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Every year Pit Bulls account for anywhere 50% to 70% of all dog bite fatalities. Rotties generally account for most of the rest.

Dog bites and serious injuries and fatalities from dog attacks are totally different issues. A Yorkie might be more likely to bite than a Pit Bull, but I’d rather suffer or have my children suffer through 100 Yorkie “attacks” than 1 Pit Bull attack.

I am not aware of the study you mention. I know there is a commonly cited temprament test, where Pit Bulls did favorably, but those results have no statistical significance as the samples are anything but random. The problem is that all the dogs are brought in voluntarily for testing. Most people with dogs they know to have problem tempraments are not going to have their dogs tested, so the results by breed are meaningless.

The fact that most shelters have more Pit Bulls than all other dogs combined is another indication of how problematic they are.

I realize there are good Pit Bulls and this ruling in now way punishes them or their owners. If you are the owner of a well bred, well trained, well socialized, well supervised Pit Bull, the chances of an attack are very small, so liability won’t be an issue.

Unfortunatley, only a very small percentage of Pit Bulls are well bred, socialiazed, trained and cared for. Only a small percentage of dog owners have the experience, skill, assertiveness and responsbility to safely own Pit Bulls. They are extraordiary dogs that require extraordinary owners.

The responsibility of owning a Pit Bull is closer to that of owning an a wild animal, capable of killing, than it is to that of owning a Beagle or a Golden Retriever.

The responsibility of owning a Pit Bull is closer to that of owning an a wild animal, capable of killing, than it is to that of owning a Beagle or a Golden Retriever.

But of course there is the odd Beagle owner, such as the one that goes to the same park as Rufus ((see smiling red poodle earlier in the thread)) and I for a `stretch` of the paws. Rufus has the most expressive face I have ever seen in a dog, and scarey smart... and when this beagle guy comes to the park and lets the beagle drag him form tree to tree???? The first time I ever saw a WTF expression on Rufus' face is the first time he saw this Beagle and his `keeper` running from tree to tree, beagle carrying on like a real nutcase... Some times dog owners are truly clueless as to how incredibly weird they can appear....

“The fact that most shelters have more Pit Bulls than all other dogs combined is another indication of how problematic they are.”

So would you say that the children in foster care are inherently “problematic” or would you blame their parents who put them there?

I theorize that the same populations who dominate the foster care system dominate the shelter dog system.

I work in pit bull rescue. Even so called “no kill shelters” euthanize aggressive dogs.