[JoeProBono]

[Chet 99]

Pit bull problem: The owner or the breed?

The answer is... BOTH.

[ScottinVA]

“Sheriff’s deputies said it’s the first case of its kind they can remember in King County — one in which a pit bull was used as a weapon in brutal attacks on women. “

May be the first in King County, but it’s been done in a lot of other large cities for years.

[Natural Law]

Its not an either / or question. The attraction to Pit Bulls by some is because of their potential for violence. Pit Bulls are not necessarily any more aggressive or ill tempered than many other breeds, but you have to admit that when they snap the results are far more severe than when your average Yorkie or Dachshund goes postal.

[PLMerite]

They’re so quiet and well-behaved after they’ve been euthenized.

[Chi-townChief]

Have to say the owner - German Shepherds and Dobermanns also had nasty reputations at one time or another. Pete from Our Gang was a pit bull, wasn’t he?

[wolfcreek]

http://www.txfadd.org/

This was the mother of one of our best friends. Just minding her business in her front yard.

To top off this tragedy, the own of the dogs was an illegal alien, raising them to fight.

[mysterio]

If you own a dog, keep it inside and only have it outside on a leash. The problems occur when people are letting their dogs roam the neighborhood.

[NavyCanDo]

If I really really tried, I could probably teach a Yorkshire Terrier not to bark, a Basset Hound not to dig holes, a Beagle from wanting to sniff your guest, and a Collie from herding small children, knocking them over - but that is characteristics of these breeds. As is being aggressive is for a Pit Bull. My congratulations to owners who have raised a harmless little powder puff Pit Bull - but they are few.

[ozzymandus]

It’s always the owner. A bad owner can turn a beagle into a biting dog.

[truth_seeker]

Pretty good article in Wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pit_bull

I once had a neighbor with a sweet female Dobi. I asked him if they were violent, and he reploied mostly not. But he said if they ever turned on a human, put them down.

In my family we had Shelties, for a while. One in particular was very aggressive.

We once had a mixed breed, who was a sweet guy. Once a neighbor kid held his jaws shut, and the kid got snapped at and broke the skin.

Any dog can be made to be aggressive. They descend from wolves, and in nature they will kill to eat.

My conclusion: you cannot entirely train all aggression out of them, but you can train in increasing the aggression.

The bad owners today reward their animals for aggression. Pen the people, and leash (and if necessary muzzle) the pit bull dogs.

[bmwcyle]

Chet 99 is the problem.

[kanawa]

Thanks for posting, interesting article.