Reptile & Amphibian Forums

http://www.pitbullproblem.tk/

that was dope I wish more people could see it like on a public service announcement level pits are the best dogs

I think all the people on here that got on and posted there negative feedback on pit bulls should watch that link. There are very important points on thier that people need to realize. One being the stats on dog bites and how pit bulls were 4th on the list and how your more common "family" dogs were before them. I wanted to mention that last time the topic was brought up and knew the pit bull was 4th but forgot what breeds were befor them. I suggest everyone watches that and great post Angel. Us pit lovers need to do all we can to open up all the closed minded people out thier that only go off what they see or hear about on tv.

RUBEN MICHEL

i thought it said fourth from the bottom out of 100 dog breeds. this would make them significantly lower on the list making it much easier to recall breeds above them. anyway bad reputation or not they are one of my favorite dog breeds and i will be attempting to adopt one in a year or so.

I watched the clips and I think more of these clips need to be seen by lots of people. I think certain breeds of dogs get bad names, not because of the breeds, but because of the stupid people who own these breeds. I don't own a pit my brother has a wonderful one, who is very sweet natured, loves everyone, and also loves other animals, but he raised him that way from a puppy. I own rottweilers, and I used to get alot of slack from people who didn't understand that breed, and also just knew what the media said about them, but after meeting my dogs and spending time with them, alot of the people who were scared of them and thought that rottweilers were only killer dogs, now own this breed and have fell in love with them. So, it's not the breed of dog, it is how the dogs are raised from puppyhood and what they have to endure in their lives. Don't bash the breed of dog, bash the people who own the dog, and hold them responsible for their dogs actions, and don't let them own another pet in their lives, and their will be no need for banning any breed of dog.

I have 6 Rotts myself and I totally agree with everything you're saying Rottiewoman!!
People have met my dogs too, and have changed their minds about the breed
Keep up the good fight for our choice to own the breeds we prefer!

there are so many people who are not responsible for training their dogs. Therefore breeds like pit bulls are going to continue to be the target of negative press.

Regarding the statistics in the video. They do not hold up to scrutiny and anyone with knowledge in research methods will shoot them down easily. With millions of dogs and so very little fatal maulings, the percentages given are worthless. Stats just don’t work that way. The sample size is just too small. The part about what breeds bite the most is also worthless. How did someone measure this? Who reports being bit by a beagle or toy poodle? So the methodology of such studies don’t really hold up. Furthermore, people are not concerned with dog bites. They are concerned with serious injuries and deaths and regardless of the stats presented, cocker spaniels have not put anybody in the ER. As someone who works in rehab and ER settings, I can say that pit bulls seems to be very disproportionately represented. Ask the numerous dog loving volunteers at animals shelters why they destroy every pit bull that comes through. It’s not based all on fiction.

I say this not because I dislike pits, but because one does little to help protect their right to keep the breed when they rely on studies with poor research methods and that are easily discredited. I take my dog to the dog park nearly everyday and I can not keep up with the number of pit bulls that enter and leave only 5 minutes later due to all the fights they get in with the other dogs. Is it the dogs’ fault or the owners’ fault? Probable a little of both. But city governments can’t regulate common sense, so unfortunately they are left with regulating the breeds people are allowed to keep.

Your lack of knowledge in this matter and your failure in doing research is what allowed you to give worthless feedback. Studies have actually been done by more than a few organizations including universities. These test are carefully designed to push the dogs to it's limits and to see how the animal will respond, almost every breed has been tested by one group or another(pitbulls being tested by all). Test can consist of behavior towards strangers, noise stimuli, visual and tactical stimuli and self protection are only some of the test conducted. There are over 1,000,000 pitbulls in the U.S. You have over 400,000 dogs bites per year with pitbulls being on the near the bottom of the list. Do the math! Ignorance leads to stupidity. I don't understand how one bite every couple of months signifies that every pitbull in the U.S. is a killer. How many pitbulls die EVERYDAY due to stupid people?

also, 80 percent of the pits that get brought into the shelters are dogs from the trailer park or urban areas but it's not the peoples fault....

I am not a pit hater. What's with the calling me stupid and my advice worthless? I have had to defend research for funding or approval many times. I know how results are attacked. I am just stressing the need to be critical of stats and one's arguments. If the arguments are accepted blindly then shot down by experts for the other side, then you loose the argument. You brought up a good example of what I'm talking about. You described the studies in detail. Merely throwing out numbers is propaganda and pointless. You have to know how the numbers are derived, which you demonstrated.

