What are you thoughts on dog breed specific legislation, particularly the banning of pitbulls? I love dogs but hate putbulls. They're a dog that was bred for hundreds of years to be the perfect fighting dog, and they're a bad combination of vicious and stupid, with a tendency to flip out without provocation and attack people and other dogs. Pits are only 5% of the US dog population and yet they account for around 60% of all fatal dog maulings. I'm tired of seeing shows like Pitbulls and Parolees and The Dog Whisperer defending this awful breed. It seems like the story of everyone who gets a pit is that they swear it's the sweetest dog ever, until it flips out and tries to rip someone's face off. Then it ends up in a shelter getting euthanized. Pits are a product of a lot of shitty breeding and should be spayed and neutered out of existence. I'm tired of running into them at the dog park and having them try to attack my dogs.
I think the rules of owning one should be a lot tighter, as well as for other dogs that are similar. I see a lot of stupid people with dangerous dogs over here - not a good combination. I get pissed off with having to walk out of my way to avoid them.
Staffies used to scare me years ago, but as soon as my mate got one I am not anymore. I always thought them as beasts but it is all down to how the owner treats them. His two Staffies are very lovable.
My thoughts: great breed of dog that attracts a lot of degenerate owners. Every properly raised bully breed with which I have had frequent contact have been among the most affectionate and attentive dogs I've encountered. My oldest brother has two American bulldogs (a related breed that was used as the larger "Petey" in Our Gang/ The Little Rascals), and they are very well-mannered, loving dogs. My aunt's pitbull would constantly try to scoot it's head under my hand or plop it's bowling ball sized head onto my lap to try to get affection and attention if I wasn't always petting it. Aggression towards people is not a normal characteristic of this dog. Even the scumbags who engage in dog fighting do not want any aggression towards people, as humans are frequently inside the pit holding or breaking up fights. If a bully breed is attacking people, either there's something wrong with it from shady breeding or other issues or the owner is a moron who has been teaching it questionable things. The dog aggression tends to manifest as they reach adulthood. It's there or it isn't by around that time, although jackasses who are into dog fighting of course try to encourage this type of crap as much as they can. Contrary to what many seem to think, unstable aggression does NOT make a dog a better fighter. Not at all. A particularly vicious example of a German Sheppard Dog (another terrific breed; this was just a bad example of a GSD) tried to attack my aunt's little Pomeranian/ terrier mix dog, and the sweet female APBT that always wanted affection from me saw the dog attacking and grabbed the much bigger male GSD by the scruff of the neck and tossed it across the yard (NOTE: That was a pretty bizarre sight to see given that the GSD was much larger and was picked up and thrown like a rag doll), sending it fleeing. We never saw her show aggression outside of protecting her other dog, and she didn't chase the dog she beat down when it ran away. Dog aggression usually seems to be separate from general aggression. If the dog is aggressive all the time at everything, there's a major problem with the dog and it need to be immediately put down. Those that are not predisposed to dog aggressive can certainly get along with other dogs: APBTs were not always viewed to be vicious monsters that the press has made them out to be. They used to have a fairly good reputation here in the US. Theodore Roosevelt and Helen Keller owned APBTs. They were used as an all-purpose dog in the past and were especially handy for helping manage dangerous animals/ livestock. You're very much mistaken about the intellect of these dogs. There among the most versatile dogs I've ever seen. They've won just about every type of dog sport, including herding and Schutzhund. Dumb dogs do not complete successfully in Schutzhund obedience. This dog, owned by APBT expert Diane Jessup, who I used to talk to regularly on a discussion board, earned titles herding ducks and sheep: They can do just about anything you want them to, which has unfortunately led to scumbags abusing this breed more frequently than any other. This breed is being abused by people, not the other way around.
Maybe it's the scumbag owners then. On several occasions I've had these things try to maul my dogs at the dog park. Quite scary since there was a news story about a pit literally ripping the head off a chihuahua at one of the parks I go to. The owners don't seem to give a crap. Thankfully corgis are very agile since they were bred to deal with unruly livestock and are able to get away quickly. There are a lot of latino guys in south florida who want to convey a macho image by owning a power breed, and most of them seem to get pits. I'm guessing they mistreat them.
This video clearly shows that it's actually the Corgis that are the aggressors. A ban of these savage Corgis is clealy in order.
A pit bull is a deadly dog which is most often owned by stupid people. Thats just my observation. I wouldn't mind a ban on them.
Cars are much more dangerous. So is McDonald's food. And alcohol. They kill many times more people. Do you propose a ban on those?
The problem is that dogs have a mind of their own, and these are dogs that were selectively bred to be aggressive with other dogs. Training and socialization might compensate to some extent, but I don't think you can ever completely overcome that tendency towards aggression. People who say things like "blame the deed, not the breed" are seriously underestimating the extent to which selective breeding and genetics make dogs what they are. Pitbulls are the sociopaths of the dog world. Charming one minute, and ripping someone's arm off the next. And I just don't think a dog like that has any place in society. The people who own pitbulls and swear by the breed seem to have some kind of lion tamer complex where they swear that they're superior dog owners who can control the dogs' aggressive tendencies. But I would no sooner own a pitbull than a lion or chimpanzee. The risk of the dog going ape shit and killing someone is just too high.
Yes. Pitbulls have mauled and even killed plenty of babies and children. Pitbulls account for more dog attack fatalities than all other dog breeds combined.
I was going to compare them to wild cats as well. It doesn't matter how well trained they are or how much they love you. Instincts can take over at anytime.
Part of what makes pitbulls so deadly is that they have such strong and tight jaw muscles, it's nearly impossible to get them to release their jaw during an attack without killing them. They also have a tendency to amputate the limbs of their victims. And they have a very high pain threshold and don't retreat during a fight. Basically pitbulls have been selectively bred to the point where their physiology and the way they fight is quite different from other dogs or wolves. You can do a lot of crazy things to dogs through selective breeding. We've made dogs that herd or hunt or make good companions. In this case we made a dog that's extremely good at killing other dogs.
I'd like ban Jack Russel Terriors. I hate those dickhead dogs. Not vicious dogs by any means, just gym class hero type assholes, the whole lot of them.
I hate them too. They're nasty, bad tempered little dogs. I like herding breeds myself. Want something little, get a Corgi. Want something big, get a well bred German Shepherd or a Border Collie.
You don't choose to be hit by a car. Or at least I wouldn't choose that. But a car is many times more likely to kill you.
Have you actually ever spent time around "well bred" APBTs? I used to think many of the same things before I spent time with these dogs. One nearly killed my dog when I was a teen, and I was good and pissed about it at the time. But I eventually realized that the owner was a tool who shouldn't own a goldfish. If you actually spend time around APBTs, you will be surprised about their temperament. As I've said before, being unstable and indiscriminately aggressive does not characterize this breed's disposition. Some of you seem to think their mindsets are a cross between bull sharks and wolverines, and that's not the case at all.
I really couldn't tell you which are well bred and which have come from backyard breeders, but my experiences with them have not been positive.