I cannot believe some people (aDork)

Mod's note:

*EDITED FOR EXPLANATION* Live pictures changed to links in AL's post.  Too graphic to be posted without a warning on the thread.

Also, remember the original intent of the threads, and let's keep it on topic
 

HoundMusic

If you're keeping the dog controlled and away from the general public, she's your dog and if you feel she's safe & reliable with you, than you have every right to keep your dog.

I don't keep her out of the public. I show her. She plays with my two year old niece. She plays with other dogs.  She goes out to eat with me, and goes to work with me. She demos for basic obedience classes, and goes to the beach. She shops. She goes to the bank.

HoundMusic

That being said, if you want my honest opinion, if I was your co worker, and your dog had *attacked* me unprovoked, so seriously as to marr my apperance permanently, I would pursue the matter until the dog was taken away/euthanized.

 If you were my coworker, were a dog trainer, and knew that my dog was touchy... you probably wouldn't have put your face ON hers while she was taking Prednisone and in my arms, unable to get away. It was an unfortunate accident. Emma is not a vicious dog. Facial wounds are a bigger problem than anything. If it had been her hand, there probably wouldn't have even been medical attention needed. Em's canine tooth caught her nostril, and when they BOTH pulled back, the cartilage tore.

A dog tried to attack Gypsy not long ago. What was his breed?  A BEAGLE.  Yep, you heard me right.What did Gypsy do? NOTHING.  She just stood there and ignored him. 

I have worked with more dogs than most people have ever SEEN, let alone interacted with.  Most dog don't just "snap" with no warning.  They give PLENTY of warning.  people just don't know how to read the warning signals.

I have volunteered at our local shelter for years.  The most aggressive dog I have dealt with was a LAB. Yep, you heard me right, American's sweetheart breed started two fights in less than thirty minutes. He tried to bite me more than once.

There's no such thing as a bad breed.  Yes, there are bad specimens of EVERY breed. However, simply because you have known one or two dogs of a given breed and they were snotty/aggressive/ submissive peers, etc. does NOT mean the entire breed is bad.

Also, people have specific breeds for different reasons.  My neighbors have two snotty Chihuahuas who, if those  were the only Chis I had ever met, would make me firmly decide to NEVER, ever have one of the little beasts.  However, they are exactly the right dogs for THEM. I would never, ever presume to tell them that their dogs should not exist simply because I don't like them.  They have tried to bite me as well as Gypsy more than once.  Brutus nearly nailed Gypsy not long ago when he stuck his nose out from under the fence while she was sniffing an area near the fence.

FWIW, I was bitten just last week by a Lhasa. Should Mick be put down?  I was just petting him while he was sitting on my lap. He and I came to a swift agreement.  He does not bite me because if he does, I put him on the floor and hold him until he submits.  We get along fine and he now respects me.  However, to put him down is ridiculous.

My last dog was a Pit mix.  She never, ever bit anyone and she lived past her 16th birthday.  Gypsy turned eight in February.  She has yet to bite someone. The only time she is justified in biting is when she is defending me or my family.  Our ACO knows her and knows Gypsy (or any other dog I would have) is never going to have a bite history. ANY dog I own will be well socialized AND properly trained.

Also, you own Beagles.  They are (as you well know) hunting dogs.  Do you hunt?  The majority of Beagle owners do not hunt and never will (same with Labs, Goldens, Springers, Afghans, etc.). I will never fight ANY of my dogs.  The same holds true for nearly ALL of the bull breed owners out there.  Very few dogs today are used for their original purpose.
 

HoundMusic

That's actually not how I view it. To clarify, I'm speaking about the ones who say it's not the breed, and view their pit bulls as any other breed. Well, they're not any other breed, and precautions must be taken.

You are preaching to the choir.  I think you will find most pittie people here KNOW their dog is not just like any other breed - when it comes to dog aggression.  Most responsible pit people I have spoken with online won't take their pit to a dog park for example....  But it sounds like you are saying that a Pit has more capacity for aggression, end of, encompassing prey aggression, territorial aggression, dog aggression, human aggression... these are all very very different!! 

lorib

A dog tried to attack Gypsy not long ago. What was his breed?  A BEAGLE. 

My in-laws had a beagle who passed away last year, that had bitten almost everyone in the family and a couple of my brother-in-law's friends.  He would bite if you touched his ears, grabbed his collar or tried to remove something from his mouth.  Some of the bites were severe, one in particular caused deep puncture wounds.  His owners were responsible for letting the aggresive behaviors develop and not do anything about it, but it was there.

Dog_ma

 Not cool to force those pics on people.

They weren't "forced" on me.  I didn't click the links.  Reading between the lines of AL's prior posts it was obvious what they were likely to be and I feel a little delicate today....  But AL has every right to defend her breed and essentially, members of her family as far as I am concerened.  At LEAST as much right as others have to voice their opinions, whether those opinions are potentially harmful or not.  It's a free country. 

BlackLabbie

AuroraLove

I dont know what paper that was from but here are some articles about Lab attacks........why is it they all seem so vague and short of details?

