Sad day for a breed with a bad rap. Prayers please - YorkieTalk.com Forums

deonk1 · 03-30-2011, 05:00 PM

Well last week a woman (who I later found out was my aunts good friend) was attacked by a pit bull in my home community.

There is a huge meeting tomorrow with the mayor and council to decide how to proceed. There has been talk of new leash and muzzle laws, and lord knows what else.

While I'm deeply sorry for this woman who is in critical condition and I'm praying for her recovery (and ask that you all do too). I find it extremely frustrating that tomorrow council is probably going to blame the dog. I find this saddening, it breaks my heart that this town's dog owners are going to get punished for one ignorant person's foolishness (owner of pit bull).

So please pray that this woman recovers, and also please pray that council understands that it is not a problem with the breed, but a problem with the people owning them.

RachelandSadie · 03-30-2011, 05:02 PM

i hear ya on that. it's so sad to blame the entire breed for bad training and ownership. you don't ban labs everytime a lab attacks but it's because labs aren't bred into fighting rings and forced to be mean. darn evil breeders/owners that breed the anger and out of blood into the pits

Maximo · 03-30-2011, 05:30 PM

The problem is that loose dogs are a growing problem. There are more dogs and more people have pets than ever before. We have leash laws, but many people ignore them or they don't adequately secure their dogs (of all breeds). I don't swim in shark-infested waters and I don't want to fear stepping out my front door.

Yesterday a neighbor's large American bull dog and lab were running loose in the neighborhood. Now I am scared again to walk my boys together because an encounter with these dogs would be very bad.

I don't know what the answer is, but something needs to be done to make our streets safe.

yorkieusa · 03-30-2011, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maximo

The problem is that loose dogs are a growing problem. There are more dogs and more people have pets than ever before. We have leash laws, but many people ignore them or they don't adequately secure their dogs (of all breeds). I don't swim in shark-infested waters and I don't want to fear stepping out my front door.

Yesterday a neighbor's large American bull dog and lab were running loose in the neighborhood. Now I am scared again to walk my boys together because an encounter with these dogs would be very bad.

I don't know what the answer is, but something needs to be done to make our streets safe.

It's called effective Animal Control and $$$$$$fines$$$$$$$. Most people don't care until you hit them in their pocket books. Leash laws keep everyone safe; dogs and people.

Maximo · 03-30-2011, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yorkieusa

It's called effective Animal Control and $$$$$$$$$$$$. Most people don't care until you hit them in their pocket books. Leash laws keep everyone safe; dogs and people.

You are right and I should work to get our county to enforce leash laws and impose fines. The only time I read about fines in our area is after someone has been hurt. Sadly, the dog is euthanized too.

Lil Sis · 03-30-2011, 07:26 PM

In Miami Pit bulls are not allowed.. You cannot get tags. There have been quite a few attacks by pit bulls and a child died in the past few years. There have been more attacks by pit bulls than gators. I am more afraid of walking down the street with my "pack" if there was a loose pit bull than a gator in the lake behind my house..yet many people would react stronger to the gator. What I mean is.. with the gator if I don't go into his environment I am ok.. Who knows when a neighbor will "accidently" let out their pit, or other large aggressive dog. geezz poor Remy even got attacked by a poodle

I don't have a answer, I do think there are several breeds that are more aggressive. Part is how they are treated I totally agree.. and part is what the dog is. I think most (not all) people who WANT pit bulls tend to want a more aggressive dog. (They are the people who make fun of yorkies )I would not own a pit bull, and I would freak out if one was loose in my neighborhood.

We also have leash laws. I think there is a $500.00 fine if caught. We have a neighbor that has a German Sheppard, nice dog well trained, but a lot of people are afraid of German Sheppard’s, dobbies, and other large dogs and everyone gets upset when she has him off leash. She gets upset because her dog is very well trained.. but when you are walking at night and a large dog runs up to you (even if it is just to say hi) well... scarry if you don’t know the dog!!

I sure hope the lady is ok. I am sad a breed gets such a 'bad rap" but it does seem almost worldwide that pit bulls are aggressive and blamed for attacks.

Maximo · 03-30-2011, 07:39 PM

My neighbor had a very well-trained GSD and often had it off leash in the front yard. One day another neighbor was walking a poodle down the street and the GSD charged off the porch and had the poodle in his mouth in a flash. No one was hurt, thankfully.

