Posted on 06/12/2005 9:37:04 PM PDT by Rennes Templar
I admit this story has educated me. I knew pit bulls were bred for fighting, but I believed all the commentary that, unless mistreated, they are perfectly normal dogs.
Recently I ran into a very nice fellow who had been watching a stray pit bull for two days. He was searching for the owner. The dog was young but fully grown. It came runnibg over and was extremely sweet and friendly. It was running around wonderfully with his kids, who were very young.
This fellow told me his kids loved the dog, but he already had a dog and he was afraid of the pit bull because "these dogs are killers." I stupidly said that maybe if they're not trained to attack they're ok. I could tell he ignored me as uninformed. I think he was right.
The pit bull was loveable. I was impressed. I've had German Sheperds which are big powerful dogs. But I've never had a breed that would attack and kill it's own family member because the female was in heat. This story is a huge eye opener to me.
I'm amazed at how many people accept food aggression in their dogs.
I have owned large, aggressive dogs most of my life.
I have had pits, rotts, dobermans, mastiffs, and chows - none has ever attacked anyone. IMHO, any dog that attacks someone without cause is the fault of it's owners. Some people are just not able to effectively handle aggressive animals.
None of my pits was EVER left in a situation where a child could be hurt, because of their reputation. I had my pits when I was single, and would never dream of owning one with kids in the house.
Anyone who owns a pit bull knowing what we know about them is a certified idiot. Any parent who would lock a child in the basement instead of the dogs and instead of taking the child with her is a disgraceful excuse for a human being, an idiot, and a criminal. She should do life in prison.
Oh, I forgot :-)
I have heard people literally state that their dogs are their children. They speak as if the dog is a person and refer to the dog as one of the family. I've had dogs most of my life, and cared for them a great deal, but, they were animals, not humans or substitute children.
Any dog that is aggressive has no business being around children. I don't care if it's a chihuahua.
The inmates are running the show. Words escape me.
I can't help but think that, if she had left the kid in the house, with the dog, and the kid bludgeoned the dog to death, for no reason, the authorities would be prosecuting her or the kid.
There are two problems with "banning Pit Bulls".
1. How doe you define "Pit Bull" in such a way as to make it stand up in court? Is a dog that is 75% American Bulldog and 25% Bull Terrier a "Pit Bull"? How about 50% Bull Terrier and 50% Labrador Retriever?
2. Any breed of dog can be, under the wrong circumstances, dangerous.
I can see two possible solutions:
First, prosecute people for manslaughter if the family pet kills someone, anyone.
Second, require people who have large dogs in inappropriate settings, like anything over 40 pounds living in an apartment with no fenced back yard, to have liability insurance. Or better yet require the landlord to have the insurance, which would probably eliminate the apartment Pit Bull entirely.
Pit Bulls are not unique. There are a whole bunch of breeds that were bred as protection. Any one of them can attack over such things. Many of these kinds of dogs were originally used for herd protection.
Here take a look at these. Check out the temperament area.
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/caucasianowtcharka.htm
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/caucasianowtcharka.htm
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/alanoespanol.htm
Nothing to see here folks, just a post-partum abortion. Move along.
I was a breeder and trainer of hunting dogs for years. They were all kept in the kennel. But they were still fun to be with and loved the attention. They were not my children. My children came first. If any of my dogs had harmed my children, I would have had the dog euthanized, even though it was very valuable. But fortunately the only thing my dogs were aggressive towards were grouse and pheasant. LOL!
Ohhh, Disneyworld downtown I'm sure. Perhaps after affording all of the "kids paradise" accoutrements she should have spent some of that money on a doggie shrink to mellow out the beast.
AAAAAAAUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!
There are certain breeds that are considered aggressive breeds. Chows, Akitas, certain terriers, etc. They are the protection dogs.
It's a description of breed characteristics, rather than a character description of a particular dog. They were bred to protect your property. A dog with an personally aggressive character does not belong in a private home with children.
My brother is one of those nuts.
I'm sorry, I posted one breed twice. I meant to put in the Akita. My dogs are Akitas mixes.
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/akita.htm
Dalmations can be tough dogs to handle. You always have to keep in mind what a dog was bred for. What many people don't realize is dogs were bred to do jobs. Maybe its job is being a pet, but maybe not. If a dog can't do its job- what it was bred to do - then you can have behavioral problems from the dogs being frustrated.
Dalmations were bred to accompany riders and carriages. They protected the horses and scouted the path. They should be able to do a hundred miles if necessary. Can you imagine the kind of demanding pet this showy, beautiful dog can be?
Lots of parents saw cute little puppies in Disney movies, and had no idea what they were buying.
Breed of Peace provoked into an uncontrollable rage, hmmm... looks like "it was the will of allah".
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