Posted on 07/22/2007 5:36:41 AM PDT by libstripper
Our dogs were more like comedians than commandos. They showed zero unwarranted aggression towards people and pooches. They had amazing discernment, insane athletic ability and undaunted courage. This breed impacted me so much I wrote a book about their magnificent spirit (go to amazon.com The Bulldog Attitude).
As far as I’m concerned, the Pit Bull is one of the most awesome animals on the planet. And before hype hit the fan, and the local news needed fresh chum for the gullible ones and the pimps and thugs became the owners of this noble animal, The United States of America thought so as well.
(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...
I’d prefer 100 chihuahua bites to ONE pit bull bite. How many people have chihuahuas killed and maimed in the last year?
If your misguided "maximum force" sends bullets flying and the dog was just trying to make friends, there's a good chance you'll deservedly be spending some time in the grey bar hotel.
Right, sure, take your chance with my being a good shot.
Keep your dog on a leash and stay back 20 paces or so.
A case could be made that nervous hamsters bite more than pit bulls, BUT the bites will certainly not be comparable.
Biting and mauling are two different things.
Comparing the damage potential of a pitt bull to other dogs is like comparing the danger of Godzilla to a garden lizard.
The latter may bite and hurt, the former bites and kills.
I seriously wonder if more aggressive pit bills are being produced by backyard breeders than legitimate breeders. I see the ads in the local paper and they make a point of saying what line the dogs are from-usually with scary names.
If the dogs bred for their aggressive personalities outnumber those bred for good temperments, what are the odds
that any of this breed will have non-violent ancestry in future generations?
And what good will it do the breed if the number of people who carefully breed-and want- dogs with sweet temperments are outnumbered by the ones who want dogs from more dangerous bloodlines?
The wrong people are breeding the wrong bloodlines to intentionally produce the kind of dogs we see in the news.
How do we stop that? And how many generations would it take to be sure that the negative traits don’t show up in a dog?
“Every Pit-Bull I have come across in my entire life has been like the author and you describe.....”
Ditto!! Best dog that ever lived with us was a pit-bull/bull mastiff mix. Aggressively loving, tender and gentle (would allow our parakeet to walk all over her), intelligent and protective. She never had to bite anyone but would have given her life to defend us or our property. Twice that we know she deterred a break-in of our camper when we were on vacation in NYC and another time she stopped someone who was in the act of road rage. A man was approaching our van in a very threatening manner. He did not even get a chance to touch the door handle before a white blur of snarling power warned him off. Please note, she did not leave the vehicle to chase, just stood her ground and saved us much grief. Rest in peace Total! You will always be in our hearts.
My point, which made you very very mad and I apologize, was that the dogs themselves (for whatever reason) have done the job themselves. What liberals have had to do with it I really don’t know, unless you mean lib journalist who have written about the people (adults, elderly and children) the dogs have attacked. If you are suggesting the attacks didn’t happen or happen with equal ferocity with other breeds then I politely suggest, with only a couple of exceptions, that you are mistaken.
Well said!
APB are bred to be human non-aggressive.
Even the idiots that abuse and fight them are typically in the ring during the fight.
I swear, anyone who raises dogs to fight should be forced to fight each other to the death, bare handed.
Humans have a long relationship with dogs - going back to caveman times of the earliest humans. Forcing them to fight each other is disgusting.
Seems to me you have to assume it's one of Vick's special pets. There are a lot of 'em out there just like 'em.
If you want to make love with your own pitbull, just keep it indoors.
My mother has two pit bulls and they behave as the author described, in a gregarious and friendly manner. The ferocious looking one is a big baby who thinks he is a lap dog. Still, I always feel a touch guarded around them simply because of the breed’s reputation.
As the proud owner of a chihuahua, I must take exception to some of the comments about this tiny dog. Our little chihuahua is the sweetest and most affectionate dog in the whole wide world. He was rescued from the animal shelter and captures the affections of all who meet him.
It is in any dog’s nature to bite when feeling threatened. Sadly, the bite of a pit bull can be deadly. The bite of a chihuahua (I would suspect) is simply an annoyance.
I once spoke with a Pit Bull breeder. He said that for decades the intent of Pit Bull breeders had been to weed out the aggressiveness in the breed by putting the animals down or through sterilization of animals that were aggressive so that they were removed from the breeding stock.
He said drug deals and assorted criminals were going the other way by breeding and cross breeding Pit Bulls for their aggressiveness.
The breed can’t be trusted. They are banned in many of the towns in the region where I live.
chihuahuas bite out of fear...pit bulls bite due to the desire to dominate and kill...BIG difference
I seriously wonder if more aggressive pit bills are being produced by backyard breeders than legitimate breeders.
That IS the problem...sad to say.
“That was the only time in my life that a dog hugged me back!”
I have a 100 pound boxer-mastiff mix who likes to hug, also.
It’s the little dogs I find to be the most aggressive.
Napoleon complex, ya know.
I can believe it. I’ve seen more batsh*t crazy chis than all other dogs put together.
Forget the dogs, beware the owner.
Since when did this become an “Its for the children” argument. Are you arguing for more regulation and taxation, not unlike the front running DIM’s.
Dogs have individual personality traits, unfortunately, it is usually a reflection of their owners interaction with them. Dogs are bread for particular traits and jobs. If those natural behaviors are directed toward positive uses, the breed is good. If they are given mixed signals, inadequate training or training with malice; you get sensational news stories and lots of generalization about a breed. I know lots of retrievers that cause me much more anxiety than your average Doberman, Shepard, or “pit bull”
The Old English Mastiff has been bred for temperament for centuries, and what you have today is a calm, dignified animal with a short lifespan who is among the gentlest breeds on earth.
Yet they can, and do, protect.
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