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Idiots that can't identify snakes.

People need education. Badly.

'Tis why I'm becoming a teacher. My philosophy should be "to educate people about about living a healthy lifestyle, by participating in Physical activity regularly, eating nutritious foods and .... teach people about owning snakes" :)
 
Dundalk huh....I lived there from 5 months of age (when I was adopted) until my parents divorce when I was 7 in 1975. Funny....didn't know you guys were near there. I lived at 7816 Kavanaugh Rd and went to Grange Elementary. Is that still school still there? I can't remember I can still remember that stuff!!

Yes, Grange is still there. I actually grew up on Moorgate, about 12 blocks from Kavanaugh, and went to Grange. My parents still live in that neighborhood, but we live in a slightly more ghetto neighborhood about 1/2 mile away.

But we had a dalmation that attacked anything close to it. So it goes to show you it isn't the breed but the owners..most of the time. We had found him in a pound and wasn't told not to have him around other dogs. He attacked 2 dogs..but strangely enough, he didn't attack our other dogs. But we had to find him another home after he drug me 50 ft to attack a dog and I was 8 months pregnant with my first son. :)

My mother had to rehome one of her Scottish Terriers after he bit one of the neighbors on a walk. She sent him back to his breeder who found a home for him in rural PA with an older couple with no kids. I've seen Scotties rip the sleeves off of shirts at dog shows. My mothers ancient 14 year old scotty used to grab the bottom of my pants leg when I would go to her house, growling and pulling... she had no teeth left, so it wasn't a big deal, but still... I'm telling you what, I've seen more truly scary Scottish terrirers than I have seen scary pits, rotties, dobies, "dangerous dog breeds."

Dog breeds are what they are made by humans... in the case of Scotty breeders, they are breeding whatever they want, without regard to temperament. It is a HUGE detriment to that breed.

Number one dog for bites in the US, consistently, year after year??

Labrador Retrievers.

There are a ton of them around, lots of irresponsible/unethical breeders that don't breed for good temperament, and because they are so common and so well known as "good family and kids dogs," people are VERY careless around them.
 
I hate to be a "topic police" but if you guys want to talk about dogs then why not make another thread? It's a little off-topic here, just because this thread was about snakes.
 
I hate to be a "topic police"

Then don't be.

...if you guys want to talk about dogs then why not make another thread? It's a little off-topic here, just because this thread was about snakes.

Rich, the site owner, has no "rules" on how topics go, and you'll find that most members here accept the fact that topics can change over time as conversations do in real life.
 
Rich, the site owner, has no "rules" on how topics go, and you'll find that most members here accept the fact that topics can change over time as conversations do in real life.

Okay, well my KC spaniel was attacked by a german shepard who's owner left their gate open. Just walked up to us on our walk and started mauling. It was very traumatic for both me and my dog and my family. I don't care for german shepards now. I didn't particularly before because my aunt had a vicious GS and I actually grew up with a phobia of large dogs in the first place.

Does that make me a horrible person?
 
Does that make me a horrible person?

No. Traumatic events impact your life, often in ways you never would have expected before that.

Disliking a breed that has caused you trauma in the past isn't wrong and it doesn't make you a terrible person.

It would be bad if you used your experience to campaign for a law in your town banning German Shepherds, because in spite of your terrible experience with one shepherd, most shepherds are very nice dogs who are good with children, family and other animals.

As a good example, I have seen many people around here driving motorcycles up the shoulder, between cars in adjacent lanes, and popping wheelies heading up the highway. Those people are idiots, and I know that eventually their stupidity will cause an accident that may hurt or kill people.

But for every idiot there is driving a motorcycle in a dangerous way, there's a hundred other riders who are responsible and simply enjoy riding their bike. Should there be a law preventing them from their enjoyment because SOME bikers are idiots? Should we always make laws in this nation to the least common denominator?
 
@dan: Not really. I see a pit bull or chihuahua and I freak out. Every loose pit bull in this area was aggressive and there's a pit bull next door that's turned aggressive because of a chihuahua mix they got that they didn't train and is a horrible little dog. They bark at EVERYTHING and always have an aggressive manor. The pit used to be very very sweet and would roll over for pettings from me.
A year ago he bit my dad. Nothing bad, but still. Last summer, the two dogs bolted across the street and attacked my neighbor's dad's German Shepard. I don't think any serious damage was done, but the owners of the pit and mutt should have realized they needed to do something about it.

