Pit bull attack Highpoint 7/12

[JoB]

HolyKow…

Holy cow… breeding a dog to fight bears doesn’t mean that socialization was bred out of them.

Akitas have been family pets in Japan for centuries.. there is even a statue to a loyal Akita who never stopped meeting his owner’s train even after the owner died.

In England, pit bulls were used as babysitters… put in the yard with the little one to keep them from wandering off and to protect them from passing predators…

You know not of what you speak :(

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[JoB]

jimmyg…

did you note the words “at your side” ..

not off sniffing at anyone who passes…

however.. you are right. it is technically possible for a dog to bite someone who approaches even if the dog is leashed and at your side…

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[JoB]

anonyme..

“it seems that pits are the breed of choice for a lot of bad owners”

is a bad owner issue.

so are German Shepherds, Akitas and shiba inus…

all excellent family dogs if well socialized.

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[JoB]

Smitty…

you may find you made the wrong choice there…

worst dog attack i ever saw came from a black lab.

my brother had to put him down:(

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[anonyme]

I don’t think anyone has argued that pit bulls don’t make excellent family dogs. It’s the rest of the world that has to worry.

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[todd_]

Thanks again everyone for your good wishes, it feels great to read them.

Jissy – I just read your comment on the previous post that you linked. What a horrible attack you witnessed. I am glad you were there to help and that, thank God, your children were ok.

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[JoB]

anonyme..

the rest of the world seldom has to worry about a good family dog of any breed.

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[Ken]

Large strong aggressive territorial breeds do indeed make good family dogs when trained and socialized correctly.

But anyone with a lick of sense will still keep them on a choke or pinch collar when away from home “territory” and if they out weigh you, you had better think about that muzzle too unless you have liability insurance for lawsuits.

I loved my 130 lbs Rottweiler, but I never made the mistake of thinking she considered the mailman or the strangers in the park as part of her pack.

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[anonyme]

JoB: you are 100% dead wrong. Many a “good family dog” has taken someone’s face off. More than 5,000 dogs per year are put down due to biting, and 95% of the owners of those dogs claim that the dog was a “good family dog” who had “never shown aggression” to anyone. I believe those statistics are from the HSUS. Some selective breeding has been done with Dobermans so that they are now a safer breed than they once were. It would be good if the same thing happened with pits, but it takes decades. Until then, extreme caution is the only sensible approach. Ken got it right.

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[JSR]

It’s always fun to see the pit bull apologists come out of the woodwork. I think they’re called “breed ambassadors.” We can cite anecdotal evidence of docile pitt bulls / Staffordshires / New Yorkies, whatever…… or aggressive other breeds, but fact is, roughly half of fatal canine incidents in the US involve pitts or rotts.

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[ALS]

JSR, I’d love to see you back up that “fact.”

The fact is, bad people tend to be attracted to “tough” dogs. And bad owners = unstable dogs. Unstable dogs bite people. Hence, the disporportionate number of pit bull attacks you hear in the news. You put any big strong dog in the wrong hands and you’re asking for disaster, though. So by that logic should we start banning all breeds over 40 lbs? 50 lbs? 80 lbs? Where do you draw the line?

The American Temperament Testing Society has the American Pit Bull Terrier passing at a rate of 86%. Compare that to other popular breeds, and that’s pretty good. You can see all the statistics here:

http://www.atts.org/statistics.html

So in addition to anecdotal evidence, I have now provided you with numbers based on professional, unbiased dog experts.

Signed,

a breed ambassador

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[JoB]

JSR…

I am no apologist.

I live successfully with about as feral a canine as one can get.. who is never ever allowed off leash around strangers.

The number of idiots who purchase pit bulls to be cool and don’t invest the time in socialization or training in their dog contributes greatly to the statistics you quote…

Not to mention the sadists who purposefully neglect and abuse their dogs so they will be more reactive… it’s what the prior owner of my little one did until the dog got fierce enough to frighten him.

it’s macho don’t ya know

anonyme…

it’s clear we disagree on the definition of a good family dog.

