Quote Originally Posted by noellenc View Post
They couldn't tell what it was just by looking at it? They are a very recognizable breed!

I thought the reason people point the finger esp. at Rotties and Pitbulls is because they have been historically bred as attack dogs. But I don't think they take into consideration the fact that ANY dog raised improperly can be equally as vicious as a vicious aggressive breed. But I thought I did read somewhere that a Pitbull has the worst bite of any dog because its jaws lock extremely tight...I have to admit they scare me a little... In the town I grew up in a woman's Pitbulls mauled & killed her elderly father while he was home alone
"Pit Bulls" are necessarily THAT recognizable. Partly because most of the dogs who are in the news and attacking people are horrendously bred, poorly cared for mish-mashes of numerous bully breeds. Pit Bull is more a term than it is a breed. American Pit Bull Terriers are compact, lean, athletic, and fairly balanced... not the beefy, 80 lb hippo heads that a lot of people envision. See if you can find the "Pit Bull": http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html

Rottweilers are an all-around breed, performing several jobs from cart-pulling to baby-sitting to herding livestock to protection. "Pit Bulls" were originally bred as bull baiters, protecting people from bulls, and in the last century or so for dog-fighting. NEVER has the Pit Bull's intention been to act as a guard dog. In fact, they were bred to be very people friendly so as not to attack the people throwing them in and pulling them out of the bull and dog fighting rings. Neither breed is historically an "attack dog". That is thanks to horribly irresponsible owners, neglect, abuse, and a lack of any training and socialization for the most part. Both breeds are people and family oriented. Bite statistics based on breed is stupid... it only paints a very, very small part of the big picture. What are the statistics of bite cases in different areas? What are the statistics of breeds in inner cities? What are the statistics of instances where the dog bite is NOT due to complete owner negligence? Etc, etc, etc. I hate how people's natural tendency is to want to immediately point fingers, jump to conclusions, and pick a scapegoat to blame all of our own faults on.