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"THERE IS A FULL GROWN BLACK AND WHITE PIT BULL RUNNING AROUND. THE DOG ATTACKED THE MAIL CARRIER AND HE WAS TAKEN BY SQUAD FOR BITES AND A JACKED UP KNEE. THE OFFICER AND POST MASTER ARE TELLING US ALL TO KEEP OUR KIDS AND PETS INSIDE UNTIL THE DOG IS FOUND!"

The first words from an owner after an attack ALWAYS, "It has never done anything like that before!" BINGO, there lies the problem, they are an unpredictable breed. How often do you hear of a lab in an unprovoked attack? Personally, never!

The facts are American Pitbull Terriers bite much less than other breeds compared to their overall population. Their score on the American Temperament Testing society was better than the Golden Retriever. Pit Bulls were less likely to show aggression than: Beagles, Bull Dogs, Basset Hounds, Bichon Frise, Corgis, Chihuahuas, German Shepherds, Poodles, Yorkshier Terriers and so many more breeds that it would be impossible for me to list them all right here.

But if you are the type of person that reacts with emotion you will never get past the way pitbulls will look and discover the truth. If you look at the experts, ASPCA, Ceasar Milan etc you will learn the ABT is a truly amazing breed.

I have been bitten by a lab, a collie, a couple little mutts and in every case it was just a tiny nip and I didn't need any first aid. Don't know if you could say that about a pit bull.

Can they run through fields finding pheasants and quail, point them and retrieve them when their master shoots them.

Can they follow a coon, bear, or mountain lion for miles until they finally tree it.

Can they swim 30 yards through ice cold water to retrieve ducks or geese.

Can they be trained to be a good reliable police or military K-9.

Just what is the talent that makes these dogs so amazing.

The problem with pitbulls is that some of the same people that own them can't raise a dog or kid the right way. Their kids are the thugs committing all the crime and you think they can raise a dog properly? Instead of being the pack leader for the dog they are abusive and want to rule with fear. That creates a very dangerous dog be it lab or pitbull.

Hackbow: "That is where the intellectually honest rubber meets the road. It is that family of dog breeds that combine for the MUCH greater number and percentage, by breed or type, of attacks resulting in severe injury or death."

You are wrong. When overall population is involved pitbulls bite much less than other dog breeds which is absolutely amazing since so many are abandoned by urban thugs and losers.

Breed was not one of the factors identified

The authors report that the breed of the dog or dogs could not be reliably identified in more than 80% of cases. News accounts disagreed with each other and/or with animal control reports in a significant number of incidents, casting doubt on the reliability of breed attributions and more generally for using media reports as a primary source of data for scientific studies. In only 45 (18%) of the cases in this study could these researchers make a valid determination that the animal was a member of a distinct, recognized breed. Twenty different breeds, along with two known mixes, were identified in connection with those 45 incidents.

I've seen a few St. Bernards that didn't act very Christianly.

She took the owners word on a Pit a few years ago and ended up getting bit pretty good.

I totally agree that dogs are like children, they generally turn out the way they are raised. Any breed can be raised to be mean, but certain breeds are commonly known to be unpredictable and Pits just happen to fall into that category.

Like I said before, the phrase you always hear "They have never done anything like that before....."

Hey, I wouldn't have a Chow either. I know a family who got trapped in a bedroom by their family Chow that suddenly came unhinged. It had never acted that way either. This was several years ago but the animal control person said at that point in time, they received more calls on Chows than any other breed. I'd bet that has changed now. Last time I was down at the local dog pound, 75% of the dogs in there were some form of Pit.

all I can say is get some balls.

The dog could have easily taken him down if it had gotten a hold of him.

Chows are very protective and can be mean and they are a pretty good sized dog...

Read a story somewhere today where a couple called 911 and told them they were being held captive by their cat...musta been a big cat...

I believe the temperament test proves that is wrong.

My last dog was a female Brittany. I had her for 3 reasons.

