[PaulJ]

Pit bulls can make fantastic family pets if you train them properly. I can attest to that.

Maybe. But it's also true that Pit bulls and Rottweilers account for most fatal attacks on humans. It's a chance some of us are not willing to take.

[MineralMan]

"Maybe. But it's also true that Pit bulls and Rottweilers account for most fatal attacks on humans. It's a chance some of us are not willing to take."

Yup. A young guy down the street from me had a pit bull when he moved into the rental he lived in. The guy was a body-builder and not particularly friendly to the neighbors. His dog kept getting out and running in the neighborhood. Several of us warned him to keep his dog confined, but he just blew us off.

Well, one day, that dog went into my next-door neighbor's back yard and attacked their 12-year-old cocker spaniel, which was tied up on a tether. I heard my neighbor's wife screaming, and headed next door, after grabbing the Mossberg. I shot the pit bull, but it had already killed the poor little cocker.

Next thing I know, the pit bull's owner shows up and starts telling me what he's going to do to me. Funny, that, since he was unarmed and I still had 4 rounds in the Mossberg. I explained to him why he wasn't going to do anything to anyone and told him to get out of my neigbor's yard.

Next, I called the owner of the house and explained what had happened. The guy moved out the next day.

I DO NOT LIKE PIT BULLS. THEY ARE ALL SUSPECT.

[ffusco]

My Rottie, Betty, is the gentlest animal. She sleeps on the sofa with my cat, they hunt newts together, drink out of the same bowl and even groom each other.

[Liberal Classic]

Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, Doberman Pinchers, and German Shepherds account for most of the fatal attacks on humans. All make great pets if trained properly, but all large breed dogs can be dangerous if mistreated.

[Romulus]

But it's also true that Pit bulls and Rottweilers account for most fatal attacks on humans

Pit bulls scare me; rotties don't. The difference is that so many (essentially all) of the former are demented and incapable of socialisation, while the latter, while having a strong sense of territory and dominance, are more intelligent and amenable to training. Most pit bulls seem to harbor a deep core of unreasoning rage, unreachable by humans.