Pit bulls??

[cali]

I personaly have never met a "mean" pittie, not even dog agressive, Happy has attacked pitties before(she is fear agressive) did she hurt them? no. what did the pitties do? they stood there smiling and wagging their tails. Rotties? I have never met a mean rottie, but I AM afraid of them. why? because when I was young rotties eemed to be attracted to me, they never hurt me, but when your 8 years old and on 3 seperate occasions Rotties have appeared and chased you and jumped on you its frightning. a family friend had a Rottie, Jules, I was terrified of her, but I loved her lol I dont hold anything against the breed, if anything they are too friendly, they just scared be enugh when I was younger to make me very nervous around them now. labs and goldens? never met a mean lab or golden either, but I have only met 5 labs and 2 goldens.

now recently I read a story in the paper, the story under the picture was saying how how these 2 "rougue pit bulls" were going on a cat killing spree and the AC officers nad a hard time catching the dogs and they were bahving visiously. there was a photo of the scene with the story, and the phto did not match the story, the photo? 2 american bulldogs standing unrestrained beside the AC officers with grins on their faces looking up at the sun, and hopping willing into the van..yes these dogs were so horrably visious and uncontrolable

[CagneyDog]

Can we just stop breed-specific bashing altogether? No one would tolerate someone talking about disliking and not going near a dog because it is a pit or a rottie, but no one has a problem with people making statements like that about goldens/labs or other breeds. I'm very saddened and disturbed by some of what I'm reading here

Very well said.

These statements against Labs/goldens etc show a lack of education that is just as bad, if not worse than those who share the same opinion about Pitties.

[animal_rescue]

I think there can be a difference between "provoked" and "triggered." I think it's more accurate to say there is always a trigger, but whether that is something that is within the dog and not identifiable, i.e. neurologic disorder perhaps, or just prey drive suddenly kicking in, is not always apparent to us. Provoked I think more along the lines of a person is doing something directly to the dog that causes it to react by attacking.

Well said, yes a reason there. Hannah(our RB German Shepherd) attacked for what seemed like no reason we then found out she was grieving the death of Simon(our other RB German Shepherd). It may seem like it was "no reason" but mentally there was.

[wolfsoul]

2 american bulldogs

Exactly, most of the dogs involved in attacks are not "american pit bull terriers," but dogs that look similar.

[Love That Collie]

No dog should ever attack or bite unless it or it's household is in danger or being threatend.
Grieving is not a reason, fear biting is not a reason, etc....those are excuses and excuses are not reasons for a dog to bite anything or anyone no matter what breed.

[king2005]

No dog should ever attack or bite unless it or it's household is in danger or being threatend.
Grieving is not a reason, fear biting is not a reason, etc....those are excuses and excuses are not reasons for a dog to bite anything or anyone no matter what breed.

Sorry but those are reasons why some dogs bite. There is always a reason for everything. Not saying that the reason is a good reason, but its still a reason regardless.

===

Another thing about the word Pit Bull, but there are SOOO many breeds put into this catergory.. Which I think is stupid. All the dogs are very different, yet they get the same lable. They really need to toss out the meaning for pit bull (yes I know there is a breed called the APBT, just talking about the other meaning) & start showing how often each breed has bitten, attacked or killed a human.. As there is a huge difference between, an APBT, AST, SBT, Boxer (stupid eh), bull mastiff, bull dog, & a freaken boston terrior!! <-- not kidding there!! GAH people are so stupid *smacks head*

[Love That Collie]

Excuse.

[zoomer]

Ouch! I've never gotten bit by a pit bull before, but I have gotten bit on my hand by a Dachshund/Chihuahua and a Chocolate Lab. My chin's been ripped by a Shnauzer. Never a pit bull though. I've got growled at and lunged at by a Golden Retriever. I've gotten bitten by a Fox Terrier on the hand. I know someone with a Pit Bull named Smokey and a Chihuahua, and I have to say, their Chihuahua scares me waaaay more than their pit bull! LOL.

[king2005]

If your going to have an adult debate, you actually have to say more then 1 word & post experiences, facts, I don't know anything but a 1 worded answer.. sheesh

[wolfsoul]

What might be seen as your "excuses," are seen as the dog's reasons. Dogs do not have the ability to think "well, this isn't a good reason to bite, it's only an excuse." Whether they feel scared, threatened, or they are just having a bad day, to them it's a reason. Dogs have the mental capacity of a toddler. Toddlers bite under the same judgement. Who are we to judge how a dog thinks until we can be in the same mindset? Over my time working with dogs I have been bitten every single day, so whether or not a should not bite, they do. They are animals, they have teeth, and a large potential to use them.

In the picture attached, only five of the dogs are pit bulls. Can you imagine being under attack by any of these breeds and actually being able ti identify what it was, as well as being knowledgeable enough to actually know what breed is what?

[K9soul]

I really don't see how you can use a human concept - excuse - on an animal. They have no thought process like that, "Oh I just need to find an excuse to bite." I can only assume you mean people are making excuses FOR the dogs that bite. However, I don't think people here are doing that either. They are only discussing some of the reasons/triggers that may not be apparent to us that have caused some dogs to react by biting.

Thought of an example: If I'm with a dog, and I decide to take a toy from him, and he bites me, the REASON he bit is because I took his toy. That doesn't make it okay, and in fact would mean that dog would need a serious NILIF program and obedience training or consult with a behaviorist. Reason does not equal excuse.. reason is just the trigger.