1. She was the best hunting dog I ever owned. Without any formal training, she pointed pheasants, quail etc. chased down the cripples and brought them to me.

2. She kept the critters out of our backyard, coon, possum, groundhogs, things that can do a lot of damage when you live in the middle of the woods.

3. She would warn me as soon as anybody started up our 300 foot wooded lane. We could prepare for the visitor, whoever it was. AND SHE NEVER BIT ANYONE, despite all the different people from little Amish children to delivery men and hunters.

Had her for 14 years. Won't get another as we travel to much now. You can have your pit bulls, but please keep them confined.

My black mouth cur has been vilified with the same stigma as pits and a human would have to beat him to an inch of his life before he even thought about biting.

I cannot think of a legitimate reason to own one that could not also be fulfilled by a more benign dog.

“These dogs are not made for recreation, hunting, or self-defense. They are instruments of destruction with the sole purpose of dog fighting and killing people.”

Let's also ban Rottweilers, German Shepards, Husky, Malmute, Wolf-Dog, Doberman, Chow-Chow, Great Dane, and St. Bernard.

Where does it stop? Shall we destroy all dogs?

You liberal Trump folks supporting PETA now?

That's a lie. The breed was developed to have massive, strong jaws and was bred to fight in bull baiting (where they grab the face of a bull and hang on) and with other dogs. That makes them quite a bit different than my Gordon Setter. She's concerned about birds...period

Yes, any dog can be mean, but let's face it, I'd rather have a shetland sheep dog go whacko on me than a Pit Bull, because if they do you have a BIG problem on your hands. They're bred to latch on and hold on...and they do.

I do agree that vast majority of the problem with this breed isn't the dog itself, but the a-holes that own them, pretty much like any other dog.

But if you want to hunt birds, you get a bird dog breed, not a Chihuahua. If you want to kill something you get a Pit Bull. That's what they're built for.

I'm just happy that Jack Russell Terriers don't get as big as Pit Bulls because if they did they'd make Pit Bulls look like wussies.

Pick the "Assault Weapon" at link.......

Why don't you guys get your facts straight before proceed with your agenda? You sound like Obama and his delusions about Islam and ISIS.

And your comparison with firearms is null. Firearms have ZERO will or instinct of their own. They can and will do NOTHING until you put a human being in control of one.

Try again.

Liability should be direct, not blanketed. Reminds of the "zero tolerance" nonsense pushed by folks who are institutionally fearful of other people's lives.

I get it. Pits are nice dogs, until thier not. They seem to be made with a kill switch. You don't know where it is, or where or when it will turn on, but....

"Police in Central California say two family dogs killed a 3-day-old baby after her mother left her on the couch and walked away for a few seconds.

Fresno Police Sgt. Dan Macias tells the Fresno Bee (http://bit.ly/28ZVnQU) the girl's mother had left the door open because it was hot and she thought the dogs were tied up in the back yard.

The baby died at a hospital shortly after the attack Monday.

Macias says the two male dogs, which are believed to be a mix of shar-pei and pit bull are owned by the 33-year-old woman's brother. He surrendered the dogs to the Central California Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. SPCA spokesman Walter Salvari says the dogs will be euthanized."

Frankly I'm very surprised by you guys wanting to ban these dogs. You use the same logic liberals do with the AR-15. Since a small percentage are used in crime we should ban them all. All of you guys totally disregard what the experts say and react with emotion. Pretty sad.

Here is a link from dog breed info about APT's if you want to learn something.

Temperament evaluations by the American Temperament Test Society give American Pit Bull Terriers an extremely high passing rate of 82.6 percent. The average passing rate for the other 121 breeds of dogs tested was 77 percent.

"Frankly I'm very surprised by you guys wanting to ban these dogs. You use the same logic liberals do with the AR-15."

I can lock my AR up for weeks, months or even years. When I take it out of the safe, it has the same disposition as when I put it in. Straw man argument. A PB is a living sentient being that can snap at any given moment. An AR is inanimate object that can only be used by someone that has snapped. By itself, it can hurt no one.

