By Colin Dayan, Vanderbilt University, via The Conversation
As recently as 50 years ago, the pit bull was America’s favorite dog. Pit bulls were everywhere. They were popular in advertising and used to promote the joys of pet-and-human friendship. Nipper on the RCA Victor label, Pete the Pup in the “Our Gang” comedy short films, and the flag-wrapped dog on a classic World War I poster all were pit bulls.
With National Pit Bull Awareness Day celebrated on Oct. 26, it’s a fitting time to ask how these dogs came to be seen as a dangerous threat.
Starting around 1990, multiple features of American life converged to inspire widespread bans that made pit bulls outlaws, called “four-legged guns” or “lethal weapons.” The drivers included some dog attacks, excessive parental caution, fearful insurance companies and a tie to the sport of dog fighting.
As a professor of humanities and law, I have studied the legal history of slaves, vagrants, criminals, terror suspects and others deemed threats to civilized society. For my books “The Law is a White Dog” and “With Dogs at the Edge of Life,” I explored human-dog relationships and how laws and regulations can deny equal protection to entire classes of beings.
In my experience with these dogs – including nearly 12 years living with Stella, the daughter of champion fighting dogs – I have learned that pit bulls are not inherently dangerous. Like other dogs, they can become dangerous in certain situations, and at the hands of certain owners. But in my view, there is no defensible rationale for condemning not only all pit bulls, but any dog with a single pit bull gene, as some laws do.
I see such action as canine profiling, which recalls another legal fiction: the taint or stain of blood that ordained human degradation and race hatred in the United States.
Bred to fight
The pit bull is strong. Its jaw grip is almost impossible to break. Bred over centuries to bite and hold large animals like bears and bulls around the face and head, it’s known as a “game dog.” Its bravery and strength won’t allow it to give up, no matter how long the struggle. It loves with the same strength; its loyalty remains the stuff of legend.
For decades pit bulls’ tenacity encouraged the sport of dogfighting, with the dogs “pitted” against each other. Fights often went to the death, and winning animals earned huge sums for those who bet on them.
But betting on dogs is not a high-class sport. Dogs are not horses; they cost little to acquire and maintain. Pit bulls easily and quickly became associated with the poor, and especially with Black men, in a narrative that connected pit bulls with gang violence and crime.
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That’s how prejudice works: The one-on-one lamination of the pit bull onto the African American male reduced people to their accessories.
Dogfighting was outlawed in all 50 states by 1976, although illegal businesses persisted. Coverage of the practice spawned broad assertions about the dogs that did the fighting. As breed bans proliferated, legal rulings proclaimed these dogs “dangerous to the safety or health of the community” and judged that “public interests demand that the worthless shall be exterminated.”
In 1987 Sports Illustrated put a pit bull, teeth bared, on its cover, with the headline “Beware of this Dog,” which it characterized as born with “a will to kill.” Time magazine published “Time Bombs on Legs” featuring this “vicious hound of the Baskervilles” that “seized small children like rag dolls and mauled them to death in a frenzy of bloodletting.”
Presumed vicious
If a dog has “vicious propensities,” the owner is assumed to share in this projected violence, both legally and generally in public perception. And once deemed “contraband,” both property and people are at risk.
This was evident in the much-publicized 2007 indictment of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick for running a dogfighting business called Bad Newz Kennels in Virginia. Even the Humane Society of the United States and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals – two of the nation’s leading animal welfare advocacy groups – argued that the 47 pit bulls recovered from the facility should be killed because they posed a threat to people and other animals.
If not for the intervention of Best Friends Animal Society, Vick’s dogs would have been euthanized. As the film “Champions” recounts, a court-appointed special master determined each dog’s fate. Ultimately, nearly all of the dogs were successfully placed in sanctuaries or adoptive homes.
Debating breed bans
Pit bulls still suffer more than any other dogs from the fact that they are a type of dog, not a distinct breed. Once recognized by the American Kennel Club as an American Staffordshire terrier, popularly known as an Amstaff, and registered with the United Kennel Club and the American Dog Breeders Association as an American pit bull terrier, now any dog characterized as a “pit bull type” can be considered an outlaw in many communities.
