Pit Bull Terriers: Should we require background checks and licensing?

[Mark80]

1 hour ago, stony said:

Dudeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. No.  You're making it so easy to defend the "it's the owners, not the breed" point of view.  Pit bulls (is it even a breed classification?) have suffered from moronic owners who think their dog's are bad ass.  Often, these are the same owners who encourage bad behavior in their dogs.  

 

Maybe you are not familiar with how breeding certain traits works with dogs???  Maybe I'm not understanding your comment correctly?  Maybe you didn't understand mine?  Pit bulls came from their English cousins who were bred to to "bait" bulls.  The American pitbull was bred from those extremely powerful dogs to be fighting dogs.  The ones who wouldn't fight would often be killed by their owners and they would only try to breed the ones who would fight willingly and did so well.  So that mentality kept getting bred deeper and deeper into them as the generations passed.  I'm sorry, I love pets and animals as much as anyone, but those are, quite simply, the facts.  They were bred to be killing machines, not companion pets, not working dogs, not guard dogs, not even hunting assistants, but killers.

Edited June 7, 2019 by Mark80

[Augie]

1 hour ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

Pit Bulls may not even be the most aggressive breed of dog, but they are the ones who can and will do the most damage if they do snap.  I had a mini dauchshund that we had to put down.  Despite spending thousands of dollars on trainers, vets, a pet “psychologist,” psychotropic medications...she bit 5 people before we had to make that difficult decision.  Fortunate for us, her bites were tiny and largely harmless.  I think she only broke the skin once and just barely.

 

Chows, chihuahuas, collies, and cocker spaniels can ask be very aggressive breeds.  Unfortunate for PB’s is that they are so big/strong and attack so relentlessly and violently...their worst attacks tend to make national news.  I think Pitts are beautiful and I have found them generally to be very sweet and loyal dogs (although I have never owned one).  I would never, however, let my children near one...especially one that I don’t know extremely well.  Maybe less of a chance that they get attacked by a chihuahua, but at least the chihuahua wouldn’t leave them disfigured for life or dead.

The only dog that ever bit me was a friend’s schnauzer. It did break the skin through my pants, but I still had my leg. 

[Teddy KGB]

35 minutes ago, Mark80 said:

 They were bred to be killing machines, not companion pets, not working dogs, not guard dogs, not even hunting assistants, but killers.

 

 

[BringBackFergy]

2 hours ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

Pit Bulls may not even be the most aggressive breed of dog, but they are the ones who can and will do the most damage if they do snap.  I had a mini dauchshund that we had to put down.  Despite spending thousands of dollars on trainers, vets, a pet “psychologist,” psychotropic medications...she bit 5 people before we had to make that difficult decision.  Fortunate for us, her bites were tiny and largely harmless.  I think she only broke the skin once and just barely.

 

Chows, chihuahuas, collies, and cocker spaniels can ask be very aggressive breeds.  Unfortunate for PB’s is that they are so big/strong and attack so relentlessly and violently...their worst attacks tend to make national news.  I think Pitts are beautiful and I have found them generally to be very sweet and loyal dogs (although I have never owned one).  I would never, however, let my children near one...especially one that I don’t know extremely well.  Maybe less of a chance that they get attacked by a chihuahua, but at least the chihuahua wouldn’t leave them disfigured for life or dead.

Yes. Well said. I was making that same point above. All dogs bite...but Pit Bulls take it to a different level. No little puncture marks or bruising. It’s the viciousness of the attack unlike many other dogs. 

[GoBills808]

Pit bulls are the great whites of the canine world. 

[Augie]

9 hours ago, Mark80 said:

 I just don't get the point.  Is it to look cool or look tough?  There are plenty of other dogs that look cool and look tough that have far fewer "accidents" of attacking/killing people.  These dogs were bred to be killing machines, not pets.  Society should let this bread die out naturally. 

 

I worked with a guy who was getting one and told me “I just like to see the fear in a man’s eye”. I looked at him differently after that, but I still hope he never becomes the guy with fear in his eyes.  

[GoBills808]

2 hours ago, Augie said:

 

I worked with a guy who was getting one and told me “I just like to see the fear in a man’s eye”. I looked at him differently after that, but I still hope he never becomes the guy with fear in his eyes.  

 

I hate to keep repeating myself but it really sounds like the majority of people’s issues lie with the owners rather than the dog.

