Current Events > The truth about Pit Bulls

(+) Yeah! (+)

Any per capita statistics on the breed in other countries? I wouldn't be surprised if this is a mostly American problem. And I imagine we're still talking about like 1% of the entire population of them.

greenjeans posted...

We aren't talking about cows or something, homie. Bred to be dangerous isn't domestication

They're classified as domesticated pets. There's really no arguing it.

ArsGoetia posted...

yea so
still better than a pitbull defender so i sleep pretty good

No you sleep good because bad people don't tend to care that they're bad people.

AP3Brain posted...

It isn't outrageous. They just have a collection of actual studies. You can pretend that research wasn't actually done I guess?

Here is the direct link to the study. Want to ignore this as well?
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34100808/

I never said the study was wrong. Those sites take studies and cherry-pick stats to fit their narratives. It goes both ways.

The anti pit sites will take the numbers and say "SEE THE MOST BITES WE NEED TO BAN THEM!!!" and the pro ones will take the studies that say the breed isnt bad "SEE PITBULLS ARENT DANGEROUS WE SHOULD LOVE THEM NO MATTER WHAT!!"

the issue at hand is that Pits are the most owned dog in the US and why are there so many injuries with them? Multiple studies have come out and said that its not the breed but ownership of the dog. So what do we need to do to make sure these dogs get into the homes of people who can take care of them and train them properly?

Then what can we do to make sure a different breed isn't put through the same issues? Banning breeds has been proven not to work. Bites dont decrease and another breed takes it place. Bad owners create bad dogs. I watched my dad ruin his dog

Smashingpmkns posted...

No you sleep good because bad people don't tend to care that they're bad people.

ok im a bad person
still better than a pitbull stan

Nemu posted...

Any per capita statistics on the breed in other countries? I wouldn't be surprised if this is a mostly American problem. And I imagine we're still talking about like 1% of the entire population of them.

https://petkeen.com/dog-bite-statistics-australia/

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/5/2/AARLwzAAEoAk.jpg

Pit bulls make up 10% of dog bites I'm Australia.

Pit bulls are banned in Australia

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/5/1/AARLwzAAEoAj.jpg

https://pethelpful.com/pet-ownership/21-Countries-Where-American-Pit-Bull-Terrier-Dogs-Are-Banned-or-Restricted

The owner is not the only problem.

Tyranthraxus posted...

https://petkeen.com/dog-bite-statistics-australia/

Put bulls make up 10% of dog bites I'm Australia.

Pit bulls are banned in Australia

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/5/1/AARLwzAAEoAj.jpg

https://pethelpful.com/pet-ownership/21-Countries-Where-American-Pit-Bull-Terrier-Dogs-Are-Banned-or-Restricted

look
its not fair to pits to say things that make them look bad

Smashingpmkns posted...

Theriocide. Whatever. You're fine with killing off a whole breed of a domesticated animal because you're ill informed and reactionary.

What is with this insane take from pitbull people? There is no "killing off". We just want you to stop breeding these dangerous dogs for your enjoyment; whether you feel like your individual dog is not dangerous or not. The dogs themselves do not give a shit about their breed continuing. It's only the owners.

tens of thousands, if not more, domestic breeds of animals have died out. it's no big deal, it literally doesn't matter. pitbulls, and more importantly the dangerous culture that normalizes them as a totally benign breed is something wholly worth discarding, even at the high cost of human ego.

I4NRulez posted...

I never said the study was wrong. Those sites take studies and cherry-pick stats to fit their narratives. It goes both ways.

The anti pit sites will take the numbers and say "SEE THE MOST BITES WE NEED TO BAN THEM!!!" and the pro ones will take the studies that say the breed isnt bad "SEE PITBULLS ARENT DANGEROUS WE SHOULD LOVE THEM NO MATTER WHAT!!"

the issue at hand is that Pits are the most owned dog in the US and why are there so many injuries with them? Multiple studies have come out and said that its not the breed but ownership of the dog. So what do we need to do to make sure these dogs get into the homes of people who can take care of them and train them properly?