And you can snap at any given moment and go get your AR-15 and hurt someone.

Yesterday I came home and found my girlfriend and I's dog dead on my back porch.

Our dog was a stray that wandered up. We got the word out to the neighbors and called the shelters, but couldn't find her owner, so we kept her. We hadn't had her long and were told she was likely a Redbone/hound mix. This dog was young, probably about a year old based on tooth condition, ornery, but loving and playful.

Anyhow, when I left our dog behind in the pen yesterday to go to work, I noticed the neighbor's two pit mixes were out roaming. Normally this isn't a huge issue for me alone, nor did I believe it to be for our dog since she was in a pen.

Well, somehow she was able to dig/crawl out at the bottom of the pen, which she hadn't done previously. When I examined her dead body, it wasn't immediately apparent that she had been attacked, but I found other things. The back porch furniture had been moved and there were muddy spots at different locations on the porch from paws and dogs rolling around. The screen door was pawed at and broken. Her collar was taken off and laying just outside of the small fenced portion of our yard. When rolled over, she had blood spots on the side of her face, ear, and abdomen between her front legs. It became obvious that there had been some sort of struggle and that she was likely attacked, but didn't die immediately. She had, however, likely died earlier in the day, as it appeared she baked in the sun for a while.

Nothing was done to any of the other dogs by me only because I can't prove exactly what happened. One of the suspect dogs had been showing increased aggression lately, and was spotted eyeing our dog that morning. We have strong feelings that dog was the attacker. I wish I could prove something, as I still believe in the burden of proof even for a dog, but alas that is not going to happen.

The thing is, all involved parties love dogs: myself, my girlfriend, and the neighbor. I wouldn't want to hurt anyone's pet on suspicion alone, but my girlfriend is a wreck and she wants something done. Btw, she is also pregnant, so we have even more reason for concern.

I also believe that it would be crazy to call for an all-out ban on pit-type dogs. Any type of dog can be made by the owner, but let's be real here, there is an increased responsibility with owning this type of dog. These dogs are inherently more dangerous than many (not all other) dog breeds, and anyone who believes otherwise is simply burying their head in the sand. I am honestly very surprised by some of the willful ignorance displayed on this thread.

I walk the "neighborhood", which essentially entails walking the area within a 3 mile radius of our house in the country. I've had problems with two different types of dogs; pit/bulldog mixes and boxers. The boxer has latched on to my boot before, but I believe I can take him if he is alone and I can keep him in front of me. With the pit encounters I simply feel lucky that either the owner was home and the dog obeyed, or they decided they didn't want me at that time. Escalating the encounter with these dogs would be a mistake, unless absolutely unavoidable. A man without weapon is not the best match against one of these dogs. Yeah, there are more aggressive little yippy dogs that annoy me, but they don't pose as much danger because my boot will heal them without issue.

Catahaulas has caught a big boar that my partner was trying to spear.

One of the guides then drove up about 50 yards away, dropped the tailgate, and let out a big male Pit Bull they had named "Bar-room".

As soon as the hog, 50 yards away, saw the Pit Bull, the big ole boar immediately escalated his squeels and attacks while trying to shake off the Catajailas before "Bar-room" arrived to join the fight.

Just the presence of the Pit Bull was immediately recognized by the Boar as a factor to be dealt with.

We humans are supposed to be much smarter than a hog.

Any owner that lets their dogs roam is irresponsible. Sometimes mistakes happen and dogs get out but that should be rare.

"And you can snap at any given moment and go get your AR-15 and hurt someone."

That whooooosh sound.......it was a point sailing right over your head. An AR cannot do anything on its own. It requires user input. The same cannot be said for PB's.

"And it sailed right over your head that pitbulls don't just "snap"."

My AR doesn't get frustrated and snap if it's been locked up. Get it?

And you can snap at any given moment and go get your AR-15 and hurt someone.

