Infant dead, mauled by pet pit bulls!

[TheShadow]

Please ask before you pet my dog.

Absolutely...ask! I had a dog who had a thing about being touched on the head. Anyone who unknowingly tried to pet him there would be snapped at or bitten, otherwise a great dog. I've seen guide dogs in training and the handler expressly asked that we not touch or even talk to the dog at that point in its training.

 

[GlitchWizard]

Please ask before you pet my dog.

I always ask if the owner is around. I meant I am annoying that way because when we go for a walk and the dogs come to investigate who is on the road, I always stop to say hello with an ear scratch.

 

[sandraladeda]

Some people say "any breed of dog can bite or hurt someone, it is not the breed". The problem I see is that not all dog bites are created equal. A poodle bite, or, say, a labrador bite is not the same as a pit bull bite. The biomechanics of the pit bulls jaws is not the same. With all things being equal, a provoked pit bull will inflict worse harm than a provoked poodle.

imho

 

[wallflower67]

Some people say "any breed of dog can bite or hurt someone, it is not the breed". The problem I see is that not all dog bites are created equal. A poodle bite, or, say, a labrador bite is not the same as a pit bull bite. The biomechanics of the pit bulls jaws is not the same. With all things being equal, a provoked pit bull will inflict worse harm than a provoked poodle.

imho

I've heard the pig bulls have much stronger jaws, etc. I adopted a gorgeous male black lab. He was very sweet, easily trained, etc. But he fought with my elderly sheltie and took her down by the neck. I had to give him to the humae society and bawled so badly when dropping him off my 11yo daughter had to speak for me. And it was her dog!

My daughter was recently viciously attacked by a jack russell terrier that she had played with since it was a puppy. It actully broke away from the owner to go after my daughter and her friends. Even though this was a smaller dog, she couldn't get it off her, and neither could the owners. Another neighbor came out and helped them.

Fortunately, my daughter is okay.

Just goes to show that ANY dog can attack. Pitt bulls get the most attention because it is known that they were bred for fighting purposes.

When my daughter was a baby, I never left her alone with my sheltie or my mixed breed shepard/chow/rott mix. Both were total sweethearts, and assisted me with my parenting by not letting me have a moment's peace until I got the baby to stop crying!

But my big guy was so rambunctious then that he easily could have knocked over the bassinette (sp) in an attempt to play or "help". He later let her crawl all over him (with my supervision). Once my daughter started walking, the sheltie wanted nothing to do with her and wouldn't let my dd near her until my dd was about 7!

 

[sandraladeda]

I don't disagree that children should not be left alone with dogs, dogs should not be trusted alone with children, and any pet can be provoked to bite under cetain circumstances.

Just to clarify, though, bite for bite, I think a pit bull will inflict worse damage than nearly any other breed I can name.

which dog would you want to be bitten by - a pit? or a schitzu?


imho

 

[lightwaveryder]

what we're dealing with here is regression. the loyal, loving pit bull of your family, suddenly, (and they all say he was never like this before) injures someone and nothing can be done to prevent it , other than keeping kids away from the dog.

rottweilers, in my opinion, have surpassed pits, because of their growing reputation to regress to the wild state in a pack. They killed a 10 year old boy who raised them.
there is no dog owner that thinks their baby will kill a member of the family, but it happens.

my mom owns chow-chows, one of her chows bit a child on the face and caused some emotional and physical scarring, and she knew teh dog was mean. the child ws visiting, stepped on teh dog and then it was over just like that. that dog was put down, as was one of her other ones that bit my dad on the hand.


chows, rotties, pitts, dobies, all too dangerous for children to be left alone with.(im sure there are more, akitas, etc)



~lwr~

 

[petresq_algc]

If anyone is interested, here is an article disproving many of the myths about pitbulls (locking jaws, jaw strength, etc.). There are also many articles published in academic veterinary journals that show these things to be myths.

I do concede that a bite from a pitbull will cause much more damage than a small dog like a yorkie. That is just mechanics and common sense. Anyone wanting to adopt a dog should know that a larger dog can inflict more damage - much like a larger gun will inflict more damage than a smaller one. Even though bite statistics disprove the myth that pitbulls bite more than other breeds of dogs, they are reported in the media the most. That is partly due to the amount of damage done & partly due to stereotypes. Think about it...have you ever seen stories in national media about vicious chihauhaus? That's just the way it is. Pitbulls are going through the "witch hunt" now. In decades past it was German Sheps, Dobies and Rotties. In the future it will be some other dog, who knows what breed.

It is just stupid to leave a baby and ANY dog unattended period. It is just as stupid as leaving a child and a gun unattended. It doesn't mean guns should be banned because they have the potential to kill......it means parents shouldn't be idiots....lock up your guns & supervise your kids/dogs. There is no convincing some people though. They will look right in the face of scientific proof & not believe it (case in point CA & GA).

http://www.understand-a-bull.com/PitbullInformation/Urbanlegends.htm

 

[GizzySmith]

A dog is a dog. I have a very well trained hound mix. Gentle to a fault. I would never, never leave him alone with a child. Children are unpredictable and dogs are natural predators. Dogs are not people in fur coats. I wish they made people take classes to own dogs and I really wish they made people take classes to have children (yes I have read the Constitution - you know what I mean).

 

[petresq_algc]

A dog is a dog. I have a very well trained hound mix. Gentle to a fault. I would never, never leave him alone with a child. Children are unpredictable and dogs are natural predators. Dogs are not people in fur coats. I wish they made people take classes to own dogs and I really wish they made people take classes to have children (yes I have read the Constitution - you know what I mean).

ITA - Some people are just too stupid & careless to have dogs or children.