For example, in its 2012 Tracey v. Solesky ruling, the Maryland Court of Appeals modified the state’s common law in cases involving dog injuries. Any dog containing pit bull genes was “inherently dangerous” as a matter of law.
This subjected owners and landlords to what the courts call “strict liability.” As the court declared: “When an attack involves pit bulls, it is no longer necessary to prove that the particular pit bull or pit bulls are dangerous.”
Dissenting from the ruling, Judge Clayton Greene recognized the absurdity of the majority opinion’s “unworkable rule”: “How much ‘pit bull,’” he asked, “must there be in a dog to bring it within the strict liability edict?”
It’s equally unanswerable how to tell when a dog is a pit bull mix. From the shape of its head? Its stance? The way it looks at you?
Conundrums like these call into question statistics that show pit bulls to be more dangerous than other breeds. These figures vary a great deal depending on their sources.
Any statistics about pit bull attacks depend on the definition of a pit bull – yet it’s really hard to get good dog bite data that accurately IDs the breed.
Over the past decade, awareness has grown that breed-specific legislation does not make the public safer but does penalize responsible owners and their dogs. Currently 21 states prohibit local government from enforcing breed-specific legislation or naming specific breeds in dangerous dog laws. Maryland passed a law reversing the Tracey ruling in 2014. Yet 15 states still allow local communities to enact breed-specific bans.
Pit bulls demand a great deal more from humans than some dogs, but alongside their bracing way of being in the world, we humans learn another way of thinking and loving. Compared with many other breeds, they offer a more demanding but always affecting communion.
Colin Dayan is a Professor of English, the Robert Penn Warren Professor in the Humanities, and a Professor of Law at Vanderbilt University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
I’m sure the couple whose pit bulls ate their two young children this month would agree. May as well let your kids play with loaded guns.
So the exception is the rule. Idiot.
9 time out of 10 the exception is a pit bull. As a former pizza delivery driver I’ve only ever been attacked by one dog, not counting a couple ankle biters. Surprise, it was a pit bull. If the owner hadn’t acted quickly I would have probably been badly injured. Just coincidence I’m sure…
As a former mailman, I was only attacked by one dog, A Dalmatian. Yep that’s right. I was spraying him with mace and he just kept coming, growling and snarling like crazy. He got me pretty good. Never had any issues with the Pit Bulls.
Dalmatians have a propensity for biting. A lot of people got them after the Disney movies came out and they ended up in shelters because of their aggression. They are also often deaf.
Amen! I own 4 pitbulls and it’s all abt how you treat them and raise them. If you’re mean to any dog regardless if it’s a pitbull or not it’s going to be mean and aggressive to. I treat my pitties with lots of love like they’re part of the family. They’re the most loyal and sweetest dogs I’ve EVER owned and I don’t care who disagrees.
When exceptions are so common that news reports like this are no longer exceptional but expected, that makes you the idiot for subscribing to your delusion, Sheeha.
It’s not the exception, it happens a lot! You don’t know what you’re talking about. The breed should be extinct!
I agree! They should all be euthanized! A baby and a 3 y.o. girl were both mauled to death by their own Pet Pit Bull Recently ! This doesn’t need to happen anymore ….get Rid of them!
You are the idiot one. Several altercations that happened wherever they happened dont mean innocent pits around SA should be exterminated. Your brain needs some attention, any dog can attack u in its territory, all this also involves how pits are raise.
Define what the “breed” is.
The overwhelming majority of mixed breed dogs have some amstaff, pit, mastiff, or bulldog in them.
To those who blame the breed, you’re foolish. In the circumstances referenced where there is a bite, if the owner had any other powerful breed dog instead of a “pitbull” and raised them the same way, the outcome would have been the same or worse.
