I'm amazed at how many people have the wrong idea...

[SithMaster]

The pic would be better if there was a severed head or something next to the dog

[Dervacumen]

In 1986 I was walking my Old English Sheepdog (actually I was roller-skating and he was walking) around the block.  From across the street, a pit bull broke loose from where it was tied up to the fence.  The chain that was tied around it's neck was ripped in two.  Neither me or my dog saw it coming until it was about 6 or 7 feet away.  My dog was even on the side of me opposite where the pit bull was across the street.  I quickly put my dog in between us and it attacked my dog's throat.  The owner ran over and pried his dog's mouth open while getting his hands chewed up at the same time.
My dog had some surgery and lived several more years.

I've passed by thousands of other dogs.  The only one that ever attacked, unprovoked nonetheless, was a pit.
I think they all need to go to hell.  If one ever hurt anyone in my family the owner would wish they never had one in the first place.

[AtomSmasher]

While this has nothing to do with the topic at hand, I always found this dog bite video pretty funny.   

[missioncontrol]

The pic would be better if there was a severed head or something next to the dog

agreed, but I saw that pic on the net and knew it belonged in this thread...

[patrickl]

While this has nothing to do with the topic at hand, I always found this dog bite video pretty funny.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY9EKHAqUUI

Lol that dog has some genital issues.

[shardian]

While this has nothing to do with the topic at hand, I always found this dog bite video pretty funny.   

Is that lady for real?!?

[boykster]

While this has nothing to do with the topic at hand, I always found this dog bite video pretty funny.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY9EKHAqUUI

Is that lady for real?!?

Um.....yeah....that' dog's got some issues.....

[sez]

Put this in your dog's pipe and smoke him.

http://www.ksat.com/news/14413827/detail.html

[AtomSmasher]

Put this in your dog's pipe and smoke him.

http://www.ksat.com/news/14413827/detail.html

I believe that is the third time this story has been posted in this thead   

It is a pretty f'd up story though.

[AtomSmasher]

Now here are some dogs that should turn against their owners: http://kotaku.com/gaming/clip/pac+man-pugs-317189.php

[tommy]

Let this thread die already, people. I can't stand looking at it anymore. 

[jbox]

Well if that's what you really want just teach your dogs to type. 

[Bones]

Hey!

Has anybody seen this?

http://www.ksat.com/news/14413827/detail.html

[missioncontrol]

Let this thread die already, people. I can't stand looking at it anymore. 

hey Tommy have you seen this thread?

[shardian]

I've been reading on this guys website the last day or two:
http://www.leerburg.com/

He is a police dog trainer and has a very "in your face" way of answering questions.
His basic philosophy on dogs is this:

They are animals- not humans. Their social characteristics are caused by their genes, and by their nature as dogs. A "bad genes dog" cannot be fixed, no matter how much training is attempted. You can basically tell if a dog will grow to be aggressive by the way it acts as a puppy. Dogs do not grow out of their genes. And lastly: any and every dog attack is the fault of the owner.

I've emailed the guy on my pitt bull situation to see what he recommends.

[shmokes]

Let this thread die already, people. I can't stand looking at it anymore. 

We've already seen what happens when we let pit bull threads die.  All we're doing here is avoiding a third pit bull thread.

[CheffoJeffo]

We've already seen what happens when we let pit bull threads die.  All we're doing here is avoiding a third fourth pit bull thread.

fixt

[shardian]

I've been reading on this guys website the last day or two:
http://www.leerburg.com/

He is a police dog trainer and has a very "in your face" way of answering questions.
His basic philosophy on dogs is this:

They are animals- not humans. Their social characteristics are caused by their genes, and by their nature as dogs. A "bad genes dog" cannot be fixed, no matter how much training is attempted. You can basically tell if a dog will grow to be aggressive by the way it acts as a puppy. Dogs do not grow out of their genes. And lastly: any and every dog attack is the fault of the owner.

