I Know Pitbulls Get A Bad Rap, But....
imax
Registered Users Posts: 691 Major grins
They make one hell of a flyball dog and from what I'm told they make great pets. My wife and I fell in love with this guy. What do you think?
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my daughter was mauled by a pitbull at aget 5, she needed over 100 stitches in her face... so, i don't care for the breed.
nice pic though.
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Andy, the 14yo? She's a beautiful young lady! I hate to think of the experience she had to go through, you too!
Nir Alon
images of my thoughts
:soapbox (gee...second time i've used this smilie today)
While the lighting and composition of the shot is solid, I don't like it because I don't like the subject matter. I saw an image on another forum this morning that was a studio shot of a masked man holding a large knife to the throat of a screaming woman. I don't care how technically perfect the image was, I felt the subject matter was unacceptable and violence toward women is a growing problem and should not be made light of.
Here's a snippet of pit bull breed history I found on the net...
From the Molossus descended a variety of dogs, including Mastiffs, Bandogs, Alaunts, and Bulldogs - so named because they were used to catch and hold bulls for the butcher to slaughter. Blood sports, including bull and bear baiting, gained in popularity over time until they became grand events. The Humane Acts of 1835 in England put a stop to bullbaiting, and dog fighting quickly became the new "sport".
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."-Hunter S.Thompson
This is a tough breed. As a lover of dogs and proponent of adoption (often visit shelters), I have a hard saying I don't like any dog, regardless of breed. It is a hard fact that the breed was designed not to be a good "pet". That being said, I have 2 good friends with pitbulls. One of them, Tasha, is the best behaved dog I have ever met. She never needs a leash, all my friend has to do is say "stay", and she'll stay put even when 2 other dogs come flying at her. She's amazing. But then again, she has spent every minute of her life with my friend and he has worked hard with her. The other is a mix with another dog, rescued - Jamie. He's a good guy too, but again, these friends are good with dogs, have rescued several, and know how to train them.
I get mad when I hear about pitbull incidents, because you know that most of the time (i stress most of the time), it's the result of neglect, poor training, or ignorance. Maybe there should be regulations against who can own pitbulls, not necessarily against pitbulls.
anyway, great photo! and back to your regularly sched programming.
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A little more history (and this is from realpitbull.com):
Feb 9, 2005 8:20 am US/Central
Minneapolis (WCCO) A woman fears her unborn baby’s health may be threatened after she was attacked by pit bulls.
Police caught one of the dogs, but now need to find the other to make sure the danger is over.
“I was thinking this is something that only happens in nightmares and movies,” said Maria Riley.
On Saturday morning, Riley decided to go for a walk down Plymouth Avenue in Minneapolis when two pit bulls attacked her.
“They started biting me and hanging on my coat and biting my feet,” Riley recalled.
Riley is six months pregnant and she shielded her unborn child, letting the dogs bite her back and legs. The dogs even ripped off her clothes.
A woman driving by came to Riley’s rescue, by allowing her to jump into the woman’s car.
“If she would have been a minute later…I would have been down,” Riley said.
Animal control and police caught one of the dogs and impounded it. The other dog escaped.
In the four days since the attack, the dog has been spotted several times in the area of Olson Memorial Highway between the edge of downtown and Penn Avenue. The dog is considered a threat to both people and pets.
The Rileys want the dog caught so it can be tested for rabies. Because of her pregnancy, Riley may not be able to get a rabies shot.
“Thank God she is not dead and the baby is not dead and they didn’t get to her throat,” said Nick Riley, Maria Riley’s husband.
The dog that was caught had a microchip because it had apparently been involved in a previous incident. When the owners were contacted, they said they had given away the dog and didn’t know where the current owners live.
Police are investigating.
Then again, maybe I'm just fostering stereotypes. I don't really care. My kids aren't going anywhere near a pit bull if I can help it.
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."-Hunter S.Thompson
Exactly. I don't have a problem with dogs that are properly trained and handled, and I don't have a problem with Pits. Lots of breeds of dogs have bitten, injured, even killed people. I don't see the logic in singling out one large breed over others.
Now, I will admit that some dogs can be dangerous even when happy. My neighbor has a Great Dane. Very well trained, the owner is a stickler for making that dog mind him and behave. But Underdog is so large that even when he is happy, he can knock you over, thus injuring you without any intent whatsoever. Another neighbor's Rottweiler is the same way.
People who own large dogs or aggressive breeds need to be people who will properly train their dogs and do what is necessary to keep them obedient. Sorry, but I blame the owners, not the dogs, when things go wrong.
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ETA: I love the shot btw! lol Great action capture, and the dog is a total cutie!