 

[Lady Loves Lurking]

The rise in a number of dog bites by a certain breed always rises with the breed's popularity. I'm just glad that Sheps fell out of favor. I'm also glad that irresponsible musicians aren't putting The German Shepherd Dog on their album covers.

The reason so many pits bite people? Every idiot with a dog with an AKC registration thinks their darling canine should be bred. Ignorance abounds.

Do the responsible thing. Do not breed or buy.

 

[GlitchWizard]

If anyone is interested, here is an article disproving many of the myths about pitbulls (locking jaws, jaw strength, etc.). There are also many articles published in academic veterinary journals that show these things to be myths. ......http://www.understand-a-bull.com/PitbullInformation/Urbanlegends.htm

Myths, maybe, but I think it's a misunderstanding of why the bites of pitt bulls are more damaging than bites of similar sized dogs. The whole jaw locking thing, who knows - but I've witnessed "packs" whenever my neighborhood dogs (out in the country) find an alpha male to lead them. I've pulled dogs off of a horse, three goats, other dogs and haven't been able to get them off of a cat, but tried several times. (Cats usually end up in some location you just can't get into.) The pitt bulls do NOT stop and they do NOT let go. It's like they turn a switch in their brains that makes their head become a vice grip of teeth, and they are STRONG dogs. Mostly muscle, when they turn their head side to side, they tear whatever is in their mouth away from whatever is not in their mouth.

The danger isn't the locking of the jaw or the strength just in the jaw itself. It's the musculature of the entire dog for a large part, but it's the DRIVE for the MOST part. It's like the adrenaline that a parent feels, that makes them able to pull a car off of their child in an emergency. Only - there is no emergency.

They are a powerful dog. Rotweillers are powerful dogs, too. That's why I think they are so beautiful. I get the same awe looking at them as I do old muscle cars with massive engine blocks. Just... wow.

 

[Sheromom]

They are a powerful dog. Rotweillers are powerful dogs, too. That's why I think they are so beautiful. I get the same awe looking at them as I do old muscle cars with massive engine blocks. Just... wow.

LOL; I love the look of Pit Bulls and once even tried to adopt a dog with a bit of Pit Bull in it but the pound said they were illegal to adopt out in our area. As much as I do think it is mostly the owners fault when these dogs go bad, I have decided I would NEVER own one. Our neighbors had one that they always kept chained and neglected outside. One day it got loose and came after our daughter. She had to hop in the car until they caught it- thank God she was close enough to it to get away!!! So, a few months ago, I decided I wanted a pup- LOL- and went for an adorable little Papillon. It would take her a LONG time to cause any serious damage and I love her dearly. Why take an unnecessary chance when there are so many trusted breeds out there?

 

[GlitchWizard]

LOL; I love the look of Pit Bulls and once even tried to adopt a dog with a bit of Pit Bull in it but the pound said they were illegal to adopt out in our area. As much as I do think it is mostly the owners fault when these dogs go bad, I have decided I would NEVER own one. Our neighbors had one that they always kept chained and neglected outside. One day it got loose and came after our daughter. She had to hop in the car until they caught it- thank God she was close enough to it to get away!!! So, a few months ago, I decided I wanted a pup- LOL- and went for an adorable little Papillon. It would take her a LONG time to cause any serious damage and I love her dearly. Why take an unnecessary chance when there are so many trusted breeds out there?

Is it the owners? I've taken my pitt hiking, camping and geocaching. I've taken him to the dog park. The only time he's chained is at a campsight (and he chews through the rope and walks around anyway!) He's a huge lap dog and listens to our voice commands.

...yet he's gotten involved in animal attacks when another neighborhood pitt comes in the yard and they sort of "gang" together.

Is it me?

 

[Lady Loves Lurking]

LOL; I love the look of Pit Bulls and once even tried to adopt a dog with a bit of Pit Bull in it but the pound said they were illegal to adopt out in our area. As much as I do think it is mostly the owners fault when these dogs go bad, I have decided I would NEVER own one. Our neighbors had one that they always kept chained and neglected outside. One day it got loose and came after our daughter. She had to hop in the car until they caught it- thank God she was close enough to it to get away!!! So, a few months ago, I decided I wanted a pup- LOL- and went for an adorable little Papillon. It would take her a LONG time to cause any serious damage and I love her dearly. Why take an unnecessary chance when there are so many trusted breeds out there?

I love Papillions. Did you know that they are the only small dogs that can be effective service dogs?

 

[petresq_algc]

Not at all. Unfortunately prey drive is very strong in some dogs, including pitts. There is nothing you can do about that. Also, it is dependent to the particular dog. For instance, my dog has snuggled up with cats for the past 7 yrs. She is extremely gentle with them and has even bathed them. Most pitts chase cats though. Animal aggression and prey drive is totally different than human aggression though. Human aggression is not an inborn trait for any breed of dog. It is either caused by different factors like abuse & neglect.

To the person who had their daughter chased by the neighbor's dog, I am so sorry. Some people will never learn that forcing a dog to live outdoors on a chain has been proven to drive dogs insane. It has the same effect as having someone in a jail cell for their entire life. If they ever get loose they are he77 on wheels. It does something to their head. Very sad. At this point, that has probably scarred that dog for life to the point where he/she should not be trusted. Dogs are much like people in that lack of social interactions is exremely detrimental.

I'm not saying that it is never the dog's fault. I'm just saying it is not the breed's fault. Many pitties work in search & rescue, law enforcement, etc. The president of our rescue group has a pitbull who is a certified therapy dog. The sad reality is that for every one of us who is responsible with our dogs, there are at least 10 who are not.