Pit Bulls illegal??!!

[Briar Hopper]

It's like traffic laws. We don't need no more steenkin' laws. We need smarter, more responsible people. Seems like from all the stupid people in the country, it ain't only dogs that's gettin' inbred.

As for "pit bulls", are you guys differentiating between pit bulls and American Staffordshire Terriers? I don't believe they're the same thing. Close, but not quite. I met my first A. S. T. on a visit to Van Haisley's shop in Fairmount, Indiana. That dog was so sweet, it spoke volumes about what kind of good people the Haisleys are. His pulling trucks speak volumes at the track too.

 

[GLASMITHS]

UH OOOO

Andrew: PETA is going to be after you.

 

[GLASMITHS]

Briar

Perhaps re-read my post. These dogs that were in the pictures did not look like full blooded Pit Bulls. More cross breed and such. Without offending, the owners did not impress as being from the upper percent of the gene pool.



This is difficult to deal with, a whole breed of dog banned. In one case, 2 came into the yard where the child(under 10 yrs) was playing and attacked, unprovoked, and killed the child, if my memory serves me. There were several other instances also. Also keep in mind that this is a small community, country folks, and this could not have come about without a lot of support from the people.

 

[sdalton]

They breed Pits and Rotts like rabbits in Houston, and the results are usually a very agressive dog. The fences that contain a lot of these dogs are maybe 4 feet tall, and these dogs are kept in heavily populated areas with a lot of children. Like I have said, it is not all the dogs that are the problems, but it seems that those two breeds take the majority of the blame. This is probably because when a Pit and a Rott attack someone, there is going to be a lot of damage. When the Taco Bell doggie attacks, there isnt much damage.

And yes, the Rotts and the Pits, on the whole are overbreed which results in inbreeding. The Doberman suffered the same fate years ago, and the breed has health problems because of it. The same goes for German Shepherds many years back.



Pit Bull. Firearms are controled by rational thought processes, Pit Bulls are controlled by animal instinct, training, and emotions. Both can be deadly, but you can not predict when instinct and emotions will take control of the animal. The whole thing boils down to responsibility. The people I see with these dogs in the areas I work are using these dogs for fight and for show. These dogs seem to be an extention of their manhood, and to show people how tough they are.

As I am saying now, and before, this does not apply to every Rott and Pit Bull owner.

I have two children. Would I take the chance on owning a Pit or a Rott around them? Hell no. I value my childrens safety, and the safety of other children around. Pits and Rotts are just dogs, animals, tools for guarding things. They are not human, they are not children, and they are definately not worth the possible problems associated with their breed.

 

['956Wheel]

This one hits close to home!



There is a small group of "people" breeding Staffordshires who want nothing but a killing machine. HOLD THESE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE for their actions, NOT the responsible breeders and owners. I owned one of these "killer dogs" and he would get his dinner hand fed, a piece at a time by my then 3 year old daughter. Big lover boy he was!



SD, I will more than likely regret replying to your post specifically but here goes. The Am Staff or the Bull Terrier do NOT hold any "biting record" as you seem to believe/feel. The toy breeds bite more frequently that all other groups combined. I have in my home a therapy dog, Standard Schnauzer, who I visit rest homes with... . guess what... I know of 4 so called "Pit Bulls" and their owners who do the same! These are Delta certified, a one million dollar insurance policy is granted for 36 bucks a year providing your dog passes the required tests.



So in closing, stop calling them "Pit Bulls" due to the media hype... . read about them and watch the Little Rascals classics! That dog was a "Pit Bull".



More people die of bee stings per year than any other animal/insect encounter... . time to criminalize bee keeping?



Mike

 

[Briar Hopper]

Perhaps I wasn't clear enough? I love dogs. All dogs. I don't want to see ANY breed banned. Rather, hold the owners responsible. I don't have one now, but when I do get one, it'll be a Doberman like JohnRV4 has, or an American Staffordshire like Van Haisley has. If I can find one. I've been looking for awhile. As a pet and a loyal companion. NOTHING ELSE.

 

[sdalton]

956, If I remember correctly, the Staffordshire Terrior is the show style breed version of the Pit Bull. It is breed for its looks and not for its pit fighting. Or are they one in the same. In any case, you have good ones and you have bad ones. I guess I have seen more of the bad ones. For the areas I work, have a lot of dog fighting and a lot of innocents being bitten. I think they a beautiful dogs, they would make wonderful all around pets, if the agression was bred out.

