Ugh.

I know.. ugh :l

Every expert knows you should only entertain dogs with gunfire and backhands.

EVERY expert

EVER


So yeah, I agree with you.

It has a FALSE breed reputation, gained entirely on being mostly used as guard dogs, meaning they are sometimes TRAINED to hate people in a way.

I'm sure you could give collies a bad reputation if they suddenly became the guarding standard.

While I agree that most of their reputation is unwarranted due to the wrong people using them for the wrong reasons, it's true that there is a genetic predisposition there. When a breed is formed entirely with the design of being extremely aggressive to other animals, you get problems even generations after they are no longer used for that purpose.

I've seen plenty perfectly kind, sociable, kid-friendly pitbulls though.

Probably because they were raised well, trained and properly socialized. If you take a lab and leave it alone for most of its life, it will still be a fairly friendly animal. If you take a pit bull and leave it alone for most of its life, it will probably bite your ass. XD

And occasionally, you're screwed either way. I had an acquaintance who showed and trained dogs professionally, and he had an American pit bull terrier (papered through the UKC) that he raised from a pup and who was a champion in AKC obedience by the time he was 8 months old, and he was INSANELY dog aggressive regardless of training and socializing. Eventually had to put him down after he almost killed one of his other dogs (a border collie). Sad situation.

a feral lab is not friendly or nice. Pitts are nice when they are born it takes neglect or mistreatment to make them bad. They are however very protective over their property and family which is in the breed even when they are mistreated. More bites per year happen from golden retrievers and labs than pitts or well when I worked for the city shelter that was the statistics. They also estimated that toy dogs are technically the leaders but few report them.

Paradox
~vet tech~

I've worked in a clinic/kennel for three years and I've only ever had two dogs bite at me - a golden retriever and a dachshund - and we get a good deal of pits boarding with us.

Dachshunds are known to be manbiters

Vicious bastards... I had another one go after me the other day. He was a rescue and was in a really abusive home before that so any sort of stranger touching or surprising him sets him off. I can't really blame him, but at the same time he is on our boarding ban list for being dangerous to staff.

Yeah, my neighbour has two dachshunds. They try to attack anybody who walks by.
By attack, I don't mean run, stop and bark, I mean run, snarl, try to get at their legs before the owners get them

Yeeeeesh! Whenever I hear stories about dogs who are known to do that, I wonder if the owners do anything to secure them in the yard? My friend's dog was attacked by an aggressive cocker and the owner apparently KNOWS that his dog does this, but still lets it loose in the fenceless front yard.

Ohhh yeah, they know the dogs attack anybody who walks by. They let the dogs go out to shit outside in the front yard [unfenced] and not on a leash, then they're all "PRINCESS! PRINCESS GET OVER HERE!" [one of them is named Princess.... yes I'm being serious] when the fucking thing is beelining for someone's ankle.

Cockers are another breed that is known to be a manbiter.

*facepalm*

No, it's because the APBT is not known or bred to be man-aggressive [unless... trained specifically to go after humans]. There's a difference between man-aggressive and dog-aggressive

My ultimate example is when I was walking my Husky/Shiba mix (he was a cocky little shit to boot) there was a Pit running loose. My thought was "oh here we go!" Twenty minutes of the two of them playing later, the owner of the Pit saw us and called her. He was dressed as Gangsta as his dog's reputation, but was a really nice guy!

Yup, dogs emulate their owners. Always.

I'm not totally clear on what's truth and what's myth about pit bulls. I'd heard that a big part of their reputation has to do with jaw structure and tenacity; that their bite is particularly powerful and that they won't release. Is that fact or fiction?

From what I've read, it's largely myth. Their bite pressure is not markedly greater than other breeds with a similar size and skull structure (such as rottweilers.) The part about them being unable to let go, or having some kind of locking mechanism in their jaw is completely absurd nonsense.

This is a misconception based in fact; there is nothing physically different about pit bulls. The difference is that they were bred to no longer recognize or respond to submission in an opponent; where most dogs will release another dog (or person) after that dog submits and is no longer a threat, a pit bull will continue to attack even after that animal has been subdued. Naturally this was designed into the breed due to their use in bull baiting and dog fighting, and most terrier breeds have this tenacious or "game" personality.

