TXMary2 Posted August 30, 2010 Author Share Posted August 30, 2010 I would be more concerned with why your son chose to get a pit bull. Has he always liked dogs and wanted one of his own? Is his neighborhood unsafe? Is he involved with other people his age who own a lot of pit bulls? Did he specifically look for this breed' date=' or did he just see this one and fell in love with it?[/quote'] We have had dogs, cats and other pets all his life. When he moved out he was most upset about leaving our 2 year old lab and our 9 year old kitty! He got this puppy because she imediately took to him and gave him puppy kisses. He doesn't know anyone with a pitbull and never has known anyone with a pitbull. His roomate has a lab/german sheppard mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calandalsmom Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 If a kid squats down to pet a dog and is being loving to a family-raised pet there really should not be the fear that the dog will rip the kid's face off! What other breed does this again and again? It happened to my 10 yr old with his best buddy's basset hound. Terrifying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calandalsmom Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 We have had dogs, cats and other pets all his life. When he moved out he was most upset about leaving our 2 year old lab and our 9 year old kitty! He got this puppy because she imediately took to him and gave him puppy kisses. He doesn't know anyone with a pitbull and never has known anyone with a pitbull. His roomate has a lab/german sheppard mix. Good sign!! Both for him and the dog! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tofuscramble Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 I had a Pitbull mix. I LOVED that dog SOOO much! I took him to puppy training and socialization classes, I took him to the dog park, my kids (ages 1, 3 and 7 at the time) used to sleep with him and I'd often find them laying on top of him. He was a fantastic dog and gorgeous too. Then he hit adolescence and just started growling at people all the time, including me. Then one day at his training class, he bit his trainer in the face, she had to go to hospital and get stitches. It was bad. We had to have him put to sleep. Horrible, just terrible! We miss him so much but I couldn't let him be around the kids (especially the baby) after that. DH and I made the choice to have him euthanized. The trainer blamed herself and did not report it because she knew he would have to be put to sleep. So the onus was left to us and we did not think we could risk him biting someone else. I don't think it was anything to do with his breed though, I think it was just his temperament. I have since read that some dogs (regardless of breed) do become aggressive during adolescence. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 I would never own a pit. Sorry, they are bred for fighting and killing and have the ability to do so. Their jaws are "made" for killing and not letting go. I'd much rather get bitten by a Golden than a Pit. This whole "there are no bad dogs, just dog owners" is a bunch of hogwash. You cannot deny the fact that these dogs have been bred for YEARS for the sole purpose of killing and they can and do snap. I would never chance it. Let the experienced dog trainers, owners, single people who have the time to devote to them without children own them, but a family with kids??? You got to be crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 You cannot deny the fact that these dogs have been bred for YEARS for the sole purpose of killing and they can and do snap. For fighting & killing DOGS. Not people. Dogs can tell apart species. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
specialmama Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 I found some interesting reads... http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/statistics.html and here is a paper which studies attacks based on breed. His conclusion, IMO, is quite agreeable. http://www.dogbitelaw.com/Dog%20Attacks%201982%20to%202006%20Clifton.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 I would never own a pit. Sorry, they are bred for fighting and killing and have the ability to do so. Their jaws are "made" for killing and not letting go. I'd much rather get bitten by a Golden than a Pit. This whole "there are no bad dogs, just dog owners" is a bunch of hogwash. You cannot deny the fact that these dogs have been bred for YEARS for the sole purpose of killing and they can and do snap. I would never chance it. Let the experienced dog trainers, owners, single people who have the time to devote to them without children own them, but a family with kids??? You got to be crazy No one ever said that there were "no bad dogs". You just can't say that every dog in a breed is bad. Certain breeds require a certain atmosphere and certain types of owners. Sure there are dogs that go bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 For fighting & killing DOGS. Not people. Dogs can tell apart species. Yep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 A pitbull broke loose from its chain in a backyard and charged across a street to attack our Lab, who was on a leash held by my husband (thank heavens it wasn't one of the kids that day!). NOTHING except a bullet from a police officer stopped the attack. It took a second bullet to stop the dog from going for the police officer! Yes, the pit died. Our dog bolted for home - he ended up in the animal ER with a substantial number of punctures wounds on all legs, neck, throat, ears... I had only gotten pet insurance a couple of months prior, so we only got stuck with $350 (gee, no way to prove who owned the pit - the owner of the rental unit had no idea!!!) The vet was amazed that our dog wasn't torn up worse than he was. I am not fond of pit bulls :glare: Owning a pit is like owing a gun. If it does go "off", the results can be deadly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crowscreek Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 I haven't read the previous 5 pages of posts, but I do have some advice. There is a show on TLC (I believe) called "Pit Boss". It is a group of people that are short in stature (not sure the PC term to use here) that operate a Pit rescue organization. The "boss", Shorty, is a HUGE advocate of the breed. He is on TV, radio, local events, etc spreading the word about what a great breed this is. His thinking: they