Then what can we do to make sure a different breed isn't put through the same issues? Banning breeds has been proven not to work. Bites dont decrease and another breed takes it place. Bad owners create bad dogs. I watched my dad ruin his dog

What is this incoherent mess of a post? It doesn't matter if you feel like they cherry picked studies. The fact is that Pit Bulls both BITE MORE OFTEN and DO MORE DAMAGE at a way higher degree than any other breed. This is not disputable. You have to be in complete denial to think there isn't a connection between the breed and these incidents based of numerous studies.

You would have a point if bite percentages were close with other breeds but they are a clear outlier.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/5/9/AANOkcAAEoAr.jpg
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/6/1/AANOkcAAEoAt.jpg
Took a photo of this pit bull a couple of days ago while I was riding the light rail. He was extremely well behaved. No barking, no growling and not trying to wander off from his owner. He just stood in the same spot with his owner.

kage_53 posted...

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/5/9/AANOkcAAEoAr.jpg
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/6/1/AANOkcAAEoAt.jpg
Took a photo of this pit bull a couple of days ago while I was riding the light rail. He was extremely well behaved. No barking, no growling and not trying to wander off from his owner. He just stood in the same spot with his owner.

Amazingly inciteful post that brought so much to the conversation. BRAVO @kage_53

kage_53 posted...

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/5/9/AANOkcAAEoAr.jpg
Took a photo of this pit bull a couple of days ago while I was riding the light rail. He was extremely well behaved. No barking, no growling and not trying to wander off from his owner. He just stood in the same spot with his owner.

man you ever go to a restaurant with like a 6 page menu and sit there overwhelmed with choice and cant figure out what to eat?

thats a pit on the rail

kage_53 posted...

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/5/9/AANOkcAAEoAr.jpg
Took a photo of this pit bull a couple of days ago while I was riding the light rail. He was extremely well behaved. No barking, no growling and not trying to wander off from his owner. He just stood in the same spot with his owner.

That's not a Pit Bull. APBTs generally don't come in blue, that's more of an AmStaff and AmBully trait. Nonetheless if something went down they'd be quick to call him a Pit Bull.

AP3Brain posted...

Amazingly inciteful post that brought so much to the conversation. BRAVO @kage_53

Your sarcasm sucks harder than a porn actress bj skills

ArsGoetia posted...

man you ever go to a restaurant with like a 6 page menu and sit there overwhelmed with choice and cant figure out what to eat?

thats a pit on the rail

Lol

kage_53 posted...

Your sarcasm sucks harder than a porn actress bj skills

Another bravo is due

Smashingpmkns posted...

They're classified as domesticated pets. There's really no arguing it.

Wtf else would they say atp

First Cosmos is cute as a button. But I am going to have to disagree with your assessment. I keep odd animals so I am not someone suggest with cull them or anything like that. But they are just so dangerous, this isn't people just making things up.

The guy you quote highlights how we know this. The pounds are full of a Pitbulls. Because people can't handle them, and they can hurt you. If a Chihuahua goes crazy and mauls me, it is noting to feel like my turtle biting. If I am mauled by a Pitt.

It is RIP CJS.

Smashingpmkns posted...

Theriocide. Whatever. You're fine with killing off a whole breed of a domesticated animal because you're ill informed and reactionary.

No need to be petulant. If you can't accept that a term like genocide is problematic when applied to animals, you probably need to have a word with yourself.

Incidentally, I don't advocate for wiping them out. Muzzles in public and compulsory owners' insurance is my position.

And for people to stop cheapening the word 'genocide'.

Chrknu posted...

This is from Zak Georges book: Dog Training Revolution

Pit Bulls

"Everyone tells me to avoid rescuing a Pit Bull because they are violent and dangerous dogs. Is that true?"

