Pit bull bans

My wife's pit/boxer mix went to the miles vet twice for being beat up by my blue heeler, a dog half his size.

Osterkraut wrote: Why are you asking about Pit Bulls? You want this dog:

That's not a dog, it's a tall, fast cat.

I keed. My aunt has been very involved in retired greyhound rescue for a long time now. I just think my pits are better.

The pit bull's status as the "badass" dog has caused them to be adopted by people who want a dog simply because it is badass.

An analogy.

An idiot can inflict plenty of injury upon himself on a Buell Blast. Give him an R1, and the likelihood of him causing damage to himself and others is higher, just because of the higher power. Okay, so the R1 becomes the scapegoat and it gets banned. Well, I guess Dudebro will have to get the GSX-R1000 instead. Similarly, if pit bulls were somehow eliminated, the vacuum would just be filled by another breed with similar characteristics. Maybe mix a Chow Chow with the generic street mutt.

DrBoost wrote:

pinchvalve wrote: (yes, I am on the side of the Pits)

I think they SHOULD ban pit bulls and anything like them. They are horrible, dangerous, malicious animals. I think they should also ban all typs of domesticated birds. Birds are closely related to dinosaurs and, if humans were alive back then, dinosaurs surely killed many of them. If humans and dinosaurs weren't alive back then, I'm sure dinosaurs WOULD have killed many of them. Do we really want to give birds the opportunity to wipe out humankind? We haven't even discussed ant farms and bee-keepers!

Someone made a documentary about that exact thing back in the day though. Flocks of birds attempted to wipe out an entire population of people

Ranger50 wrote: My wife's pit/boxer mix went to the miles vet twice for being beat up by my blue heeler, a dog half his size.

Sounds like my daughters pit/boxer mix. That lunkhead doesn't know he's supposed to be mean. He likes everyone, other animals included. Some other dogs display meaness to him, like they know he's a pit-mix. If he hurts something it's because he doesn't realize how big he is.

93EXCivic wrote:

Otto Maddox wrote:

Grtechguy wrote: My neighbor has a Staffordshire terrier. biggest baby of a dog I've ever met. Never barks, growls...nothing. Drools a little bit

They aren't the smartest dogs. They have the potential to inflict a lot of damage and they are average in intelligence. That can be a scary combination.

But they are smarter then English bulldogs and you don't hear of a lot of bulldog attacks.

English Bulldog's are some of the gentlest dogs you can find, the aggression was bred OUT of them on purpose.

I've got no problem with Pit Bull bans - though most communities that have "bans" really just require the owners to have an insurance policy.

Louisiana recently passed a suite of laws that make it easier to charge a pet owner (any breed) that allows his vicious animal to hurt another to be charged with negligence.

Google "Luna McDaniel". That was my grandmother and the matriarch of my family.

So-called aggressive breeds are the result of bad owners and 'flavor of the month' macho dogs for small penised owners.

When I was growing up, not too long after Chevy introduced the amazing Vega, the macho breed was the Doberman. They were everywhere. They were evil, terrifying dogs that would rip you apart at a moment's notice. Tremble in fear, you should, upon sighting one.

Then it was German Shepherds. And Rottweilers. Or poorly bred St Bernard's that had neurological problems. Or Cocker Spaniels that were nippy.

Now it's bully breeds, because most are being owned by kids with baggy pants who think it makes them somebody to have a mean looking dog with giant chains around it's neck.

Honestly, in all my years of enjoying dogs, the most annoying and untrustworthy dogs I've come across were Chihuahuas. I can't stand them. More often than not trying to bite me, and usually because the owners have allowed them a God complex because "it's so CUTE!".

I enjoy pit bulls. I typically can be found rolling on the floor with them or getting my face licked while admonishing them with baby talk about how evil and bloodthirsty they are. Makes my wife laugh.

95% of dog behavior problems are rooted at the end of the leash not attached to the dog itself.

Pit Bulls are the assault weapons of the animal world. Bans involving a loose definition. Lame

mndsm wrote: tea cup poodles and pomeranians are not dogs. They're footballs with legs.

Footballs if they aren't fat. I have a great aunt who had a pomeranian that looked like a furry ottoman. If not for the nose on one end, it would be hard to tell which side was which on that fat little dog.

More on topic, I don't have much experience with dogs, but the ones that were poorly behaved clearly were that way because of owner neglect. Or in rare cases because the dog was really stupid, but that's more an individual thing than a breed thing, except for yorkshire terriers. My brother had one, my friend has one, I've talked to other people with them, and they all seem pretty stupid. It reminds me of the 2 cats I had growing up- one was smart but vengeful, and the other was dumb as a rock.

93EXCivic wrote: The bans are mostly total BS, so any dog that they feel like calling a Pit Bull, they will. I agree it is total bs. Dogs aren't born aggressive they are made aggressive.

That is absolutely not true.

wearymicrobe wrote: You can train a poodle to attack if you try hard enough.

See, this is funny to me. Poodles were originally bred as guard dogs and it's actually quite easy to train them to attack. But because of their looks they're not considered a vicious dog.

