conuly

Seconded.

From:

That is really a stupid law. *directs bitch, please icon at Colorado* If you train a dog to be vicious, it will be vicious. Period. I feel awful for all the nice, friendly pit bulls who are dying for this. If someone tried to take away my dog just because of her breed, I would be really, really upset.

And word about the dalmations. Everyone thinks they're all friendly because of the movies, but a friend of mine had one when we were little and that's the only dog that's ever bitten me. And it was mentally disturbed because the previous owners (not my friend's family) abused it.

*sigh*

From:

Dalmations can be nervous in families, because they're predisposed to be one-owner dogs. I'm not surprised it behaved badly when confronted with small children-- ALL dogs should be supervised with kids, though mostly it's because small children do things to provoke them, usually without even knowing it....

From:

I've heard that. This dog really did have a lot of physical and mental problems. And we weren't that young, even. I was about 10 or 11 when this happened.

From:

Ah, yeah... sounds like it had long-standing behavior issues.

From:

maladaptive.livejournal.com

It LOOKS like a pit bull!?

Do they even know what a pit bull is, or are they rounding up any dog that may or may not be a staffordshire?

Christ Almighty. That's obscene.

From:

aye. many of the dogs brought in are misnamed PitBulls, because OMG MEEN.

nevermind that pitbulls are pretty distinctive, with that meaaty neck and Very. Square. Hed.

/has a Pit.

From:

kibbles.livejournal.com

Someone in the thread AGREES that they are viscious, thinks they should be sterilized.

From:

feathered.livejournal.com

I've had experience with pit bulls. Yes, they can be vicious, but then again, the most vicious dog I ever knew was a collie/red heeler mix, and the second most vicious was a lab. Any dog will be vicious if it's misstreated or trained to be aggressive. I used to volunteer at a humane society, and I met several pit bulls who were wonderful, sweet dogs, including one who had been used in illegal dog fighting! Despite his origins, that dog was fabulous with both people and other animals. One of the dogs on my street right now is part pit bull, and while she's rather ugly, she's probably the nicest canine I've ever met besides my own Lily (who gets along great with her). It's possible that pit bulls are slightly more likely to be aggressive in certain situations than other breeds are, but like with people, it's always a mix of nature and nurture, not one or the other. Really, this is like saying that all children who were abused in their childhoods should be steralized because statistically, they are more likely to abuse as adults! It makes me sick how we feel we're superior enough to animals that we can create laws that, if applied to humans, are obviously cruel and illogical.

My disgust is boundless.

From:

aquamizuko.livejournal.com

Meh.. I had a pit bull up until a few years ago, and she was a wonderful pet. Sure, they have the potential to be dangerous (we kept her in a kennel when company was over because we didn't socialize her well enough), but at the same time they can also be really sweet dogs if you train them properly and don't treat them bad, because any dog can be dangerous depending on how it's raised. I think they should look more into breeding out the aggressive tendencies like they're doing with another dog (Dobermans?), not just ban them completely.

The day after we got Molly, we went back to see about more only to find that the litter had been euthanized. -.-

From:

ancarett

As a pit bull owner (by the new law's definition here in Ontario, my hapless Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Britain's #1 most popular purebred dog and a breed that has never been implicated in an unprovoked attack on a human in Canadian history), I have to thank you for the article link.

I blame the news media and politicians for the problems we're currently experiencing, as well as the fear-absorbed sectors of society that like to see everything that's not identical to themselves as "the enemy."

From:

sicpuppy.livejournal.com

What people need to remember is that although pit bulls can have a slightly increased chance of being dog aggressive, they don't tend to be people-aggressive. Think about it, if you fight dogs, you need to be able to handle your dog, and to reach in and break him out if a fight goes too far. Basically, you need to be able to handle the dog. It doesn't do the dog-fighters any favours to have a dog which is savage to people.

American pit bulls are illegal here, but we do have staffies and the main problem with them is the sort of people who own them. Here, Im sorry to say it but the vast majority of people who own staffies are morons who get them to look tough. They can't have an american pit so they get the next best thing. Theres lots of staffies about my town and almost without exception, I've seen them belonging to people who really don't seem to know how to handle them, discipline them (that doesn't mean hitting them or pulling them about by the throat) or even anything about the breed's character. Personally, if I were going to get a dog, I'd research it's traits and personality, but people here don't. They just go and get a staffy puppy thinking it'll make them look like a fucking gangster or something and the dog ends up suffering for it.

But it's true, certainly in this country, that more people are bitten by jack russells, yorkies and other toy/miniature breeds each year than by any of the typical 'aggressive' dogs like dobes and rotties and pits, you just don't hear about it so much because it's a small bite and not usually that serious.

From:

ladytalon.livejournal.com

Stupid and sad.

