Are pitbull mixes safer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think owners should be criminally prosecuted when their dogs attack others. It would work better than a breed ban to encourage people to put more thought into getting a pet, what kind of pet they can truly handle, and encourage more responsible pet ownership.

I think owners should be substantially fined if they abandon dogs or if their dogs produce puppies that they cannot place with homes. Provide free fix/spay to anyone that wants it. It’s ridiculous that people are allowed to just put all these unwanted animals out there into the world. Take a genetic sample when you get a license and charge the owner. I donate thousands a year to dog rescue but would much rather donate to a sane system for making sure every dog is wanted.
We got out very sweet golden retriever from a breeder. My & year old can pry open his jaws to look at his teeth if she wants. He’s cool with it. I lost my key once and had to break in through a window while he was sound asleep in the middle of the night. He was cool with that too. Not an aggressive bone in his fluffy body.

We could also pry open our pit mix's mouth, pull bones away from him, strangers who were staying with us could let themselves in, we could put our hands in his food, he never once growled at any human in his 12 years on this earth. He was happy, kind, calm, loving, goofy. Your fluffy bred dog is not special that way.

Same as our pitt. I was shocked at how chill he is. From having small dogs as a kid who were never so sweet. But still I wonder... I cannot help it. How do you ever know, until it is too late. But love our pitt, and so do my kids.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love dogs! But don't get the appeal of pitbulls. They're not cute or in any way more attractive than other popular breeds. Why would you WANT a pitbull mix? I thought people just adopted them because the shelters are full of them.

True, we adopted ours because that's what the shelter had. And then we discovered that she was a loving, affectionate dog. And that's what matters to us, not being cute or attractive. Just a big heart and a cuddler.

We adopted a pit 6 months ago and he is so sweet and cuddly it is funny. I am a believer that dog breeds have natures, live a retriever likes to retrieve, a pitt bull was breed for fighting bulls. What type of character that has left in the modern breed I am not sure, but of course I wonder why this breed is one with so many toddler face attacks ( retrievers also high on this list).

Anyway, training is always a good idea.

Perhaps it should be required for Pitt owners given the concerns? Hell, golden retrievers too?

\

There are some cities, sorry I cannot recall which, where Pit Bulls were banned, then Retrivers or Labs took the place top of the list for dog attacks on toddlers. All dogs have this in them, I am a rescue pitt bull owner and love this dog but I am wondering why the bite rates are so high. Partly because the data collection and reporting is very skewed, yes, but I do of course wonder what is going on, is it the pitt bull it self or the pitt bull owners?

PP here. My intuition (for the two shekels it’s worth) suggests it is a combination of both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think owners should be criminally prosecuted when their dogs attack others. It would work better than a breed ban to encourage people to put more thought into getting a pet, what kind of pet they can truly handle, and encourage more responsible pet ownership.

I think owners should be substantially fined if they abandon dogs or if their dogs produce puppies that they cannot place with homes. Provide free fix/spay to anyone that wants it. It’s ridiculous that people are allowed to just put all these unwanted animals out there into the world. Take a genetic sample when you get a license and charge the owner. I donate thousands a year to dog rescue but would much rather donate to a sane system for making sure every dog is wanted.
We got out very sweet golden retriever from a breeder. My & year old can pry open his jaws to look at his teeth if she wants. He’s cool with it. I lost my key once and had to break in through a window while he was sound asleep in the middle of the night. He was cool with that too. Not an aggressive bone in his fluffy body.

God this is so pathetic. Do you also donate money into helping members of your own species?

You dont get to dictate how someone else spends their money. You donate where you choose, and I and PP will do the same.

Sure I can’t tell you what to do, but I can judge you for wasting your money and energy on dogs instead of people.

It’s a good thing your judgment only creates the standards with which you’ll be judged! Whew.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think owners should be criminally prosecuted when their dogs attack others. It would work better than a breed ban to encourage people to put more thought into getting a pet, what kind of pet they can truly handle, and encourage more responsible pet ownership.

I think owners should be substantially fined if they abandon dogs or if their dogs produce puppies that they cannot place with homes. Provide free fix/spay to anyone that wants it. It’s ridiculous that people are allowed to just put all these unwanted animals out there into the world. Take a genetic sample when you get a license and charge the owner. I donate thousands a year to dog rescue but would much rather donate to a sane system for making sure every dog is wanted.
We got out very sweet golden retriever from a breeder. My & year old can pry open his jaws to look at his teeth if she wants. He’s cool with it. I lost my key once and had to break in through a window while he was sound asleep in the middle of the night. He was cool with that too. Not an aggressive bone in his fluffy body.

God this is so pathetic. Do you also donate money into helping members of your own species?