You are comparing a living being that can act on it's own with a tool that requires user input. WTF....

Do you let your grandkids play with loaded guns? Do you let your grandkids play with random dogs?

You closet Democrats and your wanting the nanny states to ban something because you are afraid.

Some of the breeds banned or restricted somewhere in the US.....

Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Pitbull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Dogo Argentino, Boxer, American Bulldog, Tosa Inu, Dogo Canario, Cane Corso, Fila Brasileiro (Brazilian Mastiff), Akita Inu, Dogue de Bordeaux, Bandog, Bullmastiff, Doberman Pinscher, Ca de Bou (Majorca Mastiff), Kuvas, German Shepherd, Mastino Neapolitano, Rottweiler, Chow Chow, Japanese Mastiff, Mixtures of wolves, Hybrids of the above-mentioned breeds.

  Limitations of ownership in some States include: the age of the owner must be at least 21 years, the amount of liability insurance must be 100 000 $, prohibition the sale of dangerous dogs, the dog can be given only to relatives, at private homes owners must be sure to hang warning signs.

Cognitive dissonance is really showing.....

Do I think everyone should have a APT? No, you need to be a pack leader and treat the pit as a dog, not a human. Any large dog needs to be handled this way.

I'm not one calling for a ban, so I know the majority of your post was not aimed in my direction. However, the comparisons between guns and any dog is absurd, and IS CERTAINLY the kind of tool used by the liberal left. A bit hypocritical to accuse others of playing a similar game you are, even though I don't disagree with your premise.

What I do see a lot of agreement on, is the owners are culpable for these dogs of any stripe. What seems to be evident to me is that some of these dogs, and it sure seems a lot of the pitbull breed, have a trigger in there somewhere.

My sons friend has a big pitbull. Like some say, that dog is the sweetest damn thing. I found it laying alongside a dirt road one time and picked her up. She is about as layed back as a dog can get. I kind of worry just a bit when my son has his little boys around her though. My prerogative. It's a grandpa thing.

"Do you let your grandkids play with loaded guns? Do you let your grandkids play with random dogs?"

Nope & nope. But then I don't need to worry that my AR is going to slip it's leash, break out of my gun vault, race across two yards and rip the shit out of some innocent kid.

"Cognitive dissonance is really showing....." Indeed.

What is the point of restricting law abiding dog owners who control there animals or assuming because it looks like an assault dog it must be dangerous.

Where this talk leads is a law abiding citizen losing their rights because of feelings rather than facts.

Many facts were presented to temperment and breeds who have hurt people and on the other side was feelings like the gun grabbers use, "I was bit once by one" and "I cannot think of a legitimate reason to own one that could not also be fulfilled by a more benign dog."

These opinions support the gun grabbers, you obviously wouldn't complain about these common sense dog laws.

That my friends is Liberal behavior. Own it, instead of accusing me of it.

Government can't save you is all I am saying, don't stand against the freedoms we do have.

Why do you have your guns in a vault?

To keep people from stealing them.

Guns don't/can't.

Try again.

"Government can't save you is all I am saying, don't stand against the freedoms we do have." No doubt.

Glad you cleared up where you stand Owl. I was somewhat skeptical based on your earlier posting. ;^)

And stray/feral dogs fit into this plan how????

Dave, how do stray/feral animals fit into any plan now? Maybe we should ban stray dogs? I'm not understanding how your argument applies here as there is no owner of a stray animal?

What the hell happened to personal responsibility?

Dave, I agree, and my County was the first in the nation to get a manslaughter conviction for pit bull attacks.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/2005/12/22/pit-bull-owner-convicted-manslaughter.html

Tony, exactly what I'm suggesting be done nationally. Good for them for making that stick, tragedy what happened to that old woman though.

Don't ban anything, just make people take responsibility for their choices. Pretty simple and straight forward. You can have as many pit bulls as your heart desires. If something happens, you can pay the piper. Let's make America great again! Ha!