I heard that a lot of Denver shelters were taking in an unusually large number of pit bulls for the week or so before the ban went into effect, but I don't know if that actually saved them or if the cops just took those ones away too.

From:

griphus.livejournal.com

"It should know there have been fatal attacks in the U.S. by Pomeranians"

does that include people that trip over them and fall down stairs and such?

From:

theshiversbaby.livejournal.com

While as a lifelong dog-lover and a volunteer at a no-kill shelter, I completely disagree with this law, I think that it is just as dangerous or naive to say that "pit bulls are gentle dogs" as it is to say "pit bulls are vicious dogs." I have met many pit bulls (or American Staffordshire Terriers or St. Francis Terriers, as I would rather call them) who were gentle and sweet. Unfortunately, AmStaffs are often the top choice of people who want dogs that they can train to be vicious and mean. If I randomly met an AmStaff on the street, I certainly wouldn't assume that it's gentle. But I think I understand what you're saying - that they're not by nature predisposed to being vicious. Is that right?

I'm not sure how I feel about the nature vs. nurture debate when it comes to dogs. Some dogs are genuinely born with aggressive tendencies, especially male dogs. By "agressive" I don't mean "vicious" or "mean" or "dangerous" but, well...agressive! With no insinuations. Some breeds have a tendency towards aggressiveness, and I believe AmStaffs are one of these breeds. That's hard to disagree with, though - this breed was originally bred for fighting or hunting or purposes which required aggressive and at times violent behavior. Those traits got passed down through generations as breeders selected the dogs which were best at these activities. Some of that has dissipated, as AmStaffs are becoming more and more frequently companion or otherwise nonsporting dogs. Still, their history remains. This aggression, which is natural to some, is thwarted by bad owners and breeders who want to create malicious dogs.

And on a side note...I've only met sweet chihuahuas, but maybe my friends are just better owners then the people who've raised those "vicious" ones!

Regarding dalmations - totally agreed. I don't think people realized this after 101 Dalmations came out and so a lot of those Christmas present puppies ended up at shelters.

From:

conuly

But I think I understand what you're saying - that they're not by nature predisposed to being vicious. Is that right?

That would be it :)

And on a side note...I've only met sweet chihuahuas, but maybe my friends are just better owners then the people who've raised those "vicious" ones!

Probably. I think some of the reason those dogs tend to be nasty is because people don't train them at all, thinking them cute dogs. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Regarding dalmations - totally agreed. I don't think people realized this after 101 Dalmations came out and so a lot of those Christmas present puppies ended up at shelters.

Especially as a lot of them came from puppy mills, which we all know suck.

From:

leora.livejournal.com

I wish people were required to show that they know how to handle and care for the pet of their choice before they'd be allowed to get a pet of any kind. Better for them, better for those who get exposed to the pet, and better for the pet.

And yes, making an overarching statement about the whole breed ... especially in such a way is horrible. Sure, it's fine to say FOOs tend to be more BAR, so a FOO might suit you better. But to make people get rid of all pitbulls... that's horrible.

Most vicious animal I ever encountered was a rabbit. We don't know why. Eventually it had to be euthanized because it couldn't even be fed without risk of it attacking.. Since it clearly couldn't be kept safely, an attempt was made to release it into the wild as the person lived in a mostly wilderness area anyway. It stayed around and then tried to attack a child.

The second most vicious animal I've ever encountered was a purebred cat. It was hypothesized that she was just perpetually angry and ill-tempered because she was removed from her mother too young. She was my family's cat until one night I (about 4 or 5 years old at the time) woke up screaming as she had clawed me and drawn blood. She was given to a breeder, where she was kept and bred, but she wasn't suitable as a pet for anyone. She also destroyed a bunch of my sister's clothes, but my family had put up with that, it was attacking a person in her sleep that crossed the line.

But I don't blame cats or rabbits for these examples. Most cats I've met are wonderful, and I love them.

From:

wodhaund.livejournal.com

Two sweetest dogs I have ever know: Pitbull named "Billy" and a Rottweiler named "Kain". They're both absolute dolls, but both their breeds have such awful reputations...

Meanest dog I've ever known: Shih Tzu named "Miss Bit". I HATED that dog with a passion. She was the worst tempered thing I've ever seen, and would lunge after anyone - even her owners. x.x Hated her.

From:

cindel.livejournal.com

Some are and Some aren't.

Yes, Chihuahuas are often vicious. My aunt next door neighbor breeds them for a living and yes they are not people friendly.

From:

;____;.

I have a pitbull. She's nicer than our beagles. She's sweeter than lots of dogs. She'll stop doing whatever she's doing if you look at her disaprovingly. She's basically a wuss. However, I know better than to walk her by myself (I've got MISERABLE upper-arm strength) because I KNOW that she's not good with non-family people and other dogs. It's not that hard to realize your dog's limits.