You dont get to dictate how someone else spends their money. You donate where you choose, and I and PP will do the same.

Sure I can’t tell you what to do, but I can judge you for wasting your money and energy on dogs instead of people.

It’s a good thing your judgment only creates the standards with which you’ll be judged! Whew.

Lol what a ridiculous statement. Do you have the written in calligraphy on a piece of wood in your kitchen next to your “my kids had 4 paws” plaque?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Conversely, my shelter dog who for 10 years I believed to be a 'pit bull' (not actually a breed) is actually a 75/25 boxer-bulldog mix. All dogs are individuals. I've met Goldens who would rather bite a stranger's hand off than be pet by them, it just depends on the dog's early exposures and current management in combination with their genetic temperament.

This is such a disingenuous argument, everyone knows what a person means by "pit bull", just like everyone knows what you mean by "chihuahua", or "Old English Sheep Dog" or "Collie". However, if you want to pick this term apart, you can refer to "Pit Bull Type" dogs, which typically refers to four very closely related dog breeds: the American Pit Bull Terrier, the American Staffordshire Terrier, the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and the American Bully. The APBT and the Staffi are so closely related, they can be dual registered as AmStaff with AKC and APBT with UKC. Your anecdotal evidence of knowing a couple Golden Retrievers that would bite someone's hand does not change the fact that "Pit Bull Type" dogs commit most of the severe dog maulings and fatal attacks in this country. It is highly dependent on the dog's genetic temperament, and love does not change this. Pit Bull Type dogs are genetically prone to aggression. All dogs are not simply individuals, they are members of a breed that has certain physical and behavior characteristics. That is why you cannot teach a blood hound to guard sheep, or a Boston Terrier to herd cows.

This whole argument is based on the premise that all dogs are intentionally bred, which for most mutts is just so obviously not true. And even if it were - if there were a massive underground operation breeding pit bull mixes to fill suburban shelters - do you know how many dogs a dog fighter has to produce to end up with a handful that can/will fight?! Hundreds! And that is a human being specifically trying to create the most 'dangerous' pit bulls. I'm not going to argue with you that bully-type dogs are very strong; that many have high prey drives; and that their prevalence in shelters means that many of them are problematically under-socialized. But those are correlative, not causative, and could apply to any large-breed dog. Many rescues across the country are seeing a resurgence in problematic German Shepherds as those have become the 'protection' dogs of choice; personally, I don't trust GSDs around children. But I also believe that should problems occur, it is the fault of the owner/handler.

NP. Kind, responsible people aren't out there breeding these dogs. Pits are intentionally bred to fight, and if a pit isn't game enough for fighting for sport, some chump will adopt it from the shelter and let it snuggle with the kiddos, because they don't believe in genetics. For every Golden who would rather bite a stranger's hand than pet them, there are 10 pit bulls that would rather just kill that Golden at the dog park, then rip the face off your toddler. Statistically, they are far, far more likely to kill and maim than any other breed, and not every pit owner is a bad person or bad pet owner; it's just the breed's nature.



https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2018/09/13/americas-most-dangerous-dog-breeds-infographic/?sh=1fb597f962f8

Again, you are predicating this opinion on the assumption on the idea that the average pit bull mix that landed in a shelter must have come from fighting stock, or someone who is intentionally breeding them for what you've classified as 'pit bull qualities'. This is simply not true or even likely. Mutts happen the way they have for thousands of years - two unfixed dogs get together and anywhere from 4-12 puppies result. In many places, most of the loose, unfixed dogs are part or all 'pit bull', so shelters and rescues end up with a preponderance of unwanted, unsocialized 'pit bulls'. In some communities, the most common shelter dog might be huskies or chihuahuas - both of which have their own issues that can make them problematic family dogs for the unprepared/uncareful. If you're not comfortable with the uncertainty of rescue dogs, I can understand that. And there are definitely rescues/shelters who don't do their due diligence when placing animals, which is dangerous. But it's just alarmist and uneducated to claim that dogs that look they belong to a loosely-defined "breed" are homogenous in temperament and suitability to be pets.

Dog breeds are not just about "looks" and the breeds aren't loosely defined. Maybe you should go educate yourself.

I don’t need to “educate myself” on how shelters assign breeds to animals of unknown origin - I volunteered in shelters for more than 6 years. No one is genetically testing strays, and I can count on one hand the number of legitimately papered owner surrenders that came through my shelter’s doors. You keep ascribing a level of certainty/traceability and intention to the genesis of individual mixed-breed dogs that the real world just doesn’t support.

[Anonymous]

I feel like it must be the same 2-3 people hyping the pit-mix breed fear here. So many of us (non-tattooed, lawfully-abiding citizens) have adopted from shelters, and I'm pretty sure in ours there's a strong chance one parent was a pit or staffie. The shelter did lable her as "mixed."

