Dog Attack

chelsea_b

So yes, the validity "a pit bull attacked me!" is generally more questionable than "a German Shepherd attacked me!"

So once again let me ask HOW many of you tried the test ????  Here is the url again I would really be interested to find out how many of you actually id'ed the Pit ??    

I got it on the second pick , most take many , many more tries

http://www.secondchanceforpets.com/findthepitbull/index.htm

And yes my breed is one of the trick dogs represented in the test.  Let the rest of us know  How you did ???

Bonita of Bwana

AuroraLove

I for one am thankul you havnt written off the breed as a whole, I will always continue to defend my favored breed, the true American Pit Bull Terrier. I also due my best to not allow my love of the breed to get in the way of reality or common sense and if sometimes my passion for the APBT makes me fly off the handle I am sorry. I am only human.....as are all of us.

Good point, AuroraLove. As stupid as it sounds, if I were attacked by a PB or PB mix, or a dog who resembled a PB, I'd be afraid of them for a VERY long time. And it's not something we can rationalize away immediately. Having the adredalin (sp) rush and feeling so afraid--it changes things for people. And it's not easy to forget and move on. Let's be real. Look at that show in Animal Planet about people meeting up with the animal that attacked them--cougar, grizzly, eagle, etc. It's emotional and gut--not mental.

I was attacked by a GSD as a kid and to this day they scare me. I have remind myself that the dog from way back when is NOT the same dog that is sidling up to me, asking to be petted.

I have to do it every single time and it's been quite awhile since the attack.

Getting attacked changes things, whether we want that to happen or not.

First try.

I'm sorry, I wasn't ignoring your question, rosered, and certainly if you have any questions ask away, either here or via pm.

Years ago I was attacked by a GSD and spent years being nervous about them.  Now I share my home with six.  I have no fear of rotties in general because of this attack.  One of the boys in foster care that I dearly love is a big ole rottie.  But, I'm old and have spent so many years around dogs that I don't scare easy.  But certainly, please feel free to ask questions.

I took the test and it took me three tries.  Don't understand why some people get so defensive if they believe their breed is bening maligned.  Any dog of any breed can be "bad".  The truth is some breeds are scarier to most of us than others.  I have a Jack Russell and he is a sweetheart but several shelters in my town don't even attempt to place adult JRTs because of aggresive tendencies. They are PTS!    Just this morning while walking my two big dogs and my JRT a young boy approached us and asked if my dogs bite.  I responded no they do not.  He reached out and patted the two big dogs but told me that little dogs are mean.  I guess my point is we all make judgements based on personal experiences. 

JackieG

  I guess my point is we all make judgements based on personal experiences. 

And that is such a HUGE difference then placing judgements based on stereotypes, one cant be blamed for negative experiences but we can all help eachother overcome them.

Also besides stereotypes and personal experiences some animals have a specific look that instills fear. Gosh I really have to try to find this article I read awhile back about how eye color in a dog can sometimes effect how they are percieved by strangers. Soulful dark eyes I think were found to attract more strangers versus light colored eyes contained a more wild look. If you think about walking through a shelter and you see a golden with sweet brown eyes looking up at you versus walking past a husky with wild blue eyes you may step back and say "oooh", LOL.

Now I'm not insinuating the husky has reason to be feared but aside from experiences certain physical charachtersitics are more imposing then cuddly in a lot of animals. I mean think about the big black dog issue in shelters, it kinda makes sense. Even if your on the beach and there are two dogs running towards you with the same general size and body language you might hesitiate to recieve the rottweiler because of its head size, shape and even gait verus say a big goofy hound with floppy ears, LOL

Bonita of Bwana

Let the rest of us know  How you did ???

I'd like to know if the OP has had contact with the dog's owner and perhaps HE identified the breed of dog... has anyone confirmed the breed of dog?

FourIsCompany

chelsea_b

So yes, the validity "a pit bull attacked me!" is generally more questionable than "a German Shepherd attacked me!"

I may question if the breed is right, but that's no reason to question the validity of the attack. What does the breed matter? She was attacked by a dog! Does it matter what breed or type it was?

