MagiStream

FireHeartWindy wrote: Actually, most dog attacks come from smaller dogs. In fact, these guys were in truth bred to help hunters keep their children safe from bear or bull attacks. Every dog, with the right training, is a good dog. I agree though, that any dog that actually kills someone should be destroyed and the owner be charged with murder. Did you know that labs and retrievers have higher bite force? When a pit so much as nibbles someone, it gets hot, but when the poodle mauls a child, no one blinks an eye. Staffies are third on the tier. THIRD. T H I R D. let that sink in. Pit Bulls are dogs; Dogs learn from repetition. If these dogs were abused, the natural instinct is to make the "Pack leader" proud or become aggressive. If the owner wants them to fight, they'll fight. A true dog's nature is to please the leader dog, as they see their owners. Now, Staffordshire Terriers have been strong dogs from the beginning, so they're natural candidates for dog fights. The owner of course would want to make them fight better, so they modify and selective breed. Now, the natural instinct is to fight when commanded or their "pack" is threatened. If an older kid beats up a younger one, the staffie on the older child's side would join in, like hunting with the pack, while if the staffie was with the younger child, he would defend. It's just instinct. ANY dog can kill- even the small ones.

Though that might be true But labs and retrievers are significantly more groomed to be friendlier, though that isn't always the case I agree. Over breeding is a problem in both pit Bulls and now even golden retrievers and labs. When people disregard breeding for not only looks but temper it turns into a dog that is stereotyped. Yes, little dogs can be vicious, but a chihuahua biting your arm and a German Shepherd has a few differences. Working at where I do I see dogs come in ALL the time, we usually have around 150 dogs a day. I've worked with Staffies, pitbulls, and bullies a like and I can tell you they aren't something that you should fear to leave with your kids, but they can be dangerous like any dog. And some dogs are just born with agression, too shy and scared. We train dogs at my work and I can also say that not everything can be fix, it can be moved around, but some things can never change. I can also say that if a poodle mauled anyone my work would immediately advise euthanization, the same if a staffie did it, a chihuahua, anything.
All dogs can have pack instincts, but you cannot use it as an excuse for possibly biting a child in the house if they were hitting another or being hit. Dogs know better, and that is something that can be trained away.
All in all because of their record and because of people carelessly breeding pitbulls have earned a bad title but it doesn't go without saying that in some cases it isn't wrong to give that to an animal that us people have completely neglected in helping sculpt a function, fair temperament for. The worst part is that Staffordshire Terriers are one of the most commonly bred dog in home, but also at the number one spot with labs for most commonly seen in shelters. The dogs didn't do this to themselves, we did it to the dogs.

1.) Do you own a pit bull or a pit bull-type of dog?
No I have two German Shepherds. One from German lines one from American King lines.

2.) If yes, then did you train them from a puppy?
Nope

3.) How do you feel about certain breeds being banned?
I believe it is how the dog is raised and trained. NOT the breed

4.) Do you think pit bulls are dangerous breeds?
No more dangerous as a cocker spaniel

5.) Why do you think someone might disagree with you?
Because of the stigma around that pits are fighting dogs. An the fact some people don't train them properly.

6.) Have you ever been attacked by a dog or know someone who has?
Yes. I was attacked by a dog as a real little girl three times and by three different dogs of three different breeds.

7.) Anything else?
Not the dog that is dangerous It is the UN-responcibal owners who do not properly socialize and train them.

No breed is dangerous. Pitbulls get a bad wrap because of a lot of crappy owners. If you raise a dog to be aggressive, it's going to be aggressive when it gets older, same if you teach it to be kind and raise it around a variety of people and things. I think any animal can be sweet and kind if you raise it that way. Every animal I own gets along with one another because they're use to being around all kinds of animals of different species and sizes. From when they were babies. I introduce my animals to more people and animals when they're very young, I really do believe it makes a huge difference.

I dont have a pit personally, but I absolutely adore them and want to get one when i can provide the proper room and time. Also, I dont think they're dangerous in the sense they'll just attack anything going by, because that's the owners fault. However, I think everyone does have to realise they've got huge potential and power, and you as an owner need to shape it. negative reinforcement or no training and all will give you the dogs they talk smack about in the media. a firm and loving hand and training them well will give you a sweet gentle buddy that wouldn't even hurt a fly.

