BSL (breed specific legislation)

[AquaticAustin]

Yes what is different is they were chosen to fight and be made agressive, for a long time they were the most popular american dog breed due to their loyalty and sweet disposition. I have a pit mix and he is tge sweetest dog in the world. IME small dogs are far more likely to "attack" they just cant do any damage so society doesnt do anything about it.

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[Rbishop]

Genetics from fast/inbreeding to satisfy demand..happened to cocker spaniels, collies, german shepards and dobermans over the years. You can be the greatest pet owner in the world and still have a pup turn on you at the most unknown moment.

[Zaffy]

Genetics from fast/inbreeding to satisfy demand..happened to cocker spaniels, collies, german shepards and dobermans over the years. You can be the greatest pet owner in the world and still have a pup turn on you at the most unknown moment.

No.

[kriskitty23]

I agree that all dogs have the ability to turn on you. I worked at vet's office for three years and will be the first to tell you that we very rarely had to muzzle a 'big' dog, even Pit Bulls. Generally, we had to muzzle smaller dogs, particularly Pomeranians and Chihuahua’s.

However, I have to say that pit bulls scare me simply due to their ability to lock their jaws when attacking. I own two small dogs, Shih Tzu's, and big dogs in general scare me, as my dogs can easily become a treat. In fact, my puppy was attacked by a German Shepard about 4 months ago. I was able to get the Shepard off of mine and right to the vet (he's just fine now). What would terrify me about a Pit Bull is that should one choose to attack one of my dogs, my dog would be dead. There is no hoping in getting a Pit to unlock his jaw when attacking.

I think it's sad that Pit's have been breed to show aggression, even though this is not true of all Pit's. Unfortunately, for the responsible Pit owners, those that want the dog just to look cool or tough and do not properly train and control them, make a poor name for those of you that do.

[AquaticAustin]

I agree that all dogs have the ability to turn on you. I worked at vet's office for three years and will be the first to tell you that we very rarely had to muzzle a 'big' dog, even Pit Bulls. Generally, we had to muzzle smaller dogs, particularly Pomeranians and Chihuahua’s.

However, I have to say that pit bulls scare me simply due to their ability to lock their jaws when attacking. I own two small dogs, Shih Tzu's, and big dogs in general scare me, as my dogs can easily become a treat. In fact, my puppy was attacked by a German Shepard about 4 months ago. I was able to get the Shepard off of mine and right to the vet (he's just fine now). What would terrify me about a Pit Bull is that should one choose to attack one of my dogs, my dog would be dead. There is no hoping in getting a Pit to unlock his jaw when attacking.

I think it's sad that Pit's have been breed to show aggression, even though this is not true of all Pit's. Unfortunately, for the responsible Pit owners, those that want the dog just to look cool or tough and do not properly train and control them, make a poor name for those of you that do.

I agree, working at a vet as well iv only had to ever muzzle one rottie but we routinely muzzle aggressive chihuahuas (IME they are generally the "worst") But the other thing is pit bulls were bred to show aggression, but not anymore. There are plenty of bad "backyard" breeders still but there are also plenty of responsible breeders who breed healthy, friendly, nice animals and with such a large gene pool it isnt very difficult to breed out a undesirable trait. And aggression is not truly bred, it is taught. Granted a baby puppy will learn from its parents or owner but it is not a gene, you cannot breed an aggressive dog. You create it. I do not really agree that any dog can turn on you at any moment, otherwise there would be many more occurances of it, and you would absolutely hear about it. Dogs that turn may have some history of abuse, maybe they are not neutered (yes it makes a huge difference), theres plenty of legitimate reasons but I truly dont believe that any dog could turn on your for no reason. I wouldnt be nervous for a second about my dog with any person of any age, my grandfather has had only "aggressive" breed dogs most recently a rottie that was the sweetest thing in the world. Personally Im positive I will have a pitbull in my lifetime, probably after I get out of vet school in four years as my second dog and Ill get it from a responsible breeder who has a vet record and takes good care of their dogs. They are very misunderstood and alot of it is public ignorance, just like anything only the bad stories get widespread publication and then any good things that they do wont be.

You must also understand that many "attacks" (not all, but many) were provoked somehow either by another dog or person. My neighbor has a very aggressive jack russel mix who has actually bitten people and dogs, and whenever a larger dog reacts the owner blames the larger dog. I see this frequently at the dog park I go to and its not fair when it does happen. Though people shouldnt fear these dogs they absolutely should respect them. Some dogs dont do well with other dogs or strangers, theres nothing wrong with these dogs but the owners should not put them in situations where they would experience something that upsets them. This again go backs to the responsible owner.