My grandpa has a neighbor who had her son living with her. Well, her son has/had a pit bull. From what I remember, and this was within the last year, the dog ran off their property, onto my grandpa's property and up the deck a bit, grabbed his little 5lb poodle and almost killed it.
Police didn't do a thing and my mom had to work really hard to keep my grandpa from taking her shotgun and shooting the dog that had attacked his.

I've also had chihuahuas freaking chase me down a whole street. One would have actually bitten me if I hadn't kicked it in the head, and all the others have stayed there barking after I either rode my bike into some and crashed, finally stopped and found something to defend myself with, or were called back by their owners.

I'm fine with people liking this breed or that breed of dog, but pits and chihuahuas are breeds I'm very wary of, more so than even the German Shepards across and down the street.
 
I agree with Eric, with the state of our nation this law is a waste of time and money! They should be focusing on the real issues, even at city and county levels.

I think everyone who has had a bad experience with something has a legit reason for their phobia but with snakes the majority of people have never seen a live snake, outside of a zoo, and their fear comes from stories they have heard, media clips, and movies. At Thanksgiving I had all of our friends and family over for a going away Thanksgiving dinner for my exboyfriends son, he had just come home from Basic Training and was leaving again that nightm not knowing how long it would be before we would see him again. All of the adults stayed to one side of the room when I brought out a corn for the kids to hold. My snow stripe male is the so quiet and calm, the kids loved him. Not one adult would even come near.

As for chichuahuas, shoot come to my house and I have two who will litterally lick you to death. The key to any breed is to socialize and train it. If you keep any dog locked up away from people, or tied up in the back yard, then they will be scared or aggressive towards people.


@dan: Not really. I see a pit bull or chihuahua and I freak out. Every loose pit bull in this area was aggressive and there's a pit bull next door that's turned aggressive because of a chihuahua mix they got that they didn't train and is a horrible little dog. They bark at EVERYTHING and always have an aggressive manor. The pit used to be very very sweet and would roll over for pettings from me.
A year ago he bit my dad. Nothing bad, but still. Last summer, the two dogs bolted across the street and attacked my neighbor's dad's German Shepard. I don't think any serious damage was done, but the owners of the pit and mutt should have realized they needed to do something about it.

My grandpa has a neighbor who had her son living with her. Well, her son has/had a pit bull. From what I remember, and this was within the last year, the dog ran off their property, onto my grandpa's property and up the deck a bit, grabbed his little 5lb poodle and almost killed it.
Police didn't do a thing and my mom had to work really hard to keep my grandpa from taking her shotgun and shooting the dog that had attacked his.

I've also had chihuahuas freaking chase me down a whole street. One would have actually bitten me if I hadn't kicked it in the head, and all the others have stayed there barking after I either rode my bike into some and crashed, finally stopped and found something to defend myself with, or were called back by their owners.

I'm fine with people liking this breed or that breed of dog, but pits and chihuahuas are breeds I'm very wary of, more so than even the German Shepards across and down the street.
 
Unfortunately a lot of this fear can be religion based (Garden of Eden). I had an deeply religious aunt who just the knowledge a snake was near could send her into a blind panic. that kind of fear can almost never be reconditioned.
 
'Tis why I'm becoming a teacher. My philosophy should be "to educate people about about living a healthy lifestyle, by participating in Physical activity regularly, eating nutritious foods and .... teach people about owning snakes" :)

Lol! Sounds reasonable to me!

I am constantly haranguing people into meeting my snakes, especially if they have a fear of snakes.

One person at a time!

I took a couple of my snakes to a Girl Scout troop activity- let me tell you, those girls warmed up to the snakes really quickly. I hope that ends up being a group of people who understand that snakes are harmless.
 
From an unbiased standpoint I say religion is no excuse to hate snakes. The devil took a form of a snake in the bible. So what? He disguised himself as something that was a common sight and could be trusted. Whether you believe in it or not it doesn't make a difference.
 
I was just talking about Pitt Bulls last night!

