Pit bull kills its owner, 25, by savaging her head and body

[A dot Ham]

Not really. How many times do you hear "collie kills boy" or "black lab kills child?" The reason you don't is that the media doesn't report it but it does happen. Google it, you will find it. It's news when it's a pit bull so it gets reported.

It's not the breed, it's the owner. The dog obviously had no discipline if it was "treated like a baby" and so from the dog's point of view, it acted accordingly as boss and master of the house.

It's not that people shouldn't own pit bulls; it's that stupid people and people who don't know how to handle dogs properly shouldn't own pit bulls. Don't buy in to the media hype.

It's agreed that we don't have all of the details, either. There's got to be more to it.

But basically, this is how it goes:

In the 70s we blamed Dobermans.
In the 80s we blamed German Shepherds.
In the 90s we blamed Rottweilers.

Now we blame Pit Bulls.

When are we going to blame stupid people??

I agree that we should be blaming stupid people.

I would also know where you got sources for Dobermans, Rottweilers, and German Shepherds.

I mean don't get me wrong these are all notorious vicious and aggressive dogs (hence why they train them for security/attack dogs). But I also have lived through these decades and never recall the widespread problems that we have with Pitbulls.

The pounds were NEVER full of 3 breeds you listed. NEVER. Go to any pound these days and the majority of the dogs there will be Pitbulls. But the reason for this is just as you stated STUPID PEOPLE. You have morons over breeding pitbulls and right now the only people that want them, want them to be aggressive for "protection" until they don't want it because either they are (a) too poor and shouldn't have got a dog to begin with (b) had a case of aggression on the family/friend (c) living situations have changed and they need to 'get rid of it'

The problem is that too many people see these dogs (and other breeds) as a tool, as a possession.

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Awe that reminds me of my dog Zara... coolest fucking dog on the planet. She was small (probably a runt) and a mix of pit/german shepher... and probably some other stuff.

But man I have never had a more well behaved dog. No leash necessary, super obedient, loving, patient (my lil bro put a washer in her eye once... no retaliation)

But she did have the problems that most pitbulls have, super aggressive to small animals. She killed countless gophers, a pet rabbit, a rooster, and a coyote. She was the type of dog to lay down her life for you if it came to it. *tear* thanks a lot ya jerk!

[Tydrane]

A big male cat who's pissed would take care of a pitbull like a it was a doll.

I mean, how big are we talking? Do you just mean a big domestic cat? Because if so, that's really cute. Your cat would be like a ragdoll in the jaws of a pit.

[Annoying]

But she did have the problems that most pitbulls have, super aggressive to small animals. She killed countless gophers, a pet rabbit, a rooster, and a coyote. She was the type of dog to lay down her life for you if it came to it. *tear* thanks a lot ya jerk!

That's a terrier problem, really. I had Airedale terriers growing up, and they killed countless prairie dogs/squirrels/jackrabbits. They were bred to hunt small game.

[Celista]

That's the point - there is no "pit bull breed" type.

They're so wildly different that it really demonstrates what I'm trying to say here - it's an umbrella. And it shouldn't shock ANYONE that an umbrella that can cover literally anything is higher than other breeds.

Why do you keep posting this shit over and over again? Also what you are saying is demonstrably false. Golden Retrievers for example have 50+ pound weight variability and are remarkably different in coat color and type, head shape and size, and overall temperament based on lineages. And that is one breed. I know several breeds where irresponsible breeders breed the dogs for size instead of health, increasing the likelihood of hip dysplasia and musculoskeletal disorders--Malamutes and Great Danes being two of them.

[Vanyali]

Why do you keep posting this shit over and over again? Also what you are saying is demonstrably false. Golden Retrievers for example have 50+ pound weight variability and are remarkably different in coat color and type, head shape and size, and overall temperament based on lineages. And that is one breed. I know several breeds where irresponsible breeders breed the dogs for size instead of health, increasing the likelihood of hip dysplasia and musculoskeletal disorders--Malamutes and Great Danes being two of them.

...look at the four pictures of "pit bull" that I posted.

In those pictures, I'm guessing:

Am. Bulldog
Boxer
Am. Staffie
Mastiff (of some sort; there are multiple types. but let's just add one)
Great Dane (maybe; 175lb "pit bull" has something big in it that's not APBT, and if it does have any APBT it was so long ago to be irrelevant)
Maaaybeee APBT
Some sort of shepherd (for the boxer mix)

That's 7 breeds from four pictures. All beneath a "pit bull" label. Yeah, it's SHOCKING that seven or more breeds, mixed together into one "pit bull type", would have more incidents than any other SINGLE breed. Which is the major problem with those statistics - you conflate so many breeds into one label, then blame a specific breed for all the breeds beneath it.


APBT? Very much a terrier - they will absolutely be aggressive toward smaller animals. They will absolutely, without proper training, be more aggressive to other dogs naturally. They will NOT, unless bred specifically for human aggression.. which generally means bringing in other breeds, have a high human aggression. That's simply not a big thing in their genetics... though it is in other breeds, and ANY breed, with improper training and socialization, can be aggressive toward humans.


Think about it - you're old-timey you, breeding fightings dogs. Fighting bulls, fighting vermin, fighting other dogs.. why on EARTH would you allow them to be human aggressive when you have to dive in between them to break fights or take corpses from them? Shit, why on earth would you breed a human-aggressive dog in the first place, when said dog was NOT a companion, but a worker that you had to be able to trust?

[Celista]

*throws up hands* you didn't even bother addressing what I was saying. I'm unsubscribing from this thread.

[Vanyali]

*throws up hands* you didn't even bother addressing what I was saying. I'm unsubscribing from this thread.

Why did you underline what I said, then, if it had nothing to do with your point?

[TirielWoW]

I have my doubts. Foresight is better than hindsight, that is all.

You can have your doubts, but I think you're wrong. While I still don't know if that dog was intact, the fact that she was letting it sleep on the bed, treating it as her baby, and letting it get away with everything is just...that was stupidity at its finest. You cannot do that with large dogs. You just can't. And while the boyfriend might be just "making shit up," outside of rage syndrome, dogs don't just up and snap. There is literally always a warning sign or twelve that people either dismiss because "cute" or fail to notice because nothing "bad" happened at the time. But they give signals.

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The pounds were NEVER full of 3 breeds you listed. NEVER. Go to any pound these days and the majority of the dogs there will be Pitbulls. But the reason for this is just as you stated STUPID PEOPLE. You have morons over breeding pitbulls and right now the only people that want them, want them to be aggressive for "protection" until they don't want it because either they are (a) too poor and shouldn't have got a dog to begin with (b) had a case of aggression on the family/friend (c) living situations have changed and they need to 'get rid of it'

The problem is that too many people see these dogs (and other breeds) as a tool, as a possession.

They weren't full of pit bulls, either.

They were full of Rotties, Dobermen, Dalmations (thank you, 101 Dalmations!), Golden Retrievers, Jack Russel Terriers (and other terriers), Collies, etc. If you didn't see the Rotties, Dobermen, and German Shepherds where you were, you were either blind or your local shelters had a firm policy of euthanizing what were perceived as "dangerous" dogs by breed. Just like many shelters now euthanize Pit Bulls for being Pit Bulls, many shelters used to euthanize Rotties, Dobermen and German Shepherds for being the breed they were, regardless of their temperament.

Some still do.