 

[Pit Bull]

Originally posted by sdalton





I have two children. Would I take the chance on owning a Pit or a Rott around them? Hell no. I value my childrens safety, and the safety of other children around. Pits and Rotts are just dogs, animals, tools for guarding things. They are not human, they are not children, and they are definately not worth the possible problems associated with their breed.

Dalton, if I lived in an area with mean dogs and my kids were in any danger from them, I would get a Pit Bull like mine 85 lbs of solid muscle and moves like a cat. Then when my child was out playing in their fenced back yard they would be safe. A Pit Bull can protect your child better than you can from one of those mean dogs, even if you were able to set in the back yard with a gun ready. Dalton I agree with you that the ignorant loser that trains any dog to be mean is the problem. I think most of us are just saying you can't blame the dog. It's the owner and they should be held responsible.

 

[Koa Man]

I've owned Pit Bulls for the past 20 years. Never had a problem with them. Never bit anyone. Did kill a lot of cats that wandered in the yard. My kids have played with them unattended from the time they were 5 years old. I had a German Shepherd that was far more unstable and would like to attack friend or foe. Put that one to sleep myself with a . 22 slug in the head.

 

[sdalton]

Pit Bull, I agree that the dogs problems start with the trainer/owner and ultimately with the breeder, for breeding the agressiveness into a large portion of these dogs. German Shepherds have always had a reputation for biting. They were breed for that agression associated with guarding things.



My speed is more towards the Basset Hound. I had one for more than 11 years, and about the mildest mannered dog around, except if a stanger entered the back yard. Then there was just a lot of barking and growling. I might step up next time and get a Blood Hound.

 

[Pit Bull]

Originally posted by sdalton



My speed is more towards the Basset Hound. I had one for more than 11 years, and about the mildest mannered dog around, except if a stanger entered the back yard. Then there was just a lot of barking and growling. I might step up next time and get a Blood Hound.

Dalton

I did not go out and buy a Pit Bull, he showed up. Someone dumped him, he was around 1 year old and very sweet. Like I said I live in the country so people dump dogs out my way. My neighbor is a Lt. in the Highway Patrol. He sprayed the dog and he just went down to the river and washed himself off and came back. I brought him home and tried to find his owner for a month and then tried to find him a good home. All of the calls I got were aholes wanting to get a Pit Bull to go with their Rot or Mastiff, you have already talked about the type of person I am referring too. By then I had fallen in love with him and he had bonded with my Golden Retriever and my Border Collie. They make quite a group. It's funny but my Golden that looks like a pretty "Air Bud" is the one I have to watch around Kids, he is a very Alpha dog and if anything moves fast, or makes noise he wants to control it. The Pit Bull is like I said a sweet dog. But as a responsible owner all of my dogs are alway under control. I guess its a good thing I don't have any Kids I would keep them behind a fence for their protection as well.

 

[johnrv4]

I've had 3 Doberman's over the years, and every one of them have been great dogs. It seems like they were the most popular breed in the late 70's and along with the popularity came the bad reputation. I think it all boils down to the irresponsible owners that don't know the first thing about socializing a dog correctly, or they WANT a mean dog (and end up with one). After the Doberman's, the Pit Bulls became popular and so did the bad reputation... Then it was Rotweillers... Then along come the backyard breeders that think selling dogs are a great second income. They don't have a clue as to what they are doing(i. e. genetics) and you can end up with health problems, etc. I can tell from talking to different dog owners if they could have potential problems down the road. I have heard many dog owners tell me that their dog will growl at them if the dog is eating and they go near them... There is a BIG problem with the way that dog was trained(or not trained). I used to(and still do) take the food out of any of my dog's mouths, and they never objected in the least bit. If they did, they would have gotten a fast lesson in "Who's Alpha". My current Doberman, Victor, is a 112 lb. baby. . Ask anyone here that has met him at the TDR events. He is a great companion and loves attention from anyone that will give it to him. I'm sure though, in the wrong environment, that he could have been raised into a bad dog. Just my 2 cents

 

[Briar Hopper]

yup, Victor loves me. He remembers me at all the truck events, which I think is amazing !