It's a stupid, stupid, liberal-assed idea.

A kid comes by your house, starts teasing and poking a stick through the fence at your otherwise mild-mannered dog, and then the kid sticks his hand through the fence and pulls your dog's ear and the dog bites his hand. Nobody sees or hears a thing except the little brat.

Kids goes crying and bleeding to his mommy, mommy calls the cops, cops charge you with assault.

And that's just the start of your nightmare.

Stupid, stupid idea.

One time the kids done the block were throwing rocks at my pitbull. She was behind a four foot fence that she easily could have jumped. Well that night I went and talked to the parents to give them a warning that if my dog ended up attacking their kids that was the reason. I told them, my dog will be put down alright but your kid will be mauled pretty badly.

What was kind of funny is that this kid that loved my dog and would pet her everyday found out about it somehow and he beat the living crap out of those three kids.

All I'm saying is that they are a breed of dog that has had certain physical and instinctive traits bred into them. Just like hunting dogs, livestock handling dogs and horses have. And ultimately it's the owner of the animal that's responsible for it.

And that's where the problems lie.

It's the farthest thing from a liberal assed idea as there is Dave. Since when did personal responsibility become a bastion of liberalism?

Liberals want whatever makes them feel good without fear of consequences. I think we know what the liberal assed idea here is.

In your straw man argument if your dog is behind your fence then there is no liability, the kid had to have been trespassing to be bitten and the dog has the right to protect its property.

Nope, and if someone steals your dog and uses it inappropriately I wouldn't expect you to be charged either. See how that argument works?

Now if I left my gun out on the sidewalk and the neighbor kid found it and shot himself with it I would expect to be charged with something because I've been criminally negligent. That's a more reasonable and concise analogy.

Honey. She's a sweetheart. 18 mo, smart, obedient, loving, and a couch hog. Fit right in with my other dogs. Black lab and lab-golden retriever mix.

Wish I could take a nap. :-)

My Cousin had a Pit Bull, gentle, just like that.

One day, out of the clear blue, it bit my nephew right in the face, right in front of my Cousin.

My nephew was performing the dastardly act of watching TV, and reaching out to pet the dog as it walked by.

My Nephew was 5 at the time, and had known the dog all his life.

My Cousin took care of the dog, country boy style.

My nephew still has scars on his face.

Pit Bulls don't seem to have different levels of biting. I have been bit by a few different breeds, and most were check bites, that didn't draw blood. A Pit Bull will put 100% effort into a bite, from my experience.

Tony

Dad killed it immediately. In our backyard on a residential street.

Anyway, I've always had dogs around. Hunting dogs. Grew up with all kinds of hounds in the days when we had dog drives for deer.

I've seen the personalities.

This is our fourth pit. My kids have been around them their whole lives. Never a problem.

But I have NO problem killing any dog that exhibits behavior that I feel is dangerous. And that can come before a bite ever takes place.

Contrary to what some people believe, Pits were breed to be dog aggressive but were specifically bred not to be human aggressive. The last thing a owner wanted was a dog that was fighting and hurting and in the zone to turn on a human.

This is my current pit mix.

Dogs are animals and can be dangerous unless controlled.

Responsibility is the problem not the type of firearm or the breed of dog.

Of course ownership responsibility is a factor, but you can leave a gun unlocked, unchained, unsupervised, etc. for eternity and it will NEVER move or do anything harmful or otherwise unless a another living thing picks it up and does it. NOT so with a dog.

After a lot of stitches and some scars that lasted a long time, she grew up to be a beautiful young woman.

The dog was a family pet that the owners swore had never shown aggression (they had young kids of their own).

Nobody knows what "flipped the switch".

Lots of breeds of dogs bite, but Pit Bulls were originally bred for their ability to bite and latch on and not let go.

I have to admit, the incident has left me with some reservations about the breed. That's just me.

The thing I remember from the article went something like this:

"Don't judge a pit bull by how it looks. Judge it by how the OWNER looks."