NY Times article about Vick's pit bulls

[ddthetide]

very sad article. i don't care how much bad happens to vick, it's not enough.

[The Bid]

Seems like bad news Kennels may have been a mickey mouse operation. They only had to put down one of the "vicious" Pitt bulls. The rest are going to do candy stripe duty at local hospitals. Vick couldnt even get dogs to fight right, he had a crew of love puppies. Off with his head.

[Danzig]

it's standard practice now in most jurisdictions to put down pit bulls that are taken to the pound. ticking time bombs.
just read a story yesterday about a woman who was suddenly attacked and killed by her two pet pits. her son tried to save her, was also attacked.

[GenuineRisk]

Originally Posted by Danzig

it's standard practice now in most jurisdictions to put down pit bulls that are taken to the pound. ticking time bombs.
just read a story yesterday about a woman who was suddenly attacked and killed by her two pet pits. her son tried to save her, was also attacked.

I read that article, too. I like the pit bull terriers I've met, but I guess any dog can turn on you (a friend who owned dalmatians said he'd never trust one), but some breeds are just bigger and stronger than others. I'd be willing to bet there are more chihuahua bites than other breeds, but how much damage can a chihuahua do, compared with a bigger dog, right?

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by GenuineRisk

I read that article, too. I like the pit bull terriers I've met, but I guess any dog can turn on you (a friend who owned dalmatians said he'd never trust one), but some breeds are just bigger and stronger than others. I'd be willing to bet there are more chihuahua bites than other breeds, but how much damage can a chihuahua do, compared with a bigger dog, right?

i'd imagine there are more vicious attacks with injuries or deaths with pit bulls than any other breed, by far. it's bred into them. that was the whole point of that breed when they first sought those traits, and it can be a latent trait in any of those dogs. i don't understand why anyone would take a chance and have one, not when there are so many other dogs out there without that 'ticking time bomb' worry. i know why some choose to do so, gangsta mentality, or for fighting, and some do so because they are macho. then there are those that have that feeling that they are special, can have some kind of connection with animals that others can't (the black stallion syndrome??) and then they find that's not true. sadly, others pay the price to show it's not true.

[Danzig]

as for dalmatians, that's true. they can be a bit highstrung, i had one once. would never have another. they really aren't kid/family friendly. problem with them is that kids see them and rush them, mob them, due to their good p.r. from the disney movies. they're good dogs, but not necessarily good in an urban setting. they are high energy dogs, originally bred as carriage dogs to run all day. people need to choose a breed that fits their lifestyle, not what they think is pretty, or fashionable. how many look at a jack russell, think small dog, good for apt living, and then find out how wrong they were?!

[Cajungator26]

Originally Posted by Danzig

i'd imagine there are more vicious attacks with injuries or deaths with pit bulls than any other breed, by far. it's bred into them. that was the whole point of that breed when they first sought those traits, and it can be a latent trait in any of those dogs. i don't understand why anyone would take a chance and have one, not when there are so many other dogs out there without that 'ticking time bomb' worry. i know why some choose to do so, gangsta mentality, or for fighting, and some do so because they are macho. then there are those that have that feeling that they are special, can have some kind of connection with animals that others can't (the black stallion syndrome??) and then they find that's not true. sadly, others pay the price to show it's not true.

Have to correct something here, Deb...

Fighting was bred into them, but aggression towards their human handlers was not. In fact, they are highly loyal and normally very good with children when raised from a young age. Pits are naturally not friendly with other small animals though, and it's normally a risk if you incorporate them into your home when you have another dog or cat sometimes even when you raise them as young puppies. I had a pit bull before and while he was not aggressive, he was what was called 'fear aggressive' (a lot of pits are.) When they feel cornered, they lash out. A lot of research says that something snaps on in a pit bull at around the age of 1 1/2 or 2 with other animals and that this poses a problem because the majority of people who own them as pets (by then) think they're in the clear to have them around other animals.

My newest dog Charlotte is starting to look like a lab/pit mix instead of the lab/hound mix they thought she was at the pound, but she has been fine so far in regards to aggression. (Even when cornered.)

The dogs are dangerous.
I will not be in line to adopt one of Vick's 49 love puppies.
The breed is dangerous. The have heads like Jaguars.
They go off on you or someone else... huge lawsuit.

And they mangle someone.... Can you imagine a dog you
own mangle a kid? It happens in this city, its seems like
every other week. About 60% of the dogs in the pound here
are pit bulls.

So my family opted for a 14 pound sausage-link mut that licks every human
face it sees. Not a cute animal... but we have never had a dog this nice
to everything it sees.

Damn thing sleeps with me every night though. Curls up right next to my
now ample belly.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by Cajungator26

Have to correct something here, Deb...

Fighting was bred into them, but aggression towards their human handlers was not. In fact, they are highly loyal and normally very good with children when raised from a young age. Pits are naturally not friendly with other small animals though, and it's normally a risk if you incorporate them into your home when you have another dog or cat sometimes even when you raise them as young puppies. I had a pit bull before and while he was not aggressive, he was what was called 'fear aggressive' (a lot of pits are.) When they feel cornered, they lash out. A lot of research says that something snaps on in a pit bull at around the age of 1 1/2 or 2 with other animals and that this poses a problem because the majority of people who own them as pets (by then) think they're in the clear to have them around other animals.

My newest dog Charlotte is starting to look like a lab/pit mix instead of the lab/hound mix they thought she was at the pound, but she has been fine so far in regards to aggression. (Even when cornered.)

they are bred to be aggressive and to be a killer. i doubt that breeding could teach a dog to differentiate between a dog and a human, they're both just targets for his aggression and killing instincts.
my dog doesn't treat me as a human, but as the alpha female of the pack. she exhibits every behavior of a dog who knows she's further down in the pecking order to me every day, when i come home, when i'm eating, etc. i'd imagine a pit is the same way, until deciding it is the alpha male/female. problem is, unlike many dogs, when a pit goes alpha, there's no stopping it. dogs don't think, they don't point at a human and say not a target, and then at the neighbors dog and say yep, target. so you got lucky with a pit, there are plenty of people who can't say the same.