Marauding pit bulls attack six

[Lazymeatball]

Pitt bull's aggressiveness are a result of the humans breeding or owning/training them. Any dog can make mistakes, but the nature of pit bulls jaws and mental determination means that when they make 'mistakes' they make big mistakes. I strongly believe that the type of owner who is attracted to pit bulls or rottweilers or whatever big scary dog is the kind who encourages that kind of aggressive behavior or who is not qualified to train them properly.

That being said, a nervous frightened pit bull can be one of the more dangerous dogs at the animal hospital I work at.


ps. Canary dogs are pretty badass

[Blarg]

I'm curious -- how exactly does it work that some dogs -- e.g., those of the pit bull -- can somehow "lock"?

[Lazymeatball]

I'm not fully qualified to answer this, but I don't believe that pit bulls' jaws have some special ability to "lock." I believe it's more a quality of the mental determination of the dog to keep going no matter what. In old school dog fighting circles this mental determination is referred to as "game," as in how much game that dog has.

[Blarg]

I seem to have heard before that some dogs have some sort of anatomy that lets their jaws "lock," so that even when they're dead they can still be hanging on. I'm sure other dogs are just as determined, when life and death are at stake, even if pit bulls are a bit crazier.

I think I may have heard that bulldogs can do this too, but am not sure about the whole thing.

[Lazymeatball]

haha, bulldogs jaw are completely screwed up. They are an orthodontist's dream, as they usually have incredible underbites or their teeth just stick straight out. I woouldn't worry to much about getting bit by one of them as their teeth usually don't line up. I'm referring to modern day English bulldogs. Their middle age predecessors were pretty dangerous though , as they used to fight bulls and bears (hence the name).

[raisins]

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What are other fighting dogs?

[/ QUOTE ]

There is a large Japanese breed called a Tosa (?), Dogo Agentino, and the Presa Canarius are three of the more obscure breeds of fighting dog that still have a lot of gameness and dog agresiveness in their bloodlines along with the Pit Bull. The bulldog was bred solely for the sport of bull baiting. Bull baiting consisted of tying a bull to a stake and setting 3-5 dogs loose on him and watching the mayhem. Over the years the bulldog has lost much of its aggresiveness as it has been bred solely as a pet. Pit Bulls are still fought and even if a minority of them are fought many of them have ancestors that did fight a few generations back. "Few" being relative to most other dogs breeds. Some are also used as protection dogs and others in pulling contests and this motivates breeders to select parents with drive and some degree of assertiveness along with temperment.

Still, I think they are fantastic dogs and some of the sweetest dogs I have ever met have been Pit Bulls or Pit Bull crosses. Obviously they need a lot of supervision and attention. Most of the agression I have seen from the breed has been directed towards other dogs and not to humans.

regards,

raisins

[RacersEdge]

How long has the pitbull breed been around? Maybe they research it's evolution and prevent them from being breeded further. Maybe require that all pitbulls be neutered and/or being given some type of mellowing drugs. I'm sure all of this has been brought up after an attack.

[Blarg]

Well, they are being made illegal in some communities. And people with pit bulls that go on rampages are being prosecuted good and hard in some localities, and their claims of self defense or whatever being looked at with much greater scrutiny.

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This thread will now be deluged with posts defending the breed. How certain posters own/owned pitbulls that wouldn't hurt a fly and were good with children(!). How it's not the dogs who are at fault, it's the owners for not training them, bla bla bla



They've banned the breed where I live.

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It is the owner's fault short of a mental disorder in the dog and an owner should catch this anyways. I would love for you to prove me wrong.

What other dogs are banned where you live? It's sad if its only Pits.

[Blarg]

The whole problem is they've been bred to effectively have a mental disorder from birth. They've been genetically selected for aggressiveness and desire to fight for countless generations.

It's way past too late to say it all depends on how they're raised.