This is exactly what I'm talking about, I'm not saying the death of the girl, which is a tragedy, is the hype part. If this was a pair of Rottweilers, Dobermans, Chows, German Shepherd, etc. etc. this story would never have been posted here, and all the dogs are equally dangerous if not more so as they all outweigh a pure-bred APBT, often these stories don't even confirm the actual breed of the dog that did it.
I've owned and been around APBTs my life, they are brilliant, loyal dogs who are as loving and gentle as any other breed when raised properly. The problem is not the dog, it's the owner.
Bull$shit. The problem is the dog. When was the last time you heard about a beagle killing anybody? Come to think of it, when was the last time you heard about a german shepherd killing anybody? What does it take with you guys?
Same here. Out of the large number of APBT's I have been around (shows, fostering, training, etc) over the course of several years, I have never had one or seen one attack another human much less show aggression towards another human. Then again, the dogs that I am around are integrated into family settings and not left chained in the backyard isolated from humans. My own have never, ever been on a chain, are trained in obedience, and my female is a therapy dog for 2 local nursing homes. I have never had a problem with my male and female fighting as the female is a "motherly" type and basically treats the younger unrelated male as her own pup. But, I do know that the breed is naturally dog aggressive and I do not leave them together alone and unsupervised. If we must be away, they are each crated to PREVENT any potential problems. Our animals aren't left with small children unsupervised. No animal should be left with small children unsupervised. That is common sense.
My oldest APBT is now 2 years old.The only time she has ever shown aggression is about 2 weeks ago when a neighbor's bull terrier (those nasty little Spudz McKenzie dogs) came onto our property and attacked my younger male APBT while my youngest son was playing fetch with him. My female then promptly proceeded to drag him out of our yard. After doing so, she returned and stood guard on our front porch for nearly an hour. She could have literally shredded this smaller, albeit powerful, dog into pieces but did only what was necessary to remove him from the yard.
I do have to admit, that while my female loathes cats, she fancies herself as being one when trying to climb trees and catching mice (ewww).
I am not going to defend all APBT's because there are surely unstable ones in among them just as there are unstable dogs in all breeds. In my own experience with caring and educated owners, those whose animals are as much a part of their families as their own children are, and whose breeders are reputable, I have not seen anything indicating instability in those dogs. People who buy this breed of dog and cast them away to the outer yard chained up and away from regular human contact and influences, who do not provide obedience training and who try to further "toughen up" the dog by assorted practices are asking for trouble.
I would not recommend this particular breed to anyone not thoroughly educated on their nature or to anyone not willing to making a lifetime commitment to their animal. These types of people are the cause of excessive "backyard breeding" resulting in an over population of instable animals which in turn gives us tragedies such as the one in the posted article.
I always thought these breeds were equally as dangerous as Pit Bulls.