Yes, I remember when the breeds of choice for thugs were Dobermans and Rottweilers. I remember some fear of German Shepherds, but I don't ever recall them as being the choice of thugs.
Granted, the Internet wasn't around in those days, but there weren't 1/50th (no, 1/100th or less) of the stories about Dobermans or Rottweilers killing people as we now read about the breeds called "Pit Bulls" or Pit mixes. And I'm pulling those figures down to account for the media's calling every unknown breed a Pit Bull.
What, three Pit Full stories in the last two weeks? There weren't three Rottweiler stories in a year back in the day. And yet three Pit Bull stories in a week isn't unusual.
There simply isn't any comparison between the past Doberman/Rottweiler fear and the last fifteen+ years of Pit Bull attacks.
Before Internet use became so widespread, you weren’t as likely to hear about what went on in another state unless it was a Big story.
The problem is that bad owners refuse to properly train, socialize, and properly breed their animals. When that happens, you have poorly bred, ill(or non-) trained, and ill (or non) socialized dogs running about.
That is detrimental to any type (”Pitbull” is not a breed, but a type) of dog, much less any dog breed.
The problem is not the dogs themselves; the problem is deliberate negligence in training, breeding and socialization.
When “pitbulls” are no longer the “in style” dog, the bad trainers, socializers and breeders will move on to another type.
What I wrote was incorrect.
Rottweilers are apparently Pit Bull-lite. I was wrong.
According to dog bit statistics, the Pit Bull breeds (and Pit mixes) accounted for 59% of all fatal dog attacks during the three-year period from 2006-2008. Rottweilers accounted for 13%. Between Pits and Rottweilers, that's 72% of all fatal attacks.
Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, Cana Presarios, and their mixes account for:
How many standard deviations from the norm do you have to go for those breeds to account for those percentages unless a significant part of the problem is the breed and not just the owner?