The breed should be extinct, you sound idiotic I’ve seen more dog bites out of Chihuahuas, a little ankle biters then any other dog people who think Pitbulls are vicious and can’t control their selves or just not educated enough to know yes they are protective like any other animal, and they’re very loyal to their owner. And yes, I will bit like any other dog. They’re just a larger breed . but to be extinct that’s so ignorant to say that . you must be one of those Karen’s or kens right. These dogs are lap dogs they think they’re tiny . It’s all up to the owner how any animal acts. If the owner shows the dog, nothing but love and teaches the dog. and teaches the dog right from wrong. it takes the time to do this. You have a wonderful dog, but like I said, that’s with like any other animal that the owner must take the responsibility of being a good parent to the dog not show anger or be aggressive. because the dog is going to protect you and look at what you do and do as you do, the only reason they do more damage is because they’re a larger breed a Chihuahua. If it was a larger breed is aggressive as it is, it would kill someone to.
Its abnormal people like you that talk like this. Especially those who never owned this dogs. We use them for the right reason, protection. some people for wrong reason. U cant judge all dogs with others people’s ignorance n negligence. Re-align your brain
These dogs need to be exterminated you idiot.
YOU ARE THE IDIOT!!
Easy to say when they aren’t your kids hero.
So you think it’s a good idea to just roll the dice on these dogs around small kids? Win some/lose some? I mean, it’s just dead, shredded infants and toddlers we’re talking about here, right? I don’t think so. I see one in my neighborhood and it will be gone within a week. I’m not rolling the dice with MY family.
These dogs should all be exterminated, because there is no way to tell the good from the bad. Actually, I’ll retract that a bit. I think there should be EXTENSIVE training, and an assessment of any individual wishing to own one of these, to determine if they are a strong enough type A with patience and willingness to do the WORK, before anyone can own one. Too many weak morons trying to control these strong-willed, lethally DANGEROUS (yes, they ARE dangerous) animals. Deal?
YOU ARE AN IDIOT!! I own 4 pitbulls and I’ve NEVER had any problems with them. They’re the most loyal and loving dogs I’ve EVER owned. If you love them and train them right they’re the best dogs. Now if you the owner trains them to fight then that’s what they will do, just like any other dog they can be vicious to. It’s up to the owner of that pitbull to be responsible to raise them, train them right and love them as if they’re part of the family. I have 5 grandkids and they’ve NEVER even once nipped at them cause if they did they would be gone.
Found a pit bull owner
Writer of this article blames waaacism for people disliking pitbulls lol 😆 what a joke – it’s not the children mauled to death- it’s racism !!
Pit bulls are terriers. Terriers are bred to kill. Small terriers kill rats. Large terriers kill people, usually children. This is instinct. It cannot be removed. Even the “sweetest” can snap when instinct kicks in. Children are the usual victims. No child should die in the jaws of a pit bull. Every 15 days an American is killed by a Pitt bull. For this reason, they should b
The stats show that unprovoked attacks by pitbulls is not an exception but usually a given. It’s why shoot them the moment they step onto my property
yup and a couple human mothers murdered their children. Clearly this means all children should be wards of the state by your logic
Dogs aren’t people, numbskull. They don’t have the same reasoning capabilities that humans do. Breed traits exist and we accept these in every other breed. Herders naturally herd. Heelers naturally heel. Retrievers naturally retrieve. Usually without any kind of training at all. That’s selective breeding at work. So why when it comes to fighting dogs, is it all about how they’re raised?
In case you weren’t aware, humans aren’t selectively bred. Not the same thing at all.
Except we need mothers. We don’t need pit bulls.
Try to move one of these murder machines in next door to me and see what happens.
Why get a dog everyone hates and fears? Do you enjoy tragically losing your pets?
Kill my Dog and see what happens to your family! And you later on! By the way, I never lie or bluff!
This can be done in ways that the dummy owner will never know what hit it. We want them gone. They WILL be gone.
I agree 100% if anyone came near my pitbulls and tried to kill them, there would be hell to pay!!!
I see all the usual haters are out in force posting their absolute hate and ignorance.
