Owner Attacked by Dog and Loses Arms: Was it Provoked or Out of the Blue?

[OwnedByCats]

145. If you asked me if I think a pit bull is the dog for everyone

I'd say no chance. People who are new to dog ownership for example, should not start with a pit bull. Anyone not willing to train that dog and socialize it correctly should not have a pit bull, but then they shouldn't own any dog, am I right? Anyone who doesn't understand how important it is for they themselves to be a good pack leader in order to raise a well adjusted dog should not have one. If they don't understand dog behavior, they should not have one.

I never said pit bulls were the same as any other breed of dog. I said any dog can be aggressive, I didn't say they will all be to the same degree or that their bred traits will never play a roll in that. Most breeds have things that differentiate them from other breeds. All dogs have different personalities and idiosyncrasies too that can play a role. You think because I blame the owners most of the time that means I think pit bulls can be owned by anyone and all dogs are the same? Seeing what is happening, evidently they can't be owned by just anyone and I never made such a statement. In homing a pit bull, a lot of things need to be taken into consideration. This is one of the reasons there are so many homeless pits among pit bull rescue groups because they can't place this kind of dog with just anyone. Their fitness to own one and living situation (can they have a pit at their residence, what other pets are in the house, is the property safe? etc), have to be looked at. Rescuers of pit bulls are fully aware they aren't the right dog for everyone for a myriad of reasons. And it's not just pits, there are many other breeds that require special circumstances, not just pits.

So I fail to see how I'm hurting pit bulls. I'm not the one who wants them all exterminated - not saying you do, but some people do. I don't advocate all people should own them, clearly that has proven unwise, it would be setting them up for failure by doing that. I want them owned by people who know what the hell they're doing. I want harsher penalties when the owner fails that dog, most especially if something tragic happens, such as death. I always want them spayed/neutered so there are less homeless pit bulls, less getting sent to the pound to live out their last days in a cage, less abuse and neglect. I advocate for the pit bulls who have never hurt anyone, which looking at the statistics shows most of them have never hurt anyone. With a highly aggressive one it's actually kinder to put them down, not to mention important in protecting the public.

I'll tell you what shapes my opinion - for whatever it's worth, probably not much because well, it's anecdotal. In my job, I have worked with around 80 pit bulls. Not a single one so much as growled at me. They are all owned by responsible owners. I also have friends who own pits, also responsible, they also do not show any aggression at all. I also know people who use them as service animals and they do a great job. Do you think there might be some correlation there? I'm not saying a good owner can't end up with a messed up pit bull even though they did everything right, but it sure drops the numbers of dangerous ones considerably when they have a good owner. Even when volunteering for a rescue group which is separate from my job, most of those pit bulls do not even show aggression and some of them have been through hell and back. Most of them are just happy to have friendly contact for once in their miserable lives. It's awfully hard for me to have this attitude that the breed is the problem after the experiences I have had, which has showed me that yes, most definitely this particular breed should not be owned by just anyone, but when a good owner is at the helm, the results are fantastic. I really don't think we disagree on very much here, but like I said, take it for what it's worth, or not at all, that's ok.