Totally OT: What's Your Favorite Breed of Dog?
- Thread starter RedCap
- Start date
Used to have a harlequin, sweetest couch potato I've seen
Golden’s and labs, our labradoodle was the best dog ever, very little shedding if at all. We would have parties with 50+ people and you hardly knew she was there calm and chill.
Why would you call me a name? That seems to make no sense.
Pitbulls were bred to help attack bulls, yet, you the owners do not use them for that...do you call them dipshits?
And of course they lead the nation in kid bites, they are the most popular dog in America....I am guessing that the most popular car in America is responsible for the most accidents in America.
Mostly partial to mutts, but we've had two keeshonds and they are wonderful dogs. Very happy and friendly, a bit ornery - and they are playful but also kind of lazy in a good way. Spend a half hour playing in the park and they will nap for hours.
We're down to one now that our older one passed after 16 great years. I miss him every day.
We're down to one now that our older one passed after 16 great years. I miss him every day.
We mostly get rescue and shelter dogs... My favorite hunting dog was a German short hair pointer who lived 15yrs and made it to MT to hunt grouse for a couple of years. There are currently 4 dogs who live at my house: a 16 yr old mutt who is a big fur ball of love, a 8yo French bulldog, a 6yo yellow lab who is a bird dogging machine even after 2 acl surgeries (which is why we have him as previous owner couldn't make payment), and my 5yo muppet dog that is a wire haired Griffon mixed with an English setter who is the most gun shy creature in the universe.
I’m interested in discussion here.. a few questions.
1. There is most definitely a stigma associated with pitbulls. If not deserved, what, in your opinion, has contributed to it?
2. Are pitbulls physiologically more predispositioned than other large breeds to be capable of more harm if things go South? Strength, jaw structure, etc?
My opinion is that there has to be more than just a bad rap. I think there is likely something, even if it’s on a level that’s less than the hype they get, that contributes to the the mindset the pitbulls are dangerous. I don’t really care one way or another, but given your posts and you apparent position, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Not so much psychological, but physical. All breeds are subject to shit owners and all breeds have incidents of attacks. When pitbulls bite, they do more damage than most dogs just out of jaw build and strength. Lots of piece of shit pit owners out there that use them for the wrong reasons or dont properly raise them.Ignorant people blame and swear off the dogs. They are not all wired to kill that is total shit. Ive raised all of mine around all the kids with zero incidents. But i also walk my dogs twice daily religiously to keep their mental and physical healthy and socialize them appropriately. Amazing family dogs for those capable of owning them. In the wrong hands can be deadly, a lot like a gun I guess.
A pit bull is an extremely strong animal, strong bite, they latch on and don’t let go, and their attacks will be much more harmful than most dogs, in cases leading to fatalities. From 2003 to 2017 there were 285 fatalities reported from pitbulls in the US, with the next breed being the Rottweiler at 45, followed by German Shepard at 20, labs came in at 9. Pitbulls account for roughly 60% of all dog attacks, which is why proponents of breed restriction laws (many cities are outright banning the ownership of pitbull breeds or even pitbull mixes) are so adamant that pit bulls are so dangerous, inherently aggressive, and should be shunned from society.
What they are missing, is that as a whole, the LARGE majority of dogs are harmless, and not aggressive, including pitbulls. There is an estimated 3-5 million pitbulls in the US in 2018. Let’s just go with 3.5 million at 285 deaths over 15 years, taken as a percentage, roughly 0.0082% of pitbulls caused fatal attacks. Realistically, there have been a lot more pitbulls than 3.5 million over the last 15 years. Let’s call it 10 million, and you are looking at 99.997% of pitbulls being punished for the bad behavior of a small few. There is an estimated 10,000 dog bites per year resulting in hospitalization, so with pitbulls making up 60% of that, you are at 6,000, so still around 99.75% of pitbulls causing no harm.
People see videos online with pitbulls attacking other animals, or humans, or hear about a pitbull mauling a child, a lady walking down the street, or a grandmother, etc. getting attacked, and then you have a news cast with victims explaining the horrible events of the pitbull attack. And they are horrible. I cannot think of anything more horrible than having your family pet maul your child. You never see this type of news for Husky, Lab, German Shepherd, or other large dogs even though they do still happen. You see photos of Michael Vick and others putting pitbull in fights for sport (which is the cruelest of animal cruelty) and it paints the picture that pitbulls are downright dangerous creatures. You have people on this forum claiming Pitbulls are killing machines and that they should be bred out. You have people who instead of seeing a “dog” barking at a stranger walking by, which is normal dog behavior (dogs bark), seeing a pitbull barking and think to themselves, wow next time he’s going to attack that person bc he’s a pitbull. You have people who go to the other side of the street of an owner walking their leashed pitbull, bc they heard in the news about a lady being attacked by a pack of stray pitbulls, who by the way were abandoned by their owner to die in a bare alley somewhere as puppies and had no opportunity to be raised well and socialized. And then you have people who claim, “just like every case, the dog was harmless until it wasn’t”, as if people who claim their pitbull is a sweetheart is some kind of an idiot, and that at any moment their dog is going to “snap” like every crazy pitbull. You have people claim there is no reason to ever own a pitbull, even though 99+% of them are harmless and are fantastic dogs.
