Pit Bulls

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Originally Posted by fushingfeef

I am so glad you and your friend escaped without injury, Sig. Sounds like a harrowing experience--my heart was beating hard as I read it!

My brother was attacked by a pit bull (he escaped but it tore a hole in his jacket) and my wife's nephew was not so lucky--the dog chewed off and ATE the skin on his wrist, and he lost a lot of blood and had to be flown in a helicopter to the hospital, where they had to graft skin from his thigh onto his wrist. This dog had been chained up in the front yard but the threaded link had worked its way loose as the dog pulled on it in his frenzy. Nonetheless, the owner was found negligent and had to pay damages and the dog was destroyed.

I love dogs but I am mistrustful around all breeds until I get to know them. They are animals and I have to find out if they have been properly socialized before I will interact with a strange dog. As a former paperboy who has been bitten by several different breeds, I have a built-in wariness of dogs until I get to know them. Ironically the ones that have bitten me the most have been the small breeds. But what makes pit bulls dangerous is their incredible jaw stength, they simply do not let go once they've decided they're going to hold you.

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While it's certainly smart to get to know a dog before you trust it, the belief that pit bulls have very strong and/or lockable jaws is extremely common but false. Jaw strength in any dog is largely related to size; pit bull jaw strength has been measured around 235 psi, a little less than a German Shepherd and far less than a Rottweiler. Of course it's still strong enough to cause significant damage, and as I said before, it is always smart to be wary of dogs you don't know (especially chained up dogs; a dog that is chained up and ignored is a bite waiting to happen).

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Originally Posted by staropeace

A friend of mine, who is a nurse, was in emerg when a twelve year old girl's body was brought in....she was killed by a pitbull. That sorta scared me for this breed of dog.

I always carry pepper spray in my pocket when I walk out. It is mostly because I am afraid of something like this happening.

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Don't be lulled into a false sense of security--pepper spray often won't stop any Terrier breed.

The main problem with the various breeds of Pitbulls is a combination of the animal's natural tenacity and the hordes of extremely negligent backyard breeders. As far as I'm concerned, the Pitbull breeds are ruined beyond repair--I don't let them live around my home. The Dobermans were in a similar fix twenty-five years ago, but now they've been mostly successfully bred back into a much more docile breed (How often do you hear of Doberman attacks these days?) I don't think that can happen with the Staffordshires / Pitbulls, though... they're just too far gone.

You kinda have to expect Terriers to be a little psycho, but what really burns me up is how the backyard breeders have turned the super-snuggly, big-but-sweet Rottweiler working dogs into vicious killers.

Glad to hear you're okay, Sigmund.

Is there somebody in authority you can complain to about this incident? It sounds like you were extremely lucky not to have been mauled, if these dogs are that aggressive you should report them. It was fortunate nobody was hurt this time, but don't forget your friend lives near these animals and may not be so lucky if it happens again and there's nobody there to protect her. The owners should receive a warning, maybe it will encourage them to control their dogs better and not allow them to roam around in public off-leash.

Something interesting: only one of the dogs below is a pit bull. The others are purebred, but not pits--just breeds commonly mistaken for pit bulls. (There are many more similar breeds, but the MB allows a max of five images per post.) I do not mean to downplay the very real issue of dog attacks, nor the very real appeal that pit bulls have (because of their reputation) for a certain element of society. But misinformation protects no one. It's important in any case to know the truth, or at least to know when we don't know what the truth is.

http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petb...findpit/16.jpg http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petb...ndpit/11sm.jpg http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petb.../findpit/3.jpg http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petb...findpit/13.jpg http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petb...findpit/12.jpg

Siggy I am so sorry this happened to you. You had a right to be terrified for your life, thank God you and your friend are okay.


I'm not going to defend the dogs that attacked Siggy. They obviously have a problem, whether it's their training or their owner. But we need to remember that ANY dog can bite. Even your sweetest little dog that has grown up with the children and has never once shown the least little sign of aggression can bite. A startled or frightened dog can bite.

I don't expect what I am going to say to change how anyone feels about pit bulls. Firstly, OP, let me say that I am glad you are ok. Dog attacks are scary things.

Full disclosure, I am Todash's niece that she referred to in an earlier post. She invited me onto the forums to look at someone's pretty good beginning paintings (I'm an artist), and I've been kind of lurking like a creeper. I couldn't not respond to this thread, mostly because I have a ton of experience with pit bulls and dogs in general.

I have volunteered with animal control shelters and also have worked in a kennel environment. I have had experience with hundreds of dogs, dare I say thousands? I have been attacked once and bitten two other times. I have been bitten by a miniature schnauzer and a shih tzu. I was attacked by a lab. I will go ahead and state that I am biased towards a fondness for pit bulls. Overall, I have found them to be stable, fun loving little dogs, and I have only met one or two that have made me slightly nervous (they were extremely fearful and undersocialized.)

