I'm not saying there needs to be a ban or elimination of pit bulls, but the topic should be looked at to apply common sense. I am all for freedom, but at the other end of the spectrum of your question, should we be able to keep endangered animals as pets or have a nuclear reactor in our basement? I don't have the answer to either of our questions, I'm just wondering where the line of freedom and common sense should blend. Humans are the ones responsible for creating the specific breed of dog and sometimes we give ourselves too much credit for doing "something great". There's lots of things that man has made, whether accidental or on purpose, including modern diseases that we all could probably be better off without. We just need to apply common sense to it just like everything else.
I personally own two pitbulls, not my breed of choice but my wife loves them, I am constantly temper testing my dogs. I push them trying to get them to get mad at me for any reason. I have never once been bitten by them (minus accidental while playing with toys my own fault) one is hurt and has no solution to his problem and we know that can be hazardous so he doesn't go near anyone else period. People come over he is kenneled. And he rarely leaves our property. The other has tons of energy and I can push her to the point of where and non well trained dog would have bit me already and she understands not to. Also at anytime if I say sit while pushing them they stop on a dime and sit.
My neighbor has a pitbull. He's a house dog, raised around small children. In 7 years he has never shown any aggresion towards a single PERSON. But...the first time he ever got lose outside, he came straight to my house and tried to kill my dog.
This is how you deal with it. (Not pit bulls, by the way.) Dogs maul and kill Jogger, their Owners Charged with Murder - FOX 47 News Dogs maul and kill Jogger, their Owners Charged with Murder By FOX 47 News. CREATED 11:51 AM The owners of two cane corsos that mauled and killed a jogger last week are charged with second degree murder and owning a dangerous animal causing death. Sebastiano Quagliata and Valbona Lucaj were arraigned today and could get life in prison if convicted. Lawyers say in this case, it will all come down to what the owners knew. "When you have a dangerous animal that you know it's dangerous, then you start crossing over into the area of civil liability into criminal liability," said David Clark, a personal injury lawyer in Lansing. He says the owners are facing murder charges because they might have known their animals had the potential to kill. "You cannot see that dog as a pet, it's no longer a pet," Clark said. "It become a dangerous weapon similar to a loaded gun."
Stupid people raise stupid dogs. However, the consequences of raising a stupid Chihuahua are far less dangerous than raising a stupid PitBull, a breed that has evolved solely for the purpose of winning Dog fights. Also, most of the owners of PitBull fall into a category of their own, just like most Pointers or Lab owners fall into a certain category. We all look for certain traits in the dogs we buy. Pit Bulls were bred to attack and kill, and just like a gun, should always be handled as such.
I agree completely with this^^^ I don't like the idea of charging owners with murder unless they were actively involved with ordering the animal to attack. I can see involuntary manslaughter....life in prison...no.
I agree with this. Murder seems a bit excessive unless the dog were ordered to attack. Involuntary manslaughter definitely seems to fit the bill more so IMO.
My buddys Pit/Chihuahua got beaten up pretty good this weekend on our camping trip, had two vizsla lab mix's (Brother & Sister) attack her while we were taking down camp. She got bit in the ear, neck, and head but most were just puncture wounds. Just shows that any dog can be triggered at anytime.
Greg, here you go. Something like 30 years of data. The bean counter in me made me look this up. http://www.dogsbite.org/dog-bite-statistics-study-dog-attacks-and-maimings-merritt-clifton.php Looks like a pretty consistent pattern. Lots of interesting data on that site. None of it paints a very good picture for pit-types. Just an FYI, I asked a good friend that is a family practice doctor about dog bites last night. He also takes call in emergency rooms and said that dog bites are like child abuse in that they are a mandatory reporting situation. The centers for disease control compiles the data. If anyone is treated by a healthcare facility, the bite is reported. If not, the provider can be sanctioned and fined. In his opinion, most medical professionals would support an extermination of the species. Probably a bit harsh.