Dogs that are socialized early on don't really have this problem; they can be taught to gauge their bites and nips just like any other dog if you work with them as a puppy. They just have this hardwired into them, where other non-terrier breeds don't.

Okay, I think I understand both where the fear comes from and why it is a controllable issue now; thanks to you and ponyguy both. I think that I'm going to need a little more socializing before I'm totally comfortable with pit bulls, though. I do realize that's not a strictly rational fear. The only pit bull I've ever had contact with was a sweetheart despite my nerves.

No, I completely understand. XD Even though I'm obviously a hardcore pit advocate now, I got my first pit bull completely believing the stereotype, and I got him specifically for home defense (to be frank, I'm a female and lived alone in the low-income area of my town, and having a pit bull made me feel a hell of a lot safer). When I adopted him, he was six months old and he'd been the victim of a dog attack, and was both extremely dog aggressive and aggressive to men, and I assumed this would always be a problem with him that I would have to manage. Honestly, I wouldn't even walk him in public without bringing a muzzle with me; I was ridiculous. But after only a few months of training and positive socialization, he loved other dogs and became comfortable around non-threatening men. Now he's a search and rescue dog with a Canine Good Citizen certification from the AKC, and loves everyone. X3

He's been such a fantastic dog for me that he inspired me to work more and more with the breed, and found something there to love. XD It's really just about exposure; the more you spend time with good examples of pit bulls, the more you get over the stereotypes.

The reason why they won't let go is not because they have "lock-jaw", but because they're bred to be "game". "Gameness" is a dogs willingness to go in, bite and not let go.

Dogs who are "game" aren't just the APBT[American Pit Bull Terrier] but also dogs like Jack Russels, Dachshunds, Fox Terrier, Dogo Argentino, etc.

Animal aggression and prey drive is, indeed, inherent to the breed - human aggression is not under ANY circumstances. Pit Bulls are not and should never be utilized as guard dogs, as the breed is, in general, people friendly.

As unfortunate as it is to say, the kindest thing to do for a pit bull that exhibits unwarranted aggression toward humans is to humanely euthanize it. The breed's in dire straits as it is, especially due to backyard breeders who proliferate their genetically unsound, non-standard dogs.

No, there is a social predisposition. Pit bulls aren't just bought as the "guard dog" or whatnot. Often, people who have no business having a pet of any kind buy them for their "tough guy" appearance as a sort of macho accessory.

ANY DOG BREED EVER is able to become hostile and dangerous if neglected, maltreated, abused, or "trained" to be that way. Social perceptions of a breed being "bad" only reinforce themselves as stupid idiots who want a "bad" dog to puff themselves up focus on that breed. Any dog they bought would be mistreated; they just pick the ones that have a "reputation," thereby continuing said reputation.

Correlation does not imply causation. Hell, some jurisdictions list "vicious dog breeds" based on number of attacks within that jurisdiction. Top of their list? Labradors, Golden Retreivers, etc. Why? Because they're common, not because of any inherent vicious gene. There are a lot of pit bulls. Walk through a humane society sometime, MOST of the dogs there are pit bulls. Not only are they poorly socialized, mistreated, and prejudged, they are a very populous breed.

Don't even get me started on the media's penchant for taking something and blowing it out of proportion to have something to talk about. Remember the Shark Summer a few years back? Yeah...

Not always "bad" owners, but often enough, "clueless" owners.

I have a pair of calm, laid back huskies. The only "hyper" trait I haven't been able to train them out of is getting excited when visitors first arrive...and that's largely because I seldom have visitors to train them on. :p

Dangerous to other fighting animals. Pit Bulls were BRED to be easy-to-handle dogs, especially by their owners. Back in the day, bull fighting was the main sport that Pit Bull type dogs were used in, and it was HELLA dangerous. It's only natural that a dog bred to be strong and bold enough to, when in groups, take on cattle would have to be easy to manage and gentle with it's owner and family.
But yeah, major derp there. I mean.. holy hell, a weed whacker?

You raise a very good point. Too many backyard breeders running rampant are letting all sorts of crap traits be passed on to new generations of dogs.
I know, right? BRB, letting small children play with chainsaws unsupervised(they'll be fine! :D).