Every dog should be leashed in these situations, no matter how well trained. No person can absolutely guarantee that a dog is not going to do exactly what the GSD did.

I am frustrated thinking we live in a country where buckets, plastic bags, and similar items have to have warning labels printed on them, yet we tolerate dogs running loose as a fact of life.

I think the focus needs to be taken off of specific breeds and we need to hold people accountable for securing their pets.

Bitsy · 03-30-2011, 07:46 PM

My heart soooo goes out to Pit Bulls. I love the breed. They are beautiful dogs and when they are loved and trained and taken care of they can make wonderful pets. It breaks my heart to hear about what people do to them.

Any dog can be a danger. My 15 year old son was walking our big dog (she is a stray we rescued 9 years ago, mixed breed of possibly chow, shepherd, husky??) and a neighbor had their Rottweiler in their front yard with no leash. So the dog runs towards our Sandy aggressively. It upset my son so much. Sandy is not fond of other dogs and snapped/bit the huge Rottweiler (no skin broken, thank God!). My son pulled Sandy away (not an easy thing to do!) and the Rottweiler owner grabbed his dog. The owner was extremely apologetic and said he'd never let that happen again. So scary. My son said he was proud of Sandy for being brave. Not a good situation at all though. Could have been so much worse.

My point is that owners need to be responsible, no matter what breed it is. I don't like all the bullying done to Pit Bulls.

Britster · 03-30-2011, 08:03 PM

First, I'm so sorry about your aunts friend. What a horrible ordeal to go through.

Second, I'm not sure how I feel about leashed dogs/etc. It kind of sucks that, as usual, there are people who ruin things for the responsible ones who actually do train their dogs, etc. Like, I think in any neighborhood, all dogs should always be leashed or confined. It just seems to make logical sense. Kids, other pets, elderly people, etc, who could be in danger simply by a big dog jumping on them, even if they were being nice. It angers me to see people who just let their dogs roam without watching them....

But, it is really nice to be able to have places to go (open fields, parks, beaches) that allow off leash dogs belonging to responsible owners and it's becoming so far and in between to find places like that now because so many stupid people who allow these types of dogs off leash ruin it. It's so nice to see a well trained dog be able to be free and off leash WITH their owner in verbal control of them or however they have them trained. I went to a beach in SC and there were sooo many off leash dogs running along this large beach and they were not bothering anyone (people or other dogs)... they were just enjoying life and having a grand ole' time. All had their owners near by watching them. That kind of stuff is neat to have.

I don't really think it's ever fair to ban a whole breed. It just doesn't make ANY sense to me. First off, many dogs are labeled as 'Pit Bull's' when they could be an entirely different breed. Boxers, for example, are known to be amazing family dogs but many will label them as Pits. It just doesn't seem fair because "Pit Bull" is not actually a breed, so the statistics are a little skewed. I mean, Pugs are banned in certain areas for God's sake! (http://www.dogster.com/forums/Dog_La.../thread/410484) What would you do if your city banned Yorkies, because they are 'terriers' or because they are stereotyped as being 'nippy' so therefore they become a threat? Then it would be a whole new issue, right? I also believe Golden Retrievers are higher up on the bite list than Pits, but I could be wrong about that. I know they are in the top 5. It just goes to show you how HUMANS can ruin a breed. Pits were once known as nanny dogs... people entrusted them with their children! So it's kind of a shame to see where the breed has gone.

Britster · 03-30-2011, 08:13 PM

In regards to my above post ^^ This link proves my point.

See how many of you can guess which one is the Real American Pit Bull Terrier?
Pet Pitbull - Find the Pit Bull

Probably not many.... so ALL of these dogs of many different breeds, could bite someone and be mistakenly labeled under a Pit Bull Attack statistic.

Princess10 · 03-30-2011, 08:18 PM

I admit I do fear pits, as well as any unleashed large dog. I have seen tooo many dog fights (unintentionally), been "pinned" in our house by a pit that was standing guard at our door (we called the cops and the dog actually lunged at the car as it drove by), been chased by a pitbull and was so terrified to own any dog as a result. My apartment is supposed to be free of the most commonly known aggressive dogs, including pit bulls. and you know what? in my building there is a pit bull living, but the dog is good, always contained, etc. and I can't find it in my heart to have that dog taken out of it's home. It just realllly depends on the owner & training. I don't like to discriminate against any one breed just as I wouldn't any one race. But there are scary facts & situations, as well narrow-minded people that want to classify one bad incident with an entire breed of dogs. The "owners" need to be punished. Some places in the U.S. if your kid does something wrong, with the ability to know better, the parents are punished. why in the heck wouldn't the owner of an innocent, neglected dog be punished too?