My rescued pit bull mix was the BEST , most loving, gentle and smartest dog I’ve ever had. His best friend was a parrot. They played together every day. He loved all people, all dogs, birds and butterflies. I just lost him in Dec 21 at 13 1/2. My heart is forever shattered. He was that incredible. I miss him every single day.
Even though pit bulls are the most abused dog in the US Every day millions of pit bulls never hurt anyone.
Thank you for your excellent article. Finally, an article without all the hyped up hysteria and falsehoods the media dishes out . An article from someone who actually owned and has loved these amazing dogs.
Hopefully, more people will become enlightened. 💕
You’re ignorant. Pit Bulls can turn on you at anytime. You’re Lucky yours didn’t. A baby and a 3 y.o.. Girl was recently mauled to death by their own Pet Pit Bull…this happens frequently. It’s genetically in them. So you don’t know what you’re talking about !!!
YOU are the one that’s ignorant!! You don’t know what you’re talking about! Every dog has the potential of being mean and aggressive. I own 4 pitbulls and I have 5 grandkids and neither of my pitties have come even close to hurting them. Whether you believe it or not, they’re the most loyal and loving dog’s EVER! It’s the owners responsibility to raise them and Train them right and give them love and not shove them in a kennel 24/7 or chain them up all day long, I mean if I was chained up all day I would be mean to.
Frequently?? How often is frequent in your book? And how many dog bites happen on the daily that aren’t reported, publicized or talked about that have nothing to do with a Pitt? Just wondering, because I’m a nurse of 23 years and see what comes in our ED. Just saying…
So glad there is one less pit bull out there!
The world doesn’t revolve around you and your experience. Get a clue.
And, the reason we hate pit bulls is because every day they maul and kill innocent people and pets. And, because id$ots like you own them.
They’re /Vigger dogs
Oveida, there are plenty of Caucasian owners too. In the USA, we do not use that designation. So please do not use that word.
How ironic that out of all the AD characters you choose to represent you went with the guy that is a right-wing nutjob.
Summary: In the 13-year period of January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2017, canines killed at least 433 Americans. Pit bulls contributed to 66% of these deaths. Rottweilers, the second leading canine killer, inflicted 10% of attacks that resulted in human death. Combined, two dog breeds accounted for 76% of the total recorded deaths.
I agree, see one, shoot it!
Thanks, Bob. Yes, a 2-yr-old toddler and her baby brother in Tennessee were mauled to death by their parents’ two XL pedigreed pitbulls. Pitbulls are 11 times more likely to kill their owner than is any other dog.
Ah yes the bite that’s “almost impossible to break”. Hence when a pit bull bites a human they don’t let go. That’s why they leave death and carnage in their wake. Nice propaganda piece.
you are a coward
Psychologically speaking, sometimes when people feel threatened by reality, they lash out and call names because they derive comfort from their delusory fantasy. With that, here’s your passie, Curtis. Take it and go to bed.
This is so dumb it must be written by a professor. Do you read the news?
Yes, you are right. Colin Dayan. Animals 24-7 wrote a SCATHING refutation to Dayan’s inaccurate piece:
The Conversation” & the pit bull shit
When you find reports of Golden Retrievers or Beagles eating their owner or biting a child’s face off, let everybody know.
Nobody is blaming Pit Bulls for their inherent propensity to maim and kill innocent and usually helpless human beings. They were PURPOSELY bred for violence.
you are a coward
Psychologically speaking, sometimes when people feel threatened by reality, they lash out and call names because they derive comfort from their delusory fantasy. With that, here’s your passie, Curtis. Take it and go to bed.
It is unfortunate that weak minded people like you are able to own animals. But maybe one day your Pit Bull will recognize that weakness as it does in children before it attacks.
Fortunately for some but unfortunately for the victims the facts and statistics show that canine attacks are predominantly coming from pitbulls curt. Realize you like them, maybe sounds like you monetize from them and concerned that the lid is getting blown off here. Owning a pit is not for inexperienced dog owners or weak minded people. Quie often the problem is the inexperienced owner that thinks their pitty is sooo cute and wouldn’t hurt a fly whereby letting emotion cloud critical thinking and smart observation. Did they do the hand to bowl test? Did they test the pit at a dog park on s short leash? Did they test around kids at a distance? First time owners should go for the poodle.