I know she kinna doesn't count though, because of her unusual upbringing. She had alot of worms and such, so she got carried everywhere and babied.

From:

thren0dy.livejournal.com

Dumbasses with tiny-dick complexes like to buy them and make them mean and fight them against other pit bulls. Now they have this horrible reputation and people are terrified of them. I think they should round up the people who have dogfights and make their dogs like that and euthanize them, but that's just me. :P

From:

Seconded.

From:

That is really a stupid law. *directs bitch, please icon at Colorado* If you train a dog to be vicious, it will be vicious. Period. I feel awful for all the nice, friendly pit bulls who are dying for this. If someone tried to take away my dog just because of her breed, I would be really, really upset.

And word about the dalmations. Everyone thinks they're all friendly because of the movies, but a friend of mine had one when we were little and that's the only dog that's ever bitten me. And it was mentally disturbed because the previous owners (not my friend's family) abused it.

*sigh*

From:

Dalmations can be nervous in families, because they're predisposed to be one-owner dogs. I'm not surprised it behaved badly when confronted with small children-- ALL dogs should be supervised with kids, though mostly it's because small children do things to provoke them, usually without even knowing it....

From:

I've heard that. This dog really did have a lot of physical and mental problems. And we weren't that young, even. I was about 10 or 11 when this happened.

From:

Ah, yeah... sounds like it had long-standing behavior issues.

From:

maladaptive.livejournal.com

It LOOKS like a pit bull!?

Do they even know what a pit bull is, or are they rounding up any dog that may or may not be a staffordshire?

Christ Almighty. That's obscene.

From:

aye. many of the dogs brought in are misnamed PitBulls, because OMG MEEN.

nevermind that pitbulls are pretty distinctive, with that meaaty neck and Very. Square. Hed.

/has a Pit.

From:

kibbles.livejournal.com

Someone in the thread AGREES that they are viscious, thinks they should be sterilized.

From:

feathered.livejournal.com

I've had experience with pit bulls. Yes, they can be vicious, but then again, the most vicious dog I ever knew was a collie/red heeler mix, and the second most vicious was a lab. Any dog will be vicious if it's misstreated or trained to be aggressive. I used to volunteer at a humane society, and I met several pit bulls who were wonderful, sweet dogs, including one who had been used in illegal dog fighting! Despite his origins, that dog was fabulous with both people and other animals. One of the dogs on my street right now is part pit bull, and while she's rather ugly, she's probably the nicest canine I've ever met besides my own Lily (who gets along great with her). It's possible that pit bulls are slightly more likely to be aggressive in certain situations than other breeds are, but like with people, it's always a mix of nature and nurture, not one or the other. Really, this is like saying that all children who were abused in their childhoods should be steralized because statistically, they are more likely to abuse as adults! It makes me sick how we feel we're superior enough to animals that we can create laws that, if applied to humans, are obviously cruel and illogical.

My disgust is boundless.

From:

aquamizuko.livejournal.com

Meh.. I had a pit bull up until a few years ago, and she was a wonderful pet. Sure, they have the potential to be dangerous (we kept her in a kennel when company was over because we didn't socialize her well enough), but at the same time they can also be really sweet dogs if you train them properly and don't treat them bad, because any dog can be dangerous depending on how it's raised. I think they should look more into breeding out the aggressive tendencies like they're doing with another dog (Dobermans?), not just ban them completely.

The day after we got Molly, we went back to see about more only to find that the litter had been euthanized. -.-

From:

ancarett

As a pit bull owner (by the new law's definition here in Ontario, my hapless Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Britain's #1 most popular purebred dog and a breed that has never been implicated in an unprovoked attack on a human in Canadian history), I have to thank you for the article link.

I blame the news media and politicians for the problems we're currently experiencing, as well as the fear-absorbed sectors of society that like to see everything that's not identical to themselves as "the enemy."

From:

sicpuppy.livejournal.com

What people need to remember is that although pit bulls can have a slightly increased chance of being dog aggressive, they don't tend to be people-aggressive. Think about it, if you fight dogs, you need to be able to handle your dog, and to reach in and break him out if a fight goes too far. Basically, you need to be able to handle the dog. It doesn't do the dog-fighters any favours to have a dog which is savage to people.

American pit bulls are illegal here, but we do have staffies and the main problem with them is the sort of people who own them. Here, Im sorry to say it but the vast majority of people who own staffies are morons who get them to look tough. They can't have an american pit so they get the next best thing. Theres lots of staffies about my town and almost without exception, I've seen them belonging to people who really don't seem to know how to handle them, discipline them (that doesn't mean hitting them or pulling them about by the throat) or even anything about the breed's character. Personally, if I were going to get a dog, I'd research it's traits and personality, but people here don't. They just go and get a staffy puppy thinking it'll make them look like a fucking gangster or something and the dog ends up suffering for it.