Bitsy · 03-30-2011, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Britster

In regards to my above post ^^ This link proves my point.

See how many of you can guess which one is the Real American Pit Bull Terrier?
Pet Pitbull - Find the Pit Bull

Probably not many.... so ALL of these dogs of many different breeds, could bite someone and be mistakenly labeled under a Pit Bull Attack statistic.

Wow, that was very interesting. I got about halfway through them before I found the actual one. I can see why so many attacks are labeled that way. Just adds to the injustice of it all.

Maximo · 03-30-2011, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Britster

Second, I'm not sure how I feel about leashed dogs/etc. It kind of sucks that, as usual, there are people who ruin things for the responsible ones who actually do train their dogs, etc. Like, I think in any neighborhood, all dogs should always be leashed or confined. It just seems to make logical sense. Kids, other pets, elderly people, etc, who could be in danger simply by a big dog jumping on them, even if they were being nice. It angers me to see people who just let their dogs roam without watching them....

I agree, and I fully support dogs being off leash in designated areas, where we can expect unleashed dogs.

It's just roaming, and I do dislike in a neighborhood like mine when the owner has their dog off leash in the front yard when they know lots of dogwalkers are going to be passing by. Technically, they are not violating the leash law, not until it is too late and the dog enters the street.

capt_noonie · 03-30-2011, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lil Sis

In Miami Pit bulls are not allowed.. You cannot get tags.

This is interesting. Are there still many pits in your area? I would think if people who really wanted a pit, would just not get them tagged, like people who don't care about following most laws, like thugs or guys who want to fight their dogs. I don't really see that law stopping people from getting pits who really wanted to, and to me it would seem that more disreputable breeders would be around to fill the market. I guess what I'm saying is I don't think banning certain breeds can really solve the problem, more problems will arise from the banning. Humans need to be accountable for their lack of training, but unfortunately I don't see the laws changing anytime soon. a dog bites or attacks they put down the dog. What of the owner? usually nothing right? Sad.

concretegurl · 03-31-2011, 12:58 AM

Even chihuahuas should be leashed in public IMHO.I support leash laws for dog and people safety.

Ban the deed not the breed...

As a staff enthusiast often confused for pits, I can say unequivocally it is against their nature to be aggressive towards humans (with the exception of "blues" pits now being found to have a generic flaw leading to violence).
It takes a pit under stress, mistreated or trained to show aggression towards people, don't believe the hype...unfortunately...once you have an aggressive dog that has been bred to have an excessively strong jaw muscle by breed trait-you get major issues and a very dangerous dog. Public panic ensues...

Off topic: Did you know a fight dog will not bite a human? By nature and training they specifically only show aggression toward other animals...
I's a breed inherent trait...so hmmmm what has to be done to make them aggressive towards people? Blame "sick" people not "sick" dogs...

03-30-2011, 05:00 PM	#1
deonk1 YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada Posts: 1,795	Sad day for a breed with a bad rap. Prayers please Well last week a woman (who I later found out was my aunts good friend) was attacked by a pit bull in my home community. There is a huge meeting tomorrow with the mayor and council to decide how to proceed. There has been talk of new leash and muzzle laws, and lord knows what else. While I'm deeply sorry for this woman who is in critical condition and I'm praying for her recovery (and ask that you all do too). I find it extremely frustrating that tomorrow council is probably going to blame the dog. I find this saddening, it breaks my heart that this town's dog owners are going to get punished for one ignorant person's foolishness (owner of pit bull). So please pray that this woman recovers, and also please pray that council understands that it is not a problem with the breed, but a problem with the people owning them. __________________ Kendra Harley, you were the light in my life, rest peacefully my love!

