OK. Thanks for the heads up on that.
I am cautious around anything that I can’t drop kick but when a dog is known to be bred for aggressiveness, I am even more suspicious. I’ve never seen a retriever who didn’t like water, a golden who didn’t like people; a border collie that didn’t try to herd anything, a husky who didn’t love the cold and snow and pulling things.
Training can’t eliminate those inane traits in other dogs, so I am skeptical that training can eliminate aggressiveness to a sufficient degree to enable me to trust breeds like pits.
A simple bite is one thing, any dog can and does nip if it’s frightened or threatened, but the way I’ve seen and heard of pits which keep going when other breeds can be convinced to let go, concerns me.
I would never own such a high maintenance dog nor one who I wasn’t sure I could trust.
They are a high maintenance dog, much like many other working breeds. Unfortunately, many who have these dogs shouldn’t. However, I believe it is a testament to the breed that of millions, an infinitesimally small percentage have caused harm. But we read about these things daily, which is often why people are so angry. The sad thing is, there are 13 thousand dog attacks in this country every single day that don’t end up on the news, and some of them are downright nasty. It’s really too bad that the media gets to pick and choose what they will report. Since they have no obligation to do anything but make more money, they have a tendency to report on the stories that will get the most ratings, and as horrible as it may be for a dalmation to attack someone and give them stitches, for example, it isn’t considered newsworthy.
Another common misconception is that pit bulls bite differently, or that their bite is somehow stronger than other dogs. This has also been proven wrong by using a computerized bite sleeve to measure psi in several breeds.
It has come to my attention through these various media reports that even single-bite incidents involving pit bulls are marketed as full-on attacks, often with eye-catching story titles.There are just as many nips involving this breed as the next, but the difference is that pit bull bites are reported in the media, and other breeds are ignored or excused, very rarely reported. The KC dog blog goes into detail on this, showing how many different newspapers reported fatality incidents. It shows that pit bull deaths are reported several times more often than deaths caused by other breeds. It’s not a conspiracy, just business.
I totally agree. I think that people need to think long & hard about the dog they decide to own. So many people buy on a whim, see a cute puppy in the mall & buy it. Cute puppy grows up & they can't handle it. Not just pits but many breeds.
I bred Dobermans & there were times I refused to sell to people. Same now with the Shih tzu I have. I also would never buy from a puppy store as most of their puppies come from the puppy mills. I don't care if they have papers, puppy mills are terrible. Most of the pups are sick etc. People need to make sure a dog fits their lifestyle. If they want a large breed or working dog then they need to have the space & the time to work with it. And realize they have to do the things that will keep the dog happy. Dogs know what their jobs are. So many times a dog is unhappy because it isn't getting the attention it needs.
I would love to have Dobermans again but Joe doesn't trust them. I can't get it through his head my dogs saved my life in 1982. He refuses to believe they can be trusted. He likes pits & rotties & I don't. So here we are with Shih tzu & a pekashih.
I worked in shelters & I saw too many dogs be surrendered because people didn't have a clue how to deal with their dog. Had they done the research before buying maybe there wouldn't be so many homeless dogs. I've been bitten plenty of times & if a dog becomes a biter I have no problem with it being put down. I don't understand people who know their dog will bite & have children yet keep the dog.