
“Some places, such as Oakland, CA, report that more “pit bulls” are registered with the city than any other breed. A few studies estimate that U.S. shelter “pit bull” populations reach 33% on average, and up to 50% or more in larger cities.”
taken from http://www.happypitbull.com/basics/myths.html#10
If you look at the number of dogs in the United States, it is approximately at 70 million right now. Pit bull-type dogs are very prevalent, especially in big cities, but are being seen pretty much everywhere now. Irresponsible breeders are the cause, and their population is still increasing. The UKC lists the American Pit Bull Terrier as the #2 most registered breed, and that is just one registry. That doesn’t include AKC American Staffordshire Terriers, English Staffordshire Bull Terriers, and unregistered pit bull-type dogs, as well as other purebred, registered dogs which are commonly mistaken for pit bulls.
http://www.ukcdogs.com/WebSite.nsf/WebPages/LrnTop10
This shows that the pit bull-type is one of the most popular types of dogs right now, and since there are about 70 million dogs, we can safely assume that pit bull-types represent at least 20% of large dogs (and that is underestimating big time). 20 percent of 70 million is about 14 million dogs. Let’s say that on average right now, there are 26 pit bull-type dogs that have taken a human life. That’s 1.857% of their population that has killed a person, and 98.143% that haven’t.
Take the population of dogs in 2000 when the above study was done. There were 19 human fatalities caused by dogs that year, and about 60 million dogs. That equates to 3.16% of dogs of any breed that were responsible for human deaths.
My dogs are inside animals. They, as members of my family, live indoors. When outside, they are within a fenced in yard. I have a 6ft chain link fence with the bottom part reinforced with fencing that goes 2 feet into the ground as my female likes to dig.
I have signs posted all around my property. Both "No Trespassing" and "Beware of Dog" signs.
My dogs are walked in my neighborhood, on a leash and harness, and when loose in my yard they are free to roam the property. Please note that my area is very rural. I have plenty of room to adequately exercise my animals, and those I sometimes foster. An unexercised animal is a frustrated animals. A frustrated animal is often an aggressive animal.
I did not originally want pit bulls. Prior to living in my current home, I lived in a less desirable neighborhood. My then neighbor had a pit bull, and I was always warned about her. I was told she was dangerous. I was told horror stories about pit bulls, and I bought into the myths and stereotypes about the breed.
When we came to own our first; a newborn pup, because of my preconceived ideas, I was adamant that this dog would never grace the inside of my home, that she would be contained in a kennel, and that she was never to be around me or my children. The night she came into my home, it was only because of freezing temperatures that I allowed her to remain inside. Long story short, she would come to no one other than me, and she hasn't left my side once in six years. She has been a therapy dog for local nursing homes and our local pediatric unit.
She is loyal. She is obedient. She is graceful...well, everything about her except her tail. She is perceptive. She is driven in her desire to please me. She is everything I could desire in a dog, and then some. I fell in love with the breed because of her and have worked extensively in my local area to eradicate dog fighting & the abuses perpetrated upon this breed, including the irresponsibility of other pit bull owners.
While I believe you worded your question a little offensively, I will tell you my neighbors are not afraid of my pit bulls. She has played with their children. She has played with their dogs. She has even played with another neighbor's goat.
I've had one incidence with a neighbor, and that was because her Bull Terrier came onto my property and attacked my male pit bull pup. My female 'escorted' him to our property line and released him. He came back onto the property and attacked again. Again my female 'escorted' him, more forcefully, to the property line and released him. There was no third time, and there was no injury to the Bull Terrier save some minor cuts. The Bull Terrier's owner was very apologetic and even surprised my female did not brutalize or kill her dog. My female was protective and defensive, but not lethal.
Yes, I believe it's worth it to own them.
I do not have a chip on my shoulder. I resent being stereotyped as such. I am secure with who I am, no one owes me anything, nor do I owe any one anything. I do not think your fears are irrational no more than I would hope anyone would think my fears of frogs and lizards is irrational. If it is something you are afraid of, for whatever reason, it's your fear. I respect that you admit you have a fear of this breed rather than calling for their destruction based upon their breed and saying all of us pit bull owners are criminals or kooks. I am a mother of four; grandmother of one. I believe in personal responsibility with my guns, my dogs and my own life. I am a person of the Christian faith. My husband is a business owner. We are drug free, and we don't drink.
I believe objectivity is the key to overcoming your fears. Learn what you can about the breed. There are good dogs and bad dogs of ALL breeds. Negativity is not limited to the pit bull. Learn for yourself, and don't swallow the kool aid fed to you by the media. The very organization you distrust with matters relating to politics is the one most people bandwagon with when it comes to pit bull stories. There is a lot of misinformation fed to the public about pit bulls. And, with respect, you are not a potential victim of a pit bull attack no more than you are a potential victim of an airplane crash. You are more likely to be harmed by a human being than you are a pit bull.
As parents, we must be diligent in our surroundings, no doubt. If you live in an area where there is a large population of pit bulls, learn about their environment; their owners, etc. Of course, this would be a prudent thing to do with all dog owners in your areas because, again, there are good and bad in all breeds. Make sure the owners of the dogs in your neighborhood practice responsible dog ownership. If you see something that gives you cause for concern, address it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.