Pitbulls. Do they have a bad rep?

I know you're a big lad Mar, but when an 18 hand cob drops all it's weight onto your forehead, you'll know all about it :(

I'm not worried about prisoners, but I avoid those damn ponies like the plague :p

Luckily I am one of those people that animals are always friendly to
I think its because they know I would happily kill and eat them if they pissed me off
:p
 
Quite often dogs that attack are identified as pit bulls when they are not. There are 20+ breeds that are commonly incorrectly identified as pit bulls.


What about the reverse? Are some "dogs that attack" identified as a different breed when they are actually pit bulls?
 
I have both cats and dogs and they get along just great - play with each other, groom each other.

I've posted this link on a similar pitbull thread:
http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html

"FIND THE PITBULL

For many people, a Pit Bull is a a big headed dog, or a dog with cropped ears. For some it's a brindle dog, a big, stocky dog, or one with an eye patch.

Quite often dogs that attack are identified as pit bulls when they are not. There are 20+ breeds that are commonly incorrectly identified as pit bulls. Visit Understand-a-bull for more information. "

Went to the site, well I learned something today.
 
I am a veterinarian who has been practicing for 26 years. I have worked in numerous urban and suburban practices in the US, with clients of varying socio-economic and educational levels.

In upper middle class practices, where the clientele is fairly well educated, the vast majority of Pit Bull breeds are pussycats, and most of my colleagues agree that there are other breeds that we worry about a lot more.

I'm not making any correlations--just relating my experiences.
 
Luckily I am one of those people that animals are always friendly to
I think its because they know I would happily kill and eat them if they pissed me off
:p

It's worth mentioning that Sam was one of the dopiest, friendliest, most docile horses I ever met. It was just an accident.
 
Which ones?

Well, I don't think it would be wise to risk angering a lot of dog lovers on this board with less than 100 posts under my belt. ;)

I will say that I am against the banning of certain breeds, as I do not believe it will solve any problems. If all of the "Bully" breeds vanished from the face of the Earth, other dog breeds or types would take their place as far as serious bites and/or fatalities are concerned.
 
It's worth mentioning that Sam was one of the dopiest, friendliest, most docile horses I ever met. It was just an accident.

Yup, and freckles was just a little on the old side, saw my big *** and knew from experience that rearing would probably scare me off from riding him like the other people, I am sure he did not intend for my dumbass to have my hand get caught in the bridle. Horses biting is very painful, but they do not have the instincts to bite your neck like a dog does so its usually just really painful not fatal, its the fact they weigh so much and can be unpredictable that makes them really dangerous, in fact more dangerous than any dog. The fear of pits is half societal (ie people want mean dogs, raise mean dogs, breed mean dogs, they exagerate when story telling ect ect) and the other half is the fact that the dogs are very energetic, need lots of attention and rarely get it which leads to fits of bad behavior. This is a problem with many dog breeds, and is often overlooked becuase the breed does not have the same physical capabilities.

Whats also interesting is that horses do not make good guard dogs . . . no really they don't. But pit bulls, dobermans, rottys do, and people know that and the perception is out their to be wary, this in and of itself can spawn an attack. Dog are pack creatures, in the pack members do not fear each other, outsiders do, we specifically have breed dogs to be this way . . . . who is to blame for that?

I don't know, its my opinion its an ignorant thing to want to ban many breeds that may or may not be aggressive, or may be, but its a trait we breed in either purposefully, or not.

Edit: please excuse my bad grammer, at work and too busy to proof read, thanks! ; - )
 
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Red Setters, for example, expecially the overbred pedigrees, have a tendency to get violent when over excited.
Grey hounds as mentioned before are real bad about killing cats, so are akita's.

Many MANY dog breeds CAN have behavioral issues that lead to the types of incidents pits are well known for, but its rare people talk about it as much.

Selection effect, confirmation bias, these things play a role.
 
Well, I don't think it would be wise to risk angering a lot of dog lovers on this board with less than 100 posts under my belt. ;)

I will say that I am against the banning of certain breeds, as I do not believe it will solve any problems. If all of the "Bully" breeds vanished from the face of the Earth, other dog breeds or types would take their place as far as serious bites and/or fatalities are concerned.

Emet - my vet also has certain breeds he dislikes (thankfully not mine). But agree whole heartedly that banishing breeds is not a solution. We need responsible dog ownership and that means both breeders and owners have to toe the line.
 
Grey hounds as mentioned before are real bad about killing cats, so are akita's.

Well, again I can only relate my experience. I have had dozens of Greyhound and Akita owner clients who also own cats. =^..^=
 
I wonder why they aren't even on the list? No attacks with injuries?

If we're speaking of Irish Setters, my experience as a vet would be to say no, they're not generally aggressive. Gary Larson drew a cartoon about Irish Setters once, that alluded to the fact that perhaps they weren't very 'smart'. :D
 
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Gary Larson drew a cartoon about Irish Setters once, that alluded to the fact that perhaps they weren't very 'smart'. :D

setter2.jpg

They can be savage, but only if you have wings
;)
 
I have both cats and dogs and they get along just great - play with each other, groom each other.

I've posted this link on a similar pitbull thread:
http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html

"FIND THE PITBULL

For many people, a Pit Bull is a a big headed dog, or a dog with cropped ears. For some it's a brindle dog, a big, stocky dog, or one with an eye patch.

Quite often dogs that attack are identified as pit bulls when they are not. There are 20+ breeds that are commonly incorrectly identified as pit bulls. Visit Understand-a-bull for more information. "

The editors of that site are a bit pedantic, with only "American Pit Bull" counted as a hit. The Canary island pit bull doesn't count? the Argentinian?
 
As they say, there are no bad dogs, only bad owners.

But if Grandma is a bad owner and her Miniature Poodle gets out of control, it doesn't kill the neighbor's 3 year old. Might bite it, but the kid will kick it away.

And, as my wife points out, you don't find a lot of St Bernards that are doing it, either (Kujo not withstanding).

And while the Great Dane typically isn't aggressive, it doesn't need to be to do a lot of damage. Ask Marmaduke.
 
St. Bernards used to be at the bottom of the the list of breeds responsible for fatalities, (link) and I remember reading about lots of bite wound reports early in my career, but can find no links about non fatal bites.

A lot of breeds will be popular for a while, until a lot of people are bitten.

One might ask this police officer how he feels about Chihuahuas. :eek:

As they say, there are no bad dogs, only bad owners.
Sadly, I see bad dog owners every day...but enough good ones to make it worthwhile. :)
 

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