Actually, the American Pit Bull Terrier is known to NOT be man-aggressive, but instead, dog-aggressive/small-animal-aggressive :)
The dogs who DO bite people either aren't socialized or are used to attack intruders of drug/dogfighting dens

A lot of people don't understand aggressiveness in a dog. They don't understand that someone can own a pitbull who is dog-aggressive but would never put it's mouth on a human.
They think aggressiveness = all aggressveness and that a dog who can and will maul another dog to death will maul a human to death if they get the chance.

& I agree. If a dog has fighting or manbters back in his line, he may end up showing that side sooner or later. That's why morons backyard breeding pitbulls as living guns/diamond chains is such a bad idea.

Well not exactly because in the court system, dogs are literally considered property. So a dog attacking another dog would face the consequences equal of property damage.. pretty much.

It's very sad what's happened to the American Pit Bull Terrier. One bite and yep.. poor thing gets bit down. Where I live, you can't even OWN a pitbull.. though some pits are grandfathered by the law.

http://d988256.u38.infinology.net/i.....aharnessed.jpg
That pitbull, who was taken from my province when the ban here was put into place.. now lives in Washington state and works as a police dog :)

Oh definitely. Also it's the morons who breed/train for "gameness" in a pitbull. They believe that in order to "preserve" the breed, it must show aggressiveness towards another dog.
I think it's absolutely bullshit because that's the exact thing that is DESTROYING the breed.

This dog is a gorgeous dog.
http://www.game-dog.com/gallery/fil.....-13-07-036.jpg

Not to mention BYB [backyard breeders] breed American Bullies: http://www.bullydomination.com/tua_01.jpg , believing they're American Pit Bull Terriers: http://www.apbt.online-pedigrees.co.....res/206097.jpg
and they don't realize that the APBT is NOT normally/bred to be MAN-AGGRESSIVE, and they also don't realize that AMERICAN BULLIES [NOT APBT] are man-biters.

SO. We get "pitbull-type breeds" [this includes Dogo Argentino, American Staffordshire, Staffordshire, Bull Terrier, American Bully, American Bulldog, Bulldog, etc etc etc] biting humans, and the public doesn't realize that American Bully and American Pit Bull Terrier are NOT the same breed, because they've been warped by what is perceived as a "pitbull"

No, the dog doesn't have to be aggressive to be mixed up in the situations. It just has to LOOK like a pitbull.

http://www.understand-a-bull.com/Fi.....itbull_v3.html

That's what makes them desirable to the wrong people, but that doesn't mean all BYB breed them for fighting.
[Backyard breeder doesn't mean some sort of dogfighting puppymill, it just means a dog breeder who isn't a professional. Anybody who puts puppies from their dogs on craigslist is essentially a BYB]

Oh definitely

American Bullies would be absolutely garbage in a real dog fight

This is something that bothers me too. The teasing, and lack of regard to how one acts around the animal. Like I used to work for a zoo, when you put your fingers in the macaw cage it is going to bite. Because that is what they do. When a dog feels threatened it may bite, because that is what they do. Most of the time a slip up like this is entirely the fault of the human in the situation behaving poorly around the animal with little thought of how animals are.

A pit bull rescue would be terrible to run. Pits are sweet dogs, but many of the people drawn to the idea of owning a pit bull want to own one for all the wrong reasons. And those that want to own them for all the right reasons usually have a full house of rescued pits already. :\

Agreed 100%

I agree 100% with this.

jesus christ people are the dumbest

can we also add in here that if you know your pit is skittish with strangers, or protective, when someone says "may i pet your dog?" that you should just say NO???

because some IDIOTS in town walk around with this unnuetered male (trouble already) and when you ask if you can pet it they say "uuuuh sure" and then the dog growls loudly whenever you get close to it. they're going to have that dog bite someone someday, and then the dog will be put down because THEY are too stupid to just say "no, he doesn't like strangers."

