[ast]

and people say guns are more dangerous ....

 

[mikeg]

I've been reading about Pitbulls being bred for fighting, and it seems that there's a following for this terrible practice of having such dogs fight to the death. But, none of the papers and periodicals that I've seen, have described or identified who the fans of this practice are, or where these dog fights occur, and who is promoting them. What's this savage activity all about?

Quote:

Originally Posted by redshifter /img/forum/go_quote.gif That is not correct. Pitbulls were bred to be aggressive. This is why they kill the loser in pitbull fights. Only the most aggressive and violent dogs survive, and the predisposition towards violence is hard-coded in their genes, and no matter how docile you train your pitbull, it is only a matter of time before nature trumps nurture. The wrong stimulus and your little angel turns into a raging weapon. Now a beagle on the other hand, a beagle is not going to rip your face off like a pitbull.

 

[redshifter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeg /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've been reading about Pitbulls being bred for fighting, and it seems that there's a following for this terrible practice of having such dogs fight to the death. But, none of the papers and periodicals that I've seen, have described or identified who the fans of this practice are, or where these dog fights occur, and who is promoting them. What's this savage activity all about?

It is a "behind closed door sport" like cockfighting, where illegal gambling goes on.

 

[GlorytheWiz825]

Another Pitbull attack? *sighs* I really don't think this breed of dog should be bred. I think most States ban the ownership of Pitbulls, but some States still allow it. I really think this breed should be banned and slowly put out. Why does it seem all the dog attacks I read about have at least one pitbull involved? This breed is too dangerous and should not be kept as pets.

 

[GlorytheWiz825]

The owner of the pit bull is really irresponsible. He attitude reminds me of the owner of the dog who attacked me. I was also attacked by a dog when I was 7 years old. I don't remember the breed of the dog, but I believe it was some sort of terrier mix. After I got attacked, the owner ran out with a handful of band aids, begging my parents not to call the cops. Come on, I had big deep gashes on my waist and butt, and that owner brought up band aids? -_-;

Anyway, if it weren't for my dad kicking the dog, I might have been seriously injured. Even then, I ended up having 14 stitches on my waist and butt. Been terrified of dogs until I got my own dog a year and a half ago.

 

[F107plus5]

What IS the philosophy behind getting these kinds of dogs anyway! Is this some kind of perverted national macho trend!

My Son; of all people, came over to our house the other day with a Pit. A "watchdog and a hunting dog" he said. And some neighbors a few houses down the road just did the same.

Even one of our grandkids biological donors is getting a Jack Russel Terrier and is tossing the name around like the brand of some well respected handgun.

 

[aphex944]

I've encountered probably around a hundred pit bulls over the past few years. Maybe 25% have been dog aggressive. There are MANY pit bulls that aren't from fighting "stock" or lines that haven't been fought for some time.

A friend of mine has a pit bull that is obviously from a fighting line. She only gets along with a few select dogs. Most dogs she treats as prey, including mine. On the flipside, another friend has a pit bull that is extremely sweet and passive. She's got all the pit bull energy, but it comes out as a wagging butt and a happy-go-lucky attitude. She plays extremely well with my dog.

The point of getting a pit bull is that they are extremely loyal and loving. Many also find them irresistibly cute. They're also a great size, have very short fur, and are very athletic. It's very hard to completely wear out a pit bull, and a lot of people love that.

Look, owning a dog is about responsibility. Owning a lower drive dog means you don't have that much to worry about. If your dog is full of instinct, drive, and energy(as most pits are), you need to be able to fulfill that regardless of breed.

There are a few MAJOR reasons pit bulls are involved in many attacks against humans. 1) They are often misidentified. A true pit bull is VERY distinct. Many of these dogs are probably mixes of mixes. 2) It's all in how they're treated. If they don't get the exercise and mental stimulation they need, where's it supposed to go? What is the dog supposed to do with it? If they're trained with harsh or abusive methods, that's going to make any defensive/aggressive tendencies much more likely to come out.

It's not the breed, it's the PEOPLE behind it. Why can't we crack down on that? You'd be surprised at the LACK of punishment for animal cruelty, and what exactly IS considered cruelty(it's pretty lax). The public needs to be educated about the breed, and how wonderful they can be. The ones fighting them, breeding the fighters, and abusing them need to be in JAIL for a very long time. These people also need to be banned for ever owning another animal again.