Our dog sits on the sofa with us, including our kids, plays, sniffs, goes for walks, drops whatever is in his mouth when we say, "drop it," lets us brush her teeth, play with her tail and ears, comes when called and does the other basic commands well even with distractions.

She's just a dog. Not special one way or the other. We do not fear her, nor do we have any reason to aside from basic, "all dogs are animals, be wary" slogan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just don’t understand why shelters are so willing to adopt out pit mixes. I think the should all be euthanized. A neighbor last month walked her two pit mixes and she couldn’t control them as she passed a home where a poodle was napping on a porch. The pit bull mixes pulled so hard they broke free and killed the poodle. The lady with the pitbull mixes then hid her dogs.

We tried to adopt a dog from a shelter but the vast majority were all pit bulls or pit mixes.

Perhaps your irresponsible neighbor should have muzzled her dogs, perhaps she should have walked them one at a time, perhaps she should have trained her dogs better, perhaps there should be more legal repercussions for irresponsible dog owners. None of that is breed specific, none of it has anything to do with a shelter adoption and none of it is the dogs' fault.

You are wrong, and your attitude toward these dogs is endangering others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think owners should be criminally prosecuted when their dogs attack others. It would work better than a breed ban to encourage people to put more thought into getting a pet, what kind of pet they can truly handle, and encourage more responsible pet ownership.

I think owners should be substantially fined if they abandon dogs or if their dogs produce puppies that they cannot place with homes. Provide free fix/spay to anyone that wants it. It’s ridiculous that people are allowed to just put all these unwanted animals out there into the world. Take a genetic sample when you get a license and charge the owner. I donate thousands a year to dog rescue but would much rather donate to a sane system for making sure every dog is wanted.
We got out very sweet golden retriever from a breeder. My & year old can pry open his jaws to look at his teeth if she wants. He’s cool with it. I lost my key once and had to break in through a window while he was sound asleep in the middle of the night. He was cool with that too. Not an aggressive bone in his fluffy body.

We could also pry open our pit mix's mouth, pull bones away from him, strangers who were staying with us could let themselves in, we could put our hands in his food, he never once growled at any human in his 12 years on this earth. He was happy, kind, calm, loving, goofy. Your fluffy bred dog is not special that way.

Same as our pitt. I was shocked at how chill he is. From having small dogs as a kid who were never so sweet. But still I wonder... I cannot help it. How do you ever know, until it is too late. But love our pitt, and so do my kids.

This is a part of the breed. They don't warn, they just snap. Much better to have a dog that communicates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just don’t understand why shelters are so willing to adopt out pit mixes. I think the should all be euthanized. A neighbor last month walked her two pit mixes and she couldn’t control them as she passed a home where a poodle was napping on a porch. The pit bull mixes pulled so hard they broke free and killed the poodle. The lady with the pitbull mixes then hid her dogs.

We tried to adopt a dog from a shelter but the vast majority were all pit bulls or pit mixes.

Perhaps your irresponsible neighbor should have muzzled her dogs, perhaps she should have walked them one at a time, perhaps she should have trained her dogs better, perhaps there should be more legal repercussions for irresponsible dog owners. None of that is breed specific, none of it has anything to do with a shelter adoption and none of it is the dogs' fault.

You are wrong, and your attitude toward these dogs is endangering others.

No it isn't. Take responsibility for your pets. Don't put them in a position to make bad decisions.

[Anonymous]

Some of the rescues are ridiculous with their breed labels. I’m not the only one seeing bully breed in these dogs, am I?

“Border collie mix” https://toolkit.rescuegroups.org/javascript/v2.0/template1?animalID=16636982&key=Mqr6gy1W

“Lab mix” https://toolkit.rescuegroups.org/javascript/v2.0/template1?animalID=16633931&key=Mqr6gy1W

“Lab mix” https://toolkit.rescuegroups.org/javascript/v2.0/template1?animalID=16597272&key=Mqr6gy1W

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://newschannel20.com/news/local/child-bit-on-the-head-by-dog-in-springfield?fbclid=IwAR1Djq5vn6kWqf02Wx_-D12A6g_BlslcMM5qoZS8_iguSh7zItfbW2wluR4

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9376917/Boy-3-mauled-death-neighbors-two-pit-bulls-backyard-New-Jersey-named.html?ito=social-facebook&fbclid=IwAR1gR191sytxDQnMX1bqcF2DFeTfpp-Ohf6k00NW3mVluUmTtn4CX-F_Hjg

Two more precious babies in the past week, killed by pitbulls. There is absolutely no need to own one of these dangerous dogs. These children did nothing wrong, and did not have to die. The were literally torn apart by pitbulls.