No other dog breed has fallen victim to stereotypes as much as Pit Bulls have. I've worked with hundreds of these dogs, and almost all of them were sweet, loving and highly intelligent. None were any more aggressive than other breeds I've encountered. People think they are more challenging and difficult to train, but Pit Bulls and other breeds or mixes that people deem "dangerous" - such as Akitas, Rottweilers, Germans Sheperds, Chow Chows, and Doberman Pinchers-can be some of the best dogs around.
You'll hear stories in the media about the dangers of Pit Bulls, but those news reports fail to explain that violence involving these dogs has more to do with the type of person who gravitates toward these breeds than the dogs themselves. In fact, a study in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence found that people who have "high-risk" breeds such as Pit Bulls have ten times as many criminal convictions as those who had "lower risk" breeds(12). Some people may exploit dogs by training them to fight or to be aggressive. (A loving pet parent like you isn't going to do that!) Another study in the American Veterinary Medical Association examined dog bite-related fatalities and found that breed was not a factor(13). For such reasons, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, and many other organizations have publicly opposed breed-specific legislation, as it doesn't help reduce dog bite incident and deaths(14). Also, experts point out that if certain breeds such as Pit Bulls are regulated, people with violent or irresponsible tendencies will simply find another breed to manipulate.
Such statistics haven't stopped people from believing what they want to believe. Breed-specific legislation still exits in the United States that bans or restricts Pit Bulls and other breeds. Great Britain has banned Pit Bulls and certain other dogs altogether(15). Luckily, some of these laws have been overturned, but we have a long way to go.
Hopefully, with education, more good people will learn the truth about Pit Bulls and consider bringing them into their homes.
Remember that there are certainly aggressive Pit Buls, but there are also aggressive Chihuahuas and Golden Retrievers. Evaluate Pit Bulls as you would any other breed. If you do decide you want one of these dogs, Pit Bulls are extremely common in shelters and rescue groups, so these are the ideal places to go to have your "pick of the litter", often including puppies. -Zak George's Dog Training Revolution (2016, p. 22-23)

12: Jaclyn E Barnes et al., "Ownership of High-Risk ('Vicious') Dogs as a Marker of Deviant Behaviors: Implications for Risk Assessment," Journal of interpersonal Violence 21 no. 12 (2006): 1616:1634.

13: Gary J. Patronek et al., "Co-occurence of Potentially Preventable factors in 256 Dog Bite-Related fatalities in the United States (2000-2009)," Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 243, no. 12 (2013):1726-1736

14: "Breed-Specific Policies: No Basis in Science," Human society of the United states, March 24, 2015 (website link included in book)

15: "Types of Dogs Prohibited in Great Britain," Department of Environmental Food and Rural Affairs 2003, accessed December 10, 2014 (website link included in book)

About Zak George
Zak George (born December 3, 1978 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American dog trainer, writer, and broadcast personality known for his Youtube channel, hosting shows such as SuperFetch in 2009, Who Let the Dogs Out? in 2011, and hosting various shows on the Animal Planet. He is the author of the book Zak George's Dog Training Revolution, published in 2016; he has been a guest writer on many articles and blogs on dog training and obedience over his 16 year career. He is known for using positive reinforcement training methods, and his upbeat and energetic personality on camera. (From Wikipedia).

The point about this topic
Statistics can fool you. Don't stop at the statistic, be better, ask why! Simple use of statistics without examining the cause can turn anything into practically anything.

My opinion on Pit Bulls
They are strong and muscular, which means that if they go berserk, they can do a higher intensity of damage. That doesn't mean that they are more likely to go berserk, compared to other breeds, when they are taken care of by responsible owners.
I wouldn't mind background checks for dog ownership in general, though. Not everyone are suited to take care of dogs.

My experience with dogs
Had two dogs growing up, it was my parents (mostly my mother) that took care of the training. I occasionally took them for walks, but mainly played with them. Several years after moving out I wanted a dog on my own and used maybe close to a year really deciding and did some research on what breed that would be suitable for me and my life and watched training videos, read books and looked up experiences on forums etc.
I now have a well behaved dog who just celebrated his 4th birthday. We still have things to work on, but most of the things I get frustrated with him for, is something that will disappear with time and training. Our dog group, my family, my friends and my neighbors all love him and when I travel, several people wants to take care of him, which I take as a very good sign ^_^

I have never and will never own a Pit Bull as that breed doesn't appeal to me. I'm not here defending Pit Bulls from a personal love of Pit Bulls, I just find those statistics in those other topics to be simple and stupid.

