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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

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. [/quote]

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. [/quote]

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.[/quote]

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