[Augie]

5 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

 

I hate to keep repeating myself but it really sounds like the majority of people’s issues lie with the owners rather than the dog.

 

I was never worried about the man ripping anyone’s face off. 

 

Not trying to be too harsh, and again most are good dogs and owners, but the facts are the facts. I don’t see taking the risk with so many better and safer options available. That’s just me. 

[BADOLBILZ]

 

 

We've had this thread topic many times over the years.

 

It's important to remember the basic fact that dogs weren't domesticated to be pets...........their primary purpose was to help hunt and attack/intimidate/defend.........that included hunting and attacking other humans.     They were weapons before pets.    Even the cute lil' bastards were initially brought in because they were good at killing things.

 

So when you feel like you need a big dog of ANY breed be aware that you are, if nothing more,  morally responsible for the amount of damage that dog can inflict on another human being.

 

Simple as that.    

[GoBills808]

2 hours ago, Augie said:

 

I was never worried about the man ripping anyone’s face off. 

 

Not trying to be too harsh, and again most are good dogs and owners, but the facts are the facts. I don’t see taking the risk with so many better and safer options available. That’s just me. 

 

Maybe you should have been. A human can do a lot more damage than a dog.

[Johnny Hammersticks]

How do people feel about cats?  I went to pet the neighbor’s cat, Gus, this morning and he scratched my wrist!   Crazy bastard!  I’ve been waiting for him to lose it.

[transient]

1 hour ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

How do people feel about cats?  I went to pet the neighbor’s cat, Gus, this morning and he scratched my wrist!   Crazy bastard!  I’ve been waiting for him to lose it.

 

Cats are the spawn of hell.

[Augie]

2 hours ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

How do people feel about cats?  I went to pet the neighbor’s cat, Gus, this morning and he scratched my wrist!   Crazy bastard!  I’ve been waiting for him to lose it.

 

Not a big fan of cats, but they are often better than “cat people”. Leaving my neighborhood for work one day I spot a guy dressed in dark green deep in a drainage ditch pointing a radar gun at passing cars and logging their speeds on a clip board. WTF? Turns out he was upset at the speed of cars in the neighborhood because he lets his cats run loose. Like, what exactly are you going to DO with that? 

 

I told a buddy who thought it was hysterical and he retells the story at a party. The guy on his left says “that was me.” Awkward moment lingers, until the older guy on his right who rarely speaks says “I don’t care, that’s effing crazy!”

 

And then there’s my sister-in-law, but I shouldn’t go there.....

 

 

.

Edited June 8, 2019 by Augie

[transient]

45 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

Not a big fan of cats, but they are often better than “cat people”. Leaving my neighborhood for work one day I spot a guy dressed in dark green deep in a drainage ditch pointing a radar gun at passing cars and logging their speeds on a clip board. WTF? Turns out he was upset at the speed of cars in the neighborhood because he lets his cats run loose. Like, what exactly are you going to DO with that? 

 

I told a buddy who thought it was hysterical and he retells the story at a party. The guy on his left says “that was me.” Awkward moment lingers, until the older guy on his right who rarely speaks says “I don’t care, that’s effing crazy!”

 

And then there’s my sister-in-law, but I shouldn’t go there.....

 

 

.

 

Cat people who let their cats run loose suck. I let my dogs out in my fenced in courtyard a few months back only to discover my neighbor’s cat hanging out there. Instead of jumping through the wrought iron fence and getting out of my yard it bolted along the side of my house with my dogs in tow into my fenced in back yard. If I didn’t snag my greyhound’s collar I have no doubt he would have caught that cat and probably killed it. As soon as it bolted it was like a flashback to the electronic rabbit. Instead my pit mix, who thinks cat chasing is a sport, chased it around until it finally got out of the yard, destroying plants and anything else in their wake in the process.

[Johnny Hammersticks]

2 hours ago, transient said:

 

Cat people who let their cats run loose suck. I let my dogs out in my fenced in courtyard a few months back only to discover my neighbor’s cat hanging out there. Instead of jumping through the wrought iron fence and getting out of my yard it bolted along the side of my house with my dogs in tow into my fenced in back yard. If I didn’t snag my greyhound’s collar I have no doubt he would have caught that cat and probably killed it. As soon as it bolted it was like a flashback to the electronic rabbit. Instead my pit mix, who thinks cat chasing is a sport, chased it around until it finally got out of the yard, destroying plants and anything else in their wake in the process.