Wow... I agree with you on that. No offense to your mom, but she should have realized as soon as he wasnt happy and playful that he wasnt going to look at the WEED WACKER the same way as your dog did. Further, yes, pits bite people that dont treat them with the respect they need (as well as train them well enough) and your mom got bitten because of her own negligence. She should have realized he was going to bite her after warning growls or nips. These dogs get such bad raps in general it makes me sad. If I had the proper land to exercise them, I would consider fostering dogs like you do. I've volunteered a little at the SPCA here, but.... I would be worried I'd want to keep every dog I fostered lol

Yeah, that was kind of my reaction too. -_- She has small dogs and likes to tease them with the vaccuum cleaner. I'm thinking she thought it was in the same vein.

I just...do not know. Oy.

So much rage, I can't even tell you.

I hope you bitched her out excessively, not that it sounds like she listened. With very few exceptions, dogs bite out of fear, when nothing else works.

Poor dog, must have been terrified. I'm afraid of weedwhackers and I know what they are.

Actually, he wasn't terrified, and that's the only reason I'm having second thoughts about adopting him out now. I came out at the last minute, and saw him being quite intent on the thought of "Oh, large loud machine, I think I'm going to casually trot up behind the person wielding it and bite her." He was definitely overstimulated, but not terrified.

He's still a fantastic dog, and he's never behaved this way before. Regardless of the reason, he shouldn't have bitten. Oy. >_<;

Ah, I see what you mean, I've had two protective aggressives, you can imagine what fun it was for me walking them in an urban environment. The first was when I was twelve, a white german shepard, the second at seventeen st bernard rhodesian ridgeback cross.

with a weed whacker? seriously? if i had seen someone with a weed whacker or any other dangerous and sharp object near a pet of mine id stomp them into the fucking ground! >:O

"If you tease an animal excessively you might get bitten"

....

"Ladies and gentlemen! Tonight in our Show: Captain Obvious! *Standing Ovations*"

Yeah, the dogs aren't the smartest when it comes to what could mean danger or a risk to their health. If they feel threatened, they generally will respond negatively.

...actually, a lot of animals, not just dogs >.>

Why in the hell was she testing him with a weed whacker? One if shes not careful she could hurt the dog, two the sound of the engine alone would drive most dogs nuts.. Hell if she wanted to test them a vaccum cleaner would have worked.. wtf. *sighs* Im fighting tooth and nail in my city to get a breed ban lifted then someone does that. Our small rescue is at capacity with 7 dogs now.. *sighs* omg yay rage.


People need to stop and think how they would feel if they put themselves in the dogs position. Would you like to be chained in one spot? would you like no shade? Would you like no place to sleep? Would you like slop for water? would you like little to no food? would you like people poking and throwing shit at you all day? Most of us get irked when someone looks at us wrong yeah.. stupid people just make me rage face.

I hope she learned a lesson but as I further read I see is omg I did nothing to provoke the bite, the dog gave me no warning omg..vicious dog.. Im compeletely innocent. *sighs* aka most of society anymore.

UUUURGH I HATE THAT.
The german shepard I grew up with had to be put down because my stepbrother and stepsister hated me and would smack her when I wasnt around so she'd get angry and bite them then they told everyone our dog was violent and she had to be put down..she was only 2 years old :C

Seriously people that's why dogs bear their teeth and try to be intimidating. They're not messing around, piss anyone off long enough and they'll pop you in the face....leg.

Yeah my family is pretty shitty. I'll help you with that *grabs crowbar*

I actually find pits to be pretty sweet-naturted when raised properly.. Never been bit by one. Our old dachshund bit a ton, though. x.x

dachshunds are mardy little DICKS, which is a shame because of how ridiculous and cute they are

I've gotten more bites from toy breeds than anything else. And all but one pit I've known has been just sweet as hell, if not scared of other dogs. The one had a stupid owner, and the dog was dog agressive. He nearly killed 2 dogs at the boarding kennel I was working at after he escaped his run (stupid employees can't check doors).

A weed whacker? Seriously? I'd have bit the shit out of her too, had I been the dog.

Okay. Your mom is obviously an idiot around dogs. Let's see someone entertain her with a weed whacker and see how she responds. Every time I hear about a pit bull being put down or a breed being banned because of a "vicious dog", I always ask out loud "What did the person that filed the complaint do?" If I have a dog guarding my back yard and you come into my yard, I expect my dog to go after you. It's like a burglar alarm. I don't want strangers on my property when I'm not there. If I'd seen her "teasing" a dog with a weed whacker, I'd have filed an animal cruelty complaint with the police. Period.