03-30-2011, 05:30 PM	#3
Maximo ♥ Maximo and Teddy Donating Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 25,041	The problem is that loose dogs are a growing problem. There are more dogs and more people have pets than ever before. We have leash laws, but many people ignore them or they don't adequately secure their dogs (of all breeds). I don't swim in shark-infested waters and I don't want to fear stepping out my front door. Yesterday a neighbor's large American bull dog and lab were running loose in the neighborhood. Now I am scared again to walk my boys together because an encounter with these dogs would be very bad. I don't know what the answer is, but something needs to be done to make our streets safe. __________________ Kristin, Max and Teddy

03-30-2011, 07:26 PM	#6
Lil Sis Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: South Florida Posts: 8,008	In Miami Pit bulls are not allowed.. You cannot get tags. There have been quite a few attacks by pit bulls and a child died in the past few years. There have been more attacks by pit bulls than gators. I am more afraid of walking down the street with my "pack" if there was a loose pit bull than a gator in the lake behind my house..yet many people would react stronger to the gator. What I mean is.. with the gator if I don't go into his environment I am ok.. Who knows when a neighbor will "accidently" let out their pit, or other large aggressive dog. geezz poor Remy even got attacked by a poodle I don't have a answer, I do think there are several breeds that are more aggressive. Part is how they are treated I totally agree.. and part is what the dog is. I think most (not all) people who WANT pit bulls tend to want a more aggressive dog. (They are the people who make fun of yorkies )I would not own a pit bull, and I would freak out if one was loose in my neighborhood. We also have leash laws. I think there is a $500.00 fine if caught. We have a neighbor that has a German Sheppard, nice dog well trained, but a lot of people are afraid of German Sheppard’s, dobbies, and other large dogs and everyone gets upset when she has him off leash. She gets upset because her dog is very well trained.. but when you are walking at night and a large dog runs up to you (even if it is just to say hi) well... scarry if you don’t know the dog!! I sure hope the lady is ok. I am sad a breed gets such a 'bad rap" but it does seem almost worldwide that pit bulls are aggressive and blamed for attacks. __________________ Shinja mom to Remy lil Sis to Bailey and Sammy

03-30-2011, 07:39 PM	#7
Maximo ♥ Maximo and Teddy Donating Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 25,041	My neighbor had a very well-trained GSD and often had it off leash in the front yard. One day another neighbor was walking a poodle down the street and the GSD charged off the porch and had the poodle in his mouth in a flash. No one was hurt, thankfully. Every dog should be leashed in these situations, no matter how well trained. No person can absolutely guarantee that a dog is not going to do exactly what the GSD did. I am frustrated thinking we live in a country where buckets, plastic bags, and similar items have to have warning labels printed on them, yet we tolerate dogs running loose as a fact of life. I think the focus needs to be taken off of specific breeds and we need to hold people accountable for securing their pets. __________________ Kristin, Max and Teddy

03-30-2011, 07:46 PM	#8
Bitsy Ultimate Banner! Donating Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: US Posts: 6,122	My heart soooo goes out to Pit Bulls. I love the breed. They are beautiful dogs and when they are loved and trained and taken care of they can make wonderful pets. It breaks my heart to hear about what people do to them. Any dog can be a danger. My 15 year old son was walking our big dog (she is a stray we rescued 9 years ago, mixed breed of possibly chow, shepherd, husky??) and a neighbor had their Rottweiler in their front yard with no leash. So the dog runs towards our Sandy aggressively. It upset my son so much. Sandy is not fond of other dogs and snapped/bit the huge Rottweiler (no skin broken, thank God!). My son pulled Sandy away (not an easy thing to do!) and the Rottweiler owner grabbed his dog. The owner was extremely apologetic and said he'd never let that happen again. So scary. My son said he was proud of Sandy for being brave. Not a good situation at all though. Could have been so much worse. My point is that owners need to be responsible, no matter what breed it is. I don't like all the bullying done to Pit Bulls. __________________ Bitsy loves Sophia and Peyton

03-30-2011, 05:02 PM	#2
RachelandSadie No Longer a Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 5,748	i hear ya on that. it's so sad to blame the entire breed for bad training and ownership. you don't ban labs everytime a lab attacks but it's because labs aren't bred into fighting rings and forced to be mean. darn evil breeders/owners that breed the anger and out of blood into the pits