 

I kinda like how Gus roams around the neighborhood.  Everyone knows him, and he seems to know better to go into the yards that have dogs in them.  Sometimes I’ll be doing yard work and he’ll just come lay near me and “visit.”  He’s a cool cat, but he’s also nothing to be trifled with...

[bbb]

3 minutes ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

 

I kinda like how Gus roams around the neighborhood.  Everyone knows him, and he seems to know better to go into the yards that have dogs in them.  Sometimes I’ll be doing yard work and he’ll just come lay near me and “visit.”  He’s a cool cat, but he’s also nothing to be trifled with...

 

The stray cat we had for a couple of years when I was a kid was such a tough street fighter that back then, in the days of free range dogs, the dogs would be walking down our side of the street, see our cat just standing in the front yard, cross the street and then cross back over when they had cleared her range.  

[transient]

4 minutes ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

 

I kinda like how Gus roams around the neighborhood.  Everyone knows him, and he seems to know better to go into the yards that have dogs in them.  Sometimes I’ll be doing yard work and he’ll just come lay near me and “visit.”  He’s a cool cat, but he’s also nothing to be trifled with...

 

[Rocket94]

On 6/4/2019 at 12:52 PM, BringBackFergy said:

https://wnyt.com/news/pit-bull-attack-3-year-old-girl-schenectady/5376111/

 

I know I’ll take a lot of flack from some members here, but Pit Bulls seem to be the most popular breed committing these types of atrocious attacks. And I get it: it’s not necessarily the dog’s fault. The owner typically has something to do with the aggressive tendencies. But this breed has a crossed wire in it’s genetic makeup somewhere that needs attention. 

 

It’s rare for a golden retriever, yellow lab, pug or an assortment of other breeds to commit this type of unprovoked attack. This girl was sitting on her grandmother’s lap and yanked to the ground suffering major leg and nerve injuries. 

 

Here’s the other problem: this ***** owned not one, but TWO pit bulls. Double the aggressiveness huh? Battling for food? Battling for attention. So when the kid gets yanked to the ground, they fight over the little girl. Less of a chance to separate them. 

 

I read a story about a young woman who left her TWO pit bulls with her uncle for a few months, came back to visit them and walked them in the woods. They later found her mangled body in the woods with the pit bulls near by. 

 

There’s a couple with two pit bulls behind my building. The pit bulls are in a 10x10 cage and just basically stay out there all day. If they ever get out they are 30 feet from the main sidewalk used by young kids to walk to school. Scary. 

 

Like I said, some of you guys are responsible owners and would certainly pass a background check. But this breed needs better monitoring or should, perhaps, be discontinued altogether. The genetic makeup must be all screwed up to have these types of incidents arise as often as they do. 

 

JMO

In a Wny city that I lived in, some people had a tendency to just chain the dogs up indefinately. The dogs became even more aggressive and unsocialized. Some people have no business being pet owners.

Edited June 9, 2019 by Rocket94

[Gugny]

On 6/7/2019 at 11:13 PM, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

We've had this thread topic many times over the years.

 

It's important to remember the basic fact that dogs weren't domesticated to be pets...........their primary purpose was to help hunt and attack/intimidate/defend.........that included hunting and attacking other humans.     They were weapons before pets.    Even the cute lil' bastards were initially brought in because they were good at killing things.

 

So when you feel like you need a big dog of ANY breed be aware that you are, if nothing more,  morally responsible for the amount of damage that dog can inflict on another human being.

 

Simple as that.    

 

Morally responsible is what the human owner can control.  Knowing when a pitbull is triggered and subsequently destroys anything and everything in its path cannot be predicted, nor controlled, by even the best dog owner.

 

The dogs can't control themselves; I don't hold it against them and I don't hold it against the responsible owners.

 

They are killing machines, but they don't even know it ... but when they find out, so do a lot of unsuspecting victims.

 

No need to keep it going.

 

 

Edited June 9, 2019 by Gugny

[Augie]

11 minutes ago, Rocket94 said:

In a Wny city that I lived in, some people had a tendency to just chain the dogs up indefinately. The dogs became even more aggressive and unsocialized. Some people have no business being pet owners.

 

If it’s a goldfish, it still cruel, but society won’t suffer.