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Dog attack

I am not even sure how to put in to words all the thoughts in my head right now about this entire thread.
I understand people who own bully breed dogs wanting the public to understand that not all pits (or rotties, or chows, or any other bully breed) are bad dogs. I have a rottie, a GSD and a wolf mix and all three of them are great dogs. I wouldn't want anyone to feel afraid of my girls due to their large size although I know they can be intimidating to some people. I cannot imagine my girls ever hurting someone, but I also keep an eye on them at all times because I fully understand that you can never fully know what could someday set them off and if they ever did decide to bite or attack it could be quite bad.
I also understand however that because they are larger breed dogs that IF they do bite, it is going to be much more detrimental to the person bit - up to and possibly including death so I can appreciate why people can be afraid of them - not just my dogs but any large breed dog.

I am sure if you looked at just BITE statistics you would see lots of different breeds of dogs responsbile for the number of bites around the country each year. I think the point that some people are missing on this thread though is we are not just talking about bites - we are talking about serious attacks resulting in maimings and death and the unfortunate truth is that most of those are by large breed dogs specifically because they are larger and can cause more damage than a small dog. Yes, small dogs bite - a lot - but they cannot kill an adult most of the time. I think that is where the disconnect in this thread is coming from. The pit owners keep trying to prove that all dogs can bite - and they are right, but what they are missing is that the people talking about banning or muzzles and such are talking about the attacks that result in more than just a bite.

I found this graph online (apologize I am at work and unable to attach it at the moment) but it clearly shows that most fatal dog attacks are by large breed dogs, specifically pits. It does show that smaller dogs have attacked and killed in a few cases, but the numbers are a huge difference.
Between 1979 and 1988 it shows 118 total (pit purebred and crossbred) deaths, 67 rottweiler, 41GSD, 21 husky type and keeps going down the line. At the bottom it does show fatal dog attacks also by a westhighland terrier and a cocker spaniel - one for each.
No - it does not address the circumstances which could prove a vital role in determining why these dogs attack (as mentioned in bad upbringing, tormenting a dog or if it was unprovoked). And I do think the media does sensationalize a lot of these stories as they do with everything else. Are they really going to say that a teenager was tormenting a pit bull when he was attacked or are they just going to say that the dog attacked someone. We all know the answer to that question already anyways...
 
Michael823 said:
I think that every dog should be at least leashed in public, aggressive or not, because even a friendly dog (off leash) can run over to a not so friendly dog (on leash), and serious injury can occur.
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I agree that if my little poodle was off leash and ran to any aggressive dog on leash and was killed or injured the fault would be mine.

But I don't think ANY breed specific legislation should be off the table. The communities that pass them have the support of their constituents obviously, or they have the power to abolish them. If it's discrimination it's with a species that doesn't have equal rights that I recognize.

That may sound harsh, but if you lived in my neighborhood, you'd understand a little more. I've actually driven out of my neighborhood before to walk my dog. I've carried knives on dog walks just because of the problem, which meant I was breaking the law to feel like my pup is safe. And I'm fairly certain that I would get hurt trying to protect him too.

I know many people are thinking "This crap is so frustrating because it's the idiots that mess it up for everybody!" Well I agree, but understand those words, the idiots REALLY are messing things up for everybody, it doesn't just seem that way.
 
Many types of dogs are incorrectly labeled as "pitbulls" or "pit mixes" by the media.

Let's play a game. It's called "spot the pitbull". A reporter, seeing any of the following three dogs, is likely to call all of them a pitbull, even though only one is. When identified as another breed, rarely is the story corrected. Also note that in headlines, you would see "Labrador bites child" and "Vicious pitbull attacks child". This is why bully breeds get banned, and other potentially dangerous ones do not. Media hype generated phobia.
 

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Michael823 said:
they are just the unfortunate bystander of poor owners that don't know about how to control their dogs aggression (or raise them not to be), or they choose to reinforce the aggression for their own pleasure.
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Do you have to raise/train golden retriever not to attack or even kill a human? What about a boxer? Or any other types of dog?