Breed specific legislation is exactly what is seems.

[Chickadee]

I personally would not want a pit bull, but I know plenty of people who have them and love them. A lot of people get them strictly for protection and care very little for the dogs themselves, so they're not socialized or taught anything. These are the ones who attack and give all pit bulls a bad rep. It's the owners who should be punished, not the dog. It's heartbreaking to see that pic of Lennox sitting there in that cell. Even if he HAD been aggressive, he still does not deserve to be caged like that for 2 years.

BTW, I have one of those little dogs who needed to be muzzled at the vet's He came from the pound though, and he was afraid. Again, it was the way he was raised and not his fault. He's a sweetie around me though, and he's getting better with the vet too.

[JamieMonster]

While I agree that since this dog has done nothing wrong and what has happened is ridiculous, it is beyond me why anyone would want a pit bull.

I know with the right owners they are fine and well behaved, but there are so many stories out there of attacks, there is clearly something different about them.


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I have a pit bull- I adopted her BECAUSE she is a pit bull, and there is SO much misinformation given about them. She was NOT raised by me, she was adopted at 4 years old, and she was HORRIBLY abused before coming into my home (even has a scar going across the top of her nose from where her mouth was tied shut for prolonged periods, or she was kicked in the face & it split her muzzle open, in addition to needing a LOT of behavioral rehabilitation to make her able to trust humans again. Even in an emotionally fractured state she NEVER bit, or showed ANY aggression. She now sleeps in my bed, and snuggles my cats & dogs.) Many of the "stories" out there are just that... "stories". While there certainly are members of the breed that DO attack, they were almost certainly trained to do so and endured HORRIBLE and severely abusive conditions to make them that way. It is not a genetic default in the animals themselves. Certainly, there are unethical breeders that will take dogs of foul temperments and breed them, to abuse, and then turn into weapons... it is their exact goal. That could happen with ANY breed of dog. Their drive, focus, and unwillingness to stop is 100% a TERRIER trait, not only a pitbull trait. It's called having "game", all terrier breeds, and most hunting breeds have it. Hence the reason why almost all terriers and hunting dogs need a firm foundation in training, and an experienced owner or you've got yourself an unruly animal. The media hype around the aggression of these animals is UNREAL... Notice how unless it is a pitbull who bit someone, the name of the breed is never in the headlines? Furthermore, dogs who merely resemble pitbulls are deemed as pitbulls if they bite, and in many cases they were even a different breed. I found a game where they had pics of 25 different "pitbull type" dogs, only ONE was an actual pitbull, and NO ONE I asked to play it with me could identify the pitbull in less than 3 guesses- and this even includes someone who rescues pitbulls. This stereotyping of dogs as being "evil by nature" has been around FOREVER. Before pitbulls it was was rottweilers, before rottweilers it was dobermans, before dobies it was german shepherds... the list could go on and on. The same root of the problem with any of these animals goes back to the same source PEOPLE. Through indiscriminate breeding to promote foul tempers (which, again, is possible with ANY breed) or straight out torture of these animals to turn them mean- PEOPLE are the ones who are doing it. Sorry, not trying to call you out, here- but, there is just a lot of misinformation, and I always stand up for these animals if needed.

[excuzzzeme]

I have rescued a German Shepherd Dog and an terrier mix. The GSD was so easily trained and such a a joy to have around. He was a huge goof and a real lover yet people were terrified of him due to his gargantuan size. He was big even by GSD Sizes. The mix is a JRT/Shih Tzu/poodle mix that was abused and neglected. After 3 years we can finally stop muzzling him to take him to the vet. It's been 3 years of hard work to learn what sets him off and then how to untrain that behavior. The Terrier in him will put him in a frenzy to attack any other animal regardless of size. He will chase chipmunks to birds to Great Danes in a split second. Fearless and stupid. That is a dog to be feared. Yes, he has nipped me to warn me off a couple of times but we keep trying. At his age it might be a lost cause, but as long as we keep him in check he will be able to live out his life in leisure, unlike Lennox that doesn't have a history.

Typical political stuff and has nothing to do with the dog or breed. "The officer pulled out a measure and said he was over the size...." This is such government meddling in private affairs that we are headed for too and it scares me. I didn't serve 23 years to have the govt control every aspect of our lives.

Go Lennox! Good Luck!

[AquaticAustin]

http://www.examiner.com/article/lenn...tion-continues

Just a update it seems the post earlier was true and that the family is taking it to a higher level!