are not bad dogs, the bad ones have bad owners... Even a poodle or a maltese, in the wrong hands, can be a menace. I am sure your DS will be MUCHO successful with his "baby". If you don't have cable or don't subscribe to TLC, the episodes are available online @ TVDuck or WatchMissedEpisodes. I now need to go back and read the previous posts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tofuscramble Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 I know crowscreek's post wasn't directed at me but wish I could express, to all those people who say that "these things only happen when the owners are bad", we were NOT bad owners. Ever! We did absolutely everything right. Trust me, I have gone over it a billion times in my head, there was nothing else we could have done to be great owners. I've thought things like "maybe if we had invited more people over" (I'm a little introverted) but we did have friends over. "maybe if I had taken him for manicures more often" I mean stupid things like that... a few years and lots of "where did I go wrong?" thoughts later and I know I was a good owner. I also don't think his breed had anything to do with what happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 I know crowscreek's post wasn't directed at me but wish I could express, to all those people who say that "these things only happen when the owners are bad", we were NOT bad owners. Ever! We did absolutely everything right. Trust me, I have gone over it a billion times in my head, there was nothing else we could have done to be great owners. I've thought things like "maybe if we had invited more people over" (I'm a little introverted) but we did have friends over. "maybe if I had taken him for manicures more often" I mean stupid things like that... a few years and lots of "where did I go wrong?" thoughts later and I know I was a good owner. I also don't think his breed had anything to do with what happened. I think it's dangerous to lump everything into one category, such as "all pit bulls, rotties, german shepherds, etc are bad dogs" or "it's not a bad dog, it's a bad owner." It's never that simple. :grouphug: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 You are right, it's not only bad owners. Sometimes, in dogs of any breed, there is an underlying mental issue. Just like some people can have a great upbringing and still have anxiety, depression, etc. Sometimes, in dogs and people, it runs in families. In other words, they are born that way. Good breeders don't breed dogs with personality issues. However, most people that breed don't screen for these things. So yeah, if you breed a dog that is aggressive with another agressive dog you are more likely to have an aggressive puppy. Or at least a special needs puppy. My current dog is a Pit/Lab/Shepherd, and she was fear aggressive. She started out fairly normal, but by 6 months was growling at strangers daily. She was socialized a TON, I actually brought her to work with me every day. I consulted with veterinary behaviorists. I put her on meds. Luckily, the meds worked. After a a few months of prozac and tons of counterconditioning and desensitization by me, a Certified Pet Dog Trainer, she is now much happier. She actually enjoys going to the farmers market, the park etc. She likes to give people kisses. She is still a bit nervous with strangers at first, and doesn't like to be pet on the head, so I don't let people. But...she's never snapped at anyone ever. She hasn't growled at anyone since she was 10 months old, and then only from 10 feet away while retreating. Also, she was never afraid of kids, only adults, which played into my decision to rehab her rather than euthanize. Had my situation been different, had I not worked at a veterinary clinic where I could work with her all day every day, had I not had access to specialists, had her genetics been even a little different...things might have been different. My point is that I did everything right and yet at 6 months she was showing serious issues. It wasn't my fault. It was genetic, I found out later that the littermates were also fearful. (she was a shelter puppy). However, I don't believe her problems are because she is part pit..if anything her skittish fearful nature is more Shepherd like. But, in certain parts of the country there are bad people breeding genetically messed up pit bulls. So yes, in some areas, there are a disproportionate number of messed up pit bulls. In other areas there are a bunch of really bad shepherds, etc. Getting a puppy from a litter where the other puppies are sound, and the dam is friendly is pretty safe no matter what breed it is. Although, as stated before, NO child should EVER EVER EVER be left alone with ANY dog!!!! Not even Lassie. I know crowscreek's post wasn't directed at me but wish I could express, to all those people who say that "these things only happen when the owners are bad", we were NOT bad owners. Ever! We did absolutely everything right. Trust me, I have gone over it a billion times in my head, there was nothing else we could have done to be great owners. I've thought things like "maybe if we had invited more people over" (I'm a little introverted) but we did have friends over. "maybe if I had taken him for manicures more often" I mean stupid things like that... a few years and lots of "where did I go wrong?" thoughts later and I know I was a good owner. I also don't think his breed had anything to do with what happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMary2 Posted August 31, 2010 Author Share Posted August 31, 2010 I haven't read the previous 5 pages of posts, but I do have some advice. There is a show on TLC (I believe) called "Pit Boss". It is a group of people that are short in stature (not sure the PC term to use here) that operate a Pit rescue organization. The "boss", Shorty, is a HUGE advocate of the breed. He is on TV, radio, local events, etc spreading the word about what a great breed this is. His thinking: they are not bad dogs, the bad ones have bad owners... Even a poodle or a maltese, in the wrong hands, can be a menace. I am sure your DS will be MUCHO successful with his "baby". If you don't have cable or don't subscribe to TLC, the episodes are available online @ TVDuck or WatchMissedEpisodes. I now need to go back and read the previous posts. Thanks, I will check this show out and ask my ds if he has seen it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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