This is horrifying. The tiny coffin really got me in the second article. When are people going to wise up about these dangerous dogs. How many more tiny children have to die?

The details in that second article are enraging and heartbreaking. The mother had already complained twice to the dogs' owner. The dogs had bitten other people. The photos of the backyard show stuff the family stacked against the fence because they feared the neighbor's dogs. And the dogs got into the little boy's yard anyway by digging under the fence. The mother was critically injured trying to save her child.

The dad was described as really hard working, and the family had just moved out of the city to their new house three months ago.

What a horrible, preventable tragedy. I hope they charge the owner with some kind of homicide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like it must be the same 2-3 people hyping the pit-mix breed fear here. So many of us (non-tattooed, lawfully-abiding citizens) have adopted from shelters, and I'm pretty sure in ours there's a strong chance one parent was a pit or staffie. The shelter did lable her as "mixed."

Our dog sits on the sofa with us, including our kids, plays, sniffs, goes for walks, drops whatever is in his mouth when we say, "drop it," lets us brush her teeth, play with her tail and ears, comes when called and does the other basic commands well even with distractions.

She's just a dog. Not special one way or the other. We do not fear her, nor do we have any reason to aside from basic, "all dogs are animals, be wary" slogan.

NP. But isn't that what almost every single owner has said about their dog before a terrible incident? I'm asking honestly. It seems like most of these news reports are about sudden attacks from very sweet, family dogs. The horrible case of that boy in New Jersey seems more the exception.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like it must be the same 2-3 people hyping the pit-mix breed fear here. So many of us (non-tattooed, lawfully-abiding citizens) have adopted from shelters, and I'm pretty sure in ours there's a strong chance one parent was a pit or staffie. The shelter did lable her as "mixed."

Our dog sits on the sofa with us, including our kids, plays, sniffs, goes for walks, drops whatever is in his mouth when we say, "drop it," lets us brush her teeth, play with her tail and ears, comes when called and does the other basic commands well even with distractions.

She's just a dog. Not special one way or the other. We do not fear her, nor do we have any reason to aside from basic, "all dogs are animals, be wary" slogan.

NP. But isn't that what almost every single owner has said about their dog before a terrible incident? I'm asking honestly. It seems like most of these news reports are about sudden attacks from very sweet, family dogs. The horrible case of that boy in New Jersey seems more the exception.

NP. They're perfect, sweet, loving, obedient dogs who love kids. Then they maul someone with no warning.

[Anonymous]

We have a pit mix and it is very calm and sweet. I will say there is one thing that is really wrong with the shelter system: many are same day adoptions. They want you to take the dog home and try it out for a couple of weeks. This is a terrible idea.

The first dog we almost adopted, also for sure a pit mix, seemed great at the meeting. They came to drop him off and he went ballistic. We ditched that shelter and looked for ones that actually allow you to visit the dog more than once or see how he is at your house before making a decision. We did this a bunch of times before deciding we felt comfortable enough to adopt. If someone adopted him in the meantime, we felt, so be it. But we hated the idea of being pushed into an immediate decision.

Finally settled on a dog that has been truly terrific. We can agree to disagree as to whether there is some ancient switch that will flip and we will be mauled to death. We are taking all the precautions. Training. Socialization. Spay/neuter (<---less likely to bite). I've had dogs my whole like (German Shepherds, Dobermans) and they are also considered dangerous breeds. I would rather give a sweet unwanted a dog the chance to live than have a purebred cocker spaniel.

Oh by the way we also adopted out son, who is now 15.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a pit mix and it is very calm and sweet. I will say there is one thing that is really wrong with the shelter system: many are same day adoptions. They want you to take the dog home and try it out for a couple of weeks. This is a terrible idea.

The first dog we almost adopted, also for sure a pit mix, seemed great at the meeting. They came to drop him off and he went ballistic. We ditched that shelter and looked for ones that actually allow you to visit the dog more than once or see how he is at your house before making a decision. We did this a bunch of times before deciding we felt comfortable enough to adopt. If someone adopted him in the meantime, we felt, so be it. But we hated the idea of being pushed into an immediate decision.

Finally settled on a dog that has been truly terrific. We can agree to disagree as to whether there is some ancient switch that will flip and we will be mauled to death. We are taking all the precautions. Training. Socialization. Spay/neuter (<---less likely to bite). I've had dogs my whole like (German Shepherds, Dobermans) and they are also considered dangerous breeds. I would rather give a sweet unwanted a dog the chance to live than have a purebred cocker spaniel.

Oh by the way we also adopted out son, who is now 15.

How can you compare adopting a child to adopting a dog? That is truly sick. Your poor son.