Animal Rights Definetly a killer, right?

aspecht said:

If that's they way you see it fine. I'm not against pit bulls or bully breeds, even after my son was mauled. But the mind frame that "my dog is so sweet" is a really bad mind frame to have. I thought our pitbull was sweet. He passed every temperament test we gave him with flying colors. Yet 7:25 AM on October 4, 2011 I got the phone call no parent should ever receive. I do blame myself everyday for believing the dog could do no harm.

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I'm not sure if that's directed at me, but if so i would just like to clarify that I don't have that mind frame. I'm cautious of every dog, even the ones that I've been around for forever who seemingly could do no harm.
That's the way everyone should be, because there is always a chance that something could happen.
In lots of cases it does have to do with how they have been raised. In your case I would say that it doesn't, although i don't know every detail.

aspecht said:

If that's they way you see it fine. I'm not against pit bulls or bully breeds, even after my son was mauled. But the mind frame that "my dog is so sweet" is a really bad mind frame to have. I thought our pitbull was sweet. He passed every temperament test we gave him with flying colors. Yet 7:25 AM on October 4, 2011 I got the phone call no parent should ever receive. I do blame myself everyday for believing the dog could do no harm.

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How awful for you and your son and your family. Is that a current photo or one from back then? How is your son doing?

aspecht said:

If that's they way you see it fine. I'm not against pit bulls or bully breeds, even after my son was mauled. But the mind frame that "my dog is so sweet" is a really bad mind frame to have. I thought our pitbull was sweet. He passed every temperament test we gave him with flying colors. Yet 7:25 AM on October 4, 2011 I got the phone call no parent should ever receive. I do blame myself everyday for believing the dog could do no harm.

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That's not just a problem with pit bulls, most attacks/bites by dogs are the so called family pet, labs, retrievers, jack russell. Cocker spaniels are well known to bite kids. At one point labs had the most bites because there were so many. I am so sorry your son got bit so bad, I am so glad he lived too but please realize any dog can turn, any dog can kill. They are ruled by instinct, we just need to remember that.

@aspecht the point of this thread was not to say that dogs don't hurt people, because in fact they do, as you know first hand. The point of this thread was to say that just because people associate bully breeds with fighting and being vicious killers with no remorse, doesn't mean that they all are. The fact that people assume they are these killing machines that are all the same is what this threads about, not that dogs of any kind can't or won't hurt people, because they do. I'm sorry you had to go through that, and I hope your son is okay. No where did anyone say, though, that all bully breeds are nice, or that they're all bad, because that's not true. I'm sure your dog was nice, but every dog, or animal for that matter, has a different tolerance level, and maybe for some reason your dog felt threatened and like s/he needed to defend itself, however that doesn't dismiss the fact that your dog acted on it and changed your familys' lives.

lunarminx said:

That's not just a problem with pit bulls, most attacks/bites by dogs are the so called family pet, labs, retrievers, jack russell. Cocker spaniels are well known to bite kids. At one point labs had the most bites because there were so many. I am so sorry your son got bit so bad, I am so glad he lived too but please realize any dog can turn, any dog can kill. They are ruled by instinct, we just need to remember that.

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That was more my point honestly. I have seen way too many posts lately (even had to read an essay for my english class) about how ALL pitbulls are babies, and sweet and everyone who doesn't agree are heartless jerks. THAT mind frame will get people killed, no matter the dog.

Before the accident

After the accident


Now

TacoBellWinnieP;777499[B said:

pitbulls are so vicious.. can't you tell? I hate how people deem them mean and unruly when it's all in how you raise them,[/B] just like anything, especially people. What if when you got in an argument with your parents, they took you to the doctor and got you put down? I hate this discrimination, or any discrimination, but they don't even have a voice to fight back. A yorkie can be just as mean as a pitbull if they grow up in horrid conditions with awful people, yet if they both grow up with love and safety, they can both be the sweetest dogs ever. I know @YourSoJelly posted about this too a while ago as well,

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Maybe this needs to be rephrased then.

@aspecht If we had a misunderstanding somewhere or if i offended you at all i would just like to apologize and clarify that with what happened to your son, no, i don't think it's your fault. And i don't think you should blame yourself, although i know that is easier said than done.
He looks to be recovering well. If he was a big animal lover, then might i ask if what happened has affected how he feels about animals at all?

