Why are pitbulls, which represent a tiny fraction of the dogs in this country, by far and away responsible for more fatal attacks on people than any other types of dog??
2010 U.S. Dog Bite Fatality Statistics - DogsBite.org - DogsBite.org
Link Removed
Apparently 44% of fatal PB attacks since 2005 involved a member of the family. So much for loyalty.
And with all due respect, your assertation that violent tendencies are not an inherited trait in specific dog breeds is just plain ridiculous. Why do you think pits (and others) were bred in the first place....to be lap dogs??
Do a little research. Start reading some of the newspaper articles that chronicle PB attacks. You'll find that most of these attacks were by dogs that had never done anything like this before. If you talked to these dogs' owners the day before the attack I'm sure they'd tell you how sweet and obedient their dogs are and that their pups would never do something like jump a fence and attack somebody. Of course the reality of the situation is much different. Remember - most dogs involved in violent attacks on innocent people usually don't live long enough to do it again. They get euthanized. These are almost all first time offenders.
Like I said before - all dogs are obedient and well-behaved. Until they're not.
First off, thanks for taking the time to say "With all due respect," I just want to clarify I do not mean to offend anyone here, and I do not take offense over internet forums. So there are no hard feelings.
I read the CDC report, and looked through the website you provided. Here is a website I think you should read over
Truth about Pit Bull Terriers, Training Help, Pictures, Resources | PitBulls . Here are some things I would like to point out in the article you provided:
1. "Although fatal attacks on humans appear to be a breed-specific problem, other breeds may bite and cause fatalities at a higher rate."
2. "Fatal attacks represent a small portion (0.00001%) of dog bite injuries to humans and therefore, shot not be the primary factor driving public policy concerning dangerous dogs"
3. "We collected data from
The Humane Society of the United Stats (HSUS) and
MEDIA ACCOUNTS related to dog bit attacks and fatalities,
using methods from previous studies"
4. "Second, to the extent of attacks by 1 breed are more news-worthy than those by other breeds, our methods may have resulted in differential ascertainment of fatalities by breed"
5. "Breed-specific legislation does not address the fact that a dog of any breed can become dangerous when bred or trained to be aggressive."
6. "Several interacting factors affect a dog's propensity to bite, including heredity, sex, early experience, socialization and training, health (medical and behavioral), reproductive status, quality of ownership and supervision, and victim behavior.
The article was a good read, but they repeatedly stated there was not enough breed specific evidence to come to a solid conclusion. They admit multiple times that other breeds may have a higher incident. They provide other studies that show German Shephards and Huskies have a worse statistic on dog bites. The CDC admits in recent years Rott's lead in fatalities (why again are rotts allowed to be K9 units and not pits?)
The fact that the CDC is using media statistics, gathered using methods from previous studies, just pushes this study even further into an anti-pitbull bias. How many anti/pro gun debates were won by using media based statistics? None, because the media hates guns and they hate pits.
Also, the CDC does not, and can not, determine what a Pitbull is. Just pitbull TYPE's. Every vet will tell you, pitbulls are closer to a terrier breed now. But the CDC has a terrier (Not otherwise specified) category. What is their criteria for the dog to be included into this TYPE. Further, they rarely do any DNA testing, so there is no positive way the CDC could have labeled them any type of pitbull.
To them not being loyal comment. Pitbulls have a great reputation in the dog world for being fiercely loyal, to the point of sacrificing their life, for their masters. This is hand in hand with the reputation that anti-gun owners give accidental deaths at home with children. It happens, but it doesn't prove anything because the number of cases the gun/pitbull was used to save the family is not recorded. If we are to base everything off of the one sided evidence, no one would own guns in this country.
You said, "what do you think pits (and others) were bred for in the first place...to be lap dogs?" This was a good question, and I never really looked into the origin of my dog. So I did. Bulldogs were bred for boar hunting, specifically baiting. When boar baiting was made illegal, they were bred with terriers for their size, aggression, and agility. They were also bred for human loyalty, so a person could jump into the ring and break up the fight. When they were imported with English and Irish stock, they were used in the US as hunting, herding, guarding, and companionship. They used to be an American icon!
So there is some more of my research. Now its time for you to do more research, read some unbiased articles/biased articles from the other side.
The last thing I would like to bring up is the heredity. I asked some of my close friends and family what they thought of this. They brought up a good point of herding dogs. A collie let loose in a field of sheep will begin to herd naturally...they will do a poor job until trained...but they will attempt anyways. I will agree, there are traits that are bred specifically for purposes of each breed. Speed, aggression, size, intelligence to name a few. Violence I do not believe to be hereditary. Aggression is not violence, can be easily trained into violence, but is not the same. So I will accept aggression being hereditary. That being said, the CDC claims multiple factors lead to a potentially violent dog, heredity just being one of a lot. A collie brought up in the city, trained to be a house dog, will not herd anymore. A pitbull brought up in a loving family, to be non-aggressive, will be just that.
All legal gun owning Americans are good people...until they snap and kill a bunch of people.