There is only 1st or 2nd degree murder here. 1st degree requires intent or murder while committing another felony, like rape, arson, etc. 2nd degree is anything that is not 1st degree. The penalty is life or a term of years. It's unlikely one would get life for second degree. Manslaughter is not defined by statute here, it's by common law. The term for manslaughter though is defined by statute, up to 15 years. Second degree is based on the "depraved heart murder" doctrine, that is, a callous disregard for human life. The question will come down to whether the dog owners had knowledge that the dogs were likely to attack. And I don't know if Cane Corsos have a reputation like pit bulls. I think the argument could be made in court that a pit bull owner knows or should have known that the dog could attack without warning. After all, pit bull owners do not train their dogs to attack people. The dogs do it without warning. An instruction for manslaughter is almost always given to the jury with a murder charge. Quite often here the charge is often open murder. The jury can find either, based on the evidence. Or maybe they can find manslaughter if the judge gives them that option. I will never understand why someone would own a pit bull. Take that back, I know why some of the guys in my neighborhood have pit bulls. What I don't understand is why some of the guys on a forum like this would own pit bulls. There are so many breeds of dogs available. why choose a pit bull?
I was raised with the american pitbull terrier. Since I was a child. I know of no dog that compares to the APBT. No dog as loyal, no other dog as eager to please, no other dog as driven. I think the issue with the breed is this....These are not your ordinary house dog. People get them and expect them to be a couch potato with their lazy butts like a poodle. These dogs have an energy level much higher than almost any other breed. They need high drive physical exercise EVERY SINGLE DAY. Without the burning of that energy, you get bordom. Bordom leads to anxiety, anxiety leads to unpredictability, unpredictability leads to aggression. My dog get AT LEASE 2 miles worth of exercise daily. Hiking, walking, running, sprinting. Heck she clims trees to get apples. I have ZERO behavior issues with her. She doesnt jump, she doesnt lick, she doesnt bark, she doesnt get in garbage, doesnt chew shoes. She sleeps on my one year old sons floor every single night. She is not a good guard dog. She loves every single person, even the people that broke into my home last year
I'm certain that everything you say is completely true. I'm also certain that pretty much every owner of a pit bull who has killed someone, not always a child, could have posted just about the same thing. And THAT is the problem. As I said, pit bull owners do not train their dogs to kill people.
First of all, "Pitt Bull" is a generic term that encompasses multiple breeds of dogs. Up until recently, I have never owned a putt bull in any of the varieties. My parents decided to foster an American Staffordshire terrier (one of the "Pitt" breeds). She is maybe two years old, and came to us pregnant. 11 puppies later, here we are. At 11 weeks old, the puppies have all been trained not to bite. NONE of them bite at all, regardless of who is handling them. The mother is a much more high energy dog, and you can tell she hasn't had much training, but she has gotten worlds better since we got her. People rush to stereotype breeds. Pitt Bulls were originally bred to be nanny dogs. Look it up. They DO have a higher protection instinct than many dogs, and with their high energy levels require more training than your average person is willing to put in. I grew up around Rottweilers my entire life. We have owned 7 over the course of my life. NOT A SINGLE ONE has ever even lunged at a person aggressively. We also know and are close with some Rottweiler breeders, and again, no issues. If people get a big dog and then do not take the time to be responsible about it are the problem. My current Rottweiler is 80 pounds, and one of the sweetest dogs you will ever meet. Friendly to anyone who walks in our house. She is great with kids. Ironically enough, she is scared of the 11 puppies we have at our house. If they run up to her to say hi, she will go hide. No aggression whatsoever, but she is quite clearly afraid of a puppy the size of her head.
Furthermore, I agree with the responsibility part of the owner. I absolutely think people should be responsible for their pets. If you are unsure of your ability to train and raise a larger dog properly, and research and care for their specific needs, then DON'T DO IT. However, just because your average Joe doesn't know how to raise a Pitt bull, or a Rottweiler, don't go coming over to my house and telling me that my dog is vicious and needs to be put down. I have home videos of my sister as a toddler feeding our 120 pound Rottweiler at the time kibbles one by one, with the bowl sitting in her lap. We train and socialize our dogs extensively, and they are all wonderful with people. I would stake my life on it. My pets are part of my family. Anyone coming to put down my Rottweiler against my will is going to have to do so over my dead body.
Such a dichotomy of opinions on this topic. Every instance of people defending these aggressive breeds have one thing in common, EXTENSIVE training against what they were bred to do instinctively... Attack. There are grizzlies and lions trained to wrestle with kids and not attack too, doesn't change the dangerous nature of their breed in general. I'm actually of the opinion that all these cases of training these dogs to be sweet bolsters the case that they are a dangerous breed... If they weren't, they wouldn't need to be trained to not be aggressive.
