Pit bull coming at me, owner screaming "Vicious NO"

[Ber Rabbit]

I thought this thread was about Pitbulls?

Pitbulls, sharks, it's only a matter of time before we get to the lawyers
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[D_B]

Sorry Catherine ...
... "well, its all how they are raised. Camels can be very sweet and affectionate also."

So that's only true for Alpachas and Camels? and not dogs?

DB

 

[Cacia]

uh.... I am not as dumb as I sound? Andy, I belly laughed. Come on....you know you are gonna steal that. And, I cannot believe you have stayed out of the legal forum about liability....must be a reason. hmmmm.

It's fun cause it makes people sputter.

yes, Oren, I want both answers. The street answer and ....yours.

 

[DiversMom]

All the pitbulls that I've known have been extremely smart and incredibly sweet. I haven't run into the viscious ill-tempered ones...

Rotties on the other hand, I'm only slowly getting used to. They're all a little bit big and stupid, and I've definitely come across some viscious and ill-tempered ones that freaked me out...

Stupid is out of character for a rottie as is viscious and ill-tempered. Those traits come from the two legged end of the leash utilizing poor breeding, training and socialization practices. The rottie was bred as a multipurpose dog - drive cattle to market and carry the money home from the butcher under his neck. I've also found that people tend to characterize dogs as stupid if they don't behave in a robotic manner or are not compliant like golden retrievers. American rotties also are often way oversized as compared to their German counterparts. The ideal rottie should be no more than about 80 pounds - not these 100 pound blockheaded monsters I've seen in the US. My breed is Belgian herding dog. We were actually told by a 4-H dog club advisor that we could not participate because our dog was "too dominant" and if we wanted to join we could only bring golden retrievers or labrador retrievers! My kid had a perfect handle on our dog - better than most of t he kids with their "compliant" goldens.

 

[DiversMom]

are pit bulls really more dangerous than any other dog?

product of poor breeding, no obedience training, and poor socialization they are dangerous. So is a German Shepherd or a Labrador retriever or a standard poodle.

Dog breeding is serious business where temperments of the ancestors must be considered along with all other physical characteristics that are desired. Breeding for personalities that are not agressive towards humans is the desired characteristic. As a terrier - a notoriously dominant personality group of dogs, pit bulls MUST be obedience trained and that training MUST be constantly reinforced. Pit bulls were NOT bred to be guard dogs, the were bred for the blood sport of dog fighting. Human agression was not a desired trait because you could not retrive your dog! This dog, just as any other dog,must be properly socialized. A properly socialized pit bull is not a threat to humans. Socialization means allowing the dog from puppyhood on to interact with humans - not isolating it in a yard where it has no contact with anyone other than the person who throws the food out there once or twice a day. Dogs are pack animals. Isolating a dog from his pack - the humans in the household - is tantamount to exiling the dog. They become moody, depressed, and eventually develop personality disorders just as any other organism that has been cast out of its group. You see that in the wild with solitary male lions or bull elephants or - they are aggressive towards other organisms of the same or different species.

 

[DiversMom]

wow, what a story...

thank you for sharing

aunt's dog was killed by a German Shepherd while she had it on leash walking it. Any dog has the potential to kill or maim other dogs or people.

 

[DiversMom]

there are no bad dogs? Well, I can tell you that breeds do what they are bred to do to a big degree. My dog has never herded sheep but he herds us all day long. Watches everyone, splits the distance to lie down, counts kids in the morning. Why? He did not learn that from me, and he does not know any sheep. Pit Bulls have been bred to fight. And here in Hawaii they do fight, for money.

I could never be convinced that all breeds are the same and there are no bad dogs. I agree that owners cause MOST of the problems. But a lot of really dumb mean people get Pit Bulls, largely to keep cops and neighbors out of their business. They chain them in their yards. Put a person like that together with that breed and you have a disaster. I bet Australian Shepards have not killed a little kid from their own family in the history of this country.

Okay, enough from me.

Briards (French herding dogs) kill a woman in her yard near Bremerton, Washington about 4 or 5 years ago. Not exactly the type you would expect. Totally out of character for the breed. It was a briard that Chuck Norris used in a comedy about a cop and his canine partner.

 

[DiversMom]

The best family dogs come from the shelter. If you're looking for a dog as a family pet, spend some time learning about dogs and then go spend an afternoon playing with the puppies at the pound and bring the one that loves you best home - chances are he'll have fewer of the genetic distortions that mark so many of the "pure breeds" and you'll save enough money to put the whole family through obedience training.

family dogs coming from shelters. Many shelters are staffed here in the US by volunteer workers unfamiliar with breed types and personalities. They mismatch dogs with owners: telling a sedentary older lady that a border collie cross would be an excellent dog for her or sending a snappy little terrier home to a family with kids. Those are recipes for disaster. Those both happened the same week and those were not isolated cases. Both of those dogs ended up right back in the shelter within the week. Once in a while it seems the shelter will score a decent dog/family match but I didn't see very much of it where I lived.

The other problem I saw with dogs in the shelters were major medical problems in geriatric dogs - shelters are a dumping ground for sick pets when people don't want to be bothered with taking care of them. I speak from the experience of working in shelters but not being part of the screening process of prospective owners.

All three of the dogs I have gotten from shelters developed major medical problems requiring surgeries at great expense to my parents or in later years, me.


I have found that the best dogs come from one of two places: reputable breeders who have a long standing history of producing healthy, stable dogs or from reputable breed rescue people who can screen and place dogs in appropriate settings. The breed rescue I worked with has kept dogs at their volunteer homes for up to 8 months working out problems before making any attempt to place dogs in families. In fact the breed I worked with would NOT place a dog in a home with children under school age because kids in the preschool age bracket would naturally (and unintentionally) do things that could trigger a prey drive reaction in a terrier - and hence result in a biting incident. Even reputable breeders I worked with would not place animals in homes with children below age 5 unless it was the home of a person who already owned that particular breed.

 

[DiversMom]

A friend of mine has 2 dogs, a Rottweiler & a Bull Mastiff. I am wary around the Rottweiler but am scared stiff to be around the Bull Mastiff which has attacked numerous dogs.

This dog has gone for intensive training and conditioning and is generally a well behaved dog... until it snaps. Problem with the owner? I think not... it is the dog that is defective. Has never bit a human (except when breaking up a fight) but I don't want to be anywhere near it.

I don't want to hear the "dogs will be dogs/dominance" argument... if it's not safe to be around other dogs it's not safe period.

and possibly genetic issue that goes back to the breeder of that dog if training has not overcome the problem. There are some breeds that suffer from "rage syndrome" which is characteriszed by aggressive, snapping behavior. It's not necessarily the breed as a whole either. It is an individual issue with that particular breeding that occurred or that particular bloodline. All dogs from that breeding need to be evaluated and if that is a repeat breeding, all dogs from the previous pairing need to be evaluated. If it is that particualr pairing up of sire and dam, then it should not be used again - that's the responsible thing to do when incidents like this occur. It's also responsilbe to put the dog down if the dog truly is a threat to humans or oather animals.

 

[DiversMom]

Don't hate the breed. Hate stupid owners who treat their pets like children. Dogs are ANIMALS, not human beings. They want and need discipline, and if you don't show them who's boss, they will take the leadership position.

Cesar Millan is my hero.

who treat their dogs like inanimate objects. Dogs need discipline but they also need love and companionship. Discipline doesn't mean isolating them in a yard with no human contact. They are pack animals and humans are their "pack". Isolation away from human family members can be major source of behavioral issues with dogs.