Pit-Bull's...friend or foe?

[tazdev3225]

...MIGHT not will bite. None of the 8 dogs I’ve owned in my lifetime have ever bitten me or anyone else. My old 16 year old doxie could be snippy especially as he got older, but he never actually bit anyone. He was blind & missing teeth by that time so it really didn’t count. None of the dogs that any of my family members have ever had ever bit anyone either.

As I said all BREEDS not all dogs can and will bite. I do not think there is a single breed that has never bit someone. I am glad you have never had a dog bite anyone. I didn't condemn all dogs just stated what is an opinion based on research over the years. I love dogs but I am cautious with any strange dog. I am cautious with my own dog and always warn people that even though she NEVER bitten anyone or shown aggression there is always a first time.

 

[ThistleMae]

I haven't had to deal with this in a long time, but I know 15 years ago I was bitten by a dog (not a pit, some type of shepherd mix). The doctor wouldn't even step into the exam room without reporting the dog to the health department. He said it was a state requirement that any dog bit that required medical attention be reported. Literally, my choices were report the dog or leave without treatment.

Yes...but that was a state requirement. Different states may have different guidelines. I think it would have to be some sort of federal requirement for dog bite reporting to provide reporting consistency. And factor in that not all dog bites may require medical or vet attention, yet still be a bite.

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

Yes...but that was a state requirement. Different states may have different guidelines. I think it would have to be some sort of federal requirement for dog bite reporting to provide reporting consistency. And factor in that not all dog bites may require medical or vet attention, yet still be a bite.

You're right, it will be different from state to state. I googled and couldn't quickly find a complete list of which states require what, but I doubt it's an uncommon law.

 

[PAsFab5]

Foe. Shelters are full of pit bulls. There must be a reason why.

I'm in favor of shelters euthanizing all pit bulls immediately upon arrival.

Shelters are full of them because they are overbred, neglected and abused by humans.

What is your personal experience with rescue and/or volunteering at shelters?

I would love to hear your experiences that would support your opinion of euthanizing abused animals.

 

[luvsJack]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=web&cd=&ved=0ahUKEwjo5bWHqIThAhVObK0KHYFAATIQzPwBCAM&url=https://www.today.com/pets/what-pit-bull-it-s-not-actually-dog-breed-t118066&psig=AOvVaw1vKi-J0qHNOExAzQ0IEXym&ust=1552745010552705

More info about the identifying of this “breed” and their personality.

Foe. I say this as besides training a dog's personality is also based on breeding and genetics. Just read an interesting article from a dog expert. topic was how many believe you can completely train a dog from pup to fit your standards; or use behavior training to change a dog. This is not true in most cases. You have dogs who are simply more active, have a strong hunting trait etc... you cannot completely train this out or adjust physcial traints ( pit bulls case) . Article focused on getting the right dog based on genetic traits. Some traits are also territorial.

A friend has very well trained pit mixes. BUT I still would have not slept comfortably at his place or leave his dog with kids alone. All animals (and humans) can snap. the issue with pit bulls and similar dogs.. physcially their jaws are simply strong and deadly and lock up. you have no chance with them.

Their jaws do NOT lock up. Their jaw is no different than any other dog. They are strong, yes. They have a strong bite, yes, as does many other dogs. It they DO NOT lock up.

 

[lovin'fl]

Um, the link I posted showed FATAL dog attacks and I am going to go out on a limb to say that any fatal dog attack IS reported and breed reported correctly (it even lists mixed breed attacks separately). And Pitbull is leader by far. I wouldn't take that risk for my kids or other pets and have one in my home. It's is an unnecessary risk when there are so many other pets needing homes.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallm...angerous-dog-breeds-infographic/#114fdb5e62f8

There have already been 7 pitbull fatal attacks this year in the US.
https://www.fatalpitbullattacks.com/

Also, one of the problems, in my opinion, is folks look at their dog as a person and not an animal. As a member of the family. And treat it as such and then it acts like an animal and they are shocked. Remember chimp lady and her 'child' chimp ate the face off of her friend???