Agreed. To the jack that killed the baby, they are prey driven dogs, that baby was the size of a large bunny, instinct said prey, it said Yes, get it. My boo is never left with my grandson, I already know he is jealous when he is here but fine at his house. Boo is 10 1/2 and showing some grumpy moments, at work parent bring their kids and some have been coming behind my desk to play with boo, that will be stopping for most but a few. And those are the few he will come out of a dead sleep when he hears them coming in the office. I do worry about him because I do not know what happened in his first 3 year of life. I know he failed the ATTS test, he would not walk on the grates but my lab/rott mixed failed too by sitting her fat butt down when she heard the cap gun and wouldn't budge. Boo grabbed a friend of my son, that grabbed Damian from behind while he was walking boo. Bear sounded like she would rip your throat out if you walked by the house but I went to pick my sons up from a carnival and some strange kid was passed out on my couch when we got home, my son's never saw him before. So I had my dogs backwards when it came down to it, I always thought boo was harmless and bear might hurt someone. She might have one day and I know boo will attack if he thinks his family is being harmed.

No matter how protective you think your dog is, lock your door when you leave...

It hasn't affected him honestly. We started desensitizing him immediately after the attack, because we didn't want him to be scared of animals. We have always taught them proper animal behavior, such as asking before petting, sitting calmly while around animals. I fostered for the animal shelter since I was pregnant with him, so he was raised around animals. He is not scared of dogs, and actually, we ended up getting guinea pigs because he has been wanting a dog, but we just can't have one right now. I think it's therapeutic for him to have an animal around so he knows they're not all bad, but he is taught caution of all animals. This is a topic I am very passionate about. I LOVE pitbulls, German Shepards and Rottweilers still, but I recognize the danger of owning one. I always have and always will. It is no longer a breed we will own, but I have no problems with them. My problem comes from people (not you necessarily, just in general) who sit there and say "ohhhh they won't hurt a fly" blah blah blah, because they will. And it's not always the owner's fault. Sometimes a dog is just set off, for whatever reason. And I was not trying to say it is just bully breeds that will. As I said earlier, I've never personally been bitten by a bully, but have been bitten by "family dogs"

aspecht said:

It hasn't affected him honestly. We started desensitizing him immediately after the attack, because we didn't want him to be scared of animals. We have always taught them proper animal behavior, such as asking before petting, sitting calmly while around animals. I fostered for the animal shelter since I was pregnant with him, so he was raised around animals. He is not scared of dogs, and actually, we ended up getting guinea pigs because he has been wanting a dog, but we just can't have one right now. I think it's therapeutic for him to have an animal around so he knows they're not all bad, but he is taught caution of all animals. This is a topic I am very passionate about. I LOVE pitbulls, German Shepards and Rottweilers still, but I recognize the danger of owning one. I always have and always will. It is no longer a breed we will own, but I have no problems with them. My problem comes from people (not you necessarily, just in general) who sit there and say "ohhhh they won't hurt a fly" blah blah blah, because they will. And it's not always the owner's fault. Sometimes a dog is just set off, for whatever reason. And I was not trying to say it is just bully breeds that will. As I said earlier, I've never personally been bitten by a bully, but have been bitten by "family dogs"

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Your balanced perspective on this is overwhelmingly great to me. You bring tears to my eyes. I admire you and your courage. Thank you.

He's a cutie, I glad he's not afraid of dogs after what he went through.

CavySpirit said:

Your balanced perspective on this is overwhelmingly great to me. You bring tears to my eyes. I admire you and your courage. Thank you.

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I may not always get my point across most effectively at first, but honestly I know a lot more than may be apparent at first lol, and I try to see all sides of a story. I've been through a lot, seen a lot, experienced a lot. I try to be understanding and respectful, but there are certain things I'm passionate about. My kids are first and foremost. Honestly, I'm a coward, if it wasn't for his courage and bravery, I'd have killed myself when it first happened.

lunarminx said:

He's a cutie, I glad he's not afraid of dogs after what he went through.

