Pitbull scare near Webster and 32nd

[moxilot]

It’s conversation, and this board happens to host some of the most thought provoking and civil discourses available online. Sure, threads may stray from their original intent, but what conversation doesn’t?

Don’t get personal, cite your sources if possible, and add something to the topic. Carry on. :)

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[NT]

enginerd – I feel for your wife and kiddos, that sounds like it would be a scary experiance and I really hope Animal Control is effective in solving what seems to be a recurring problem in that area.

I have a pitty mix who followed my husband home jogging nearly 8 years ago. We were pretty scared of him at first, but he’s really a terrific dog and has been a loyal and vigilant member of our family. We have had two children in the past 6 years and he’s great around them, too, very protective and patient. We still are vigilant, even though he’s never shown any agression toward either of them ever, just because he is big and has big teeth and you just never know what they might do to provoke him or whatever.

I am curious about the history of pits, though. I seem to recall reading somewhere that they were hugely popular family dogs way back when (early 1900s?); wondering if this scary reputation is a more recent trend or not.

Also, when we got our dog back from the pound (where we’d taken him to see if he was chipped and/or if anyone had reported him missing), I remember our vet talking to us about the rep, saying that pitbulls’ natural aggression is toward other dogs/animals, that they are not typically aggressive towards people. Not sure if that is true or not, but it stuck with me.

Hoping someone might have some info for me :-)

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[JoB]

waterworld…

when it comes to dog bites.. the one thing i discovered when looking at sites was that there aren’t good statistics available.

this from the dog expert..

a source for legal experts in dog bites..

http://dogexpert.com/IndexAbstracts/AnimBehEpiLiterature/Articles/dogproblemtoday.html

they source a study published in 2008 that showed among other things…

“Between 2001- 2003, approximately 4.5 million Americans were bitten by dogs annually. This represents approximately 1.5% of the US population. 885,000 of dog bite victims (19%) sought medical care for their injury.”

I have seen a lot of statistics.. but although the numbers may differ slightly.. they all seem in agreement that less than 1/4 of all dog bites cause people to seek medical attention.

So when we talk about dog bite statistics.. what we are generally talking are only about those serious enough to require emergency room attention.

Then you need to subtract out those that occur as a result of human intervention in dog fights. the same study states that children living in a household of two or more dogs were 3 times more likely to be bitten.

again.. that concurs with other sources.

Then you need to consider breed prevelance…

For actual numbers, labs are often reported to exceed all other breeds in dog bites… probably because more people own labs than any other dog breed.

Do you begin to see how quickly what looks like straightforward statistics become difficult to accurately interpret? There is more going on here than immediately meets the eye.

from this same site but another page .. the pitbull page

https://westseattleblog.com/forum/topic/pitpull-scare-near-holden/page/2

“a recent published study shows that German shepherds, chows, and Jack Russell terriers are overall the most aggressive breeds, and therefore the breed most likely to bite people”

it goes on to discuss breed bans and the stats before and after and concludes that the percentage of pitbull bites is pretty consistent with the percentage of pitbulls .. while that for chows is way out of line with it’s prevalence….

there is excellent information on that page that talks about the basic concept of dangerous dogs and the actual evidence that conflicts with popular perceptions.

following links on that site made for some pretty interesting reading and i could go on quoting them and other references all night…

but the bottom line is that sensationalism aside…

what is reported there pretty much agrees with what i have learned by working with animal rescue organizations and with individual dogs.

Although not much is written about it… you also can’t ignore the reasons people choose different dog breeds in a discussion of dangerous dogs.

Pitbulls as a breed are too often thought of as guard dogs (or as my brother calls them… 4 legged guns ) first and family pets last.

In my opinion and that of many experts who work with dog rescue organizations, that perception leads to a larger percentage of those dogs being housed by people who like the idea of walking their four legged gun and intimidating others ..

or people who only want a guard dog and are likely to solve the dog’s natural anxiety at being separated from their pack by adding more dogs… thus more security.

or people who feel safer with a guard dog companion.

The lucky dogs are those in the last category.. who find homes with people who appreciate their company more than their utility.

The “problem dogs” can be found in the first two categories… either raised to be aggressive or neglected… and are the source of the majority of in home injuries.

While the public perception of a pitbull may be of a dangerous dog… it might be more accurate to state that pitbulls are often owned by dangerous and/or neglectful people.

what i find most ironic in this conversation is that the cute little jack russel and his little terrier like companions are far more aggressive than the average pitbull yet seem to have a complete pass for the most outrageous behavior.

i share my home with a couple of those terrier like companions and am always amazed that the sight of my little fellow with his front paws being held off the ground because he is snarling like a little cujo causes people to smile.

he wears a halter because a handle is a necessary accessory to this dog.

I am not one of those who believes there are no bad dogs.. only bad owners.

I have met bad dogs.. dogs that could not be saved and had to be put down… but they are the exception.

the rule is that bad dogs are generally the result of poor human behavior.

NT

My experience with pitbulls is that they are inclined to dog aggression… but i was curious so i looked for you.

i confess i didn’t look far… the first link on my search was a pit bull lover’s page that confirms dog agression issues..

http://www.pitbulllovers.com/pitbull-articles/pitbull-and-dog-aggression.html

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