And in my state, NC, if you take a person for medical attention due to dog bite it gets reported to animal control.

 

[mousefan73]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=web&cd=&ved=0ahUKEwjo5bWHqIThAhVObK0KHYFAATIQzPwBCAM&url=https://www.today.com/pets/what-pit-bull-it-s-not-actually-dog-breed-t118066&psig=AOvVaw1vKi-J0qHNOExAzQ0IEXym&ust=1552745010552705

More info about the identifying of this “breed” and their personality.

Their jaws do NOT lock up. Their jaw is no different than any other dog. They are strong, yes. They have a strong bite, yes, as does many other dogs. It they DO NOT lock up.

I understand there is no locking system but refusing to let go and having owners trained on how to use break sticks is the same. From my understanding some of the many breeds that make up the “pitbull“ originate as farm animals that were trained to herd animals. I believe this is where the hold” lock” trait comes in.

I have the same opinion for German Shepherd’s. They are great dogs but very territorial especially over their owners. This is why they make great dogs for the police where they are able to be very well trained to obey, attack and Follow commands. I personally would not want one as a family dog especially if we are a family that enjoys having guests on our property. Growing up, our sheriff lived on our street and they had a German Shepherd as a family dog and I played with their son. God forbid I made any type of move Where that dog would have interpreted that as a danger for that kid. I would’ve been done for

 

[Miranda Danda]

It is so hard to sit here and see that someone wants my amazing dog and daughter’s best friend euthanized. If you were open minded enough, he would change your mind in a heart beat. This is exactly the undeserved stigma these dogs face on a daily basis. Breaks my heart.

Some of y’all would freak out at how they sleep at night!

Admittedly, I knew nothing about pits before 2012. All I had heard was negative from news reports, but I was open minded and cautious. I read articles, my daughter and I collected supplies for shelters, and volunteered with a local rescue. My opinion is based on my actual experience. These dogs have been unfairly judged and mistreated. They’re an extremely loyal, people pleasing breed which made them “perfect” for dog fighting. Our Leo will do anything he thinks we want him to do. He wants to constantly sit in our laps and get belly rubs. He is about ten years old and we have zero info on his history other than he was about to be euthanized in a shelter. He has broken teeth and a few scars on his body, but that is his past. He is so happy and loving every single day. Rescue dogs are beyond appreciate.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

There is a lot of misinformation in this thread.

 

[DLgal]

If I were the mother of those children that simply would not be happening as long as the other pit bull was still in the home. I am appalled at the story of that prolonged attack although admittedly confused. How and why 3 men (well, 2 adults and a teenaged boy) allowed a prolonged attack to continue is unfathomable.

How would that even work - the dog just gnaws on the guy for 20 minutes while a neighbor trains a gun on it? And then to discharge the firearm inside close quarters? Can you imagine the horror of the children witnessing it?

The mother is the one who sought the revocation of custody, yes. I can't say I blame her.

The dog was not constantly attacking during the whole 20 minutes. My friend was trying very hard to calm the dog and the dog would calm for a few minutes, and then lunge again. The teen first took the younger kids with him to the neighbor's house, where they stayed (this is a 17 year old teen). When he came back, he brought the adult neighbor with him. The adult neighbor attempted to intervene, but my friend told him to stay at a safe distance because he didn't want the dog to go after him too. The neighbor offered to get his gun. My friend said no initially. After a few more attempts to calm the dog, the neighbor went and got the gun anyway. When he returned, and the dog went for my friend's neck, that was the last straw. My friend essentially threw the dog off him (this is when he dislocated the shoulder) and yelled "do it" and the friend shot the dog in the side. No one else was in the house at the time. It was a handgun.

When the police arrived, they told the neighbor he did the right thing and they would have shot the dog if they had arrived on the scene in similar circumstances. No one was charged with any crime. This happened in Texas, FWIW. The children did not witness anything particularly awful. They are also not particularly young, they are 10 and 12.

 

[Adelle Dazeem]

Nope - will never own one or go to anyone's house that owns one. I don't trust them. Too many tragedies involving them snapping and killing or causing serious injuries.

