Fatal dog attack down at my dog park.
Rufus
dog park I take my dog to. I heard about it through a friend who saw
it in the news. He said it was a Pit Bull that killed the child.
This I find greatly disturbing because there is only one American Pit
Bull that is exercised down there and I have spoken with the owner
about how dangerous they are. I told her it would end up killing
someone and she sprouted the usual American Pit Bull society
propaganda bullshit about how "it is the owner not the dog". I told
her it is in the breed but she wouldn't have a bar of it.
Later in the year I spoke to a security guard down there who was a dog
handler for the Dutch army for 27 years and saw action in Vietnam as a
dog handler. He said, "I wouldn't own an American Pitt Bull for all
the rice in China. There is something in the breed." He went on to say
that the difference between other dogs that are controversial (like
the Rottweiler) and the APB is they go from being placid and lovable
to trying to rip your face off in the blink of an eye. He said it is
like a light switch going on and off and that there are no warning
signs. He said with the other dogs you get ample time when the dog is
telegraphing what is going through its mind so you can do something
about it in order to avoid the attack. According to him, with APB's
you don't get any warning at all.
You also might be interrested to know the woman who owns the dog that
took the life of the girl imported it illegally into Australia (as
these dogs are banned for obvious reasons). She told me she wanted it
for self-defence and if someone attacked her the dog would come to her
rescue. I told her she has more to fear from her APB than from another
person but she refused to listen. And so one stupid French woman's
paranoia has resulted in the death of an innocent child. I imagine the
owner will be sent to prison for it, a place where the people actually
are more of a danger to her than her own dog. She won't have her dog
for protection though. It will be destroyed.
Gelly
That's awful. There is a roommate here that has been bringing a dog
over, and I didn't realize it, but then I heard her say it's a pit
bull. I don't want that thing in my house.
Pierre
returned for a half price refund after only 4 months mainly cos my
family were afraid of its fearsome reputation. (My wife said: "Oh how
big is it's mouth! I'm scared.")
Pitbulls are very cute animals but it's better for city-dwellers not
to rear them as they need a lot of space, care and attention. If they
are bred well and properly trained, the pit bull will not turn on
people. But it only takes a careless owner to neglect her pitbull
which will quickly unravel the pitbull hence so many tragic cases of
pitbulls mauling people. It's not an easy breed to handle and unless
you're fully aware of all that it takes to raise a pitbull (eg you
live in a farm with plenty of space and you're fully aware of the
pitbull's nature/temperament), it's better not to own a pitbull. But
this advice also goes for any other dog - if you're not going to spend
time and effort with your dog, don't own one.
Rufus
> are bred well and properly trained, the pit bull will not turn on
> people.
Says you. Like I said before the expert I spoke to who was a dog
handler for 27 years would disagree with you. I don't believe it
either. I was lying on a banana lounge and almost got attacked by a
bull mastif / ridgeback X. I could tell it was about to attack me so I
stood up and adopted a more dominant stance. If that had been a pit
bull I wouldn't have had that warning. And just so you know, the owner
of that dog was a veterinary nurse and used to run puppy pre-schools.
The place where it happened was an idealic boarding kennel for dogs
and the dog in question couldn't have been better socialized. It was
allowed to follow its owner around all day everyday and sniff
whichever dog's butt it wanted to, and only socialize if it felt like
it. You couldn't find a better looked after dog and I almost got my
face ripped off by it.
I think it is foolish to think a dog genetically engineered through
breeding to fight is not going to fight just because we no longer want
it to. It IS in the breed. So you were wise to return the dog you
bought. I really don't believe in nurture overcoming nature at all. If
they have the genes to attack because that is what they were bred for
then eventually that gene will be expressed. I have to laugh with all
the statistics that all people who are in denial can say is the dog
must have been neglected.
Pierre
was an abused animal. But dogs are like people, they too have their
mental/nut/psycho cases. As soon as a dog displays these symptoms, the
owner should do the humane thing and put it to sleep.
Miki
> it is very rare for an unprovoked dog to behave aggressively unless it
> was an abused animal. But dogs are like people, they too have their
> mental/nut/psycho cases. As soon as a dog displays these symptoms, the
> owner should do the humane thing and put it to sleep.
I'm starting to think that maybe your reasoning should apply to
people, too. I wish someone would put _me_ to sleep. It would be the
humane thing.
Miki
Rufus
> it is very rare for an unprovoked dog to behave aggressively unless it
> was an abused animal. But dogs are like people, they too have their
> mental/nut/psycho cases. As soon as a dog displays these symptoms, the
> owner should do the humane thing and put it to sleep.
That is just not true at all. Dogs that are bred to be aggressive are
aggressive often whether they are provoked or not. What you don't
realized is the sheer number of cases where a dog was starting to
become aggressive and the owner was able to stop it from escalating.
The example of what happened to me is a very good illustration. What I
didn't tell you is that there were a pack of dalmatians present
moments before. When each one walked by me in turn they were
affectionate and placed their heads on my chest hoping for a pat,
wagging their tales and looking up at me with loving eyes. The dog
bred to be aggressive behaved the way they naturally do too, by
becoming aggressive. So I don't agree with you. Whether or not an APB
ends up attacking someone depends on how astute the owner is at
picking up on the tell tale warning signs and then doing something
about it. But why would you want to live with a ticking time bomb
anyway? You may as well just buy a dog that doesn't have it in it in
the first place. Then the only way you will be attacked is if you
abuse it.
The only appeal of APBs is their bad reputation anyway. If they had
the reputation that poofie poodles have very few of the current owners
would even be interested. I think people who are attracted to APBs and
other aggressive dogs because of their aggressiveness are just wankers
anyway.
Pierre
you in this world. God gave you life and no one has the right to take
it away. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself.
Stan Kehoe
> Hi Miki, you are a human being, unique in everyway. There is only ONE
> you in this world. God gave you life and no one has the right to take
> it away. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself.
Every dog is unique, too. So is every caterpillar, every blade of
grass, every virus. That means nothing.
Stan