Posted on 06/04/2005 8:54:05 PM PDT by churchillbuff
Pit bull terriers may be one of the most controversial breeds around, but they are also one of the most misunderstood by the public, dog experts said Friday in the wake of the fatal mauling of a 12-year-old boy in San Francisco.
If bred and trained properly, pit bulls can be wonderful pets, experts said. If there is a lack of stability, though, they have the proclivity and ability to inflict serious damage.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
What the hell is a Kurt Russell terrier?
A dog that jumps into bed with Goldie Hawn?
The problem with pit bulls is that their "trip wire" for reversion to feral status is much more sensitive than any other breed capable of killing a human. (Discounting the ever-annoying chihuahua and other harmless breeds.)
On the spectrum of ferocity (defined as tendency towards violence), all breeds that don't automatically attack any human within range can be said to be to the right of neutral. But most breeds, through natural selection, are far left of neutral. (Think about it. Any dog that would kill a human would normally be immediately exterminated.)
In the case of the pit bull, however, dogs that showed aggressiveness towards other dogs and humans weren't killed - they were, in fact, the ones that were revered. So, natural selection and the tendency to shy away from dog and human-killing tendencies was stood on its head.
Now we have an unnatural breed of dogs that are the progeny of a race specifically created to be violent. The only amazing thing in this situation is that otherwise intelligent people continue to dismiss science and history to protest the ferocity of these animals.
"Goldie Hawn retrievers :-)"
Funny!
So I'm thinking, I hope I didn't insult this guy....
It's hard to keep track, because I kick up dirt at any and all whenever a pit thread bites its way into my attention.
"That is a rhetorical coup de grace."
Thank you.
A lot.
Now I probably won't bite you.
He meant, Jack Russell terrier.
Good grief, but I do so love that graphic!
I've met that dog, many times.
Once I met in the home of a family who'd just acquired two chocolate lab pups, still six months (so you know the size and energy level).
I sat in these folks living room on the sofa while those pups absolutely mauled me with puppy love and kisses.
The couple finally emerged and apologized for the dogs' behavior. When the meeting was almost over, though, she asked me a cool question:
"You wanna see those pups again? You seem to like'm..."
"Oh, well, maybe for a minute or two."
Sure enough, she let'em at me and they did it all over again. LOLOL What a fun breed. What a fun age.
I'm throwing the grenades....
You're doing high-level communication.
Great job, thanks.
Heh heh heh....LOLOL
Perhaps you should get one.
They're way too high-strung for me.
Willy wasn't a pit bull. He was an English Bull Terrier, a different breed entirely.
Breed specific legislation ends up being like the "assualt weapon ban" - there is no difference between a itty bity dog and a great dane - they are same species. England passed a ban on "dangerous dogs" and a lot of dogs that kinda looked pitbullish have been condemmed to death.
The dog/gun analogy is a good one - don't leave powerful dogs unsupervised with small children/weak adults just as you wouldn't leave a gun lying around - OTOH don't try to brand or ban a particular type as inherently evil.
Let us not forget 2 news stories from this Spring... FLA Pit Bull gives his life to save Mistress from Gator, & Iowa Pit Bulls break fence to protect Neighbor from Chow Attack.
Don't Ignore the FACT that folks reporting a "Dog Attack" tend to Blame "the Current BAD Breed". In the 50's, it was "Shepards", then "Dobbies", then "Rot's" & "Chows". Now its "Pits". Any short coat CHESTY mixed-breed is reported as a "Pit", including "Boston Terriers" {LOL}. Pure Breds {with tails & big ears} are reported as "Pits" on 911 calls. A Florida lady shot a Chihuahua, then called 911 to report a "Pit" attack! Shaggy Dogs have been reported, and given INK or AIR TIME as "Pits", too {INCLUDING collies & cockers}.
True "Fighting DOGS" being kept for THAT PURPOSE ONLY are one thing, MSM reports, drawn from 911 calls are Another.
Pit bulls are awesome dogs. I've actually seen the mythical creature, more than once.
Are the people against the rights of gun owners pit bulls ever actually seen one?
Be like petting a terrorist savage or an angry Cobra.
Only difference between a Pit Bull and a Muslim terrorist is the Pit Bull has more brains and common sense.
About like our old buddies down at the ACLU.
ACLU Lawyers: Filing lawsuits against traditional America when not chasing Ambulances or cheating old ladies out of their pensions.
All this so your taxes can pay their exorbitant fees.
Thank your elected politicians. One scumbag brother helping out another.
"Oh yeah, he proved it without a shadow of a doubt."
He did...you just need to come out of the shadows.
"There's a ton of science and definitive proof in the babble he wrote."
It's not what we call "hard science," but it drew heavily on what many of us have come to regard as...common sense. Horse sense. And based on common knowledge. But, before you jump in and bite, he did draw on statistics.
"Conclusion: no science here."
Conclusion: No open mind here.
"Please, I bet every one of you would cry fowl if someone made the same argument about a gun you possess."
My gun "cries" when I shoot at a "fowl" (and I cry when I miss). Beyond your misspelling, I don't know what the hell you're talking about in that sentence. ("Bad people" abused my gun when it was growing up?)
My gun never shit on the rug, ripped up the couch, broke through the fence or chased the mailman down the block.
"I'm sorry that a pit bull gives you the vapors,"
No sweat. That's just one of the reasons we carry guns. And if a pit bull ever attacks us, or anyone too innocent or frail to defend himself, we will draw that gun and shoot the pit bull dead.
And no one, no matter how "sensitive," and in virtually any jurisdiction in the country, will say word one against me for it. Because they know the choice came down to a snarling killer and a five-year-old girl with big blue eyes.
"maybe a nice Chihuahua is in your future."
What are you saying here? Is this code for something you can't just come out and say? You are aware that this is a conservative website?
I have. My wife has, as it jumped a seven foot fence and bore down on her and my three bichons as they walked by.
I'm not against people owning pits, as long as they keep them behind a ten foot fence with razor wire around the top and never let them off leash if they happen to venture out anywhere else.
The breed is, as one animal control officer put it, "A lawsuit waiting to happen."
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