Found a pit bull owner
They have the worst record and most owners have no clue how to control them when they freak out. I owned and showed English Mastiffs and Rottweilers much larger than pitbulls, but pitbulls are more dangerous by far. I avoid those dogs and their owners and am ready to shoot the dog if it tries anything.
Actually they were bred to work cattle and other animals. If they killed those animals they wouldn’t have been useful. Pit bulls are very friendly dogs. Part of the statistics explanation is that Pitbulls are far and away the most popular dob breed in America. The most dog bites? Chihuahuas. Another facet of the problem is dog fighting still exists. And most fighting trained dogs, and emphasis on trained, are pit bulls. Other ‘dangerous breeds’ … German shepherds and border collies. But it’s a matter of training.
One commentary on Pitbulls remarked when the burglar is outside your house, they’ll bark continuously. When they come inside the dog is more likely to make friends with the burglar.
The Miniature Poodle I had growing up was more biting as a puppy than my pit bull puppy.
LOL
They were NEVER bred to herd livestock.
Just like they were NEVER bred as ‘nanny dogs’.
What bs will you lot spout next?
They were bred to attack and incapacitate fully grown bulls and to rip apart bears. Google bull and bear baiting. Guess what the old images show. It isn’t poodles.
Pit refers to the pits they were fought in, after bull (that put the ‘bull’ in pitbull) baiting became illegal.
Having grown up on a farm and had herding dogs, never in a billion years would I have a pit near my livestock. They are a farmer’s worst nightmare because of the damage they can do to livestock. Faces ripped off, genitals mutilated, legs shredded, animals getting eaten alive.
Anyone with brains know you don’t have a dog with low impulse control, high prey drive, and the instinct not to let go, anywhere near your animals.
They’re genetically unpredictable and that’s a fact. They’ve killed so many people including innocent little kids. A lady got eaten by her 2 pitbulls when she took them for a walk, her dad went looking for her and found them eating her ! A pitbull recently killed a baby and a 3 y.o. Sister , the dog was their pet ! So you never know when they’ll get triggered…so stop being ignorant !
“Bred to work cattle”. If by work you mean bite in the face and not let go until one of them is dead, sure. Where did you ever read such a stupid thing? Why would you even believe that, anyway? I bet you also believe the nanny dog myth.
Shout out for the use of the Chihuahua argument, too. Go outside and touch grass.
Calling “Dog Fighting” a Sport is the height of absurdity, while legitimizing, in the minds of the less informed, this extremely cruel and deadly activity!
Utter nonsense. Statistics don’t lie. If you want a dog that is FAR more likely to attack and kill other animals or people than any other breed, then get yourself a pit bull. PERIOD. Any parent with small children is particularly irresponsible if you buy or keep a Pit Bull.
Over a period of 13 years, the pit bull was responsible for 284 deaths, roughly 2/3 of all fatal dog attacks in the United States. Yet only 6% of all dogs in the United States are pit bulls.
Actually, pit bulls are less likely to attack or bite than many other breeds of dogs (look up dog bite stats by breed). However, due to their strength, if they do bit it causes more damage. It’s the difference between a .22 and a .45, nether is more likely to go off, but one can do more damage than the other. People don’t usually report or visit hospitals if bitten by a poodle or chihuaha.
Just wrong. https://www.coloradoinjurylaw.com/dog-bite-statistics/
Does it even matter? The Chihuahua can bite at 100000000x the rate of pitbulls. It doesn’t change the fact that this argument is silly. Chihuahuas don’t kill people because they lack the physical ability to do so. Chihuahuas don’t rip people’s faces and arms off because they lack the physical ability to do so.
I am sure that non-lethal bites are not reported. And I am sure that non-lethal bites require medical attention (I had that with a cat). So, provide some statistics (with source) to back up your claim.
there is a difference between bites that are lethal and or cause life altering injury and bites that require some antiseptic and a band-aid.
statistics on the former are the only ones that matter numbnuts.