But it's true, certainly in this country, that more people are bitten by jack russells, yorkies and other toy/miniature breeds each year than by any of the typical 'aggressive' dogs like dobes and rotties and pits, you just don't hear about it so much because it's a small bite and not usually that serious.

From:

ladytalon.livejournal.com

Stupid and sad.

I heard that a lot of Denver shelters were taking in an unusually large number of pit bulls for the week or so before the ban went into effect, but I don't know if that actually saved them or if the cops just took those ones away too.

From:

griphus.livejournal.com

"It should know there have been fatal attacks in the U.S. by Pomeranians"

does that include people that trip over them and fall down stairs and such?

From:

theshiversbaby.livejournal.com

While as a lifelong dog-lover and a volunteer at a no-kill shelter, I completely disagree with this law, I think that it is just as dangerous or naive to say that "pit bulls are gentle dogs" as it is to say "pit bulls are vicious dogs." I have met many pit bulls (or American Staffordshire Terriers or St. Francis Terriers, as I would rather call them) who were gentle and sweet. Unfortunately, AmStaffs are often the top choice of people who want dogs that they can train to be vicious and mean. If I randomly met an AmStaff on the street, I certainly wouldn't assume that it's gentle. But I think I understand what you're saying - that they're not by nature predisposed to being vicious. Is that right?

I'm not sure how I feel about the nature vs. nurture debate when it comes to dogs. Some dogs are genuinely born with aggressive tendencies, especially male dogs. By "agressive" I don't mean "vicious" or "mean" or "dangerous" but, well...agressive! With no insinuations. Some breeds have a tendency towards aggressiveness, and I believe AmStaffs are one of these breeds. That's hard to disagree with, though - this breed was originally bred for fighting or hunting or purposes which required aggressive and at times violent behavior. Those traits got passed down through generations as breeders selected the dogs which were best at these activities. Some of that has dissipated, as AmStaffs are becoming more and more frequently companion or otherwise nonsporting dogs. Still, their history remains. This aggression, which is natural to some, is thwarted by bad owners and breeders who want to create malicious dogs.

And on a side note...I've only met sweet chihuahuas, but maybe my friends are just better owners then the people who've raised those "vicious" ones!

Regarding dalmations - totally agreed. I don't think people realized this after 101 Dalmations came out and so a lot of those Christmas present puppies ended up at shelters.

From:

conuly

But I think I understand what you're saying - that they're not by nature predisposed to being vicious. Is that right?

That would be it :)

And on a side note...I've only met sweet chihuahuas, but maybe my friends are just better owners then the people who've raised those "vicious" ones!

Probably. I think some of the reason those dogs tend to be nasty is because people don't train them at all, thinking them cute dogs. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Regarding dalmations - totally agreed. I don't think people realized this after 101 Dalmations came out and so a lot of those Christmas present puppies ended up at shelters.

Especially as a lot of them came from puppy mills, which we all know suck.

From:

leora.livejournal.com

I wish people were required to show that they know how to handle and care for the pet of their choice before they'd be allowed to get a pet of any kind. Better for them, better for those who get exposed to the pet, and better for the pet.

And yes, making an overarching statement about the whole breed ... especially in such a way is horrible. Sure, it's fine to say FOOs tend to be more BAR, so a FOO might suit you better. But to make people get rid of all pitbulls... that's horrible.

Most vicious animal I ever encountered was a rabbit. We don't know why. Eventually it had to be euthanized because it couldn't even be fed without risk of it attacking.. Since it clearly couldn't be kept safely, an attempt was made to release it into the wild as the person lived in a mostly wilderness area anyway. It stayed around and then tried to attack a child.

The second most vicious animal I've ever encountered was a purebred cat. It was hypothesized that she was just perpetually angry and ill-tempered because she was removed from her mother too young. She was my family's cat until one night I (about 4 or 5 years old at the time) woke up screaming as she had clawed me and drawn blood. She was given to a breeder, where she was kept and bred, but she wasn't suitable as a pet for anyone. She also destroyed a bunch of my sister's clothes, but my family had put up with that, it was attacking a person in her sleep that crossed the line.

But I don't blame cats or rabbits for these examples. Most cats I've met are wonderful, and I love them.

From:

wodhaund.livejournal.com

Two sweetest dogs I have ever know: Pitbull named "Billy" and a Rottweiler named "Kain". They're both absolute dolls, but both their breeds have such awful reputations...

Meanest dog I've ever known: Shih Tzu named "Miss Bit". I HATED that dog with a passion. She was the worst tempered thing I've ever seen, and would lunge after anyone - even her owners. x.x Hated her.

From:

cindel.livejournal.com

Some are and Some aren't.

Yes, Chihuahuas are often vicious. My aunt next door neighbor breeds them for a living and yes they are not people friendly.

From: