Originally Posted by JustaLilBitLuck  First off, an introduction. I’ve been working in all-breed animal (dog and cat) rescue for years, in all aspects: training, grooming, temperament testing, fostering. I’ve dealt with almost every breed of dog at least once. And, I’m here to defend the dogs you seem to love to hate…so here goes.
Prey drive, dog aggression, and human aggression are three COMPLETELY different things. Not all dogs that will aggressively go after small animals will go after dogs it’s own size, and not all dogs that are aggressive towards other dogs are aggressive towards people. Not even remotely close.
Any dog that isn’t socialized, trained, and treated right has the potential to become aggressive, be it APBT, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, or, yes, even your precious little Yorkies. And Wolves? Please. Wolves are WILD animals, undomesticated. APBTs have been living with humans for GENERATIONS, they are domesticated.
APBT’s jaws do not lock, nor do any other breed of dog. There is nothing structurally different about their jaws from any other breed of dogs.
Ummm…actually no. I don’t have the statistics for domestic animal attacks, as those are very hard to obtain, but as for biting people…they aren’t even in the top ten. Top three would be the German Shepherd Dog, the Chow Chow, and the Poodle.
Any large animal? Any large animal? Try any animal. My girlfriend (who works in all-breed animal rescue with me) has three inch-long gashes on her wrist currently. She needed, I believe, 30-some stitches. And this is a girl who knows what to do when a dog bites you, and how to minimize the damage. Would you like to know what caused them? A Yorkshire Terrier. My point? ANY animal can cause damage. ANY animal.
Actually, no, they don’t. And, actually, yes, they did.
Now, for the large picture? Any dog can be aggressive. ANY dog, yes, even your “precious little babies” (hear my sarcasm here). You know, I always had a dislike for small dog owners. I thought that they were fruitcakes, over-the-top, irrational, and were attempting to turn their dogs into furry children, complete with clothing and shoes. And you know, I was getting better, after meeting many well-adjusted small dogs with well-adjusted owners. But you know, you guys just kind of blew that all to h*ll for me. So thanks. Thank you for distilling the faith I was beginning to have in small dog owners. But most of all, thank you for trying to condemn the breed that I love, the breed that I will die trying to protect. Again, cue sarcasm.
And to AmStaffer: You’re amazing. Took some of my words right out of my mouth.
-JustaLilBitaLuck |