20 People, Gunshot End Pit Bull Attack

Thank you for your reply Dog-ma...........and the point that the dog never attacked any of the humans is a key point to keep in mind. If you deem ANY breed vicious becasue of its prey drive its pretty much disounting all other hunting or game bred dogs. Breedism is a terrible thing in this world just like racism. In my eyes they are one in the same

Again I'm not denying the inherant aggression in the breed. I promote responsible ownership and truly feel that a lot of dogs have no place in modern society. I do have a problem with breedism and the insinuation that not all dogs are created equal. They are created eqaul they just arnt bred, handeled or treated equal which is how incidents like this happen. Nor am I trying to argue or make anyone feel like pit bulls are frolicking lover dogs who stop to smell the daisy or chase butterflies. I'm speaking realsitically.....that is outright ridulous to bash prey drive in one breed and accept it in another.

Bootom line Pit Bulls appeal to a huge number of irresponsible breeders. If they happened to pick Boxers we would have the same issue

There are a LOT of dogs on this board that regularly kill small, furry animals (which is how many dogs see other dogs that small).  Should all those dogs be kept away from all humans in case they "turn?" 

Oh But Sally most of those dogs arnt pit bulls so its ok

I never said anything ever about pits being my favorite or least favorite breed ever. I actually feel sorry for the breed because most of them go to bad owners, and end up in shelters.  Maybe you didn't see where I agreed with another post, "punish the deed, not the breed" or something like that. I will be continued to be proven wrong...in what way? The dog was obviously aggressive, obviously unstable, so I would not trust that dog with people or dogs or any animals. You agreed with me there. I don't care if it was a pit, a lab, or what have you. No, I don't know about the history of fighting pit bulls...don't care to know either- doesn't interest me one bit.

I feel you have your own personal agenda to attack me....? Maybe carrying over from another post? If you do PM me and we can work it out.

Thanks Black Labbie. I must have you confused with another lab owner who is a breedist and brought that issue into this topic. It can be tough when you cant see or hear a person and interpret things negatively. On one hand I dont want to let me love for the breed get in the way of reality but on the other hand I will stand up for responsible ownership. I apologize if I came off snotty

No problem at all and no need to apologize. I understand how things can get heated.

The fact that this dog attacked and refused to give up does not show instability, it shows tenacity, which the breed is known for. The problem is that these type dogs get in the hands of idiots and then when something like this happens the dog or breed is blamed when in fact the fault is the owner. If I get run over by a drunk driver driving a Ford mustang it is not the fault of the car or the maker of the car it is the fault of the idiot driver. I am confident that had an owner worthy of the breed owned this dog, the attack would never have occurred. The problem is that many idiots are attracted to the bully breeds that have a lot of heart and tenacity.

 The tenacity and heart that this particular pit bull displayed in this tragic attack on another dog is really no different than the tenacity and heart displayed by another pit bull that won a hero award for attacking a bad guy who was hurting her person. The attacker broke the pit bull’s legs and yet the dog kept coming until she chased the bad guy away. I cannot find the link to the story but many will remember it. The only difference is one attack resulted in outrage (owner's fault) and one resulted in an award but the dog’s both displayed the same characteristics.

dgriego

The Argentina police force once tried to use Dogo's as their police dog of choice, they had to disband the program because the dogs would not release on command. They did everything else well but when it comes to turning the bad guys loose they would not. 

 

I can't remember what book this was in, but I remember reading about the main problem with pitbulls for schutzhund - no matter how well trained, otuing on the first command could not be relied upon. Bull dogs do not have a well developed stop button.  

Dog_ma

Bull dogs do not have a well developed stop button.  

 Also many pig hunters have pitbulls as their catch dogs since Dogo's are still fairly rare here in the US. It is funny that the very thing that gets them into trouble in the news is that which they are most prized for as hunters. They will hit a boar hard and hang on no matter what until the hunter is able to dispatch the boar. Pain, injury, blood and being slung around like a sack of flour do not deter them from their task of holding that boar.

 I feel very sorry for this paticular pittie who might have made some hunter a truly awesome catch dog or some family a dog that would have defended them with his last breath and instead he goes down and is remembered as a bad dog just because some fool allowed him to wander around the neighborhood.

Personally I get a bit tired of dog-dog aggression being written off as "normal" or always the problem of the owner.  Yes it is the fault of an owner to fail to contain their dog, but I can assure you that if one of my dogs ever got loose, they will not be killing or severely injuring anyone else's dog.  There is a real problem with all this dog-dog aggression and I find it nearly as bad as dog-human aggression.  I know many rescues that won't adopt out dog aggressive dogs and I fully support that.  It is not normal or desired behavior in this day and age for dogs to be seeking out and killing or mauling other dogs.  Loose dogs can happen.  You can do everything known to man, but mistakes do happen.  To have a dog that got loose and mauled another dog in his own yard as this dog did is inexcuseable - BOTH because it got loose and ALSO for the dog's aggressive behavior.   