Factually incorrect.
I agree.
This article was doing fine until it pulled the race card. This dog was not associated with poor and black people because of the sport. Criminal elements sought after the animas because of the dogs association with violent prowess. Your cause effect is horse sh!t, ungrounded in reality or logic.
There is a reason they are also called “felony dogs”. If you are a felon, and can not easily own a firearm, you get a pit bull as the next best thing.
This article was doing fine until it pulled the race card. This dog was not associated with poor and black people because of the sport. Criminal elements sought after the animas because of the dogs association with violent prowess. Your cause effect is horse sh!t, ungrounded in reality or logic. Also have to appreciate the anecdotal useful idiots in the comments. You can’t even define pit bull but you claim to have statistics. I had a Boxadore for 10 years. Everyone thought it was a pit bull.
These dogs are popular for the wrong reasons. Besides human attacks, they really hammer the other dogs out in the world. I have been on the losing end myself with pits.
Stupid article that completely glosses over the horrifying facts of this breed and their documented history of attacks on their owners, neighbors, children and anyone that catches their bloodlust.
I have been reading numerous articles this year alone about this breed attacking children and owners and bystanders getting caught in these attacks. It’s absolutely horrifying.
Humanity does not allow dangerous wild animals to inhabit the same living space as humans for a reason. This braid has demonstrated itself thousands of times has been exceedingly dangerous and should not be allowed to be owned by anyone. It is completely irrelevant if they can be loyal to their owners, this does not negate the danger that they present to everyone else, and of course even to their owners as the historical record has demonstrated.
This breed should be eliminated. Humans created this breed not Nature. We made a terrible mistake for our own pleasure and our own bloodlust. This needs to end.
Maybe you need to be put down, you idiots are blaming the wrong end of the leash……I have raised american Staffordshire terriers for 40 years. Never 1 attack against anything.
Head back to your shitty Discord group, moron
Two friendly, well train pit bulls in Colorado killed the 89 yr old grandma and almost killed the 12 yr old grandson. The remaining family members are baffled as to why the dogs just snapped…….
Did you guys read about the Lab that attacked and crippled an animal control officer it ripped the face off it’s owner? Neither did I. The problem is there is no breeding program or standard and when you get one you have little clue what is going to set it off. Pound puppies are a safer choice than some “pure bred pit”
The problem with pure bred isn’t being pure as much as it is how close together the family is. The same thing with humans. Not enough forks, creates a problem.
The only problem is that pound puppies are no longer safe because shelters lie about every pit they have, saying it’s a “Lab mix” or some other BS so that naive people will adopt it not realizing it’s a pit. Pits need to be exterminated. Period. Too many pit nutters have bought into the “wouldn’t hurt a fly” BS and think that puts can be treated like any other dog. Too many pit nutters believe the crap started in 1971 by Lilian Rant about pits having been Nanny Dogs. Too many pit nutters are too stupud to own dangerous dogs, but they do. Pits gotta go. It should be illegal to breed them and you should have to show proof of $1 million worth of insurance to be able to own one. Other people should not have to suffer or live in fear because you want a dangerous dog.
Actually the first human facial transplant patient lost her face to her dog. It was a golden retriever.
My neighbor and I just got attacked by a Pit Bull that went after his owner who tried to protect her other pit bull from the offspring… these dogs are dangerous and need very stern guidance – not for every household! If you have young kids, do NOT get a pit bull!
Pitbulls should all be euthanized! If not, these horror stories will never end…
A couple years ago a woman was walking her Pit Bulls on a wooded path near her home. She was found ripped to shreds with the dogs standing guard over her and they had to be shot. There is a reason they are number one on the list of dogs that have killed humans..by far.
I see people trying to walk their Pit Bulls and it appears they are being pulled along by these hard headed menacing creatures. I dont hate them anymore than I do other potentially dangerous animals but pretending that they are just like any other dog is ludicrous.