The reason that I posted this one was that in my opinion it showed the power of the breed as well as the determination. I could have posted any of over 200 pictures
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I took this weekend,but I chose this one because of in my opinion, it's beauty. This dog, loved the game. Loved to run, loved to play. He learned the game in just 4 short weeks, while others have trained for months and still do not "play"
As for the composition of this picture, I am curious how it relates to a picture of a man holding a knife to a woman's throat. I could understand if the dog had someone cornered, but the dog is running a course with a tennis ball in his mouth enjoying the game.
Below are some links to read for anyone looking to educate themselves on the breed itself. I'm not looking to change anyone's mind about Pitbulls. The information is there if you care to read it. I merely was stating as a dog lover myself,I own A Bull Mastiff, a decendent of the molossus you referenced, and a Beagle that we fell in love with this particular dog because of his attitude and his beauty.
http://www.pitdogs.org/main/html/history.shtml
http://www.pitbull411.com/history.html
Got a source?
Pit bulls still have the lead in fatal attacks at 66 mauling deaths between 1979 and 1998 involving at least one pit bull according to the study. Rottweilers were recorded for 37 mauling deaths mostly during the 1990s. German shepherds followed with 17, Huskies at 15, Malamutes at 12, and Doberman pinschers with nine.
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."-Hunter S.Thompson
:hide
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I'm bettin the odds are higher if your neighbor, or YOU own a pitbull.
Of course my odds are lower. I dont know anyone that has one, I never see them.
I like it that way. I am a dog lover, always have been.
Perhaps. But let's just look at ER visits and then tell me how likely it is...
"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."-Hunter S.Thompson
Nice shot
Although, I have to agree it's how the dog is raised versus genetics. I really am not fond of pitbulls
Also, I've have seen and read too many horror stories about this breed. I witnessed one kill a Harlequin Great Dane and another attack a Mailman (it would not let go of him even after it was hit on the head with a baseball bat :yikes The police, finally, had to wind up shooting it.
Although I don't agree with Cosmic's data, maybe it is due to a pure numbers difference. IOW, since there are so many more Labs and Retrievers, purely by the number of occurances, they may lead the "most likely to bite" list. But as far as which breed is the most likely to bite (and not let go
I remember when I used to walk the dogs with the kids, when they were younger. If we saw a pitbull, we'd load the dogs up, hop into the car and head home. Whether we had just got there, or were only 1/2 way through the walk, or whatever. It just wasn't worth the risk. As mentioned, there are some good ones that have been raised properly. But, for the most part, these dogs should not be around people, IMHO. Just as Wolf pups are really cute and playful, but can go "psycho" when they reach adulthood.
Just my opinion,
Steve
I can't find the original article where I read about dog breed bite specifics, but I found a couple more...
http://www.goodpooch.com/bsl.htm#banlabs
"According to statistics kept by city of Boulder Animal Care and Control, "labs" — as they are so innocently called — were responsible for an astonishing 18.9 percent of the 748 dog bites in the city from 1997 to 2003, more than twice as many as the next highest breed (German shepherds, at 8.5 percent)."
"There's no way to really identify all the breeds that could pose a danger," he says. "The ban on breeds is a very simplistic and knee-jerk reaction to a much more complicated problem. A breed ban only takes care of 10% of the problem. The other 90%—training, socialization, health of dog, the victim's behavior—a breed ban doesn't address those issues."
- Esteemed Veterinary professionals have stated that it is impossible to correctly identify the breed of a dog, without knowing its breeding origin. Not even through DNA testing can this information be identified. Very few individuals are qualified to make an educated guess, and this very rarely includes Veterinarians because generally, they do not specialize in specific breeds. Police Officers have absolutely no qualifications necessary to identify dog breeds, and have mistaken breeds such as the Jack Russell Terrier, calling them Pit Bulls during investigations of dog injuries. More information on the innacuracy of identifying breeds can be found at:
http://www.goodpooch.com/MediaBriefs/GPpitbulls.htm
For your own amusement, see how quickly you can identify the Pit Bull image located on this page:
http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html
I wish I could find the original article I had read. I'm still searching. It was an article from Health Statistics Canada posted on a forum I frequent.
~Heidi~
Do you have a link to this data?
As I was browsing for good sources (trust me I'm leery when it comes to info on the net), I also came accross quite a few sites that said Pitbulls were the #1 dog breed in America.
actually bagels are one of the major reasons for jump in er visits on saturday and sunday mornings. oh and here's one cure
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cb
Hmmph. If you wanted to show power, you should have posted this photo.
So Imax, how's it feel to have your thread hopelessly hijacked?
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