May I remind everyone that the owners of the attacked dog were ALSO behaving VERY irresponsibly?? 

Just because your dog is a "good dog" doesn't mean you get to let it do anything you want without regard for the law or safety.

I see what looks like some breedism going on here and I'd like to think we were above all that.

I, for one, am so sick of people running the other way when they see me and my LEASHED, TRAINED, WELL BEHAVED dogs coming just because some member of the sensationalist media takes a story like this and runs with it.

The person who was responsible for this pit bull should be held accountable.  Neither me nor my dogs should be held accountable, though, but we will be.  It's in the back of everyone's mind every time I step on to the sidewalk.

Hmm...I don't see any breedism......I think we've all agreed that 'pit bull' does not necessarily equal 'dog/people aggressive killer', etc etc...the horse has been beaten far past dead on with regards to that issue on these boards. And the owners of the attacked dog did not behave "VERY irresponsibly" - its the equivalent of letting the dog out in the yard to go potty while you take the trash out. The dog was on his property, properly leashed, and his owners were right there, albeit in the house at that particular moment. There is no evidence the dog was tied up out there for a long length of time - and even if he WAS, again, how is that any different from someone letting their dog run around in their yard while they do something else?

You should be able to keep your dog on your own property without fear of attack and having to keep your eye on them every single second. This is totally, TOTALLY the attacking dog owner's fault.

Its like saying that everyone who leaves their dog alone in the house while they are at work is irresponsible because at any time a burglar could break in and hurt the dog.

kelliope

Personally I get a bit tired of dog-dog aggression being written off as "normal" or always the problem of the owner.  Yes it is the fault of an owner to fail to contain their dog, but I can assure you that if one of my dogs ever got loose, they will not be killing or severely injuring anyone else's dog.  There is a real problem with all this dog-dog aggression and I find it nearly as bad as dog-human aggression. 

Do you feel the same about prey drive? Are dogs more valuable than bunnies, or kitties, or ducks? Prey drive is bred into certain dogs, on purpose. A propensity towards dog aggression has been bred into certain dogs, on purpose. For some breeds, dog aggression is normal. It is not fun, but the dog isn't necessarily abnormal.

If Eko ever gets out, as a grown dog, there is a good chance he would catch and kill a small animal. For his safety and the safety of other animals, I will do my best to prevents this. There is nothing abnormal about it.

Well, I hope you aren't refering to me on the breedism thing.  I have had the honor of sharing my life with the best pit bull in the world.  He was an amazing dog - kind, gentle, smart beyond belief.  He died way too young.  Also, I have worked with a rescue and have seen several wonderful pits.  My sister has rescued several pits and still has (too) many.

What I won't tolerate is dog aggressive dogs - I don't care what breed it is.  Especially one that goes after dogs unprovoked in it's own yard and one that is the size and stature that can do serious harm.  I can tell you that when I first read the report my first thought was - what the hell is wrong with the people who had a little dog tied unprotected to their front porch.  Because regardless of anything else I simply would never put my dogs in that position.  That said, if the loose dog wasn't dog-aggressive you can be sure it wouldn't have been an issue for anyone.

 As far as people moving out of the way for your dog - try not to take that personally.  I do that when I am not certain about a dog or if I think there may be a chance the dog could slip his collar.  Usually I call out to the other person so they don't take offense.  It really has nothing to do with the other dog - it has to do with keeping my own dogs safe.  And big dogs can be intimidating to a small dog.  I have had too many incidents where dogs have gotten away from their owners and I just can't take the chance with mine - they are just too small.

Dog-ma, in reply to your post.  Yes, I do have a problem with prey drive especially depending on where you live.  Dogs bred for high prey drive don't have much of a purpose for the average family who is looking for a pet.  And I would guess the vast majority of dogs are family pets - not hunting warriors.  In this day and age it isn't really needed by most people.

We all have a responsibility to each other in our communities and I am real tired of having to walk my dogs with my heart in my throat due to the number of dog aggressive dogs we encounter.  I guess that's why we don't usually allow people to have pet lions. 

Living in town with a dog you can't trust not to break out of your yard and kill the neighbors dog or cat is not cool and should be criminal imo.  Accidents happen.  Doors get mistakenly left open.  Fences get broken.  Sorry, but I've seen way too many maimed and injured and dead pets to think otherwise.  Dogs living amongst other people in close quarters need to be socialized and conditioned not to go after and kill things.

 I have seen many well trained hunting, herding, working dogs that understand they are not allowed to run off and kill things.  It's a matter of training, conditioning and socializing.

People being tolerant of dog on dog aggression is nearly enough for me to be in favor of BSL (and believe me I am much opposed to it usually) - and because of breed, but because dogs past a certain size can do some real damage to someone else's beloved pet.  And if owners have the attitude that it's "natural" then I guess BSL is the only choice someone like me has.