Reporters are so clueless!

Oh, I know there are many Lab attacks....that's what happens when a breed is over bred (like pits)! You get every Tom, ***, and Harry thinking they come trained...

ETA: Not sure if you remember, I was nipped in the face by a Lab out of the blue...forgot to update that post, but I started walking her again and everything is back to normal with her, but her owners are doing things different at home which it making all the difference (in a good way!).

Dn't even start me on badly bred Labs.  We had one and it was a monster. 

Not much to add that hasn't already been written...but if pit bulls are SOOOO naturally vicious, then why aren't there more bites? Are they or are they not the most common breed in america? and i'm not talking AKC registered...

RidgebackGermansShep

Not much to add that hasn't already been written...but if pit bulls are SOOOO naturally vicious, then why aren't there more bites? Are they or are they not the most common breed in america? and i'm not talking AKC registered...

 

i asked the same question somewhere around page three and the anti's didnt answer me either lol  

Chuffy

Dog_ma

 Not cool to force those pics on people.

 

They weren't "forced" on me.  I didn't click the links.  Reading between the lines of AL's prior posts it was obvious what they were likely to be and I feel a little delicate today....  But AL has every right to defend her breed and essentially, members of her family as far as I am concerened.  At LEAST as much right as others have to voice their opinions, whether those opinions are potentially harmful or not.  It's a free country. 

They weren't links, originally. They were huge, graphic pictures of very injured pibbles.

Of course Al has a right to express her opinion! I will be the last person standing, defending that position, whether or not  I agree with the person.  (And when it comes to pitbulls, I agree with her). It is netiquette to post warnings before graphic pictures, or post links and warnings. Which has been done, by a mod. 

I like AL, and I admire her passion, but the original posting of the pictures was, as I said, "not cool." I was not able to avoid the pictures.

And oh ...    Free speech is a government policy. Any forum host has the right to decide what can be said and what can't be said. Private forum. I don't support censoring the expression of ideas, but private forums have the right to do so if they wish.

 Just to add, just because I changed pictures from live photos to active links doesn't mean that I don't think AL has the right to defend her breed. I just felt they were too graphic for an audience that wasn't prepared to see them.

 That's all -- carry on!

I can't believe I was missing yet another bad Pi Bull thread!!! Lani, You must tell me when fun stuff like this is going on! I'm never too busy to weigh in on this stuff.....

Yeah, Yeah , Yeah Bad dogs NOT!!!

As an owner, breeder, rescuer and handler since 1994 I can tell you it isn't the dogs! People have mad them what they are today by not breeding the best to the best, by letting them run at large and by training them, yes I said TRAINING them to be aggressive. This breed is naturally non human aggressive and any true "APBT/Am Staff" person would tell you human aggression is not acceptable. Animal aggression is olerated by some, not at my house and yes, I've owned dogs who were animal aggressive, even rescued a real fighting dog who learned to live along with other dogs with dedicated training and consistancy.

There are no bad dogs, just bad, irresponsible owners who should own a frog much less a dog!

lorib

A dog tried to attack Gypsy not long ago. What was his breed?  A BEAGLE.  Yep, you heard me right.What did Gypsy do? NOTHING.  She just stood there and ignored him. 

Cherokee (a lab-ish mutt) has "attacked" Jaz (a Baltimore drug-house bred pit bull) a few times. Jaz has never, not once even curled a lip at her. No growling, no "hard stares", no ANYTHING (well okay, a little cowering.. No one said he was a tough dog). This dog doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body, even though he was taken from his litter at five weeks, even though he wasn't socialized, even though he was crated for 12+ hours a day, even though he was abused. If this dog was ANY breed I would expect him to be a least a touch aggressive. He's a PIT BULL, and he's NOT. Not towards dogs, not towards cats, not towards rabbits, not towards any other animals, and not towards people. He has totally 1000% proven to me that it's not the breed, because if it were..I think he'd be a killing machine.

 hahahaha Sorry Jaime... next time I'll send you a direct invite!  ROTFLMBO

Hmmmmmm.  Ya think if I say something ugly about pitties Jaime will come back and post again?  Gosh, had I known that's all it takes.......

To return to the original topic.....agreed.  Some folks are very closed minded and that's a real shame.  I'm totally in love with two rescue dogs....a yellow lab/greyhound mix with severe SA, and a pittie who gives the BESTEST kisses of any dog I've ever met.  I'd bring 'em both home in a heartbeat....if I had a home, if the Inn wasn't ready to burst at the seams, if DH wouldn't have me committed for bringing them home......

The rescue gets a large number of pitties and pit mixes.  And a lot of people are afraid of these dogs simply because they have a bad reputation that is largely undeserved.  Once in a blue moon, you'll find a dog with haywire wiring....but that can happen in ANY breed.

TRYING to get back on topic....but I keep digressing......this kind of narrow minded thinking really saddens me.  And angers me.  To folks who think that way and spread this kind of venom.....HORSE PUKEY.