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He is an amazing little boy! He is definitely an inspiration to me and anyone who has the fortune of getting to know him

I am no dog breed expert, and neither are most people, so it is easy to see how people can become suspicious of certain breeds. If certain dogs are favoured in the fighting 'scene' (urgh) due to their capacity for aggression it is therefore understandable that the general public may believe that these dogs can be soft and loving until something triggers their agressive instinct, and this could be more easily and violently triggered in breeds favoured for their fighting and - agression!
To many many people that assumption is simply a common sense matter of putting two and two together, whether it is accurate or not. It could be a totally unwarrented assumption made by many, but it is one that isn't helped by articals from actual (or supposed) dog experts who say that these types of dogs are often lovely, obedient and 'soft hearted' until some little kid squeals and sounds like an injured or frightened pray animal, thus triggering the dogs killer instincts. I have seen such articles targeted at such breeds, written by people claiming to be dog behavioural experts. if I have seen them then so have others.
It may be factual, it may be rubbish, but to be fair the general public have not studied these breeds and form their opinions on a) such articles and b) associating the fact that they're chosen for fighting with the capacity for aggression.

Perhaps then it is not fair to blame the public for being nervous around these breeds. They have this reputation for a reason - either by bad press, prejudiced reporting of incidents, association with the fighting scene or they really are more capable of 'snapping' than most other breeds. The general public are not going to know which of these reasons are justified, which are completely false and which have been blown out of all proportion (or not).

That is so good to hear. You and your son both sound like amazing people.

I think it's sad the reputation that pit bulls have been given as any dog can be dangerous. As pit bulls are used for illegal fights and bred by these people for their aggressiveness, I don't know if I would ever own one as I could not be sure what it's heritage was. But if you want to know if a dog is dangerous look at the size of its jaw. An aggressive chihuahua could cause minimal damage to an adult but a great deal to a child. I have a great Dane x bull mastiff and he is the sweetest gentlest dog I know - but I would never ever ever let him near a child. He weighs about 80 kg (176 lb), is bigger than me and even has a head bigger than mine, but that's inevitably the risk I take. He naturally is protective of me and his home, and at first doesn't trust new people. If someone ever came into our backyard uninvited they would definitely want to get out pretty quick. But with me he knows I'm alpha and even let's me take fresh bones away from him straight out his mouth which is more than double the size of my hand, all without even a growl. He craves attention and always wants to be cuddled, hahaha he's such a big baby lol, but I definitely don't underestimate the strength he holds underneath all the cuteness.

lunarminx said:

@Rabbit_Lover

Cute doggies, see it would be the little one that would scare me. I met too many mean ones. I wish I could put your dog next to Boo when people ask if he is a pit mix. Short snout, broad face is a pit bull, Boo's not even close to looking like one. He's a Vizsla/Weimer mix.

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Sorry. Just saw your post now. But yeah twister (the little one) is actually very nice. But my girl rami is a sweet heart.

@aspecht I'm sorry to see what happened to your son but the sad truth is that any dog could pull that off. Now I'm not saying a 5lb dog could do that but any lab, gsd, rot. Or any similar breed can defiantly do that.

Whispers said:

I think it's sad the reputation that pit bulls have been given as any dog can be dangerous. As pit bulls are used for illegal fights and bred by these people for their aggressiveness, I don't know if I would ever own one as I could not be sure what it's heritage was. But if you want to know if a dog is dangerous look at the size of its jaw. An aggressive chihuahua could cause minimal damage to an adult but a great deal to a child. I have a great Dane x bull mastiff and he is the sweetest gentlest dog I know - but I would never ever ever let him near a child. He weighs about 80 kg (176 lb), is bigger than me and even has a head bigger than mine, but that's inevitably the risk I take. He naturally is protective of me and his home, and at first doesn't trust new people. If someone ever came into our backyard uninvited they would definitely want to get out pretty quick. But with me he knows I'm alpha and even let's me take fresh bones away from him straight out his mouth which is more than double the size of my hand, all without even a growl. He craves attention and always wants to be cuddled, hahaha he's such a big baby lol, but I definitely don't underestimate the strength he holds underneath all the cuteness.

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How cute! my Pit Rami is the same exact way about everything you explained.

The only two dogs I've ever been bitten by were a Shepard mix and a Dachshund.
It is regrettable that a lot of people associate pit bulls and other bullies as being the only aggressive and dangerous breed.

ANY animal can be dangerous. Yes dogs can do more damage due to their strength, but it's not always the dogs fault. I feel like some dogs are bred into fighters, but other times it just happens on instinct. It's a really sad situation.

@TacoBellWinnieP

Your dog is on iFunny...