That's kind of what I am wondering.  While it is true that pits are commonly misidentified in attacks, nothing (IMHO) positive comes out of pouncing on someone involved in a dog attack simply because they stated that the offending dog was a pit.

" If you think about walking through a shelter and you see a golden with sweet brown eyes looking up at you versus walking past a husky with wild blue eyes you may step back and say "oooh", LOL."

It is difficult to know why we develop fear (of a dog) in an given individual, but the appearance is most certainly a present and habitual factors.  It is a primitive reaction we don't always know we have in us. But it's original primitive reason would be for self preservation.  Everyone has em.  And we don't always have the list in our heads, but then there will be that situation out of the blue, and voila, you know you have it!

 This quote above is right on. We have 2 Siberians, one with blue eyes, the other has a brown and a blue eye.  They have a physical carriage similar to a gsd.  When they are looking at potential humans for admiration it may be misconstrued  often that their intention may not be all love and pats.  People often even tell us that they love how beautiful they are but are nervous about patting them.  When we say it is ok, then they will see that it is.  The thing about approaching any strange dog however is how well do you truly know what the dog's intentions/potential would be.

A good rule is to never approach a dog that you do not know.  These attacks by loose animals is another kind of learning experience. Trial and error has it's place everywhere, doesnt it?

What a very interesting thought about the huskies. I am the only one in my family uncomfortable around them, I just get the willies around blue eyed dogs. I have not the first clue why??? Dalmations are often born with blue eyes that does not  bother me as I know they should change. I am not fond of light goldened eyed dogs either.  For some reason I just am totally in sync with a dark eyed dog. I Love the look of the husky, Malamute etc, etc til we get to the light eyes then I make sure there is some distance between us.  What a wimp I know !

Bonita of Bwana

Three tries...then did a victory chair dance.  I've never had Pitties...but know they can be sweeeeet!

Edited to say: I haven't read this whole thread but wanted to relay my sorrow for the OPs experience.  No matter what kind of dog it was, it had to have been horrific for you and your family.

Bonita of Bwana

. I am not fond of light goldened eyed dogs either.  For some reason I just am totally in sync with a dark eyed dog. I Love the look of the husky, Malamute etc, etc til we get to the light eyes then I make sure there is some distance between us.  What a wimp I know !

But that is exactly my point. Its isnt a learned fear, it is something within us. I have a brown eyed dogs and a golden eyed dog and even though Primo, my borwn eye boy is bigger he gets seems more approachable because of his soulful eyes. I've had people tell me Rory's eyes look scary, one little boy told me she looks like a snake, LOL.

This topic also correlates with human babies and adults. Women who have soft baby features tend to be more attractive to our society, for example Pam Anderson and Scarlett Johansen .....wide eyes, full cheeeks, pouty lips are often favored over strong features on a female. While with men we find the hard features more attractive becasue they remind of us strength and protection. Just specualtion....I've hijacked htis poor ladies thread enough

AuroraLove

If you think about walking through a shelter and you see a golden with sweet brown eyes looking up at you versus walking past a husky with wild blue eyes you may step back and say "oooh", LOL.

How interesting. I've never heard this before. I lived with my aunt for a few years, and she had a husky with gorgeous light blue eyes. I used to walk her a lot (before I got Cherokee, and after I got Cherokee my cousin and I would walk them together) "downtown", and the only people who were afraid of her were people who were afraid of all dogs. Everyone else fawned all over her, and she lapped it up. When I got Cherokee, with her lovely chocolate brown eyes, and we walked the two of them together, everyone still fawned over Selene, and people barely noticed Cherokee (which was for the best, as she's never been a friendly dog).

there was a study done on this. It was mainly focused on black dog syndrome...but it also did note something about eye color. Light colored eyes are very near those of wolves...IMO it is a primal fear that humans have to one extent or another. I refer to amber eyes or light silver eyes as "wolfy" and it is a fault in many standards for various breeds that call for a gentle expression. In Malamutes for example a dark eye is preferred over a lighter one.