 

[Jolly Cackle Farm]

Foe. Shelters are full of pit bulls. There must be a reason why.

I'm in favor of shelters euthanizing all pit bulls immediately upon arrival.

I take great offense to this statement. Shame on you for wanting an entire breed of dog to be killed.....

 

[luvsJack]

Um, the link I posted showed FATAL dog attacks and I am going to go out on a limb to say that any fatal dog attack IS reported and breed reported correctly (it even lists mixed breed attacks separately). And Pitbull is leader by far. I wouldn't take that risk for my kids or other pets and have one in my home. It's is an unnecessary risk when there are so many other pets needing homes.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallm...angerous-dog-breeds-infographic/#114fdb5e62f8

There have already been 7 pitbull fatal attacks this year in the US.
https://www.fatalpitbullattacks.com/

Also, one of the problems, in my opinion, is folks look at their dog as a person and not an animal. As a member of the family. And treat it as such and then it acts like an animal and they are shocked. Remember chimp lady and her 'child' chimp ate the face off of her friend???

And in my state, NC, if you take a person for medical attention due to dog bite it gets reported to animal control.

Do you know how they identify the breed for this data? Those making the laws to outlaw the breed can’t even identify the breed.

When those dog bites are reported by the hospital, how is the breed identified?


A dog should be treated like part of the family and respected as an animal.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

It is so hard to sit here and see that someone wants my amazing dog and daughter’s best friend euthanized. If you were open minded enough, he would change your mind in a heart beat. This is exactly the undeserved stigma these dogs face on a daily basis. Breaks my heart.

Some of y’all would freak out at how they sleep at night!

Admittedly, I knew nothing about pits before 2012. All I had heard was negative from news reports, but I was open minded and cautious. I read articles, my daughter and I collected supplies for shelters, and volunteered with a local rescue. My opinion is based on my actual experience. These dogs have been unfairly judged and mistreated. They’re an extremely loyal, people pleasing breed which made them “perfect” for dog fighting. Our Leo will do anything he thinks we want him to do. He wants to constantly sit in our laps and get belly rubs. He is about ten years old and we have zero info on his history other than he was about to be euthanized in a shelter. He has broken teeth and a few scars on his body, but that is his past. He is so happy and loving every single day. Rescue dogs are beyond appreciate.

Adorable.




I just wanted to add that I do think a lot of their bad rap comes from them being misidentified. Many of the bully/short nosed dogs look like pits or mixes when bred with other breeds. Heck... I’ve had people think my full blooded Boxer is a pitbul before

 

[jsmith]

There is a lot of misinformation in this thread.

This!


I had a horrible experience involving two dogs that would commonly be identified as 'Pit-Bulls" although in reality they were large breed mixes from a shelter that had not been properly socialized and were literally allowed to run free and engage in pack behaviors. Even though I am heavily involved in dogs including conformation showing, competing in many dog sports, training and my breeds rescue that episode has left me uncomfortable with those larger 'pit type dogs." I do however really like a good Amstaff ( American Staffordshire Terrier) which are often considered a foundation of 'pit bulls' There is are many different dogs considered pitbulls although only the American Pit bull terrier as recognized by the UKC is a breed.

I think there are a lot of issue that get blended into the pits as friends or as foes issue.

The incredible mythology ranging from 'locking' jaws to 'nanny dogs' that seems to have grown around a certain type of mixed breed dog is one factor. Because they are mixed breed for the most part differing genetic back grounds produce a wide range of temperaments-thus those who insist they are the sweetest dog ever ranging to those that are seriously aggressive. This is made worse because shelters and rescues randomly assign genetic backgrounds that the animal may or may not have ( my neighbors 'lab mix' very obviously is predominately Rhodesian ridgeback) Temperament is a combination of genetics and socialization and training. You can not train away instinct but you can balance it with socialization or exacerbate it with abuse.