You also have the fact it’s estimated 1.4 million pitbulls will be put in a shelter this year, with a huge portion of them being given away by their first owner. You wonder why foster kids tend to be more dangerous than a kid raised in a good family, well there you go with pitbulls. Dogs are no different.
Then you also have the fact that a lot of people are bad dog owners and have no idea how to raise a good dog. They are mean to their dog, train it through negative reinforcement, let their big dog walk all over them so it’s allowed to be the alpha of the house, let their kids play with the dog unsupervised, don’t exercise their dogs enough (dogs get high anxiety without appropriate exercise), don’t allow their dogs the chance to properly socialize with other dogs and humans, especially as puppies, and leave them in their house/backyard all day with no interaction beyond their family, etc. Also, pit bulls, because of their bad reputation, are much more likely to be owned by bad people (this was shown and published).
So as the owner of a pitbull and a really good one, it’s annoying to hear people generalize that the breed of your dog are all monsters. They sound like idiots, and are missing that there is a large population of great pitbulls out there.
Last edited:
In related news, most car crashes take place within a 25 mile radius of home.
Conclusion: It's time to move at least 30 miles away
For dog breed:. English bull terrier. Incredible family pet. Smart, outgoing, will play any game with the kids all day long.
This entire post is why people usually dislike pitbull owners more than the dog itself.
People don't want insane stats that are at best fiction...people want their kids and other kids and their families to feel safe around animals.
There around less than 20 shark attacks a year...but rarely do you see parents saying "Go ahead junior, there are less than 20 shark attacks a year, they are just misunderstood, go ahead, jump in the water next to those sharks"
There are like 3 fatal bear attacks a year...but again most of us use common sense to stay away from them.
The media did not sit down one day and decided to spin a wheel with different types of dogs on it and say "Okay, whichever one it lands on...that is the dog we are going to focus on"
Are most pitbulls okay? Sure! So are most cobras...most will never bite a kid. Most black widows never bite a kid...
You list a bunch of precautions that you take to raise your correctly and that is great, it is...but if you have to do all those things just in hopes that it doesn't latch on to a kids head...well...
I have had 3...man their shits are massive!!!
I think you need to read the statistics on pits. They are by far the most dangerous dog breed...and second place isn't even remotely close. Take a look at the videos of them attacking in packs.
I'm with the other person that said the breed should be slowly be eliminated. I'm sure there are great pits, but they are still responsible for over 50% of all dog attacks, and 2nd place is around 15%. And they are responsible for 66% of all dog attack deaths, when the breed represents only 6.5% of all dog breeds.
That used to be true of Labs only because they were by FAR the number one breed of dog owned by the public. They were WAY over represented in the sample. Pit Bulls, Staffordshire Terriers, American Bulls, whatever you want to call them are now over represented in animal shelters because of the fact that their owners tend to be poorly educated idiots without enough money or sense to spay and neuter them. I've seen situations where African American males were renting old houses and using them as kennels to breed the mutts. The problem with Pit Bulls is their "bite index" As with most terrier breeds they were bred to be aggressive killers be it of rodents, rabbits or now humans. I've seen some who were great pets but the issue around people is that you never know when they'll snap and they're powerful enough to kill a child easily.
I appreciate the dialogue. It’s rarely, if ever, a good thing to generalize a group (whether it be people, dogs, or something else) as good, bad, or otherwise. I don’t own a pit, and most likely never will. They’re a big, powerful dog, and even if the likelihood of something bad happening is low, if I read your statistics correctly, it seems that percentage is still higher than it is for other breeds.
In any case, I’m glad to hear that you have a great dog that you really enjoy.
Glad to see tons of responsible owners up here. Seriously. That's the #1 factor regardless of the breed. So many times you see square peg being put into round hole and that's a huge source of problems.
My brother had a pit bull for years. It was a phenomenal dog. Insanely strong, smart, agile. Protected his house.
I have immense respect for them.
Having said that, I would not own one. My brother liked to argue with my Dad all the time about the "safety" of the breed. Good owner vs. bad. Etc.
Then the rubber hit the road when they got pregnant with their first kid. 2 weeks before due date they gave the pit away, and adopted a little ball of fluff Pomeranian mix a few months later.
My brother had a pit bull for years. It was a phenomenal dog. Insanely strong, smart, agile. Protected his house.
I have immense respect for them.
Having said that, I would not own one. My brother liked to argue with my Dad all the time about the "safety" of the breed. Good owner vs. bad. Etc.
Then the rubber hit the road when they got pregnant with their first kid. 2 weeks before due date they gave the pit away, and adopted a little ball of fluff Pomeranian mix a few months later.