My dog (Cosmos)
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/4/5/AAfDdOAAEn7x.jpg

I hope this topic contributes to a lessening of fear mongering towards Pit Bulls, but also in general. Things are rarely so simple that you can prove something with one or two statistics. Dig deeper and try to look for explanations :)

That's a good ass doggo

cjsdowg posted...

First Cosmos is cute as a button. But I am going to have to disagree with your assessment. I keep odd animals so I am not someone suggest with cull them or anything like that. But they are just so dangerous, this isn't people just making things up.

The guy you quote highlights how we know this. The pounds are full of a Pitbulls. Because people can't handle them, and they can hurt you. If a Chihuahua goes crazy and mauls me, it is noting to feel like my turtle biting. If I am mauled by a Pitt.

It is RIP CJS.

A lot of times people can't handle pit bulls because the energy they have. Pit Bulls have a lot of energy thus need a lot of exercise, and people just aren't ready for that so they end up in pounds or somewhat neglected.

cjsdowg posted...

First Cosmos is cute as a button. But I am going to have to disagree with your assessment. I keep odd animals so I am not someone suggest with cull them or anything like that. But they are just so dangerous, this isn't people just making things up.

The guy you quote highlights how we know this. The pounds are full of a Pitbulls. Because people can't handle them, and they can hurt you. If a Chihuahua goes crazy and mauls me, it is noting to feel like my turtle biting. If I am mauled by a Pitt.

It is RIP CJS.

But my point is that there are several others breeds that will just replace it as the top aggressive dog (that will also RIP CJS), as there are people who look for aggressiveness and bad ass-reputation in their dog selection.
So what happens when those same individuals go for the "next-best"? Ban that too, when they top the list of maulings?

The people who research this, and the same conclusions are done in my country as well, is that it's an owner-problem, not a breed problem. So ban all dogs that can do maulings with a certain intensity? Well, that is another conversation. I'm challenging the pitbull narrative that seems to be frequent here.

Or instead of going down a list of breeds to kill off, regulate dog ownership so that irresponsible people don't get dogs that are capable of that degree of mauling. Maybe mandate insurance on dog ownership, so that the statistics of damages regulates the price, like with cars.

It's not that I don't see that there is a problem. It just seems to me that banning one breed won't help, as the irresponsible people will just get the next dog with a bad reputation and the same conversation will happen again, now with a new name.

This topic got a bit out of hand, so I started to just read and not respond. I have you tagged as Nice & helpful, so I decided to engage you in conversation :)

Chrknu posted...

This topic got a bit out of hand, so I started to just read and not respond. I have you tagged as Nice & helpful, so I decided to engage you in conversation :)

Dito I have you tagged as Nice to :)

Cemith posted...

That's a good ass doggo

I know, right <3

What's extra amazing about him is that he doesn't bark and he has no aggressiveness. So I help people who have insecure unsocialized dogs to be socialized, as if they try to "attack in self defence", Cosmos will just calm the situation down by stepping backwards and come back to me.

Most of the time the next time Cosmos advances the other dog, the other dog is more relaxed and won't snap, but Cosmos will also be less eager and they manage to be near each other without being stressed (they won't play, but they will sniff the ground instead of making a fuzz)

Another picture because I'm proud of him ^_^
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/8/2/AAfDdOAAEoBC.jpg

My adult daughter has a pit bull, that thing has more anxiety and various aggressive behavior (it has attacked and killed at least 2 other dogs) than any other dog I have ever seen except maybe my sisters chihuahua.
Anyway all pets and dogs have positive and negative it is what it is.

KBGiantsfan posted...