Meanwhile, 60 years ago, if you wanted the most safe, reliable family dog you could get, you got a Pit Bull. The Little Rascals didn't have a pit because they were miscreants, they had a pit because it was the cutest puppy around at the time.

ReverendDexter wrote:

wearymicrobe wrote: You can train a poodle to attack if you try hard enough.

See, this is funny to me. Poodles were originally bred as guard dogs and it's actually quite easy to train them to attack. But because of their looks they're not considered a vicious dog.

I thought that was kinda funny too. Every poodle I've ever been around was a mean little berkeley. I've also heard that inbreeding has also caused them to be more neurotic and aggressive, but don't know how much truth there is to that.

Poodles are stupid. Ans yes, poodles are or can be aggressive. They were originally hunting dogs.

Ranger50 wrote: Poodles are stupid.

Not hardly. They're the second smartest breed, right behind Border Collies and ahead of German Sheps.

Of course, when I say "poodle", I mean standard poodle, not toy/teacup or any of those bastardizations of the breed.

In reply to ReverendDexter:

My parents have had 4 of them. They are stupid.

SWMBO brought home a toy poodle a few years ago. Owners couldn't take care of it anymore and it was on the way to the pound. Wife found out they don't shed so she brought it home. Supposed to be her dog but she really doesn't know that much about dogs and I spend the most time with it. She's a pretty good dog, loves to curl up in my lap and at 6lbs it isn't difficult. The yipping is annoying and she does it to everyone, even us till we tell her to shutup. Not the bravest thing though, she act mean standing beside me but threaten her back and she backs down quick. Squirrels mess with her in the yard. Not the brightest dog I've had but certainly not stupid, just creature of habit. Funny watching her try to dominate my daughters boxer/pit mix, not that the boxer/pit does anything, just ignores the poodle. Good thing my daughter w/the pit/boxer mix lives across town.
Smartest dog I've had was a black lab mix. Took 10 minutes to teach that dog anything and she had it forever. And adored kids, would let kids do anything to her and she'd come back for more. When my kids were little, their friends would come over and they'd all hang on to the lab mix any place they could hold, ears, tail, collar and the dog would drag them around the yard. When one would fall off, the dog would turn around and go back. She died of old age several years ago. Full blood labs can be a handfull but a mix seems to be calmer and smarter.

alex wrote:

Osterkraut wrote: Why are you asking about Pit Bulls? You want this dog:

That's not a dog, it's a tall, fast cat. I keed. My aunt has been very involved in retired greyhound rescue for a long time now. I just think my pits are better.

All good dogs, but my Aussie is so much cooler.

She's not stupid:

Pain in the ass sometimes, yes, but not stupid.

I think its that goofy haircut that makes them dumber. That looks like a normal dog.

I was ticked at my HOA where I rented. They said no pits, so I suddenly had a "Staffordshire Beagle" mix. What are they gonna do, DNA test her?

We finally bought a house where there is no HOA. Freedom at last.... until I try to get homeowner's insurance.

Listen, everybody has their opinions on every breed of dog. Some of the blanket statements that some of you have made saying that pit bulls are dangerous really piss me off. You don't know crap from crisco. All dogs have the potential to be born nasty or taught nasty. My Chihuahua will berkeley you up, but nobody bans that little bitch.

Dogs should be like driver's licenses in my opinion. All dogs should be innocent until proven guilty. Just like I get a driver's license until I run over an old lady in a crosswalk. But to outright ban one nebulous breed (that isn't actually a breed) is pathetic, fearful, not founded on truth, and just plain asinine. How many Cocker Spaniels have to bite someone before they're banned? It'll never happen because they're small and cute and haven't been villainized by media.

curtis73 wrote: How many Cocker Spaniels have to bite someone before they're banned? It'll never happen because they're small and cute and haven't been villainized by media.

My wife was berkeleyed up by her friend's Cocker when she was a kid, still has the scars on her face from it.

But how bad could Lady from "Lady and the Tramp" be?

You guys are correct when you state that other breeds of dogs have the potential to be aggressive. But not all dogs have the capacity to inflict the kinds of injuries that Pit Bulls can, hence the ban.

I have a dog and love dogs, but also agree that fighting dogs (the "pit" part of pit bulls) should be banned.

fifty wrote: I have a dog and love dogs, but also agree that fighting dogs (the "pit" part of pit bulls) should be banned.

Exactly... but what I'm saying is that any dog can have "pit" in it. My Chihuahua certainly does. Saying that the breed is the bad part is BS.

I will concede that the Staffie has been most commonly bred for pit fighting, and I will concede that "pit bulls" are a very popular breed, but to make blanket statements that they should be banned just ticks me off.

That's like saying Camrys are involved in more accidents than any other car so they should be banned. Well no E36 M3... they're the most common car on the road.

I wish people would just look at a dog as a dog, not a breed.

neon4891 wrote: But how bad could Lady from "Lady and the Tramp" be?

Dude... that bitch will berkeley you up. Ever notice how Tramp volunteers the meatball in the spaghetti? He's not being nice, he's afraid to die from a bite to the jugular.