There are statistically several things that are consistent with fatal dog attacks: unneutered males, multiple dogs, loose dogs, chained dogs, abused or unsocialized dogs. This situation is very unfortunate, and the owner needs to not own dogs. I will go so far as to say that the dogs need to be stripped from her possession and probably destroyed. I have to agree with my aunt that I doubt the dogs were pure pit because it is so hard to identify breeds at the best of times and there is also a biased towards short-haired, athletic, square headed dogs being pit bulls. American Pit bulls Terriers or American Staffordshire Terriers or Staffordshire Terriers ( the purebreds most likely to be targeted by pit bull bans) aren't big dogs (especially the little Staffordshire which maxes out at 45 pounds), which makes me think the main aggressor dog was a mastiff or rottweiler mix, or any one of the very big rarer breeds of dogs which incidently kind of look like pit bulls that are gaining popularity. Frankly, I will go ahead and say that the breed isn't really all that important. While terriers do have a certain amount of gameness and focus which can make them a challenge for some people to handle, it doesn't really make them inherently more dangerous than any other dog. What is important is the situation. Unfortunately, this situation has a lot of the statistical hall marks of a bad dog attack: loose dogs, multiple dogs (was the main aggressor male?), and probably not socialized and definitely not responsibly owned.

I also find a consistency with the kind of area one lives in and the statistical risk of the dogs being dangerous. Poor areas tend to have people that might care for their dogs, but tend to not have the education to know how to properly manage their dogs or can't afford professional training if the dog has earmarks of being a potential nuisance, ect. Or people in poorer areas tend to think that vicious dogs make good guard dogs, which is categorically false. (Good guard dogs are well socialized, well trained and can make a call on what is actually a threat or not.) It is also interesting, but probably not relevant, to note that since the Dog Whisperer has aired, dog bites have gone up.

Statistically, dogs are very safe animals. Even pit bulls are very safe animals. There is no animal as domesticated as the dog. Please also keep in mind that there are MILLIONS of pit bulls type dogs in the United States (probably 15-20 million) and some 160 million dogs in general. Go to an municipal shelter if you doubt the shear number of pit bull types in the states. If human aggression was a pit bull problem, many many more people would be seriously injured or killed than are. Golden retrievers and Labrador Retrievers are among the top biters now, and I have been around far more unstable Labs than unstable pit bulls. Too many people, frankly, get dogs and expect them to manage and train themselves. They stick them in a backyard and do not socialize them or manage their behaviors. This can create an unstable, frustrated, aggressive dog. But, most the time, it does not.

What I would really like to see is more dangerous dog legislation. I'm tired of Breed Specific Legislation, which not only wastes taxpayer money as officers have to respond to the 'oh noes, my neighbor has a pit bull' calls, but it doesn't actually stop dog bites or attacks. People who own dangerous pit bulls, will own dangerous dogs. The breeding or breed of the dog doesn't actually matter that much. The prefect storm that created that killer pit bull easily creates another dangerous dog. If your dog kills some one? You go to prison. Maybe for murder. Your dog maims someone? Assault with a deadly weapon. People needs to be held responsible for their actions and, after all, dogs are just animals.

On that note, I will probably be owning a pit bull with in the next year. My husband's, ironically, only positive interactions with dogs has been with a pair of pit bulls, and he is convinced that they are the perfect dog for us. We have cats, but I am not any more worried about getting a pit bull more than any other dog. I plan on working with the dog to be a therapy dog, because pit bulls need a little bit of positive press for a change. I also feel that it is my responsibility as a dog owner to have my dog be the best canine citizen it can be, regardless of breed. While pit bulls are not a breed for everyone, some of the best dogs I have ever had the pleasure of interacting with have been pit bulls.

Siggy, so glad that you and your friend are both okay, other than frayed nerves. Things could've been so much worse, if one or both of those dogs had gotten thru the fence. I am not a dog person, never was and never will be. Just don't trust them. I am a cat person and one reason being that a cat can't bite off my hand or face or rip my throat out! When I was a kid we had a few dogs as pets, but I never did take a real liking to them. All those teeth......... Again, I am so glad that you're okay!!

((((Siggie)))) I am so glad you and your friend did not get hurt. I hope you are feeling better now....what a scare!

Siggy that was terrible..I am glad you are okay!In case someone suggested it and I missed it,may I reiterate that you should notify the local dog warden and see if he will listen to your story and investigate these animals.You said the owner lived "two houses down" which sounds like a neighborhood,and I hate to think what might happen if these dogs get loose near a little kid,or an older person,though even reasonably fit persons would have a tough time against two dogs..have had my share of close calls with dogs,and keep an eye on them even when they are leashed and being walked,as some owners aren't strong enough to deny a determined animal.I do think the dog warden should look at them,and if he/balks,just have him walk past the fenced in area,that ought to get his attention..I am sorry this happened to you,but glad you are okay!:smile2:

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Originally Posted by mjs9153

Siggy that was terrible..I am glad you are okay!In case someone suggested it and I missed it,may I reiterate that you should notify the local dog warden and see if he will listen to your story and investigate these animals.You said the owner lived "two houses down" which sounds like a neighborhood,and I hate to think what might happen if these dogs get loose near a little kid,or an older person,though even reasonably fit persons would have a tough time against two dogs..have had my share of close calls with dogs,and keep an eye on them even when they are leashed and being walked,as some owners aren't strong enough to deny a determined animal.I do think the dog warden should look at them,and if he/balks,just have him walk past the fenced in area,that ought to get his attention..I am sorry this happened to you,but glad you are okay!:smile2:

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Oh, definitely good point! Sig, if you have not notified the authorities, please do so. Those dogs are going to get to someone eventually. :(