Something I read in The Witcher 3 about dogs, dogs are reflections of their masters. A well-treated pet repays his owner with loyalty and trust, whereas an ill-treated one repays this treatment in kind as well, meeting yells with barks and kicks with bites. Basically, this applies to all dogs you treat a dog with negative reinforcement it's probably not going to react positively towards people in general, since the animal may have trust issues. A well trained and well-treated animal trained using positive reinforcement is probably going to be better socialized and more trusting of humans. Meaning that any breed of dog can be gentle and any breed of dog can be aggressive, it just depends on who owns them and what kind of treatment the dog endures.

To be honest, though I personally do think it's so true that dogs are a reflection of their owners. Owners who are mean to other people most often have animals who are not well behaved at all. Usually, these are people who often go walking down the street and naively believe any aggressive action their dog does is just play behavior when it's really aggression. You will notice some of these owners don't really understand dog language and believe their pet can do no wrong. You will most often encounter them on walks or in dog parks and they will tell you it's your dog's fault if an altercation occurs between your well-behaved pet and theirs when it's, in fact, their lack of training and understanding that their dog is aggressive. Some of them instead of removing their animals from situation don't bother to do so which results in the situation escalating and leads to bite incidents.

While there aren't really "dangerous breeds," I definitely think some breeds of dogs are more or less disposed to aggressive behaviors. For example, German Shepherds are known to be very territorial, and even if they are well-trained, a 50+lb dog could cause damage if they had a reason to. Another example: dalmatians, despite the Disney movie, are not good dogs for children. Comparatively, Golden Retrievers are notorious people-pleasers, though sometimes at the cost of refined intelligence.

Pitbulls can definitely be aggressive as a result of their owners and training, but a pitbull with a good home is not automatically safe. Please follow me for a minute: Where I live, we have a bit of a problem with dogfighting. It's illegal, but when does that stop anyone? Anyway, it's not as uncommon as it should be for the shelters to receive/rescue fighting dogs. Obviously, overtly aggressive dogs cannot be adopted out and are, unfortunately, usually put down. However, "good" fighting dogs are not just a product of training; the breeders also breed for "desirable" traits. (We know it's possible to breed personality in animals; it also happens in humans. That's why certain breeds are known to be territorial, calm, etc.) As a result, dogs that come from disreputable breeders, even if the dog's never been trained to fight at all, they may still be predisposed to aggression. Clearly, this isn't the dog's fault, but it'snot something we can just ignore either. For this reason, my mother would never let us pet the pitbull-mixes and such at the shelter because we had no way to know their breeding background.

So, no, Pitbulls themselves are not dangerous, but if I was unfamiliar with the dogs, I'd be more like to trust a Retriever than a Pitbull.

1.) Do you own a pit bull or a pit bull-type of dog?
Not currently, but I have a cousin with a few.

2.) If yes, then did you train them from a puppy?
N/A. My cousin adopted hers though, so she didn't raise it from a puppy.

3.) How do you feel about certain breeds being banned?
Kind of dumb, really. It would be like lumping people of the same ethnic group(?) together and saying all of 'em are good/bad/etc.

4.) Do you think pit bulls are dangerous breeds?
Only as dangerous as any other animal can be.

5.) Why do you think someone might disagree with you?
They might've had a bad experience/reoccurring misfortune with pit bulls. Like if a Lab bit you in the face, you'd be more guarded or prejudiced towards Labs in the future. That, and misinformation can be scary and people want to protect themselves/others from 'scary' things they heard about. Can't blame people though, as other animals teach their offspring or others of potentially dangerous things (crows, if one hates you the whole murder will).

6.) Have you ever been attacked by a dog or know someone who has?
A Lab bit my friend's mother in the face when she was younger, my neighbors' small dog used to bite the husband if he reached to pick up anything on the floor that could've been 'food', and a dog from my childhood left a single puncture scar on my arm by accident (we were playing and she went to grab my clothing and missed) but I don't personally know anyone who was attacked by a pit bull.

7.) Anything else?
Well, it can be how a dog is raised that determines if they're 'dangerous' or not. I think that, combined with circumstance and the dog's own personality, also plays a part. Just like how you can have a really aggressive person in a family of pacifists, it depends on the individual dog on whether or not it is dangerous. You can train some dogs all you want and still be unable to trust it, and some dogs have a different breaking point than others (perceived danger can make a dog lash out or cower). There's a lot of variables that are impossible to manipulate to produce a 'good dog' every single time. Breed doesn't overly matter to me because I've seen mean Golden Retrievers and nice Pit Bulls. It is a case-by-case basis.