She was dumb to mistreat and tease the dog like that. Pit bulls can be very nice, well adjusted and sweet dogs. The reason people train them to fight is because they also can be some of the most horrible and vicious of all dog breeds.

In any case, dogs should be treated correctly. Teasing one with a weed whacker is not the way to treat them.

any dog with a bad history would have bitten her. not just because its a pit bull. you should tell her that teasing an animal like that is pretty mean to them anyway... and she kind of deserved a bite, just nothing serious

I love pitbulls. i had a bad personal experience with one when i was younger, but it was the owners fault.

i was over my cousins house in her pool and she was teasing the shit out of her 1 1/2 yr old pit. I asked her why the dog was so angry she said "oh we slap her around, kick her and hose her down to make her a killer, but she wont hurt us!" i was like yea ok whatever. so we decided to pull the pool over to the front yard, she closed the gate and unchained the dog so she could run around in the back yard. while we were carrying the pool around the dog proceeded to climb over the fence and go aftr my cousin, i got the hell outta there and ran back into the house. the dog bit my cousins top lip off, it was hanging off her face, while her crazy family poured holy water on the dog and beat it to death with a metal bat.

I know all too well about stupid people :/ its a shame

That made me tear up a bit. Such idiots.

idiots indeed

....What

the

fuck.

o_O

I don't even know how to respond to that.

at the time i just stared, i couldnt comprehend the stupidity. but alas, thats Philly.

My mom sounds the same as yours, no matter how much I tell her certain things (you fed the dogs, of course they beg, you're yelling at one dog and praising another for the same reason, you're saying "no" the same as people would say "c'mere puppy", etc etc) she still does it because DAWW LOOKIT THE DOG BEING FREAKED OUT AND/OR BADLY BEHAVED. Come on, now. We have a bully breed/Great Dane mix that has food aggression issues and her solution is to feed the other dogs while holding her and yelling. Goddammit.


Wanna roll some heads

ugh wtf? you might expect that kind of stupid from a kid, but from an adult? that's just sad. you shouldn't tease ANY dog with something like that, no matter what the breed. Pfft, the dog isn't "dangerous", human stupidity is dangerous. Surely she can see it's her fault?? You can't blame the dog when you were provoking and harassing it. Especially when it's a dog with a neglected past and a dog you don't know very well. Human aggressive pitbulls are usually "trained" that way, pits are actually one of the most people friendly dogs...I forget where I read this, but apparently they ranked even higher than beagles in a 'people friendly' scale. They were once known as "nanny dogs" for that matter. Yeah, they can have issues with other dogs and genetics can play a role in how bad the aggression is, but in most cases it's all about how the dog is raised. I've seen many, many dog friendly pits at the local dog park, and seen many more cases via the net and tv.

Why can't people handle dogs? At all. I don't know pits very well, nor rescue dogs, but I do know that with regular dogs, even dogs that have been cared for their whole life, People are dumb.
My family for instance "our dog barks at birds, why?" "because you pointed out birds to him every time you saw them." "why won't he listen to us, but he listens to you" "because when I say sit, I make sure he sits."

Ugh, people. Any dog could have bit in that situation. That would probably piss off my sweet golden. I always make sure he is inside the house when doing yardwork, because I know dogs can react negatively towards such appliances and he would just get in the way. Likewise I put the dog outside when vacuuming. To tease a dog with a weed-whacker is just insane.

I hope nothing bad happens to your foster dog because of this.

I feel for ya. There is a poorly socialized pit in our park that likes to attack any other dog. My roommates service animal was at the end of this attack a week or so ago, and had to curb-stomp the pitbull to get it to let go of his service dog.

we called the manager, her pit was fine, rain (roommates dog) clearly shaken up and my roommate almost had a seizure thanks to the stress. Got called back a few days later and he let us know she had been warned, this wasn't the first time this has happened, and if it happens again to anyone he's urging them to call the animal control.

I really feel bad for the dog, that it has an incompetent owner that lets it get away with such behavior both on and off leash.

