I'm staying out of this one...

lol..

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"When two people agree on everything, one of them is not necessary" - Arliss

why aren't there laws that put the offending owners to sleep as well?

Couldn't tell you, I know if my dog or I ever get attacked I will make sure the dogs are put down and the owner would be sued the maximum to remind people their dogs are their responsibility

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Same here.

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"When two people agree on everything, one of them is not necessary" - Arliss

Seems like it's always the victim's dog that's the first target, and then they go after him/her when he/she tries to protect it. I guess there's a reason people like this breed for dog fighting..

Ignorance is bliss when it comes to Pits. Right now we have two rescue pits in our home - as well as three cats and a taco bell dog. And our four year old daughter. They are the two best dogs a family could own. Since we rescued both as puppies, we raised them to be family dogs and they behave as such - they would lick you to death before they even thought about anything more aggressive. They are incredibly loyal, take commands very well and are very submissive around other dogs - we have never had a problem. In fact, they are very lazy dogs. It's how they are raised and trained, not how they are born. Don't hate the breed because of idiots like Michael Vick and his breathren crackheads and rapper wanna be's. The initial post to this thread speaks volumes about the ignorance of the author.

Yes and no. It's a combination of nature AND nurture with all breeds. Yes, your specific Pits may be completely harmless. However, given the right training and upbringing, there are specific breeds (Pits, Rottweillers, Mastiffs, etc.) which can and will become very deadly weapons.

I'll give you an example. You can have a very ill-tempered Lab or a cranky Golden Retreiver. And so yeah, they can bite my 5-year old son and hurt him pretty bad. But at least they won't KILL him. They just do not have the jaw power or the genetic potential of psi (pounds per square inch). He'll go to the hospital, get some stitches, and come back to tell the story to HIS kids someday. NOT SO with a Rottie or a Pit. A pissed-off Rottie easily has the jaw power to crack and maul a child's skull. There is virtually ZERO fighting chance, like there is with a Lab or a Retriever.

Having said that, I am completely against legislating breeds. I believe it will never be effective. The real answer is to have strictly-enforcable muzzle ordnances. You want a Rottie or a Pit?? No problem: muzzle them up when you take them out for a walk. No muzzle? Hefty fine. Each successive violation should bring higher and higher fines, until the owner gets the message. I love dogs. But as a parent, I get very concerned when I see a Rottie 3 times the size of my 5-year old being walked un-muzzled, with jaws agape. One unfortunate slip of the leash and it's "lights out". Very un-neving.

Things never covered in inflammatory articles like this one:
The ACTUAL breed.
The living (abuse) conditions.
The lack of training/socialization by the OWNER(s).
The intent of the owner etc....

As proved by the world's militaries from Rome to Vietnam. The breed doesn't matter. Rather, the conditions and training are the final influence on the dogs. 'War Dogs' come from every breed. BTW, every 'War Dog' the U.S. Military turned out (that wasn't killed), was retrained and returned to the respective family, without future incident.

Some of you need to stop displacing your anger(personal fears) onto an innocent animal. Accept the reality, and deal with the humans responsible.

This argument is a Cop-Out. Your comments are sensationalist and make the argument that every dog is waiting to kill. ABSURD! ANY dog over 40# holds the potential. Some may appear better equipped, but MANY are capable. Read the article at the end.

Instead of an example, I'll give you some everyday facts. I have pulled a GR off my dog. Not a pretty sight, that son of a bitch was on a mission. I have pulled a Shepard mix off my dog, even an uncut standard Poodle. Over the last year and a half, 6 dogs attacked him. 3 were uncastrated. I have had my dog (Rottie) pull a Great Dane off my neck.

Of the dogs that have had a go, NOT ONE has been a Pit or Rottie. They were all insecure, improperly supervised, poorly trained and unsocialized males. They had a need to try and exhibit their dominance against a large male dog they perceived as a threat.

The media circus around Pits is a shame. It sells papers. The Vultures who proliferate the propagandist garbage should be ashamed. So many myths have been created. We are left cleaning up and sifting through the Dogma and hype, irrespective of the facts.

Even Cesar Millan notes the fallacy referencing how it was once Dobermans as the man killers, then Rottwiellers with the focus now being Pits. Check out his website as well. He is a well respected international trainer that speaks to the facts of the breed and not the shallow hype.

The following article is from the National Canine Research Counsel. It states that there were 10 different breeds involved in the human fatalities last year. To be fair with your statement, you would need legislation to muzzle every breed of dog that has ever killed a human.

"Dog Bite Fatalities Plummet 33%"

Dog bite fatalities were lower in 2008 than in 2007. Over the decades, the annual number of dog bite fatalities remains within a stable numerical range. These incidents, which are extremely rare, are, to a significant statistical degree, a product of dog owner neglect and/or abuse
Slanesville, WV (PRWEB) January 8, 2009 -- Despite the increase in the human population of the United States to more than 300 million, and the canine population to almost 74 million, human fatalities attributed to domestic dogs fell by one-third in 2008, over the number reported the year before, Karen Delise, Director of Research for the National Canine Research Council, announced today.
"The fantastically rare incident of a dog killing a human being was even rarer in 2008 than it was the year before," Delise said.
The Pit Bull Placebo: The Media, Myths and Politics of Canine Aggression The Council has identified 23 canine-caused fatalities for 2008, as compared with 34 the prior year. Officials investigating the 2008 incidents claim to have identified 10 different breeds or types of dogs in connection with these 23 fatalities, though experts caution that breed attributions are usually made on the basis of physical impression, and should not be considered reliable.
Delise points out that, while annual tallies fluctuate dramatically in percentage terms, the raw numbers have remained within well-defined limits. "Because there are so few incidents, relative to the human and canine populations," Delise notes, "a rise or drop in the number of cases exerts a misleading effect on the percentages."
For example, there were more incidents in 1990, 25, than there were in 2008. In 1998, there were 10. In 1999, there were 27. In 2000, there were 19. Delise, who, over the past 20 years, has investigated fatal attacks extending back into the 19th century, does not consider these fluctuations significant.
"Based upon my research, the number of these incidents is not trending one way or the other, Delise said."
Further, Delise points out that the fluctuations in both the annual total of incidents and in the breed identifications of the dogs implicated, pale before the constant factor that emerges from these incidents: the failure of owners to humanely care for and control their dogs.
In the overwhelming majority of the cases Delise has studied, cases extending as far back as the 1960's, the dogs involved were not family dogs, that is, dogs that lived in the home with the family. Rather, they were maintained outside the home, in pens, yards, or on chains, and/or were obtained for the negative functions of protection, fighting or guarding. Many resident dogs are also victims, to varying degrees, of human neglect or abuse.
The Council will publish its final 2008 report later in the year, following further investigation into the circumstances of last year's fatalities. Civil and/or criminal proceedings against irresponsible owners, are pending in a number of cases.
About Karen Delise/The National Canine Research Council
Karen Delise is the Founder and Director of Research for the National Canine Research Council and the author of "The Pit Bull Placebo: The Media, Myths and Politics of Canine Aggression". (Anubis Publishing) She can be reached at kdelise @ ncrcouncil.com.
The National Canine Research Council publishes well-documented, reliable research to improve the lives of dogs and the communities in which they live.
On the web at: www.nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com