Every comment regarding this article proves how prejudiced and ignorant people are. Ignorance, hatred and fear prevails again. I was so encouraged for a minute. But Sadly, this is how the world operates. These low frequency emotions from a devolved society. So many Americans are realizing we are not actually free, but victims of our own fear. We feel the need to have baseless laws to “protect” us. But truly they are just chains we have chooses to remain prisoners. It’s disappointing to watch feeble minded people choose to embrace weakness.
You have clearly never been on the receiving end of a pit bull’s mood swings. They are fine until they aren’t. They are someone’s baby and “wouldn’t hurt a fly”, until, of course, some instinct kicks in and they do. I’ve been on the receiving side of this, and of course the owners said she loves everyone and would never do anything like that… If it was a chiwawa, who cares. But a pitbull can kill. It’s not ignorance or weakness to keep a healthy distance from these dogs.
Good comment. Also, in my opinion, these dogs should have an national ban unless one passes a training course and permitting process.
That’s not going to help anything… they’re genetically unpredictable! They should all be euthanized! That’s the only way to stop the senseless maulings and death ☠️☠️☠️
What’s disappointing is commentary like yours. The valid concerns about pitbulls and their statistics isn’t something you get to gloss over and ignore. Which is exactly what you attempted to do. Your “encouragement” is what? You’re own emotions and prejudice? The very thing that you accused others of? And laws ARE needed whether you agree or not. We should have a law against rampant stupidity. Go away. You’ve added nothing to the conversation.
We’re not talking about “low frequency fear” here. We are talking about common sense. How is it that people with no common sense are as arrogant as you are? Oh, I get it. You LIKE people getting mauled. A real life friggin’ sadist.
Lol you’re just as clueless as the ridiculous author. Dogs are not people. Dog breeds are not races of people. If you’re too st$pid to understand that, I guess that is what it is!!!!
The number one, denominator in the most horrific and fatal dog attacks are PIT BULLS
Must’ve missed the article last week where a young mother was nearly mauled to death while trying to save her babies from two “not inherently dangerous” pit bulls. The babies died because the mother and father were drinking the same koolaid as this author. It’d be one thing if this only happened to owners, but it doesn’t so that’s why we should ban the breed.
Banned in many countries but not USA (and not china for food)
Neuter and spay em all
I’m not sure who is more clueless – pit bull owners in general, or the professor who wrote this article. How many stories have we seen of pit bulls suddenly attacking small children? In each case, the owners claim it was the sweetest dog ever, no indication of a propensity for violence, etc. Any parent of young children with a pit bull should be stripped of all parental rights. Getting rid of the dog is not enough – they’ve demonstrated their irresponsibility.
If the breed standard for pitbulls allowing the unesesary cropping of the ears would be changed, they wouldn’t look so intimidating. Cropping thier ears only hurts their UNDESERVED reputation and serves no health purpose. It needs to be banned WORLDWIDE
Undeserved? Hardly. Go look their “reputation” up. Make sure you read about their bites, attacks, deaths caused, children maimed for life and so on. As for cropping their ears – if THAT is all that concerns you, then you’re downright pathetic.
Go circumcise your dog.
Their reputation is VERY deserved. They are bred to not show any signs of attacking. That’s why when a person’s pit turns on them the person always says “it came out of nowhere”. The grandson of the person who developed the breed was killed by one of grandpa’s pit bulls. The dog that killed the kid was supposedly removed from the breeding pool. Years later it came out that the dog WASN’T removed from the breed pool because it was a good fighter and too many people wanted puppies. For 200 years these dogs have been bred to fight. If you actually think that fighting dogs are no longer bred because dog fighting is illegal in all 50 states, then I have some beachfront property in Nebraska you’re gonna LOVE. Aggression is instinctive in these dogs. Aggression, gameness and the ability to not tip their hand when they are going to attack. Herding dogs herd. From birth. Without being taught. Retrievers retrieve. From birth. Without being taught. But in fighting breeds it’s all in how they are raised? You obviously know nothing about instinct. I really hope you don’t own a pit because you would create a very dangerous situation.