If you came after me with a weed whacker I might be more tempted to hurt you worse than a few bites :/

People really are dumb-- they're a great breed if you raise them right. People just don't seem to want to put in the time and effort.

Then there are idiots that tempt the dogs to action and get hurt in the process (uh, no offense intended).

A weed whacker?
Really? I mean vacuum is understandable, there's no chance of lacerations. But a weed whacker? Come on, now .
The fact that she kept teasing despite the dog giving her two warnings was just asking for it.
The fact that she thinks its a dangerous dog that needs to be erased from existence because of the ordeal is down right retarded.
I know she's your mom and all, Ny, but seriously, where was the brain function on her part?

No brain function was there at all. XD She admitted it, too, afterwards. She certainly won't be doing that again.

Honestly, if it wasn't MY dog, I don't think it would be as big of a problem. I think she's just concerned that it will be biting me next. Of course, I won't be teasing him with a weed whacker, so I'm not too concerned. >_>

What kind of idiot teases a dog with a weed whacker? Why the hell are people so bad at handeling their animals? A dog is not a person; if it's nipping at you it is not joking around the same way a person would be it's trying to tell you to knock that shit off. She's lucky it gave her a few warning nips at all. What a moron. She deserved to get bit.

And most people aren't even joking when they tell you to knock that shit off, either. Half the time, it's like that nip. A nicer-toned version of "leave me the fuck alone, you idiot."

Your icon is so fitting, by the way. >:|

I don't get how people can blame an animal for their own lapse of judgement.

Personal experience; I was a kid in a backyard playing with a neighbor's dog. The dog was a very sweet, fluffy thing whose bark was far louder than his bite, and he was really a lover. I kept grabbing his tail (no pulling or yanking, I wasn't a mean kid), and he gave me all the warning in the world before he attacked me. THANKFULLY the dog didn't get put down over my own stupidity, and I don't blame him at all for what I did.

What people need to do is take credit for their own stupid actions. Don't say "It's okay, the other dog thought it was funny!"

Dogs, like people, are not carbon copies of one another. I like chocolate, my boyfriend doesn't. I dislike MLP, just about everyone else likes it.
One dog might find something fun or interesting, another might hate it. That should be fucking obvious to anyone who has spent time around more than just their own dogs.

It seems like people are just taught differently now. :/ What I mean is, growing up, I was always told to never touch a stranger's dog without permission, never go up to a loose dog, and if I ever got hurt by my family's pets (mostly cats, but my uncle had a protective border collie,) my parents immediately asked what I did to that animal. Rarely nowadays do I see people asking what that kid did to get bitten and the poor dog winds up being euthanized before it comes out that little Johnny was teasing it or something.

Yup. I was raised the same way. And everyone made sure to ask me if I did something to piss the dog off, instead of assuming it just attacked me.

It's too bad that it's really not that way anymore, it feels. If a dog attacks someone, it clearly must be an unprovoked attack full of primal rage or something.

It's a whole mess of self-entitlement, perhaps. Clearly, as a person, you can do nothing wrong and so the fault lies entirely on that animal. Tch, it's so stupid.

gah... that is stupid. Some people, man. Some people....

A scared animal is always dangerous, it doesn't even matter if it's a dog. Ordinary objects/situations that humans don't fear cannot even be comprehended by animals and they don't always understand "teasing".

The only thing with pit bulls is that they have extremely high energy, and whatever it is they're doing they get very enthusiastic about it. Mine are pretty neurotic. The weed whacker drives them absolutely crazy and they will actually bite it and hurt themselves, so they have to stay inside and away from those things. The vacuum cleaner used to be a big offender too. I have a catahoula who is the exact same way, it's not just pit bulls. Any high energy dog can be trouble and bite when excited.

They're seriously protective too. Years ago pit bulls were referred to as "nanny dogs" and you'd get one for your children so they wouldn't get kidnapped. Nobody messes with a pit bull's family, they're like mother grizzly bears.

I always find big, huge nanny dogs to be so adorable.

I guess some people think torturing an animal is funny. I mean, it's not like they have fear, or personalities or anything.

That, and people who don't socialize or control their dogs and just let them run around the neighborhood.

