Despite reputation, trained pit bulls can be wonderful pets, experts say (?)

San Fran Chron ^ | June 4 05 | San Fran Chronicle

[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.

[TADSLOS]

Lawsuit (or worse) on a chain.

[thoughtomator]

Yes, let's keep something as a pet that can eat children.

[gonewt]

A German Shepherd could eat a child. So could a Golden Retriever.

Pit Bulls are not bad dogs. They're often owned by bad people.

[meisterbrewer]

A German Shepherd could eat a child. So could a Golden Retriever.

Cites please. Not just one, but as many as pit bull killings.

[Constitution Day]

FYI

[thoughtomator]

Here's a record of people who have been eaten by pit bulls, going back only to 2002. Note that many are small, bite-sized children. Are you asserting that German Shepherds and Golden Retrievers have a similar record?

[meisterbrewer]

Here's a fun game. Take the first two paragraphs of the article and replace "pit bulls" and associated text with similar text that illuminates the ridiculous arguments of the pro - pit bull crowd. See below.

Artificially-created deadly asps may be one of the most controversial breeds around, but they are also one of the most misunderstood by the public, snake experts said Friday in the wake of the fatal biting of a 12-year-old boy in San Francisco.

If bred and trained properly, artificially-created deadly asps can be wonderful pets, experts said. If there is a lack of stability, though, they have the proclivity and ability to inflict serious damage.

Duh.

[gonewt]

Your words were that Pit Bulls "can eat children."

Use of the word "can" is key here. Most large dog breeds "can" do a lot of bad things.

Don't blame the animals. They only know what they're taught.

Do you blame guns when criminals use them?

[Mount Athos]

Of course it's not just a function of training.
Some pit bulls are specifically bred, genetically, for extreme agression and maltemper.

[thoughtomator]

Unlike guns, pit bulls eat children on their own motivation.

[gonewt]

> Some pit bulls are specifically bred, genetically, for extreme agression and maltemper.

And people engaging in these activities (breeding for these purposes) should be severely punished.

[sinkspur]

They only know what they're taught.

Not true. I can cite three examples of pits owned by normal families, who insisted they were wonderful pets. The dogs, suddenly, just went off and attacked a family member, a stranger, or another dog. I'm sure there are more.

An unpredictable dog (as pits are) are a danger.

[gonewt]

But like guns, Pit Bulls can be responsibly owned by law-abiding citizens. And given responsible ownership, they are not dangerous.

[gonewt]

> An unpredictable dog (as pits are) are a danger.

I've got a beagle who's pretty unpredictable.

Guess the government should come to my house & tell me I can't own her.

[meisterbrewer]

Hypothesis: one can isolate the gene for aggressiveness in animals through selective breeding and create a new lineage of the animal that is more prone to violence.

Testing: creating of the breed Pit Bull by selectively breeding dogs that show more aggressive tendencies over dogs that show less aggressive tendencies.

Observation: over 100 years of recorded history of new breed of pit bulls displaying overly-aggressive tendencies towards other breeds of dogs and other animals, including humans. Documented evidence of pit bulls killing numerous human beings, usually smaller, defenseless children, at exponentially higher rates than other breeds.

Conclusion: pit bulls are more aggressive than other dogs and pose an increased danger to human beings.

[sinkspur]

Guess the government should come to my house & tell me I can't own her.

If your beagle can maul a human being to death, then she's as big a danger as a pit. (I'm guessing she can't)

[nvcdl]

"Pit bulls" are the quintensensial American Dog, musculear and game. Teddy Roosevelt and Helen Keller had them as pets. The famous Pete the Pup from little Rascals/our Gang was an American Pitbull Terrier and is a good example of the breed - tolerant and protective of children.

"Pit Bulls" (often mixed mixed breed mutts) get a lot of attention when they bite someone but are not as likely to to hurt a person as a German Shepard, Rottweiller, Chow, etc.

[oldenuff2no]

Not even close. Pit Bulls are #2 on the list for attacking people and #1 on the list for killing kids. German shepherds are a long ways down that list. Pit Bulls are bread and have the instinctual drive to "Bite and Fight." That is what they have been raised to do for the last few hundred years and now people are surprised when they do exactly that.
I've been training attack dogs, bomb dogs, narc dogs, working stock dogs and every other kind of dog you can think of for the last 30 years. My Border collies start working at 5 or 6 weeks it is not training it is instinct just like the bite and fight is instinct in the Pitt Bulls. I do not have to train the border collies to work, and they do not have the drive to work because I mistreat them. The border collies are born with the instinct to heard livestock just like the pitt bulls are born with the instinct to attack. You can train a dog, but no person will ever be able to take the instinctual drives out of them. In the right situation, they will do what they have been bred to do.
I have never seen or heard of an owner saying that they just knew their pet pitt bull was going to attack and kill that toddler. You always hear the same old story about how nice and gentle the dogs were. You can tell me all the "nice pitt bull" stories you want, but the kids are still dead and pitt bulls still top the list for killing them!

[John Robertson]

"A German Shepherd could eat a child. So could a Golden Retriever."

So could a really freaking hungry Chihuahua.

But it doesn't happen all that often.

I have clashed before with you on this forum over this breed...the one that, STATISTICALLY, KILLS AND MAIMS MORE THAN ANY OTHER BREED.

And do you know when it is that we lock horns?

It's whenever somebody posts a story about a pit killing a child or adult, or maiming someone beyond recognition. Another words: ANOTHER pit bull STRUCK AGAIN.

Think about that.

You only argue your position that pit bulls are really nice dogs...right after the latest incident of a pit bull killing a really nice person.

And your argument is always that, It's not the dog, it's the owner.

But I'm convinced that the number of asshole, incompetent owners is spread fairly equally over all breeds, so shouldn't the result be, a fairly equal number of killer dogs across all breeds?

But it's not.

Pit bulls are the number one killer and maimer of humans.

And no other breed even comes close.

You either own a pit bull that's wonderful...or had that was great to you when you were a kid...or want to be a pit bull in another life.....

But no one's going to listen to what you have to say with any respect if you don't stop your hysterical overreaction every time someone points something so obvious even a dead child could understand it.