Crazy dog ladies are much more dangerous than crazy cat ladies. They always say “he never killed any kids before” after a fatal attack by their dog. Responsible communities should require the owner to have a minimum of a million dollar liability policy for each Pit Bull. You aren’t allowed to have bears or tigers for pets. Why should Pit Bulls be treated any different?
That may be the best way to go with this all too real problem.
A man adopted a pit bull from the local shelter. He took it home and opened the front door to his home to let it in. It saw his 12 year old daughter and attacked. She died of her wounds.
Another man adopted a pit bull from the local shelter. He took it home and within half an hour it attacked and killed the man.
Years ago, on the tv show Inside Edition, there was a story about a girl celebrating her 18th birthday with her family. She had a pit bull from when she was a baby. She played with the dog, fell asleep on its belly, and treated it like a family member. At the party, she was shooting video of the proceedings. When she happened to see her beloved pet she pointed the camera at it and exclaimed “Hi baby! How’s my baby!” to which the pit bull suddenly lunged at her and killed her, despite the best efforts of many family members trying to get it off of her.
The moral of these stories? F U and your pitbulls, you moron.
Many are poorly breed and poorly socialized and often psychotic and attack anything. I would rather carry my gun than have a pit bull.
Is that why most dogs that are in Shelters/Rescues are pit bulls and no one wants to adopt them. This story is BS. Pit Bulls are one of the the most dangerous dogs period. They have been breed as a fighting dog through out history.
Ignorance is real. I can’t believe all the negative comments on this beautiful sweet loving breed. So many dangerous humans in this world, doesn’t mean that all Pitt bulls are dangerous. They are physically strong but that does not mean they are all vicious. Those of who are so willing to ban them obviously have had no personal experience with them.
My own experience has shown that they are unpredictable. Read the stories of how pitbulls just flip a switch after years and years of good behavior. I was attacked by one such dog. Not worth the risk. If it had been a toddler in my place, it would have been much worse.
They need to be put down as a group.
Nothing but red flags thrown up by anyone who doesn’t seem to understand the very absolute basic premise that selective breeding brings specific traits to the surface. Golden Retrievers are *BRED* to retrieve. Pointers are *BRED* to point. Shepherd dogs are *BRED* to herd. Pit Bulls are *BRED* to be violent. Full stop.
What??? These animals even kill their owners! You obviously need to do research ..there are thousands of stories of these dogs attacking their owners and children in the family… recently one pitbull killed a baby and the 3 y.o. sister! It was their PET ! You are totally Clueless !
Thanks. Actually, it was a 2 yr old toddler and her baby brother who were ravaged to death by their parents’ 2 pitbulls in Tennessee.
That’s also why shelters are not to be trusted and are a VERY UNSAFE places for people, especially those who have never owned a dog before, to get a dog from. I used to parrot the party line – Adopt, don’t shop. NO MORE!! I do everything in my power to steer people toward responsible breeders for a puppy. You cannot trust shelters to be honest with you any more about what a dog is a mix of. Shelters know that people are leery of pits, so they blatantly lie and tell people it’s a Lab mix, or a Golden mix, or a Collie mix. I saw one in a shelter ad about two weeks ago that said it was, hand to God, a Chihuahua mix! Shelters are giving bad names to MANY breeds because then when people take their “safe” Lab mix home, and it kills another one ofvtheir pets or bites their kid or worse, the GOOD breed gets the bad rep and not the P.O.S. breed pit bull that ACTUALLY killed the pet or bit the kid. The insistence that pits are such good dogs is going to ruin the entire canine species unless the breed is exterminated. A license for a dog from town is usually between $5 and $15/year. A license for a pit should be $500/year. If you want one that badly, you should pay. Because if your dog chews its way out of the house to atta k someo e as they walk their dog down the street, THAT person is going to pay in blood and pain and suffering. So it’s only fair that the pit owners pay. Vif you can’t afford it? Oh well. Too bad. No pit for you. If you are found with an unlicensed pit, the dog is confiscated. You should’ve gotten a license. You want to play? You gotta pay.