Replies

There are some here who are very fond of pit bulls, yes.

The dogs themselves can be quite charming, funny, goofy, and clown-like. Until they are not.

I do not know if this (designation) would be appropriate. I only know that these postings are the tip of the iceberg, and for a very long time, those who love pit bulls do so at the expense of human beings, and this is not acceptable. Neither is it acceptable to blame the victims of these attacks, which is what is done so often by pit bull lovers and apologists. This confuses the issue, and hurts the victims twice.

The numbers tell the story, or stories. It is important to post the news items on these attacks, and post the numbers and statistics. When I first began to look at these attacks, this breed-type of dog, and these pit bull owners and apologists, I was insulted, called names, and told to “educate myself”.

I educated myself. Other people have also done this. What information would you like in order to make your own decision on the safety of yourself, your loved ones, your pets, your neighborhood?

What I have found, at the end of my latest search, is that these dogs have been bred for brain abnormalities.

. . .abnormal disinhibited behavior is not functional, and it is unpredictable. Although high arousal and sudden attack can be functional in certain environments, this behavior is pathological in a safer environment, where a high level of arousal and aggressiveness are not necessary and only lead to unnecessary attacks and injuries. Research implicates the frontal cortex, subcortical structures, and lowered activity of the serotonergic system in impulsive aggression in both dogs and humans. Impulsive aggressive behavior in dogs seems to have a different biological basis than appropriate aggressive behavior.

Kathelijne Peremans, DVM discovered this by studying two different populations of impulsively aggressive dogs. Each dog had executed one or more attacks without the classical preceding warnings, and the severity of the attacks was out of all proportion to environmental stimuli. Peremans found a significant difference in the frontal and temporal cortices of these dogs, but not in the subcortical areas, compared to normal dogs. Peremans also found significant dysfunctions of the serotonergic systems among these dogs.

(Excerpt from book: The science of how behavior is inherited in aggressive dogs)(Semyonova)