Pit bull fatally mauls 3-month-old baby in Texas

[steph.]

Yes of course any animal can do damage, but i think the extent of the damage is important. If the pom had bitten the baby's face it would have had a scar, but a bigger dog could have killed it. The difference between the two consequences is huge.

 

[RoseKitten]

Once again, my point is that there are dangers, everywhere. Any dog can hurt, any can kill given enough time, or just by biting in just the right place. Sure, a pit can do it much more quickly than say, a pomm, but as far as I'm concerned, danger is danger. We either run away and hide from it, or we become pro active about it. The argument of "well, it doesn't do as much damage, so it's not as big of a deal" doesn't hold water with me.

 

[Liesje]

I believe the extent of the damage is important. Dogs exercise what's called "bite inhibition" which means if trained properly, they use the proper amount of force necessary. Dogs never taught to bite properly are the ones who tend to go overboard in the most unexpected situations, like being injured for example.

 

[JASMAK]

I'm not the biggest dog lover, but even if smaller dogs are statistically more 'aggressive' than some of the bigger dogs with worse reputations, I'd still rather be bitten by a chihuahua.

And that's exactly why little dogs are allowed to bite as much as they please in most cases, because they're small and don't "hurt" as badly as the larger dogs. I guess so long as you don't have kids with small moving parts, you're probably fine with smaller dogs, but they aren't that much safer. My dad lost part of his finger to a pomm (previously mentioned, I believe) because the only way to remove the dog was to break it off of him, and he wasn't willing to do that. My cousin has a scar on her face from where the little turd went for her cheek. Keep in mind that this is a 3lb dog. Little dogs can, and will, do damage.

My FIL's Jack Russel caused alot of damage to my oldest daughters eye and face.

 

[JASMAK]

I'm not the biggest dog lover, but even if smaller dogs are statistically more 'aggressive' than some of the bigger dogs with worse reputations, I'd still rather be bitten by a chihuahua.

And that's exactly why little dogs are allowed to bite as much as they please in most cases, because they're small and don't "hurt" as badly as the larger dogs. I guess so long as you don't have kids with small moving parts, you're probably fine with smaller dogs, but they aren't that much safer. My dad lost part of his finger to a pomm (previously mentioned, I believe) because the only way to remove the dog was to break it off of him, and he wasn't willing to do that. My cousin has a scar on her face from where the little turd went for her cheek. Keep in mind that this is a 3lb dog. Little dogs can, and will, do damage.

But the thing is if the dog was a pit bull instead of a 3lbs pom your dad might have lost his arm instead of a finger, and your cousin might have died

Well, I agree with this. But, all bites hurt like eff.

 

[Sarahcake]

What a horrific story that poor LO and their family

I don't think the issue itself is the breed, any pet at all can just snap regardless of what they are. Think about yourselves, you can loose your temper without anyone actually teaching you/ telling you to do so right?

When I was in nursery, so like 2-3years old, a lady came to pick up her daughter and bought the family dog along, an Alsatian. The dog ran in all excited, ran up to that little girl, jumped at her, and bit her nose from her face...it was horrific and despite being so young, I remember it vividly.

Our own dog, Kelly a springer spaniel, jumped at me and spontaneously bit me in the arm when I was 5. Was enough for stitches.

The 2 dogs above weren't trained to do that, they just did it.

So IMO, all animals have the potential to just flip out, not just the 'dangerous' breeds same as we have the ability to just do a total 180 and change out temperament on the spot.

Hope this makes sense, it's 4:30am and I can't sleep so it may come across as ramble!

 

[jenniferttc1]

I don't agree that's its breeds. Sure some breeds need a lot more training than others cause of temperments. I have a full blooded German rottie that I couldn't see hurting most people. He even loves male dogs and plays with them. He's scared of bugs etc lol. He loves my son but I would never trust him with him. He's a good dog. But you just never know, and I have no idea what he would do it my son tried to grab his bone or something. My mixed rottie/shepard female is amazing with him. He can climb on her. Pull her hair, bounce on her and take her bone and she just smiles, but I am still right there just in case. I love my dogs so much and I hate that I can't trust them with his safety, but honestly you can't trust a lot of humans either.