Did you know that they used to be bred as "nanny dogs"?
(Think Peter Pan). The Victorians bred them to keep the small children company.

Pitt Bulls make great fight dogs because they will do whatever their human tells them to, including kill another dog- even if their owner treats them horribly!

Vick's Pitts were rehabilitated and adopted out here in Utah, at the Good Friends Animal Sanctuary.
Pitts are so awesome that even though they have been treated horrifically their entire lives, they can be retrained and become docile, loving pets.
Yet people are scared of them because of the media. ARGH!

In Utah, if a dog bites, even the first time, it is pretty much put on death row. Incentive to keep your dog from attacking people.
 
Hey, if it's got a mouth (or a beak), it can bite. That's all there is to it. Dog knows, in most cases I'd rather be bitten by a non-venomous snake than by one of my macaws! LOL!

It's all about education. In this case, the media is "educating" the public to be scared of everything. It makes money for them, and they're not about to stop making money if they can help it. Unfortunately, they get to choose what to "report" and what side of any issue to emphasize and/or sensationalize. What's a "regular joe" going to do if the only things they ever hear about snakes is that it's dangerous and/or evil? And then if ANYONE puts an "and think of the children!" spin on it, you can almost guarantee that panic and hysteria are about to ensue. IMHO, that's why it's so important that we, as a community based on our love of all things scaly, get the word out however we can that the vast majority of snakes and other reptiles are not looking to eat your child, even if it sometimes seems that we're fighting an uphill battle. Thank Dog for groups like USARK, who have our interests at heart.

Insects and arachnids, though? That's a whole 'nother story! *grins*
 
I wonder how it ended up in the soccer field. Nice little bp.

I know this is really late, but this comment made me think of a stupid "corny" joke immediatley..... How did he end up in a SOCCER field?!? He was obviously a SOCCER BALL!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

As for the rottweiler comments - I work at a vet clinic as a tech, and I gotta say, before the clinic I LOVED rotties and was a little nervous around some pits. After 6 years though, I can now honestly say I can't stand and don't trust rotties and I LOVE pits! The rotties are huge BABIES that start to cry or bite defensively the minute you do something that might hurt or they don't like, they have almost NO trust of strangers. Pits on the other hand seem to be ridiculously stable and understand that you are trying to HELP them no matter how much pain they have to endure. It's shocking how much I admire the pits for their steady heads and actions...

And now the comment about pits being raised as "nanny dogs" I think you may be mistaken? That is the breed standard for English Staffordshire Bull Terriers. They are the smaller even more trustworthy of the pit breeds and are still frequently called simply "nanny dogs" in England from what I hear.

I also found it interesting to watch a documentry about those fighting pits taken from that football players house. There was close to 50 dogs and I think it was only 3 that had to be euthanized because they didn't pass standards for adoption. One persons "THEORY" was that when dogs are used in fighting rings they have to show absolutely ZERO aggression to the humans. If they did they would often be euthanized (ie. shot) because it would be too dangerous for the referees/handlers to get in an collect the winning dog and remove the injured dogs after fights. Thus many of the active "fighting" lines of pits may actually be that much more "trustworthy" around people due to being culled for that temperment aspect. They sure have "hate ons" for other dogs though...

Rebecca
 
Don't get me wrong, there are good and bad examples of every breed, but for the majority...

Chihuahua = Barking Rat = Reason to have at least one good-sized snake (for me, my red-tail boa)
 
Rats on acid... :laugh:

As for the rottweiler comments - I work at a vet clinic as a tech, and I gotta say, before the clinic I LOVED rotties and was a little nervous around some pits. After 6 years though, I can now honestly say I can't stand and don't trust rotties and I LOVE pits! The rotties are huge BABIES that start to cry or bite defensively the minute you do something that might hurt or they don't like, they have almost NO trust of strangers. Pits on the other hand seem to be ridiculously stable and understand that you are trying to HELP them no matter how much pain they have to endure. It's shocking how much I admire the pits for their steady heads and actions...

I agree to this.

There was one pit that I saw walking down the street without a leash by a woman and probably her child, and I don't think I would have been too nervous to meet it. The dog was also a female though, so that may have helped with my thoughts on it.
 
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