klr wrote:Cormac wrote:
...
If pugs were popular with the scrotes who currently think Pit Bulls are the bees knees, we'd be seeing lots of news stories about pugs attacking babies. Sooner or later, there's be a fatality.
Fundamentally, that is the point I'm trying to make. It isn't practical to follow their fashions by banning breed after breed. We should go after those assholes instead.
Yes ... but why are Pit Bulls popular with "scrotes", instead of Pugs, Poodles or Chihuahuas?
The same reason that 15 years ago, Rottweilers were, and before that, German Shepherds, and before that, Great Danes, and before that, German Shepherds. Pit Bulls would struggle with these bigger dogs, by the way.
Poodles have actually killed people.
And, how's this for a dog bites man story:
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/ ... taste.html
Springfield poodle with taste for trouble attacks pitbull; its owner, 42-year-old Luis Velez, arrested after alleged knife assault
...Sgt. John M. Delaney said the incident began shortly before 8:30 p.m. as a15-year-old male walked his leashed pitbull near 48 Benton St.
“During their evening walk the pitbull was suddenly attacked by a poodle,” Delaney, aide to Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said.
The 15-year-old, along with his 14-year-old friend, tried, but couldn’t separate the two fighting dogs.
The owner of the poodle looked out his window and didn’t like what he saw,” Delaney said, adding that the poodle owner then went after the two boys with a knife.
...
And the media don't help. They mis-identify breeds involved in dog attacks all the time. Invariably, they reach for "pit-bull" even when it turns out afterwards to have been a completely different dog.
They even think Bullmastiffs are the same thing as pit-bulls, and they're as different as can be.
To illustrate - another website ran the same story about that guy and his poodle, except they twisted the story so that it was the pit bull that attacked his poodle - which was factually wrong.
http://www.wggb.com/2012/05/29/springfi ... h-a-knife/
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB) – A Springfield man is under arrest after he allegedly attacked two teenage boys with a knife Monday night in attempt to protect his poodle from an aggressive pit-bull.
Around 8:20 p.m. Monday, a 15-year-old boy and his 14-year-old friend were taking the 15-year-old’s pit-bull dog for a walk.
At some point during the walk, Springfield Police Sgt. John Delaney says that the pit-bull suddenly attacked the poodle, owned by 42-year-old Luis Velez, of Benton Street.
http://www.salon.com/2013/02/05/in_defe ... ll_partner
Breed misidentification plays a significant role in the stigma attached to pit bulls. It’s difficult even for experts to properly identify a breed of dog. A study published in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science ($$) found that “87.5% of the dogs identified by an adoption agency as having specific breeds in their ancestry did not have all of those breeds detected by DNA analysis.”
That problem is compounded by media sensationalism. Karen Delise studied every fatal dog bite reported in the years between 2002-2005, and found that “eleven dogs involved in fatal attacks with no Pitbull characteristics were counted as Pitbulls, while their ‘true’ breeds were not reported, and three dogs that were clearly not Rottweilers were identified as Rottweilers.” That was among a total of 47 fatal attacks (by all breeds) reported during that period.
This dog was involved in a fatal attack and the media called it a pit bull…
According to Delise, this dog was reported as a pit bull despite the fact that animal control officers told reporters that she was in fact a Labrador mix…
This kind of misidentification creates a feedback loop, as most studies of fatal attacks rely on media reports for breed identification.
The media’s role in amplifying the public’s fear of pit bull-type dogs was evident in a study conducted by the National Canine Research Council in 2008. When an Arizona woman was killed by one or more dogs identified as Labrador retrievers, one local newspaper reported the story. But that same year, when a California man was killed by one or more pit bulls, the incident was reported “by at least 285 media outlets, both nationally (in 47 U.S. states) and internationally (in eight other countries). MSNBC, Forbes, USA Today, Fox News, CBS News, and ABC News all picked up the story.”
Dogs are not as simple as people think. Breeding does, of course, influence temperament and physical characteristics - but that is only part of the story. MOST of the story arises from how the dog is treated and trained by human beings - proper and correct socialisation and disciplined (gentle) training are critically important.
