I don't know if it's gotten news coverage nationwide or not, but San Francisco has had another person killed by a pitbull... but this time, the 12 year old boy was killed by HIS OWN DOG!  Supposedly this dog was friendly to everyone in the neighborhood and nobody knows why he did that.

I've heard so many people say pitbulls are good dogs, and they just get a bad rap..  I've known alot of people who have had good experiences with pitbulls.  It just seems like whenever someone is killed by a dog, it's usually a pitbull.

I was just wondering if anyone has had any experience with pitbulls or any idea what would make a dog do this?

Pit Bulls Were bred from two aggressive dogs for the sole purpose of killing bears. That's BEARS. This aggressiveness is a result of hundreds, if not thousands, of years of psychological and physical abuse in order to create a certain ruthless cruelty in the dog.. They serve their purpose quite well.

I saw a hilarious parody-news story:

Heroic Pit Bull Journeys 1,200 Miles To Attack Owner.  ;D

Pit Bulls Were bred from two aggressive dogs for the sole purpose of killing bears. That's BEARS. This aggressiveness is a result of hundreds, if not thousands, of years of psychological and physical abuse in order to create a certain ruthless cruelty in the dog.. They serve their purpose quite well.

I saw a hilarious parody-news story:

Heroic Pit Bull Journeys 1,200 Miles To Attack Owner.  ;D


Wow, I didn't know they were used to kill bears.  That's kind of scary.  Well, this kid was home alone when the dog attacked him, so nobody really knows what triggered it.

Geez, that's a real tragedy - especially since it was his own dog, you don't really expect that kind of thing to happen. :(

I've never had a dog in my life, but I've always been a teeny bit scared of those pitbulls that bark loudly and just "look" like they wanna attack you. They're definitely the most aggresive, based on what I've seen.

This one time a few years back, I was walking home from high school (I live only a mile from my old HS) just a happy camper, totally minding my own business. I wasn't really paying attention since I'd walked down Curtner on this route so many times, I must've got a little too close to this yard. Next thing I know, I'm caught off guard by an ear-piercing "WOOOF WOOOF GRRRRR!"

I basically screamed like Homer Simpson and hightailed it out of there. :D

Thankfully there were many other streets I could get home on in the future, LOL!

My theory is, Pitbulls CAN be properly trained - many likely are, but they're "wild" dogs at heart, so sometimes they're provoked easily if they mis-percieve something?

I basically screamed like Homer Simpson and hightailed it out of there. :D

My theory is, Pitbulls CAN be properly trained - many likely are, but they're "wild" dogs at heart, so sometimes they're provoked easily if they mis-percieve something?


;D Gotta love the Homer Simpson scream.. I use it quite frequently.

But yeah, pitbulls can be trained.. but it takes a lot to train all the generations of abuse. They'll never fully come off it, but they probably will become very unlikely to digress back. And a trusting, loving trainer never hurts.

Pit bulls are illegal in the UK and have been for many years.  It seemed that too many children were killed or seriously injured by them in quite a short space of time.  In 1991 the Dangerous Dogs act went through parliament and outlawed 4 breeds of dogs.  I can't remember the exact time scalle but people basically had to have their dogs put down.  Some had legal battles to prove (or not) that their wasn't actually a pit bull (or other illegal dog) and that they shouldn't have to put it down.

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/welfare/domestic/dogs.htm

I hate those euthanasia laws... it's downright sick. I once watched a show where they killed 8 puppies because they were born to a pitbull.. WTF?

I don't think people should have pitbulls as pets



Erin :)

Its a topical subject over here in Aus too

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Second-pitbull-attack-in-three-days/2005/05/02/1114886288744.html

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/All-dogs-a-threat-coroner-warns/2004/10/07/1097089498063.html

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Dangerous-dog-ban-met-with-delight-and-disgust/2005/05/03/1115092487393.html

http://smh.com.au/articles/2005/06/03/1117568381334.html

http://smh.com.au/articles/2005/06/03/1117568350044.html

http://www.greenweb.com.au/kidsafe/html/dangerous_dogs.html

http://heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,15376219%255E1702,00.html

I was attacked by 3 Alsatians when I was 11. I was on a paper route and they leapt over an 8 foot fence and raced across a road to maul me.