Yeah this entire post literally proved my point. "Oh yeah I guess a measley 285 people have been killed by pitbulls over the years, and yeah they have the most attacks by far, and yeah theyre the most agressive, oh and I guess theyre the strongest by far....but meh most of em never do nothin! Lets just brush everything else aside, its worth all them deaths...and oh yeah bad owners like them because of their history. Ut mine are nice! If you think any of this should lead to negative views of pit bulls, youre an idiot!"
Serious question...do all pit bulls who attack have bad owners?
Oh, yeah. Which reminds me of what I need to do this afternoon... The 3 in my pic are 6,7, and 8 for me. The merle and the black are rescues. But even after what they have been through they are the absolute sweetest dogs. I got my first Dane in 1994 and even though I had never been around Danes before, within 3 days I knew I would never have any other breed.
Yeeeeah, no educated, affluent families own pits. Vast majority of pit owners reside in trailer parks (or have at one point in their lives).
Come on...Pitbulls are the dog of choice for investment bankers and cardiologists.
I needed some pit bulls in college then. Err...wait...actually I did just fine on my own with that.
I guess I’m still looking for what the upside is to owning a pit bull, other than that they are supposedly misunderstood. Say I’m going to get a dog and one of them has a .75% chance of attacking a child(possibly my child) and the other has a .5% chance...not to mention the .75% dog does so much more damage when it attacks...how is this even a choice?
Hell, I’m scared as hell that my own kids might harm another human, and I know exactly everything about their “breeding” as humans and I know how I raised them as part of my family.
A dog that is bred to kill? Screw that!
A dog that is bred to kill? Screw that!
How do you determime the chance of being attacked? According to the ATTS the APBT (the real pitbulls) tested out at a little over 87% in over 900 dogs tested while the Golden Retriever tested out at a little over 85% in over 800 dogs tested. Using those numbers the APBT scored higher than many common breeds on the list. In terms of temperament the breed is just fine and no different than any other.
They’re not the strongest dogs, they don’t bite the hardest (a German Shepherd has more psi in its bite than an APBT) and they’re not even that big of a dog. The media is misleading you guys with this pitbull stuff. Every Bully, Dogo, etc. who bites a person is labeled as a pitbull because of the resemblance they share with each other. Obviously not every case is another breed but not everything callled a pitbull is actually a pitbull either. There is a reason they started using the term “pitbull type” rather than just pitbull.
There is a breed of dog in America, that started popping up in the early 90’s and for quite awhile they were known and many even registered as APBT’s by way of hanging papers and somewhat recently the UKC caught on to this breed being registered as APBT’s because of the popularity of the dog. This dog did not meet the breed standard of the APBT. They’re much bigger (120lbs) in some cases, more muscular, larger heads, bone structure, etc. The breed standard for a male pitbull is generally around 60lbs. They called them gator pits, blue nose, etc. The UKC will no longer register these dogs as an APBT because they’re not APBT’s, instead they are a new breed known as the American Bully by the UKC, ABKC and ADBA. Go to a dog shelter and you’ll see them all over the place, no one calls them Bullies, they call them pitbulls because they don’t know what they’re looking at.
It’s not as cut and dry as pointing the finger at a breed and saying it’s the problem when getting rid of the breed will mot solve the problem. People like to blame everything bit themselves for the problems in the world and this is just another case. We can listen to the media and their bullshit agendas all day long but the dogs were never nred to be aggressive towards humans, aggressive dogs were killed by farmers and breeders because that wasnt their purpose. They are naturally aggressive towards other animals, they’re game dogs so that’s a given.
Theres just too many factors at play here to say the dog is the problem. Take that dog breed away and voila, another takes it’s place is the statistics column.
We have a pure bred German shepherd, we also have a dump dog. Yes it’s nothing for loosers to dump their dog out in the county. She is the most loyal dog you could ever have. A elderly man told me dump dogs become the best dog you can get and I believe him. I will say the shepherd is very loyal also just had to pay to get him
I don’t understand that dumping crap. The same for people who dump their elderly animals off at the shelter because they got a fancy new puppy. Most dogs are as loyal as it gets yet people can be very disloyal to the dog. Dog may be mans best friend but man isn’t dogs best friend.
I used to volunteer at the Humane Society. One pet owner surrendered their dog because she didn't match the new drapes they bought. They were banned and barred from ever adopting at NHS again.
I have a couple of theories, one is they get the dog then can’t afford or won’t get the dog fixed. Another is welfare people or crack heads. And yes to me there is a difference between poor people and welfare people. Welfare people don’t give a crap expect everything giving to them, they usually have 2-4 dogs and a couple cats but neglect them
I guess I am not sure what you are arguing. Are you saying that pitbulls are usually nice but still at times will snap and eat a kids head off but that they don't eat as many kids heads as the media allegedly wants us to believe?
Or are you saying that since other dogs also bite that it is okay that pits bite?
I guess I don't understand your point. Your point can't be that how they are raised by their owner will determine if they attack or not because every pit owner that has had their pit attack someone tells us that their pit was the sweetest and nicest dog ever and was so great with kids.
I think I would ask you this...would you rather have your newly turned 16 year old kid driving the safest car possible or the least safe car possible?