I'll give you an example. I love snakes (and dogs) and obviously do not want to see them banned. The argument so many people give as to why snakes are safe is that they bite far less people that dogs. Well that argument gets absolutely no respect because there are far, far, far more people with dogs than snakes. So of course there will be more dog bites. I am sure that are far more cornsnake bites than emerald tree boa bites, because there are far more cornsnakes. Yet who is going to tell a young kid that an emerald is safer than a corn. Many of us hear some numbers and run with them. In the meantime snakes keep getting banned.

So my point is that is important to counter people's ACTUAL experiences (the dog park examples and shelters examples I gave) and be informed of how the numbers come about or else no one in power respects them and legislation continues to gets passed. Keep implying that the very people who are trying to help are stupid and continue to watch our animals get taken away form us.

You say that there are 400,000 bites a year. The CDC sates that there are over 4 million. In a study (also by the CDC)of 270 human deaths due to dog attack, pit bulls and pit bull mixes where responsible for 70. Over 30 breeds were linked to fatal attacks, but the second place dog (Rotts)were responsible for 29 deaths. There are hundreds of dog breeds, yet pits are responsible for over a quarter of fatal attacks. You can't just call everyone who fears the breed "stupid." My point is there are many studies conducted by good researchers that will not support your arguements and that different methodologies will lead to differnt results. If you get in an argument with a researcher over stats and research methods you are going to loose. So the focus needs to be on how to limit dog fighting, which would reduce the number bred to fight, which would reduce the number of pits involved in attacks of people and other dogs, which would reduce the public's negative perception of pits and finally a reduction of laws limiting our rights as pet owners.

all these breeds have killed people:

Akita; Australian Shepherd; Boxer; Bulldog; Bullmastiff; Chesapeake Bay Retriever; Chow Chow; COCKER SPANIEL; Collie; Coonhound; Dachshund, Doberman; Golden Retriever; Great Dane; Hound-"type" (may include crossbreeds); Husky; Japanese Hunting Dog; Labrador Retriever; Lhasa Apso, Malamute; Mastiff; Mixed-breed (where dog was known to be a mixed-breed, does not include dogs whose breed was not known); Newfoundland; Pit bull "type" (may include crosses or misidentified individuals); Pomeranian, Rhodesian Ridgeback; Rottweiler; German Shepherd Dog; Saint Bernard; Sheepdog; Sled-"type" (may include crossbreeds); Terrier-"type" (may include crossbreeds); West Highland White Terrier; Wolf/Dog hybrid, Yorkshire Terrier.

I've owned many of the breeds on that list. Part of the problem is that people can't identify dog breeds properly. The largest part of the problem is that people are allowed to do whatever they want. I am a dog trainer and I will admit three things: 1) The pit bull is an amazing dog and I love them 2) They are one of the only common large breed dogs that I've not been bitten by 3) They should not be owned by everyone. They are intelligent, pain tolerant, extremely prey-driven, and very athletic.

Personally, with one of my favorite breeds (Rottie) also being targeted in BSLs, my thoughts are that maybe we should start licensing (and prosecuting) dog owners instead of the dogs.

Most of the fatal attacks involving large breed dogs involve either untrained dogs that were left unattended with a child (major NO-NO, regardless of breed) or groups of unrestrained dogs (no better than a street gang). Both situations reflect a major lack of education regarding dog care that is rampant in the general public.

I truly believe it is the way the dog is raised that defines it’s character (just like us people eh?)… the website brought me to tears, seeing the inhumanity to other animals and knowing some *person* did that, well, breaks your heart.

My bf and I have raised our girl from 2 months old, she’ll be 3 yrs next month and is the sweetest dog. We always brought her around other dogs as a puppy (spaniels, boxers and a poodle) and she loves other dogs (doesn't like snakes tho haha). We avoid the dog park not because we think she will try to fight but only because of other people’s misconceptions.

I think a big problem is that fact that when a dog attack occurs, simply because of what pits were bred and created for, their attacks are more viscous than a simple bite and they inflict so much more damage because they hold on and tear (my hypothesis). Rarely do you hear of a mauling that is not from a pit, there was that mastiff attack in SF a while back but it always seems to be a pit.

I was always a cat person, never cared for dogs, but now that I have one and I see that smile she always has for me when I come home from work I swell with love. Any one who’s seen a pit bull pull back it’s teeth with the ears back, all hunched up and tail-a-waggin’ grinning up at you knows what I am talking about.

-april

tshirt: Jaws of Steel, Heart of Gold

http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/statistics.html
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Randall L Turner Jr.
www.aircapitalconstrictors.com

" PUNISH THE DEED AND NOT THE BREED"

M/