My dad took over my route and he was attacked days later by the same dogs. He ended up taking the woman to court and forcing her to have the dogs put down.  People from her street attended court and said they had all been terrified for months but no one had the guts to report her.

A year after that I was attacked by a chiuawa (spelling ??) and would you believe the injuries were actually worse than the 3 alsatians.

A couple of years ago I witnessed my friends beloved Alaskan Malamutes (that naturally I was terrified of !!) leap over a fence, maul a smaller dog to death and tear shreds off its owners legs. My friend put the dogs in the car, took them straight to a vet and put the down immediately.

Another friend had a Rottweiler for ten years - he was a big sooky bub of a dog than even I learned to be comfy around (he learned to respect my fear!). But then my friend had a baby - and the dog got jealous and attacked my friend. She could bear t have him put down - so he went to live on a farm

Yet another friend has a dalmation. Again it was a normal dog for about 8 years. Then my friend had a baby. She was hanging out the washing one day and turned to see the dog walking across the yard dragging the baby with its head in its mouth. Poor little thing had bite marks all over her head. That dog didnt get put down - but it is no longer the "pet" - it lives in a run outside and is solely there for guard duties.

And the girl that sits next to me was attacked by a family dog (I forget what breed) on Christmas Day.

None of these were pit bulls.

While I agree that certain dogs have been bred to be aggressive and yes should probably be bred out - the above just in my circle of friends, shows that basically any dog can and will have a personality change and attack someone - and yes it can be for no reason.

I think I will stay a cat person personally. At least they apologise afer they scratch you !!  All nice and drooly and purry.

I don't think people should have pitbulls as pets


Then what do you propose we do? Kill them all?

As a person who's been attacked by dogs three times, I think that breeds that has aggressive tendencies should not be pets..especially pitbulls.

I would never think of having one of those dogs as pets. especially if I had children.

There have been masses of attacks on kids in the UK too by those vicious pitbull mutts - I say they shouldn't exist as a breed at all.

ps sorry if anyone loves them.

I think it is a tragedy when a person (especially an innocent one) is attacked by an animal.  But I can't help but wonder if it is simply a small sort of payback.

People kill animals every day, who are guilty of nothing but being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Dogs, cats, whales, bears, deer, ducks, you name it, we (the human race) kill 'em.  Yet, when one person is injured or killed by an animal, there is a public outrage.

I'm no PETA enthusiast or anything, but I do feel that there is a payback for everything.  Or more commonly phrased, "What comes around goes around."

Just a thought.

There have been masses of attacks on kids in the UK too by those vicious pitbull mutts - I say they shouldn't exist as a breed at all.

ps sorry if anyone loves them.


They are horrifying!! I have a toddler and live in the city. There are pitbulls and other dogs everywhere. When children are strapped into strollers they are at dog height. I jay-walk to cross the street to avoid them.

Well,it did say the dogs were not neutered.That is always recommended by behavior expertsbecause most animals,not just dogs,get aggressive when in heat or looking for a mate.It also keeps them from getting certain diseases like cancer of the reproductive organs.Any dog not being bred needs to be fixed.

Well,it did say the dogs were not neutered.That is always recommended by behavior expertsbecause most animals,not just dogs,get aggressive when in heat or looking for a mate.It also keeps them from getting certain diseases like cancer of the reproductive organs.Any dog not being bred needs to be fixed.


Yes, I agree - they should be fixed and if the owners aren't experienced, they should take their dogs to obedience training

This type of 'debate' really set my teeth on edge...

The pit bull as a breed was around for almost a hundred years with no problems. The most decorated dog in WWI was a pit bull. The dog on the Little Rascals series was a pit bull. In Britain they were often called 'nanny dogs' because they were expected to guard and watch out for the children. The dogs were gentle, loyal, and eager to obey and please.

Traditionally, pit bulls that were used in dog fighting were trained to be dog-aggressive, not people-agressive. A dog that was people-aggressive made a bad fighting dog, because in a dog fight the animal has to be able to not only interact well with the owner, but had to not pose a danger to other dog owners and onlookers.

The problem today is several-fold. Pit bulls have become a status symbol among gang members and are routinely abused and trained to fight. And even then, 95% of those that are raised as fighting dogs and are removed from abusive situations are non-agressive to humans and are wagging their tails when the SPCA people come to collect them. In fact, many persons who illegally raise and fight pit bulls keep a Rottweiler or a German Shepherd to 'guard' the pit bulls from being stolen, as the pit bulls will usually go quite passively with a stranger.

