I forgot about that incident - thanks for reminding me.
The pits are aggressive only if they have been raised that way.
I don't agree with this. PBs head the list of breeds responsible for fatal attacks. They can't ALL be raised to be agressive. Question to PB lovers out there: if you can breed a dog for size, color, coat, appearance, etc. why do you think that they CAN'T be bred for agressive behavior?
Personality traits can certainly be bred for. It’s more difficult than breeding for physical appearance, you usually get tendencies that then have to be guided into the behaviors you want (depending on the behavior/trait you are breeding for).
I suspect (and what I have read backs this up, plus looking through shelter dogs available also backs it up) that there are several reasons there are so many PB types involved in the attacks you read about.
First, they CAN do a lot of damage if they attack so they are more likely to make the news.
Second the media (which most who post on these threads usually don’t have much respect for) love a good scary mean dog bites man story and this is the scary breed of the day. I remember when it was rotties and before that german shepherds.
Third they are easy to misidentify, lots of people cannot tell the difference in a pit bull and a boxer or any large short muzzled mix breed (and neither can lots of shelter employees for that matter).
Fourth BAD PEOPLE took a liking to the breed and have bred and owned them for completely reprehensible reasons. I think you and I agree there 100%.
Fifth the shelters are FULL of them so I think it’s very likely that many rescued dogs are pit bull type and pit bull mixes so I think it greatly increases the chances that they will be involved in bites just by virtue of numbers -they are popular.
And no, I don’t have a pit bull. I have a golden retriever.
Most pit bulls that are agressive, are not necessarily “bad dogs.” I have seen incidences of German sheperds, rotweilers, Dobermans, and other medium to large breeds of dog who have bitten, maimed and/or killed people.
PBs that are bred to fight, are only aggressive to other dogs because they associate humans with food and affection.
Some dogs are loyal and protective to a fault...these are the ones that attack and often kill. There ARE warning signs, however, and owners who ignore the signs are the very ones who claim the “dog was a real sweetie, until he suddenly went berserk.”
Behavior can be bred in or bred out, depending on the breeder and the type of dog in question. Each dog, just like people, should be judged on its own merit and not that of a few stories that make the news.
I never said they couldn’t be bred for aggressive behavior. ANY dog can be aggressive, especially one who has been abused. And if a person likes that kind of dog, they can be sure that they will make the dog that way.
Dogs, like people, are born innocent.
“if you can breed a dog for size, color, coat, appearance, etc. why do you think that they CAN’T be bred for agressive behavior? “
You can. If you can breed a dog for “color, coat, appearance” why can’t you breed a dog for dog aggression and handling by people?
That is what pits were traditionally bred for. The dogs were fought and had to be handled by their owners even when injured. So yes, traditionally bred pits are dog aggressive but people friendly. Many dogs are dog aggressive and people friendly. It is up to their owners to control them.
Even Michael Vick’s dogs were like this which is why many could be rescued.
OTOH some gangstas are now breeding pits as attack dogs. An attack dog is just that - indiscriminately aggressive.