Attacks by family dogs on children when the dog is identified as just 'snapping' are often nothing of the sort. People too often fail to teach their children how to respect dogs personal space and allow them to maul and molest the dog. And they fail to read the dogs stress signals and intervene appropriately to prevent the dog from feeling it has to bite to get pressure removed. Small children should ALWAYS be supervised when interacting with dogs and the parents should educate themselves to stress signals and allow the dog to remove itself from an uncomfortable situation. The misperception that this type of dog was ever a 'nanny dog' tends to lead parents to trust them overly much.

Dogs are not people-too often families anthropomorphize and ascribe human emotions and behaviors to dogs-that's wrong and dangerous for both people and dogs. They do not process stimulus like people or react like people.

There is a class of owners who encourage that type of dog to be aggressive or reactive because of the reputation that they already have

Shelters recycle dogs that should be euthanized-while this does not apply just to 'pits' because more cycle through shelters it kind of stick with them. Sometimes dogs should not be rehomed-especially those that have a bite history, but owners often turn dogs into shelters rather than report them for biting incidents and shelters ,even if they know, don't always disclose why a dog was surrendered to a new adoptive family resulting in the dog being recycled several times. Every family that takes one of these dogs in thinks they are doing the right thing by rescuing the dog and bringing it into a loving home that will make everything better. Unforunately, without the support of and experienced trainer and a lot of dedication, and sometimes even with it, that's just not the case.

There are of course situations where things happen with out explanation-the attack described above is one.

And people want to do the right thing and 'save a life' so sometimes people with no real view on the situation get involved where they should not -the case of the Husky's in Utah who bit off and consumed a childs arm is one. That got mis-portrayed grossly in the media and there was a huge online petition to 'save' those dogs from euthanasia. That was not the right answer.

 

[Colleen27]

Pit bulls are listed as the most frequent dog to be involved in a biting incident. And they generate the most homeowners insurance claims. But maybe if someone is bitten by a pit bull they are more likely to report it or file a claim?

And bites from pits (and other large breeds) are more likely to cause actual damages that require medical treatment (bills) that someone would file a claim over. I've been bitten by quite a few animals in my day, between working for a vet/animal shelter and rescuing, fostering and keeping animals of my own, but only one was ever serious enough to require medical attention*. The damned nippy, high strung Westie I was guilted into adopting (long story short, it was DD10's BFF's mom's dog, and when mom died no one else could/would take it. I didn't want BFF to lose her dog on the heels of losing her mom and her home, so I kept her) rarely managed to break skin, and the damage our border collie did to DH was easily handled with bathroom first aid. But if a pit (or GSD or rott or whatever the scary breed of the day is) bites, it is far more likely to need stitches or other medical care than the bites from smaller, weaker breeds.

* The one injury that required medical attention? A bite from a bottle-fed, 5-week-old rescue kitten that died in my hands. Dog bites are nothing compared to the infection potential of a cat bite.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I love your pictures!! And he looks adorable and happy. But this phrase:

Our Leo will do anything he thinks we want him to do.

is still a little scary to me when it comes to animals this powerful. - What happens when he thinks you want him to attack someone at the door?

It is so hard to sit here and see that someone wants my amazing dog and daughter’s best friend euthanized...These dogs have been unfairly judged and mistreated.

I'm certainly not for killing anyone's pet because of it's breed!!! That would make me beyond sad. But I don't think the reputation is something to just discount, either. - I think it's something to keep in mind, and work around with caution.

* The one injury that required medical attention? A bite from a bottle-fed, 5-week-old rescue kitten that died in my hands. Dog bites are nothing compared to the infection potential of a cat bite.

That happened to my friend's brother back in high school. He was OK after a lot of antibiotics, but you have my sympathies!

 

[Searc]

It is so hard to sit here and see that someone wants my amazing dog and daughter’s best friend euthanized. If you were open minded enough, he would change your mind in a heart beat. This is exactly the undeserved stigma these dogs face on a daily basis. Breaks my heart.

Some of y’all would freak out at how they sleep at night!