1.) Do you own a pit bull or a pit bull-type of dog?
No.

2.) If yes, then did you train them from a puppy?

3.) How do you feel about certain breeds being banned?

I understand why especially if the area has a problem with dog fighting, though I think it's more paranoia than anything else. However the best solution is for the areas to shut down the fighting rings instead.

4.) Do you think pit bulls are dangerous breeds?
No I think it's the way they are trained, and even breeds thought of as calm can become dangerous with bad training. In fact I met some rather friendly pit bulls, one that we jokingly called a "kiss bull."

5.) Why do you think someone might disagree with you?
I think someone might disagree because some people view legal as the be all end all, or they might be from an area where there is a problem.

6.) Have you ever been attacked by a dog or know someone who has?
No however I have had to scare off some rather unruly dogs.

7.) Anything else?
Mainly that people need to train their dogs.

1.) Do you own a pit bull or a pit bull-type of dog?
No

2.) If yes, then did you train them from a puppy?
N/A

3.) How do you feel about certain breeds being banned?
In general I think banning breeds is grounded in ignorance/prejudice. I'm of the opinion that dogs are only as dangerous as their environment/situation and the way they were raised. I volunteered with an animal shelter for a while and I've never encountered a dog that was aggressive without due cause. For example, those that experienced past abuse. In one case, we had an older dog that was both previously abused and had lost his hearing and some of his eyesight so was very easily startled and defensive. And he was definitely not any of the 'aggressive' breeds. IIRC he was some sort of dachsund/chow mix.

4.) Do you think pit bulls are dangerous breeds?
No, in fact, I would say every pit bull I've met have been more affectionate than dogs of some other breeds. And I'm including the pit bulls at the shelter as well as random ones I meet on the street. When I was younger, I believed all the media portrayals of pit bulls as more aggressive and likely to attack humans than other breeds because I'd never seen anything that indicated otherwise. Then I actually met a few and the rest is history.

5.) Why do you think someone might disagree with you?
In my experience, the only people who believe pit bulls (or any other particular breed) are dangerous either have a fear of dogs in general and/or their only exposure to them has been through the media, like I had been.

6.) Have you ever been attacked by a dog or know someone who has?
I've never been attacked, but one of my teachers in high school was bitten by her collie while trying to transport her to the vet.

7.) Anything else?
Not really

1.) Do you own a pit bull or a pit bull-type of dog?
2.) If yes, then did you train them from a puppy?
Not currently, but my older brother fostered several pit bull puppies when I was a teen and I helped care for and train most of them. They ranged from three months to two years old. I'd love to have one or two when I have the time and room for it/them.

3.) How do you feel about certain breeds being banned?
I think the only breed-based banning should be based on shedding/drooling, energy level (working dogs do not belong in tiny apartments), or size. I feel like meeting the dog should be part of the application process for new tenants, and their behavior should be taken into account. Certain things, like always having the dog leashed in all common areas, should be a condition of the lease. In short, dogs and owners should be banned for a lack of discipline, not based on breed.

4.) Do you think pit bulls are dangerous breeds?
5.) Why do you think someone might disagree with you?
I think they have a tendency to be protective of their loved ones and sometimes have a high prey drive, but like any other dog, can turn out just fine if raised and trained properly. Plenty of other breeds and mixes have the potential to be dangerous too, and so can other species of pets. And then of course some individuals are just absolute sweethearts, like my old pup Oreo or anxious, chubby Reno! Someone might disagree based on the stigma associated with pits, or because of an experience with one that was poorly trained.

6.) Have you ever been attacked by a dog or know someone who has?
Yup. I was a dog walker for two years. I've been attacked twice, and a puppy that I was walking almost got attacked, but luckily, my reaction was to slam myself into the other dog and pin her down until her owner arrived. The puppy was attacked by a golden retriever mix. And I was bitten two separate times by two different dogs... that both happened to be Maltese.

7.) Anything else?
Pit bulls are animals, not accessories for looking cool. Every living thing has care standards. Individual animals can have personalities, and like 90% of the time (obviously a guesstimate lol) are just a product of their upbringing.