Aggressive dog laws are not going to stop the problem. If all pit bulls were outlawed and destroyed tomorrow, the gang members would switch to bull terriers. Then when those were outlawed and destroyed, they would switch to bull mastiffs. Etc. etc....

NO dog, regardless of breed should ever be considered safe unsupervised around a child. My mother-in-law tells a story of a child she knew growing up who had a collie that accompanied her everywhere. One day for no apparent reason the collie attacked and killed the child. My close friend's gentle and personable cocker spaniel savagely bit her mother one day because she nudged the dog to go out the door a bit faster in the morning. I recently spoke to an Animal Control person who said the largest amount of complaints they get in California regarding dog bites, dog attacks and aggressive animals is from Chows and Akitas.

And my advice for a young couple planning on eventually starting a family? Do not get a dog if you plan on having a baby in the future. Dogs should be considered members of the family, and yes, unfortunately, they do get jealous. So many dogs get put down or taken to the pound because the people are too dumb to realize that Rover is going to be jealous of Junior.... :(

And yes, as you may have guessed, I own a pit bull. He sleeps with my 82 year old mother-in-law. Our cat comes up and snuggles with him. If a burgler ever broke in while we were out, I can guarantee the d*mn dog would wag his tail while the guy stole everything in the house... ::)



Dudley with my husband's best friend:

http://webs.lanset.com/azazella/Bono%20&%20Dudley2.jpg

Then what do you propose we do? Kill them all?



no...but people who have children should NOT have these dogs as pets...and people who own them should make sure they are far away from any child in the area.


Erin :)

another nasty pit bull attack in Aus this week.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,15793371-1243,00.html

Pit Bulls are breed to be killers. Many are bred here to be put in dog fights. It's their nature. NO dog should be left alone with a child. Kids tend to tease dogs or get into their face.

We have a Chow Chow. They tend to be mean. With our family she is fine but towards strangers she will bite.  For some reason the kids in our neighborhood want to tease her when she is outside tied up. One kid in particular got her ankle bit by dancing in front of her teasing her. She got a few stitches and should be thankful the dog did not break off the chain. Little brat! I don't feel bad for her. Still, you are responsible and we had to pay a fine and quarantine the dog. 

Then the other day, this little boy was ridding his back down through the yard past the dog!! WTF? THROUGH OUR YARD!! Now if he gets bit, we are still responsible.  >:( My mom even went to the kids mom and told her about him teasing the dog. The mothers reply back..ohh, he likes to tease dogs. OMFG! Some parenting. That little punk butt kid needs to get bit.

Any dog needs to be trained from a puppy. You MUST show them who is the boss. When My dog was young, I would put her food down let her eat some then take it back off her then put it back down.  When she did something that was bad, i would grab her by the back of the neck and push her down to there floor standing on top of her. It was not mean and did not hurt her but it showed her I was the dominate one. To this day, when I first greet her I make her lay down and show me her belly.

Oh Puhlease. They aren't bred to kill people!

A Pitbull can be a fairly dangerous dog, so can an alsation, a doberman, a rotty and a freakin collie. It dosen't mean they're going to attack people.

You get some punk kid prodding the dog, kicking it, teasing it, what do you think it's gonna do.. react? Hell yes, it's a dog, that's what they do.

I'm sure if we knew the 'real' storys behind a lot of these cases we'd find that many of these dogs have been abused, or at the very least teased by the owners.

At the moment i have a 70 odd Lb Alsation cross laying next to me (actually laying on my leg) She would never in a million years dream of attacking anybody, she once followed a man that stole my uncles bike about 5 blocks, just walking along with him. However, if i was to start smacking her around the head every morning i expect her calm and cute demeanour may change.

Perfect example. In South Carlolina (and this still happened when my mother lived there in the 70's) a lot of people would own Dobermans, Rotty's etc and hire young black kids to come and tease the dogs, thus the dogs would grow to dislike Blacks. The dogs wouldn't attack whites, but they would bark and chase after and black men or women that were in the neighberhood. Let me clarify. The dogs were trained to go after certian people, not others. The people they went after the dogs associated as being horrible to them.. can you see where this is going?



Like she would hurt anybody...