 

[redshifter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aphex944 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've encountered probably around a hundred pit bulls over the past few years. Maybe 25% have been dog aggressive. There are MANY pit bulls that aren't from fighting "stock" or lines that haven't been fought for some time. A friend of mine has a pit bull that is obviously from a fighting line. She only gets along with a few select dogs. Most dogs she treats as prey, including mine. On the flipside, another friend has a pit bull that is extremely sweet and passive. She's got all the pit bull energy, but it comes out as a wagging butt and a happy-go-lucky attitude. She plays extremely well with my dog. The point of getting a pit bull is that they are extremely loyal and loving. Many also find them irresistibly cute. They're also a great size, have very short fur, and are very athletic. It's very hard to completely wear out a pit bull, and a lot of people love that. Look, owning a dog is about responsibility. Owning a lower drive dog means you don't have that much to worry about. If your dog is full of instinct, drive, and energy(as most pits are), you need to be able to fulfill that regardless of breed. There are a few MAJOR reasons pit bulls are involved in many attacks against humans. 1) They are often misidentified. A true pit bull is VERY distinct. Many of these dogs are probably mixes of mixes. 2) It's all in how they're treated. If they don't get the exercise and mental stimulation they need, where's it supposed to go? What is the dog supposed to do with it? If they're trained with harsh or abusive methods, that's going to make any defensive/aggressive tendencies much more likely to come out. It's not the breed, it's the PEOPLE behind it. Why can't we crack down on that? You'd be surprised at the LACK of punishment for animal cruelty, and what exactly IS considered cruelty(it's pretty lax). The public needs to be educated about the breed, and how wonderful they can be. The ones fighting them, breeding the fighters, and abusing them need to be in JAIL for a very long time. These people also need to be banned for ever owning another animal again.

It is the breed (as well as the owners). You have not been paying attention. Again, personal experience with a couple of pits trumps hard statistics? Been tried, I do not buy it.

 

[aphex944]

It's not the breed. If any other high drive breed, especially working line German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois, Rottweilers, Dobermans, etc. were abused the way pit bulls are, you'd get the exact same result. It's quite common for these working type dogs to develop serious aggression issues, many times handler directed, if the dogs are mistreated and trained poorly. It's about the drive and nerve of the individual dog, not the entire breed.

Personal experience doesn't trump hard statistics, no. However, understanding canines and the root causes of the issues that create human-directed aggression can help one interpret the data a bit better

 

[redshifter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aphex944 /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's not the breed. If any other high drive breed, especially working line German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois, Rottweilers, Dobermans, etc. were abused the way pit bulls are, you'd get the exact same result. It's quite common for these working type dogs to develop serious aggression issues, many times handler directed, if the dogs are mistreated and trained poorly. It's about the drive and nerve of the individual dog, not the entire breed. Personal experience doesn't trump hard statistics, no. However, understanding canines and the root causes of the issues that create human-directed aggression can help one interpret the data a bit better

Well, to be fair I did say the blame rests squarely on the owners' shoulders. I do not blame you for not reading the thread (tl;dr). I know I wouldn't.

 

[marvin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by F107plus5 /img/forum/go_quote.gif What IS the philosophy behind getting these kinds of dogs anyway! Is this some kind of perverted national macho trend!

Bingo.

 

[AuroraProject]

The only people I know or see with Pits are wannabe gangstas who want a ferocious man eating dog. Sad.

Dogs are dumb animals, for me, the blame falls squarely with the owners.

 

[EyeAmEye]

With a few exceptions, there are some truly brilliant observations on this thread...

 

[kg21]

Quote:

Originally Posted by redshifter /img/forum/go_quote.gif It is the breed (as well as the owners). You have not been paying attention. Again, personal experience with a couple of pits trumps hard statistics? Been tried, I do not buy it.

your "hard statistics" are taken from articles in the media who are likely to grossly misrepresent this kind of thing. Unless there is better evidence that you did not post in this thread. The statistics are black and white but without knowing everything behind the situation your making a lot of assumptions about the breed.

 

[redshifter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kg21 /img/forum/go_quote.gif your "hard statistics" are taken from articles in the media who are likely to grossly misrepresent this kind of thing. Unless there is better evidence that you did not post in this thread. The statistics are black and white but without knowing everything behind the situation your making a lot of assumptions about the breed.

Neither you nor EyeamEye (what are you still doing here?) have given any good reason to own a pitbull over another breed. Give me a reason. Going on ten pages now.