Pitbulls, at least in my experience, do enjoy roughhousing a bit, but not with a damn weed whacker... Wrestling around with them though, is always fun! XD Personally, I don't mind pitbulls, I just haven't seen many here.

My sister had a pitbull that was horribly sweet, and she got a little rough playing. But if you told her to 'be easy' she wouldn't bite near as hard or play as rough. They're really smart dogs, and if raised right really sweet. But yess~ It is really fun to wrestle around with a bigger dog.

Toy dogs are worse, but do less damage. :/ My neighbor has a little mini-pin, and he's a little jerk.

That they are the one near us tried to take me out while I was riding my bike. It bounced off my tire....

Why...would anyone 'tease' a dog with a weed whacker?

Seriously, I am completely confused here.

That dog needs to be put down before it attacks someone else and then you will get sued

The attack was provoked by a weedwhacker, it didn't just attack her without a reason. I do understand that severely human aggressive dogs need to be put down, but in this case it was somebody not thinking about what would happen if you teased a dog with a loud piece of machinery.

actually, no, his mother is at fault, and legally, SHE is the one that would get in trouble.

Can your mom still walk? (Probably a stupid question)

Yep. Was just four puncture wounds. Bruised well, but no permanent damage.

I'm glad it wasn't serious.

If a dog bites once it will again and what if it is a child this time?

fallacy and emotional wanking

you know what? if somebody was teasing me with a weed whacker, i'd shove it so far up their ass that it would come out the other end. idiot got exactly what she deserved.

Anecdotal experience, but I've been bitten by more Chihuahuas, Yorkies, Dachshunds, and similar dogs who are half the size of my cat than I can count. Something about me inspires some intense, visceral loathing in them, because all of the ones who've bitten me came charging up to me to attack me without me even knowing they were there half the time. I have been growled at by zero pit bulls, and only one large dog in my entire life, let alone being bitten. Based on my experience, rat-dogs are a dangerous (and severely annoying) class of "canine" that deserve to be the target of BSL if any breed is.

I own three chihuahuas (and a 70-pound Anatolian), and their personalities are so different from each other, it's ridiculous to think that legislation based on their breed (or worse, curb-weight) could possibly make any sense at all. The one that seems aggressive is not at all dangerous, and my wife and I have no qualms about handing him to anybody (probably even you!). The one that appears most shy is the one that is most likely to attack without warning (full sister to the first one), and we warn strangers not to try to pet her (she has drawn blood, on a family member who was doing something stupid). The third one is one of the most laid-back dogs I've known of ANY breed. He doesn't even understand barking. It upsets him when the other two bark at something. It's not the fault of small dogs if they are most often owned by ignorant cretins who think rotten behavior is tolerable just because a dog is small.

...you apparently missed the hedges of "Anecdotal experience..." and "...that deserve to be the target of BSL if any breed is"

Sorry. My brain filtered out "anecdotal experience" as an oxymoron. Experience is inherently emperical. I also couldn't wrap my head around the concept of categorizing all canines weighing less than twelve pounds as a "breed." Lack of imagination on my part, I'm afraid.

There are no bad pets; only bad owners. I believe this very strongly. The only reason animals will attack is because they've been treated badly by stupid people. I feel so bad for pit bulls; I think people are the ones who should be put down.

teasing any dog and ignoring it's warning growls and continuing is a dumb idea.

So wait I don't get your post. I'm stupid because other people treat dogs wrong? How does that work? My sister and her boyfriend have a very well behaved pit bull that never bites. They raised it right.

Well, apparently my statement stands.

But I was talking to the people who get bitten by pit bulls. That was the statement. Have you been bitten by a pit bull? Then this does not apply to you.

ah sorry then.. don't bite my head off....

I might. XD Rarrarrarr. *pitty face*

Sorry, cranky mood, did not mean to...snap.

>_>

<_<

Hardeeharrrr.

Don't worry. I don't judge.

Oh lord. I mean if someone poked me with a weed wacker - I would probably bite them too! Sorry your mom failed the common sense thing hon.

A weed whacker.. seriously. That's not only dangerous to the dog, but incredibility stupid.