Michael823 said:
Every dog owner that has ever brought a new dog home has brought home a "Potentially" dangerous dog. Whether it's a Chihuahua or Pit Bull.
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When a chihuahua or min pin bites somone or so "bad dog" and put a bandade on it. When you get bit by a pit bull you have to be rush to the hospital and in some caese, your life depends on it.

Michael823 said:
And you hear about snake attacks more than attacks by deer, it's just the nature of the beast. I go by what I see, and every Pit Bull that I've ever seen has been wonderful. It's 100% due to proper training/raising.
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And you hear about pit bull attacks more than any other dog. Ihear there was a dog attack, I automaticly think Pitt bull. Pitt bulls are so dangerous b/c of that exactly, They are sweet and loving and the best dog in the world one minute,and the next they are tearing your face off, Literly. I personily know this girl, her son was at the grandma's house while she was at work. The cousin decided to come of with his dog,yes, a pitt bull. The son got down from his high chair and the dog bite his face. You could see his cheek muscle, you could see his cheek bone. He had over 100 stiches put in. He was three yr. old.
 
Part of an article from the Washington City Paper:

How dangerous are dogs? Answer: plenty. According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs each year, with 885,000 needing medical attention. In 2006, more than 31,000 people underwent reconstructive surgery following dog bites. Granted, you’ve got a much greater chance of being killed by lightning than by an attacking dog. But when you ask about dangerous, the comeback is: compared to what?

Enough chatter. I reviewed more than 20 technical reports on dog attacks. Some common themes:

• Identifying a biting dog’s breed is tough and often impossible. Several studies of dog attacks ended up with large numbers not assignable to a specific breed. Researchers in a 1997 Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh study could document breed in just 47 percent of cases. Breed identification is further complicated by crosses and mixes.

• On the possibly risky assumption the breed IDs we do have are accurate, three breeds keep rising to the top of the Most Likely to Chomp list: German shepherds, rottweilers, and pit bulls. A 1993 Toronto study found pit bulls accounted for 1 percent of licensed dogs but 4 percent of bites. More ominous is a 2000 study by the Centers for Disease Control looking at 20 years of data on fatal dog attacks in the U.S. Of 238 such incidents in which the breed of the attacking dog was reported, “pit bull-type dogs” were involved in 32 percent, versus 18 percent for rottweilers and rottweiler mixes and 11 percent for German shepherds and mixes. The authors caution that because there aren’t any reliable population figures for specific breeds of dog, we don’t know what percentage of each breed are fatal biters; there might just be more pit bull-type dogs out there.

• In fairness, some other studies haven’t found pit bulls to be conspicuously dangerous. I could probably stack the deck to show that German shepherds were the real menace. Also surprisingly bite-prone: chow chows.