As regards "Pit Bulls", this is about as fair and accurate a statement about matters as I've read:
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-p ... -pit-bulls
In relation to the CDC research:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which conducted a 20-year study that listed the breeds involved in fatal attacks, there’s currently no accurate way to identify the total number of dogs of a particular breed and, consequently, there’s no measure to determine which breeds are more likely to bite or kill. In fact, the CDC says its own 20-year study is not an appropriate tool for making breed-specific policies or legislative decisions. Instead, the organization advocates “dangerous dog” laws that focus on individual dogs of any breed who show aggressive behavior.
Pit bulls aren’t all bad. They’re not ferocious beasts to be feared and reviled. Pit bulls aren’t all good either. They have teeth and the potential to use them, just like any other dog. Their powerful bodies and persistent nature make them formidable animals. As such, they should be treated with care and respect. They require a great deal of exercise, proper training and responsible management. But if you’re willing to devote the time and effort necessary, befriending a pit bull can be immensely rewarding. Along with their strength and spirit comes an inspiring zest for life and an ardent affinity for people. As any committed pit bull parent will tell you, beneath the brawn, most are faithful, fun-loving, affectionate companions. So before you make up your mind about them, get to know a few pit bulls. You may be surprised.
A 2009 study in the Journal of Forensic Science ($$), found that the owners of vicious dogs, regardless of the breed, had “significantly more criminal behaviors than other dog owners.” The researchers added that “vicious dog owners were higher in sensation seeking and primary psychopathy,” and concluded that “vicious dog ownership may be a simple marker of broader social deviance.” And according to the ASPCA, “Pit Bulls often attract the worst kind of dog owners.”
All of those human failings lead to poorly socialized and potentially aggressive dogs. It is because pitbulls are disproportionately favored by these kinds of owners that they're responsible for a statistically outsized share of serious attacks on humans. These incidents are then reported – and very often misreported – with breathless sensationalism by the media, and the cycle continues.
Meanwhile, advocates say that pitbulls are the most frequently abused, tortured, abandoned and euthanized breed of dog in the United States. Shelters across the country are overflowing with pitbull mixes. Because of their stigma, they're often difficult to adopt out; a ride to the shelter is almost always a one-way trip for pitties.
And here is another pretty accurate exposition:
http://www.anticruelty.org/nobull
From Companion Animal Solutions:
http://companionanimalsolutions.com/blo ... dangerous/
Because Pit Bulls were bred to fight with other dogs and had to be handled safely by humans, the exact opposite pattern was deliberately selected for: The dog would not inhibit its behavior toward the other dog, but would completely inhibit any aggression toward the human handler. This selected trait is closely related to why Staffordshire Bull Terriers and the early Pit Bull Type dogs are known as the “Nanny Dog,” considered incredibly safe with children. They are sturdy, insensitive to pain, handling and spatial proximity, and incredibly inhibited when faced with aggressive, threatening or intrusive human behavior.
http://www.pawnation.com/2013/02/08/how ... rous-dogs/
Of course, there's no hard evidence to support the idea that Pit bulls are naturally more aggressive or dangerous than other breeds. Myths about their super-powerful bite force and dangerous "locking jaws" are likewise utterly fabricated. Pit bulls don't even have jaw strength as powerful as other breeds like Mastiffs, whose jaws clamp down with much greater force, but somehow haven't cursed them with an image as killer dogs. The real facts show that Pit bulls are actually docile compared to other dogs. A study of dog breeds was conducted to gauge temperament by measuring skittishness, aggression and ability to differentiate between threatening and non-threatening humans. The results showed what Pit bull lovers of the past knew: the "nanny breed" was among the friendliest and least aggressive. Aggressive Pit bulls are almost always the products of abuse, neglect or both. It is irresponsible breeders and owners who are to blame for the breed's negative image.
http://moderndogmagazine.com/articles/w ... ulls/17294
http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties ... urned-them
