Replies

“Most breeds of dogs walk around my neighborhood all the time without packing up and eating another dog, or another person..”<<<<<<<<<<<<

Most dogs would not, regardless of the breed. I wouldn’t dismiss a “friendly” breed as being friendly, though. Recently, I was attacked by a pack of dogs, and one was a black lab! The other dog that bit me was a dachshund, and the two others were mutts that were not pit bull-types, all of which were trying their best to rip a cat apart. The strays I encounter on my jogs range from pit bulls to chows to labs to even chihuahuas, and I never know which will be nice and which will be vicious. The most vicious dog I have so far encountered was a black lab mix, and he was downright scary. My dog (pit bull-type) goes with me on jogs and she is never aggressive towards other dogs we run across. I put her in a down-stay and deal with the strays myself. She knows who the boss is.

A dog left to its own devices is a potential danger, no matter the breed. Pit bulls are the most popular dog right now, so they are seen more often than others (running loose in bad neighborhoods, that is).

“Certainly I dont condemn the breed , I am sure they are fine for what thy are bred for, but eating other species isnt a trait I particularly like.”<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

They were not bred to eat other species. They were bred as a multi-purpose farm dog, starting with gripping bulls for slaughter and moving on to dog fighting when bull-baiting was outlawed, and past that they were used as ratters, work dogs, and family pets by the pioneers that settled in this country. During the time that they were bred to fight other dogs, they were also bred to be capable of determining the difference between a dog and a person, so that in the pit, no handler would get bitten while handling the dogs in mid-fight. If we are willing to admit that genetics and breeding plays a part in the temperament of a dog, we must be willing to include all aspects of this, not just the ones that make the dog look bad.

Dogs are individuals, though, and each is capable of something different. Not all of them will fit the standard, just as not all “nice” breeds are nice, and not all pit bulls want to kill other dogs. There are several breeds unrelated to pit bulls that can be dog aggressive, as well as many dogs not in these categories that simply are dog aggressive for no known reason. It’s up to the owner of the dog to ensure the dog is socialized, trained, and securely kept to avoid incidents such as this one. If a dog is running loose, you can assume the owner is failing the dog in more ways than what can be seen.