03-30-2011, 08:03 PM	#9
Britster Action Jackson ♥ Donating Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Maryland Posts: 17,814	First, I'm so sorry about your aunts friend. What a horrible ordeal to go through. Second, I'm not sure how I feel about leashed dogs/etc. It kind of sucks that, as usual, there are people who ruin things for the responsible ones who actually do train their dogs, etc. Like, I think in any neighborhood, all dogs should always be leashed or confined. It just seems to make logical sense. Kids, other pets, elderly people, etc, who could be in danger simply by a big dog jumping on them, even if they were being nice. It angers me to see people who just let their dogs roam without watching them.... But, it is really nice to be able to have places to go (open fields, parks, beaches) that allow off leash dogs belonging to responsible owners and it's becoming so far and in between to find places like that now because so many stupid people who allow these types of dogs off leash ruin it. It's so nice to see a well trained dog be able to be free and off leash WITH their owner in verbal control of them or however they have them trained. I went to a beach in SC and there were sooo many off leash dogs running along this large beach and they were not bothering anyone (people or other dogs)... they were just enjoying life and having a grand ole' time. All had their owners near by watching them. That kind of stuff is neat to have. I don't really think it's ever fair to ban a whole breed. It just doesn't make ANY sense to me. First off, many dogs are labeled as 'Pit Bull's' when they could be an entirely different breed. Boxers, for example, are known to be amazing family dogs but many will label them as Pits. It just doesn't seem fair because "Pit Bull" is not actually a breed, so the statistics are a little skewed. I mean, Pugs are banned in certain areas for God's sake! (http://www.dogster.com/forums/Dog_La.../thread/410484) What would you do if your city banned Yorkies, because they are 'terriers' or because they are stereotyped as being 'nippy' so therefore they become a threat? Then it would be a whole new issue, right? I also believe Golden Retrievers are higher up on the bite list than Pits, but I could be wrong about that. I know they are in the top 5. It just goes to show you how HUMANS can ruin a breed. Pits were once known as nanny dogs... people entrusted them with their children! So it's kind of a shame to see where the breed has gone. __________________ ~ Brit & Lights! Camera! Jackson! CGC ETD TKP ~ Follow Jackson on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacksontheterrier Last edited by Britster; 03-30-2011 at 08:08 PM.

03-30-2011, 08:13 PM	#10
Britster Action Jackson ♥ Donating Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Maryland Posts: 17,814	In regards to my above post ^^ This link proves my point. See how many of you can guess which one is the Real American Pit Bull Terrier? Pet Pitbull - Find the Pit Bull Probably not many.... so ALL of these dogs of many different breeds, could bite someone and be mistakenly labeled under a Pit Bull Attack statistic. __________________ ~ Brit & Lights! Camera! Jackson! CGC ETD TKP ~ Follow Jackson on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacksontheterrier

03-30-2011, 08:18 PM	#11
Princess10 Banning Queen Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Home of the Kalamazoo Wings, MI. Posts: 3,122	I admit I do fear pits, as well as any unleashed large dog. I have seen tooo many dog fights (unintentionally), been "pinned" in our house by a pit that was standing guard at our door (we called the cops and the dog actually lunged at the car as it drove by), been chased by a pitbull and was so terrified to own any dog as a result. My apartment is supposed to be free of the most commonly known aggressive dogs, including pit bulls. and you know what? in my building there is a pit bull living, but the dog is good, always contained, etc. and I can't find it in my heart to have that dog taken out of it's home. It just realllly depends on the owner & training. I don't like to discriminate against any one breed just as I wouldn't any one race. But there are scary facts & situations, as well narrow-minded people that want to classify one bad incident with an entire breed of dogs. The "owners" need to be punished. Some places in the U.S. if your kid does something wrong, with the ability* to know better*, the parents are punished. why in the heck wouldn't the owner of an innocent, neglected dog be punished too? __________________ For The Night Is Dark & Full Of Terriers

03-31-2011, 12:58 AM	#15
concretegurl Between♥Suspensions Donating Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Vaissades Posts: 7,979	Even chihuahuas should be leashed in public IMHO.I support leash laws for dog and people safety. Ban the deed not the breed... As a staff enthusiast often confused for pits, I can say unequivocally it is against their nature to be aggressive towards humans (with the exception of "blues" pits now being found to have a generic flaw leading to violence). It takes a pit under stress, mistreated or trained to show aggression towards people, don't believe the hype...unfortunately...once you have an aggressive dog that has been bred to have an excessively strong jaw muscle by breed trait-you get major issues and a very dangerous dog. Public panic ensues... Off topic: Did you know a fight dog will not bite a human? By nature and training they specifically only show aggression toward other animals... I's a breed inherent trait...so hmmmm what has to be done to make them aggressive towards people? Blame "sick" people not "sick" dogs... __________________ Shan & 8 kids now!