My adult daughter has a pit bull, that thing has more anxiety and various aggressive behavior (it has attacked and killed at least 2 other dogs)

Wtf

Goddamn! This is still going!

kage_53 posted...

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/5/9/AANOkcAAEoAr.jpg
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/6/1/AANOkcAAEoAt.jpg
Took a photo of this pit bull a couple of days ago while I was riding the light rail. He was extremely well behaved. No barking, no growling and not trying to wander off from his owner. He just stood in the same spot with his owner.

well he looks fat and happy. I bet he just ate a baby

KBGiantsfan posted...

My adult daughter has a pit bull, that thing has more anxiety and various aggressive behavior (it has attacked and killed at least 2 other dogs)

That dog needs to be put down. Jfc.

I live on a corner lot, and before we had the fence put up, we took the new dachshund puppies out back on leash to potty. One day some asshat rounds the corner with his big dog off leash while I'm out with one of mine, and as soon as this dog sees my puppy it bolts for us barking and snarling, and of course completely ignoring its owner. Fortunately they were far enough away I was able to scoop my dog up and get inside, but it leapt up on the sliding back door and freaked both my puppies out pretty bad before douchbag got his dog back under control.

And that's my bigger concern frankly. We don't walk our dogs because morons like above seem to be the rule rather than the exception in my neighborhood. Our dachsunds get all their exercize in the back yard.

kage_53 posted...

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/5/9/AANOkcAAEoAr.jpg
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/6/1/AANOkcAAEoAt.jpg
Took a photo of this pit bull a couple of days ago while I was riding the light rail. He was extremely well behaved. No barking, no growling and not trying to wander off from his owner. He just stood in the same spot with his owner.

Was that not leashed?

Smashingpmkns posted...

I mean it's still genocide if we're talking dogs.

So pet ownership is slavery? Got it.

If it makes you feel better, we should stop breeding sickly, suffering dogs as well.

And if we domesticated grizzly bears and tigers, I'd say we should stop that breeding too, even if only like 1% of them killed people. No one should be allowed to have any pet that can rip a man to shreds. I'm also against poisonous pets or anything full of disease.

kage_53 posted...

Your sarcasm sucks harder than a porn actress bj skills

I can't believe someone thought this was clever enough to post.

ArkhamOrigins posted...

I can't believe someone thought this was clever enough to post.

Reminds me of this famous mega cringe advertisement that was just a photo of some super hot model and a caption "Our servers won't go down on you either"

Tyranthraxus posted...

Reminds me of this famous mega cringe advertisement that was just a photo of some super hot model and a caption "Our servers won't go down on you either"

Holy shit. Like hooters or something?

greenjeans posted...

Holy shit. Like hooters or something?

No it was an IT ad for computer servers.

I dont get why people use level of aggression to defend owning pit bulls. That was never the argument. Sure pit bulls can be less aggressive. The problem is what happens when they actually are aggressive. They become hard to control and can do serious damage. That is the problem.

Its like the difference between a kid playing with a fake knife and a really knife. They are both easy to control but one can do far more damage if you lose control

kage_53 posted...

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/5/9/AANOkcAAEoAr.jpg
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/6/1/AANOkcAAEoAt.jpg
Took a photo of this pit bull a couple of days ago while I was riding the light rail. He was extremely well behaved. No barking, no growling and not trying to wander off from his owner. He just stood in the same spot with his owner.

All I see is an insecure asshole who's unnecessarily putting innocent people in danger to prove a point and seek attention. Its not even leashed which is against the law. There's no reason whatsoever to have that thing on the train.

DepreceV2 posted...

I dont get why people use level of aggression to defend owning pit bulls. That was never the argument. Sure pit bulls can be less aggressive. The problem is what happens when they actually are aggressive. They become hard to control and can do serious damage. That is the problem.

