Pit bull terriers

[Freckle]

Can anyone explain to me the attraction of owning a pit bull terrier? Why would you choose that breed over any other? Especially when there are children around and the breed has a reputation for unpredictable behaviour - and don't forget that the breed was developed to take on bulls, so it's not going to be a pussycat in any circumstances.

Another child has been killed by one, apparently owned by her grandmother - here . I don't like flagging up bad news on here, but I'm struggling to understand the mentality of people who choose to own such dogs.

we also took him to training classes,and have taught our kids to be respectful of all animals.

poor dog, though. how can a brand new puppy expect to understand that it has been housed with a baby and not see it as competition? i think your cousin's BF is a prize idiot for getting the dog... no, more than an idiot. downright cruel. how is someone who has a new baby supposed to train and care for a puppy as well? something funny going on there...
agree that the dog must go, though.

I would be extremely worried about living with a dog whom I had little contact with especially with a child. Sounds like an attack just waiting to happen.

Why doesnt she just take the dog herself to a rescue centre? It hardly soudns like her partner gives much of a toss about her.

my cousin didnt know what her bf was getting,all he said was he was getting her a pressie.she was mortified when she saw it.but it was little and cute then.she is worried taht it will get her dd,but her bf just wont budge.maybe what has happened with this little girl will make him change his mand.

Is the dog being socialised with children?

Well then she has to decide what's more important - the safety of her child or annoying her arse of a boyfriend.

Still dont get how a breeder would sell teh puppy without meeting the family.

honestly, that's such a stupid line of thinking... if the BF is prepared to risk his DD's life then he's not worth having. (and i'm not saying that all staffies are a risk, but this one clearly is).

Agree. Again it's the owners here not the dog that is making it a risk but the dog needs to go.

i asked her if he had got all his papers etc,she said he didnt come with any,so i mentioned that if he had come with papers she couldve found out from the people he was bought from what his parents temprement was etc,but she said that her bf had bought him form one of his mates whose dog had had pups.

i would always be very wary about buying a breed that you didnt knwo much about,or seen its parents.

when we got our akita,i spent 4 weeks talking to his breeder and she sent me lots of books and info on teh breed to make sure we knew what the breed were like.

we visited her twice before we bought diesel,and we saw his parents,grandparents and great-grandparents.and should he have shown any signs of being agressive,or any of the otehr dogs there,i wouldnt have got him.

but i do believe that its how the owner treats the dog,taht has such an impact on them.our dog only barks once if someone comes to the door who he doesnt recognise,hes such a lovely dog,and i dont have any regrets about getting him.and knwoing more about his breed has helped me so much in training him.

my cousin didnt knwo anything about staffies,neither did her bf.

if id have been her,the first time it bit dd's feet,i would have taken it to a rescue centre or the rspca.

ive told her to get rid of it,but she just says its her bf that wont.think id get of teh fb aswell!!

poor girl. let's hope nothing bad comes of it, although tbh they're already being cruel to the dog by the sounds of things.

thats what i said.the dog isnt socialised with her children (she ahs a ds aswell) and it only goes out when her bf comes home from work.

Buffy: no-one should have a puppy and a new baby. Puppies need as much attention as small children, with the added problem that they bite you with their little needle teeth!

I reckon your friend should get her puppy re-housed/give it to a shelter asap, before things get any worse. Poor little pup.

We should remmeber in all this that dogs were created by the human race - about 100,000 years ago. We've bred them so they work to our advantage.

The problems occuring now are largely because dogs are often bred for looks, without thought to temperament or usefulness.

I live in South London, and lots of the local teenage boys have pitbull crosses. We've heard rumours that they fight them in our local park at night. People like that couldn't give a monkeys about the law.

Me and dh are slightly wary of dogs and there's a lot of dogs where we live. We want to teach dds (aged 5 and 2) best way of behaving when a strange dog bounds up to them - remember that the dogs are often (and pretty much always with the youngest) at least chest high to my children.
I've told my dd1 to stand still and not look dog in the eye, but am wondering if this is right. I figured if I could stop her moving and screaming (out of fright) it might hepl (?)
So, all you dog lovers - is this the best advice? Any other tips?