We also probably disagree upon the amount of time one needs to spend with an intelligent resourceful protective dog as well.

My dogs are almost always with me.. unless they are kenneled… and we train every day.

Ken,

i would resort to a muzzle before using a choke chain or pinch collar.

with mine that’s a necessity since they are both escape artists who can slip a choke chain or pinch collar before i can pull them tight … neither of my dogs goes out of the house without a sturdy harness.

i basically believe good training trumps cutting off their wind and choke chains can actually make some dogs more aggressive if not expertly handled.

but you are right.. if it’s your dog… it’s your responsibility…

the dogs have a separate confined area so that they can’t get anywhere near the UPS guy or the mailman and i won’t take them anywhere where there are many people without a muzzle.

….

i have the cutest dogs ever.. pint sized little charmers…

everyone who sees them wants to pet them until they get close enough for my little cujo to bare his fangs and leap towards their throats…

he really can jump that high.

appearances are deceiving.

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[JoB]

Whoa…

i just followed ALSs link to breed testing for temperment

and my little charmers

are rated 64%

Ouch!

you really don’t want that cute little puppy in the window unless you are willing to invest a lot of time and money in them.

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[JanS]

JoB has beautiful dogs. I have met them on many occasions, been in the car with them. The one she calls “my little cujo” is always tethered far enough away that he can’t reach me. Beautiful dog – all teeth when you first greet him – lol. He puts up with me. :)

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[JSR]

http://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/images/dogbreeds-a.pdf

There are other studies, and more recent ones. you can look them up. Problem is, any study cited is fodder for the PBAs. It’s a typical fighting attitude. Cite a study just so someone can show you why it’s wrong.

Incidence of pit bull attacks is well documented. It’s not my job to prove it.

Carry on.

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[JoB]

earth to JSR..

Yes, pitbulls have become the breed of choice for macho idiots.

Yes, they abuse them to make them more reactive.

Yes, the incidence of pit bull bites has risen as a result.

Banning the breed won’t help with the idiots.. they will just move on to a different breed of dog.

many of them have already moved on to mine.

Great guard dog. deadly quiet. really really fast. big teeth. strong jaws. impressive bite… they bite high.. hands or throat. they don’t let pain get in their way. and.. they are a lot less expensive to feed.

did i forget to say cute as a button?

are you ready to ban all dogs?

I would much rather ban all idiots.

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[Hydrangea]

The point here is that Todd was bitten by a loose cannon pit bull, which he described, and people should be aware that this dog is in the area and may attack someone else. The point is not whether all pit bulls are evil. My husband was the jogger in the attack Jissy described on the other thread, and I strongly suspect it’s the same dog. Again, Todd, please ask the blog administrators for my e-mail address if you would like to compare notes.

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[JoB]

Hydrangea..

i agree that finding this dog belonging to this irresponsible owner is the priority and am hoping someone recognizes the dog next door in this thread.

it’s too bad so many see it as an excuse to jump on the ban the breed bandwagon.

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[Kimberley]

Hey JoB, we don’t have pit bulls in England, we have Staffordshire Terriers :O)

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[Kimberley]

JoB was the “Akita” train station story you mentioned above about the dog Shep in Montana? Here’s a link to the story, Shep was a sheep dog: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/4367

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[angelescrest]

Hydrangea,

Is your husband okay? One of my biggest fears.

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[Semele]

This made me think of my neighbor who was bitten a couple of months ago while on a run near the Delridge Community Center. I am pretty sure that was Hydrangea’s husband. Every time I run near there I am now extra watchful.

The point of this thread was not to bash a certain type of breed, but to make people aware of a dog that most likely has bitten multiple people and to make sure the community is aware. Please don’t turn this thread into something it is not.

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[JSR]

no one mentioned banning pit bulls. that’s making this into something it’s not.

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[ALS]

JSR, go back and read HolyKow’s comment about banning pit bulls.

That’s what I was originally reacting to.

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[Kimberley]

Awwww, look! It’s Daisy Cakes! I miss that sweet doggie face!

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[Author]

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