• Much, but not all, of what we’ve learned about dog bites is what you’d expect: In most attacks the victim knew the dog, which was often a family pet, and the attack was close to home. Male dogs were more likely to attack; unneutered males possibly even more so. A disproportionate percentage of dog bite victims are children. Most attacks are provoked, with young children doing most of the provoking. Now for the outlying data point: One study found 94 percent of pit bull attacks on kids were unprovoked, as opposed to only 43 percent of attacks by other breeds. OK, one study, and provocation can be a tough thing to judge
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From americanhumane.org:
MYTH: Pit bulls bite more than any other breed.
FACT: There is no system in place to track statistics on dog bites and attacks accurately in the U.S., and many incidents are never reported.
The Centers for Disease Control study “Breeds of dogs involved in fatal human attacks in the United States between 1979 and 1998” explains the inherent problems in attempting to calculate breed involvement in fatal attacks.1 The CDC further explained that a major flaw in the study was the inability to factor in total breed populations relative to breed-related fatalities. The CDC concluded that fatal attacks are so rare as to be statistically insignificant in addressing canine aggression
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MYTH: Pit bulls attack without warning or provocation.
FACT: According to Karen Delise in The Pit Bull Placebo, the classification of an attack as unprovoked is usually based on the declarations of owners who are unable to understand canine behavior, or are too busy to have seen the signals dogs usually display through body language or vocalization. Dogs do this with stares; body stiffening; positioning of ears, tail and head; and growling, to name only a few. Pit bulls give these signals as much as any other breed of dog.2
Additionally, dog attacks tend to be a result of several factors that are statistically more dangerous than a simple breakdown of breed culpability. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, these factors are:
• Breeding: Dogs that are bred to be aggressive will be aggressive regardless of the breed.
• Socialization: Puppies need socialization to learn how to live in human society.
• Training: Beyond socialization, puppies need training so they will at least obey basic commands.
• Health: Some dogs bite because they are uncomfortable or in pain.3
• Spayed or Neutered: 97 percent of dogs involved in fatal dog attacks in 2006 were not sterilized.4
• Tethering: One out of every four fatal dog attacks involves a chained dog.5
1 CDC. (2000) Breeds of dogs involved in fatal human attacks in the United States between 1979 and 1998. http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/duip/dogbreeds.pdf.
2 Delise, K. (2007). The Pit Bull Placebo: The Media, Myths and Politics of Canine Aggression. Anubis Publishing.
3 See generally, The American Veterinary Association, Dog Bite Prevention: A Community Approach. JAVMA, Vol. 218, No. 11, June 1, 2001. http://www.avma.org/public_health/dogbite/dogbite.pdf.
4 ASPCA, Are Breed Specific Laws Effective? http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=cruelty_dogfighting_breedspecific.
5 See supra, note 3.
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MYTH: Pit bulls have worse temperaments than other dogs.
FACT: In a recent study of 122 dog breeds by the American Temperament Testing Society, pit bulls had a passing rate of 83.9%. That was better than miniature poodles (76.6%), beagles (80.3%) and collies (79.4%).9
9 American Temperament Testing Society. Retrieved January 8, 2009. http://www.atts.org/statistics.html.
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You know what though guys, 'what's a pitbull' is kind of a loose thing on it's own. There are 1000+ people out there that will tell you what they have (and breed, and fill the pounds with) are pit bulls. These are the dogs I see, and probably these are the dogs I'm talking about. I don't have any qualms with that semantic difference.
 
Bully breeds all have been USED to fight. But Pitt bulls were BRED to fight and are being continued to be bred to fight. I do believe that pitt bulls are good dogs but That is to much of a chance to have one. I hope ppl breed it out of them.
 
There seems to be a secret handbook out full of canned answers that pitbull owners use to deny that there is in fact some risk.
There will be no true dialogue until each side can verbalize some of the truths spoken by the other side, and that canned answers are disposed of in favor of real communication.
 
For those who say their pit bull is not like those vicious ones, this is a question of nature vs. nurture. What they are really saying is that they have nurtured the nature out of their pit bulls (that nature being dog aggression). We humans like to think that we have mastered our nature and are now civilized. But take the nicest, most ethical human you know and put him in the right (wrong?) situation and he can easily revert to his baser instincts. Humans are very rarely put into such situations, but dogs are every day.

Part of the problem is that the pit bull is a victim of his own success. The majority of pit bulls out there were probably not bred for temperament. The previously mentioned study also said that dogs that would normally have been disposed of because they were aggressive to humans are instead sold to supply the demand for the breed. Many pittie owners acquired theirs from a rescue situation and as such, have no idea of that dog's history. Indeed, many of the pittie defenders on this thread have said, "it depends on how they were raised". As another poster already mentioned, a dog can change completely when it becomes sexually mature.

BUT, as dangerous as pit bulls clearly can be, it really is not the breed that is the issue. There are a lot of attacks by them because they are the breed du jour of a certain sector of society that likes to train their dogs to be vicious. Take away this breed, they will use another. The laws need to target dangerous dogs in general and the bad owners in particular.
 
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