Stand like a tree with arms folded. Dont scream or run.

Worse case scenario and you are being attacked then you lie in a ball on the floor - submissive position.

Hex - that sounds good!

Worst thing you can do is back
away slowly whilst staring into their eyes (a common toddler reaction IME).

I remember someone on MN a while back getting annoyed because they didn't think they should have to teach thir children about how to behave around dogs. IMO, this is about as sensible as not teaching your child road-safety.

Most dogs are alright though!

I have just read a very interesting book called The Dog Listener. It explains all about dogs behaviour, and how a lot of their traits stem from their ancestery with the wolf pack. Jan Fennell, the author, advises to firstly ignore any unwanted behaviour. She has been called to dog owner's homes where the dog keeps jumping up and snapping, and similar behaviours, and the first thing she does is completely ignore the dog, no eye contact or anything. This immediately establishes her as a worthy leader in the dog's eyes. I am trying out some of her techniques on my two, particularly my Lab, as she sees herself as 'pack protector' which I don't want her to, as it can lead to unsavoury behaviour. So we are working on not allowing her in or out of the house before me, gesture eating (pretending to eat from dog's bowl before you feed them) basically reinforcing to the dog that I am pack leader, not either of them, and I will decide who or what needs protecting, what is or isn't a threat and so on, and it's working.

A very sad case indeed and it won't be the last incident of its type either.

I do not own a dog but I feel its the owners along with the parents who are at fault here primarily - not the animal.

If her parents had also known about this dog then why was she placed under the grandparents' care?.

If the owner had been previously spoken to by the council then why wasn't this followed up to ensure that any recommendations they made were followed?. Presumably this case was not followed up by the council which makes me think that the council should have more powers when it comes to dealing with dangerous animals (regardless of breed).

I think the overall problem is owner ignorance. Dogs are bred to do different jobs of work, and it seems so many are left in a state of boredom with little stimulation in their lives. My mother has a border collie but she doesn't seem able to grasp that he is not a gun dog and retrieval exercises will not stimulate him, and running him ragged down the park chasing the ball won't either. As a result he has developed several stereotypies which although not aggressive, are disturbing. Although many dogs make great family pets I always wonder if a great many are chosen for their aesthetics above temperament. It is also too easy to get a dog. In principle, licensing is a good idea, but who would police it? How many irresponsible young lads with aggressive dogs even know where their local vet is?! There must be so many dogs out there that never even come into contact with 'the system', and I don't imagine many of them are docile family pets that have been well socialised and trained!

While I fully accept that all dogs can turn nasty etc, why would anyone have a dog so powerful that you couldn't fight it off? The problem seems to be with some of thses breeds and crosses is that they are exceptionally stong and powerful, shich that you'd never be able to beat the dog off if it did 'turn' on you.

My mate has just visited with her spaniel. Nice do, but if he 'turned' on my kids I think that I would stand a chance of getting him away from them. With some of these dogs that would be impossible.

So why have them, when you can have other, more 'managable' dogs?

Sorry if this is a repeat of what others have said.

"Be prepared for people to come on and tell you their dog is soft as sh*te and wouldn't hurt a fly "

A really useful contribution to the debate

Exactly MB (nice to see you btw!).

If you look at these types of dogs, they are incredibly compact and powerful, particularly through the chest and shoulders. You can see from a simple glance that this is not some soft spaniel, or similar. Of course, any dog can turn and cause damage, but it is the extent of the damage which is of concern. Dogs such as the bull terriers were bred to bait bulls, so traits such as aggression, a fight-to-the-death mentality and jaws which lock and don't give up were all accentuated in their breeding. It doesn't take a genius to work out who is going to be the loser if one such takes on a human being.

So, given that there are thousands of breeds out there, why would anyone choose one with such traits? Unless you are a sad youth who feels he has to demonstrate his machismo somehow and can't afford a Ford Penis (sorry, Probe)?