Admittedly, I knew nothing about pits before 2012. All I had heard was negative from news reports, but I was open minded and cautious. I read articles, my daughter and I collected supplies for shelters, and volunteered with a local rescue. My opinion is based on my actual experience. These dogs have been unfairly judged and mistreated. They’re an extremely loyal, people pleasing breed which made them “perfect” for dog fighting. Our Leo will do anything he thinks we want him to do. He wants to constantly sit in our laps and get belly rubs. He is about ten years old and we have zero info on his history other than he was about to be euthanized in a shelter. He has broken teeth and a few scars on his body, but that is his past. He is so happy and loving every single day. Rescue dogs are beyond appreciate.

I would bet every single owner that has had a pit bull attack someone or something said the exact same thing about their own dogs. We've all heard it said.

 

[ThistleMae]

Shelters are full of them because they are overbred, neglected and abused by humans.

What is your personal experience with rescue and/or volunteering at shelters?

I would love to hear your experiences that would support your opinion of euthanizing abused animals.

I agree this would be an extreme practice to euthanize just because of a breed type. If there was anyway to really determine how many pit bulls are responsible for attacks out of all the pit bull mixes ever born, I think we may all be surprised by the results.

 

[ThistleMae]

This!


I had a horrible experience involving two dogs that would commonly be identified as 'Pit-Bulls" although in reality they were large breed mixes from a shelter that had not been properly socialized and were literally allowed to run free and engage in pack behaviors. Even though I am heavily involved in dogs including conformation showing, competing in many dog sports, training and my breeds rescue that episode has left me uncomfortable with those larger 'pit type dogs." I do however really like a good Amstaff ( American Staffordshire Terrier) which are often considered a foundation of 'pit bulls' There is are many different dogs considered pitbulls although only the American Pit bull terrier as recognized by the UKC is a breed.

I think there are a lot of issue that get blended into the pits as friends or as foes issue.

The incredible mythology ranging from 'locking' jaws to 'nanny dogs' that seems to have grown around a certain type of mixed breed dog is one factor. Because they are mixed breed for the most part differing genetic back grounds produce a wide range of temperaments-thus those who insist they are the sweetest dog ever ranging to those that are seriously aggressive. This is made worse because shelters and rescues randomly assign genetic backgrounds that the animal may or may not have ( my neighbors 'lab mix' very obviously is predominately Rhodesian ridgeback) Temperament is a combination of genetics and socialization and training. You can not train away instinct but you can balance it with socialization or exacerbate it with abuse.

Attacks by family dogs on children when the dog is identified as just 'snapping' are often nothing of the sort. People too often fail to teach their children how to respect dogs personal space and allow them to maul and molest the dog. And they fail to read the dogs stress signals and intervene appropriately to prevent the dog from feeling it has to bite to get pressure removed. Small children should ALWAYS be supervised when interacting with dogs and the parents should educate themselves to stress signals and allow the dog to remove itself from an uncomfortable situation. The misperception that this type of dog was ever a 'nanny dog' tends to lead parents to trust them overly much.

Dogs are not people-too often families anthropomorphize and ascribe human emotions and behaviors to dogs-that's wrong and dangerous for both people and dogs. They do not process stimulus like people or react like people.

There is a class of owners who encourage that type of dog to be aggressive or reactive because of the reputation that they already have

Shelters recycle dogs that should be euthanized-while this does not apply just to 'pits' because more cycle through shelters it kind of stick with them. Sometimes dogs should not be rehomed-especially those that have a bite history, but owners often turn dogs into shelters rather than report them for biting incidents and shelters ,even if they know, don't always disclose why a dog was surrendered to a new adoptive family resulting in the dog being recycled several times. Every family that takes one of these dogs in thinks they are doing the right thing by rescuing the dog and bringing it into a loving home that will make everything better. Unforunately, without the support of and experienced trainer and a lot of dedication, and sometimes even with it, that's just not the case.

There are of course situations where things happen with out explanation-the attack described above is one.

And people want to do the right thing and 'save a life' so sometimes people with no real view on the situation get involved where they should not -the case of the Husky's in Utah who bit off and consumed a childs arm is one. That got mis-portrayed grossly in the media and there was a huge online petition to 'save' those dogs from euthanasia. That was not the right answer.

Thank you for this lengthy post, so many good points to consider.