"Girl scarred by pit bull attack asked to leave restaurant" (KFC in Jackson MS)

[Drahthaardogs]

164. And that is okay when you have a relatively docile dog

but when you have a dog with immense physical attributes and a high prey drive, it is disaster waiting to happen. I have three such dogs now. They have a predisposition to meet the unknown or the unwelcome with aggression. They were bred for it. It is why they excel at hunting, tracking, and retrieving. High prey drives and high fight drives.

It is not bad, but it must be channeled appropriately and there can not be compromises. I truly believe dogs can reason, and do it quite well. What they are not capable of is abstract thought. In other words, they do not understand that they can get on the bed because they cut their pad, but other times they cannot. They understand the bed is either okay to sleep on or not okay to sleep on.

I do agree that the problem with most pitbulls is the owners; however, most of the people who make that statement do not realize what being a responsible owner of a large and aggressive dog really looks like. You cannot be lovey-dovey with them and make it go away, but I am afraid that 95% of the people who make that statement believe that. In fact, with large aggressive dogs, affection MUST be earned and not just metted out randomly, or they tend to get the wrong idea real fast. Its not such a big deal with a little Cavalier Spaniel or a Maltese.