Oi...Teasing ANY dog with machinery can warrant a bite. I've never been bitten by a pit bull. However, I HAVE been bitten by one or more of the following: pointer mutt (mine! D:), chihuahua, cocker spaniel, yorkshire terrier, standard poodle, toy poodle, dachshund, and various shepherds. Never a pit though. Ever. This just goes to show that ANY DOG has the potential to be dangerous, despite their size! Larger dogs are obviously more dangerous than others (more strength and all that good stuff), but teasing even a small dog can draw blood (my friend needed stitches from being attacked by a pomeranian once).

Oh right, I'll make sure to tease my dog with a machete next time

I LOVE pit bulls, good for you for running a rescue!! Even my dog would probably bite someone if they put a weed whacker near their face...sometimes parents can be so special.

I work with my local Pit Bull Rescue volunteering when I can, and I agree with some things Nylak is saying here. As much as we pit lovers don't want to admit it, there ARE potentially dangerous qualities built into the breed. They require a much more attentive and caring owner than most breeds. I adore these dogs, but to deny they're a trouble and a half sometimes is just being naive. On another note, about the weedwhacker... Yeah... Dumb fucking idea... Good to see you're a sensible woman and you're not going to have him put down for an incident that sounds like it was clearly your mother's fault.

... You should put your mom on all fours and tease her with a large loud dangerous machine and see how she likes it... Seriously... stuff like this can give dogs heart attacks as well as injuries. It's not funny. x.o

i realize that she's your mother, and you love her...but i'd have put her through a wall myself BEFORE the pit bit her, and you can tell her that. also, tell her that if she tries to get the police involved, you'll tell them exactly what she did, and she can be put in jail for animal cruelty. quite frankly, she got exactly what she deserved. hell, my 3 year old nephew knows better than to do something that stupid!

Just to put this in perspective, but in my juridiction "swinging a weed whacker at you" could easily rise to the level of a "forcible felony" (really, any battery or attempt thereof does) which were the victim human, would justify the victim shooting the agressor until they stop bleeding. Swinging around power tools or cutting implements (or both) is never a good idea to begin with, it doesn't take much imagination to see that such a power tool could kill somebody in loud, messy, and painful ways if used carelessly - and this sounded more like malice (or sufficiently advanced stupidity, which is forensically indistinguishable).

If you politely point out that an edger can kill a person, there will be denial, then anger, then maybe an abashed apology. Regardless of how you get it, you deserve it, as do your dogs.

America? This should be adrssed to everyone one :P
I'm not experianced with them but from what i've seen/ read, etc they're clearly given a bad run any bloody dog bites and I'm always arguing this with my family and friends its really sad...

People are idiots, I have meet more mean small dogs then pitbulls. If you look into the breeds history they where meant to also be family dogs you look at most small dogs history and they are ratter or meant to go after vermin, not family dogs.

I understand that most of the world hates americans (I'm american and I don't like americans sometimes) but there are stupid mean people everywhere. Your journal title only reinforces the stereotype. This journal would be equally effective without singling out a country.

Having said that, who in their right mind would "tease" an animal with a wead eater? Its not the dog's fault that she didn't recognise a clear warning and got bit. It does seem that a large number of stupid people are pitbull owners and that just gives the breed a bad reputation. Some of the nicest dogs I've met were pitbulls.

That's the problem with people and dogs period, many people don't understand the difference between dogs having fun and dogs that are getting pissed off. Really, it shows just how intelligent that the dog is that she got warning nips!

Holy crap, that's actually very dangerous. What if one of those dogs got hit??

Another one of the reasons [I think] why poeple get bit by pit bulls/pit bull type dogs is because they're used as guard dogs for drug/dogfighting houses. Trained to attack people/show man-aggressiveness

Then, when they get out they bite people. AKA, irresponsible dog owners

I think a lot [or most] of peope who do buy pits buy them to look "tough" because it's a banned/illegal breed in some places.

A good documentary that focuses on this aspect would be "My Dog Is A Weapon", which can be watched on Youtube. I targets not only the APBT, but also the Staffordshire, Rottweiler and a mastiff-mix.

You'd be amazed at how poorly these dogs behave when around other dogs because the morons who own them don't know what they're doing.