Its like the difference between a kid playing with a fake knife and a really knife. They are both easy to control but one can do far more damage if you lose control

Well if we're going to judge dogs by what they could potentially do then there are dozens of breeds that are larger and far more powerful than Pit Bulls, and most of them are traditional guardian breeds with human aggression bred in. It's just that people don't own those breeds as much as Pits so they're nowhere near as numerous. Any dog over a certain size has the capacity to do damage, everybody may as well have Pugs if we're worried about potential here. The first face transplant was the result of a Lab attack.

Taharqa_ posted...

Well if we're going to judge dogs by what they could potentially do then there are dozens of breeds that are larger and far more powerful than Pit Bulls, and most of them are traditional guardian breeds with human aggression bred in. It's just that people don't own those breeds as much as Pits so they're nowhere near as numerous. Any dog over a certain size has the capacity to do damage, everybody may as well have Pugs if we're worried about potential here. The first face transplant was the result of a Lab attack.

And the opinion of those dogs would be the exact same.

Any pet that is dangerous enough to maim and maul you to death or cause permanent disfigurement if you are lucky needs regulations to own.

I don't care how "sweet and loving" the owners always tend to claim their dog is. It's always "sweet and loving" until it gets triggered by another dog, the mailman, a kid, dogsitter, etc.

Taharqa_ posted...

Well if we're going to judge dogs by what they could potentially do then there are dozens of breeds that are larger and far more powerful than Pit Bulls, and most of them are traditional guardian breeds with human aggression bred in. It's just that people don't own those breeds as much as Pits so they're nowhere near as numerous. Any dog over a certain size has the capacity to do damage, everybody may as well have Pugs if we're worried about potential here. The first face transplant was the result of a Lab attack.

Well pugs have to be ended too because of their health problems.

But I guess humans selectively breeding animals for ownership is only immoral when it is suggested to stop doing so, but not when we're making sickly breeds just because we fucking can.

You shouldn't be allowed to domesticate any hippo either, and I really couldn't give less of a fuck about how responsible theoretical hippo owners should be, or how most hippos will never kill anyone. Sorry that I hate animals or whatever. Own a pet that can't easily kill any human if it has a bad day and decides to go back to its roots.

I wish pit bull fanboys cared as much about humans as they do some motherfucking dogs that humans literally manipulated nature to create for their own use. The literal idea of domestication is extremely immoral if we're going to apply human moral values to animals consistently, yet these topics are always full of people saying how cruel it is to not let them selectively breed certain animals for ownership.

Tyranthraxus posted...

The "signs" thing is such a bullshit argument.

Like if I have to scrutinize an animal to determine if it's about to rip out someone's throat at all times then maybe it's just not a safe animal to keep.

"OMG how could you not notice the signs!?!!"

"Because I was playing cards with my friend which is something I'd like to do without anyone's throat being ripped out and that's not an unreasonable expectation."

Not a terrible observation. Add it to the list of life advice about dangerous situations.

The gun is always loaded.
The mic is always on.
The dog is always going to snap.

Make the assumption until proven otherwise?

I4NRulez posted...

thats not true through. There are plenty of ways to get a dog to release its bite and it works for pit bulls too.

There have been multiple videos and stories just here on CE of multiple people pulling on a pit that would not let go of its victim. To the point that stabbing them in the face still doesn't manage it in one go.

What's this magic trick that works every time for pitbulls that works for other breeds? Because documented evidence seems to indicate... no?

Thud posted...

All I see is an insecure asshole who's unnecessarily putting innocent people in danger to prove a point and seek attention. Its not even leashed which is against the law. There's no reason whatsoever to have that thing on the train.

Why do you choose to see negative things instead of "cute dog doing nothing wrong"

Darklit_Minuet posted...

Why do you choose to see negative things instead of "cute dog doing nothing wrong"

Not leashing your dog is fucked up

greenjeans posted...

Not leashing your dog is fucked up

This.

Doesnt matter the breed even, tbh

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/1/8/AAbh80AAEodu.jpg

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


Is that not done in the US?

Chrknu posted...

Is that not done in the US?

Dog owners in dog bite cases are open to civil liability in such circumstances, but criminal charges require more than mere negligence on the part of the owner.