 

[alaskagrown]

Detroit police: Pit bull attacks, kills 3-week-old girl after mom puts her car seat on floor

Headline on the news today.

 

[robinator]

But of course we're going to get a lot of headlines about pitbulls - many owners get them with the intention to train them to be aggressive......

People don't train their Australian shepherds to be vicious; if they did, we would get those headlines.

 

[alaskagrown]

Not all the time. You very frequently hear the phrase 'the family's beloved pet pit bull' and how they never had shown signs of aggression in the past, how the owners are shocked how this could happen, etc. It's almost cliche.

 

[robinator]

Well, then, okay. I don't know

 

[lhancock90]

I have a staffordshire bull terrier. Another "dangerous" breed and one with the highest level of abandoned dogs in shelters in the UK.
I firmly believe it is the owner, not the animal that causes such behaviour. Nuture vs nature. Which is why i personally, would never adopt a dog as an adult whilst i have children, because i can not be 100% sure of its past.
Pitbulls are status dogs with owners who encourage violence, giving the entire breed an awful reputation.
The owners can claim all they like it was the nicest dog ever but, nobody knows what went on behind closed doors.
I'm confused as to how a 3 month old baby is ever put in that position though..

 

[Liesje]

Just curious if anyone is aware that the "Pitbull" is not an actual breed of dog?

 

[robinator]

What is it, then? Do tell!

 

[mummy3]

I'd say in most cases they're going to say the dog was a beloved family pet, never would've expected etc to save them getting into trouble! Hardly going to come out and say to police/press 'yeah I've not trained it and its to make me look hard'...

I think that yeah size of dog does make a difference in the sense that not as much damage or at least not as quickly but with the right training I dont think its a breed issue My personal take is I would much, much rather a well trained larger breed than any small breed dog. We have an english bulldog, she is highly trained and never any sign of aggression but still the kids are NEVER unsupervised with her I'm terrified of small dogs after a run in with a yorkshire terrier as a toddler

 

[Liesje]

What is it, then? Do tell!

A cute term invented for a bunch of mixed dogs. You technically can't have a "purebred Pitbull" as the breed doesn't exist... Which is why Pitbull bans are ridiculous.

 

[robinator]

^^But they have pretty similar appearance; wouldn't that suggest a specific genetic code?

 

[Liesje]

Actually no. It's even impossible to use DNA to determine the breed of even "purebred" dogs. (that DNA dog breed determination tool on the Internet is bs btw).
Those things are just a few of the many myths people used to push breed specific legislation.

 

[staybeautiful]

What is it, then? Do tell!

A cute term invented for a bunch of mixed dogs. You technically can't have a "purebred Pitbull" as the breed doesn't exist... Which is why Pitbull bans are ridiculous.

That's why the ban isn't against the breed, because there's no such thing (unless you count American Pitbull Terriers). The ban is against the "pit bull type", as shown on the directgov website:
"What is a ‘type’ of banned dog?
Whether your dog is a banned type depends on what it looks like, rather than its breed or name
A dog type is not a breed. Whether your dog is a banned type depends on what it looks like, rather than its breed or name.
If your dog matches many of the characteristics of a Pit Bull Terrier, it may be a banned type. This is because dogs with these characteristics are more likely than other dogs to cause severe harm if they attack.
It won’t matter what type or breed a dog’s parents were. (Cross-bred and mongrel dogs can have the characteristics of a Pit Bull Terrier.)
Pit Bull type dogs
Pit Bull types may include the following dog breeds:
American Staffordshire Terriers
Irish Staffordshire Terriers
Irish Blue or Red Nose
Some kinds of American Bulldogs have been found to be Pit Bull types.
Staffordshire Bull Terriers
Staffordshire Bull Terriers are not listed in the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. You are allowed to own this breed of dog. "

https://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/InYourHome/AnimalsAndPets/Dogs/DG_180098

 

[fidgets mammy]

these stories make me sick to the stomach. my twins are 3 month old and the thought is awful