I've emailed the guy on my pitt bull situation to see what he recommends.

here is the email I sent him:

Hello,

I have been reading your site about dog behavior, but have a slightly different question being that I am not the owner of the dogs in question. My neighbor has a female Pitt about 8 months old, and a  male Bull Mastiff of unknown age. He leaves them completely unchecked and unleashed, and they are   taking over the neighborhood. Our county does not have a leash law, so I am basically helpless to get rid of them by legal means. The problem is that they are developing territorial aggression and my wife is fearful of taking our young daughter for walks, and it is almost to the point of her not even going out of the house. I have dealt with a previous aggressive dog of mixed breed in the neighborhood and was eventually able to gain his trust (he eventually bit a woman and was removed). Due to the breed of these dogs though, I am not sure how to approach them in a way that I can safely assert dominance over them. The last thing I want is to round on them and get mauled. I have
noticed that they tend to get brave if I ignore them and keep walking with my back to them. This definitely has me worried after reading your articles.  I am considering buying a shock baton for my wife to carry during walks. I could care less if my neighbor sees me pop his dog with high voltage, but once again I have no clue how these dogs, being a pit bull variety, will react to the stimuli - maybe they will "attack first" the next time around. I would appreciate any advice you could give me.

Thank you,

And here is the response I got. I am guessing he is recommending I NOT try to work with the dogs.

Lobby your local government on leash laws. When  the dogs are loose send the Mayor - Chief of Police, District Attorney certified letters telling them you fear for your families lives. Tell them if something happens you will not only sue them but you will get the TV and newpaper media into this.

And Tommy, there is a dog breed he feels is worse than your beloved pitts - wolf hybrids.

[shardian]

I emailed the guy back to try to get a little more info from him. I would like to point out that this is an EXPERT in dog training and and behavior. He has seen it and done it all, and this boils down to his opinion of pit bulls.

My reply:

Thank you for the response. I have complained multiple times to our Sub-divison president, and casually talked to the owner. I just get the usual canned response from owners of Pit's "they are harmless - look at how they play with MY kid." They are oblivious to the way the dogs act towards other people. I am currently waiting on the next meeting of the county commission to adress my concerns.  In the mean time, do you have any advice on how I could advise neighbors (and myself and family) about how to approach/deal with these breed of dogs? With any other dog I would present myself, wait for a
response, and possibly let the dog smell me.

His response:

You approach them when they are loose with a shot gun and a lawyer. Have your lawyer write these people a letter warning them. If you find out where they have their home loan or better yet their insurance you send them a certified letter warning them. They will lose their home owners
insurance if they don't control their dogs. Then they sell and move.

Kind Regards,
Ed Frawley
President Leerburg Ent Inc.

That is the opinion of Pit Bulls from an expert. Take from it what you will. I am anxiously awaiting animal control to show up in my neighborhood today to pick them up. I got a call not a little while ago from my wife that those bastard dogs came after her on OUR property. Luckily, she thought quickly and picked up the hose and sprayed the hell out of them.

[CCM]

I love animals, but if a neighbors pit bull came in my yard and acted aggressively towards my wife, my neighbor would have a dead dog.

[HaRuMaN]

I love animals, but if a neighbors pit bull came in my yard and acted aggressively towards my wife, my neighbor would have a dead dog.

No kidding.  I'd be grabbing my gun in a heartbeat.

[shardian]

I love animals, but if a neighbors pit bull came in my yard and acted aggressively towards my wife, my neighbor would have a dead dog.

I've already been on the phone with the sheriff's department. They wouldn't even talk to me about it. They said "you have to talk to animal control". I told the lady I already talked to animal control, but there wasn't a guarantee they would show up any time soon, and that I wanted to know what my legal options/legal implications were in this county if I killed those damn dogs next time they came on my property. I was treated to an abrupt silence, which was me being transferred to animal control.  I've been told by neighbors that the sheriffs department is damn worthless around here, but now I know first hand.

I've ---smurfing--- had it, and I am setting my loaded rifle right inside the garage door as soon as I get home tonight if animal control hasn't showed up by then.

And as a side note, my boss came in this morning saying that his neighbors pit bull came into his yard last night and mauled his large black lab. All he could find quick was a 22 rifle. He shot a warning shot into the ground next to the dogs and it didn't effect the pit at all, but scared the ---Cleveland steamer--- out of his own dog which got up and drug the pit hanging from its neck across the yard (like I said, BIG lab). Then he laid the 22 barell across the pits neck and pulled the trigger. That one finally did the trick to get the dog to let go. I told him he's damn lucky that pit didn't ditch the dog and attack him.

[AtomSmasher]

Speaking of animals attacking pets, I think the fires have pushed the wildlife much closer to the residental area because one of my Dads clients golden retriever was eaten by a mountain lion.  All they found was a bunch of blood and a few body parts, they figure the coyotes cleaned up most of the mess.  The next day the mountain lion was seen jumping into a neighbors yard, but everyones keeping their dogs inside for the time being.  This may be normal in some parts of the country, but this is a suburb of Los Angeles composed of tract housing, so mountain lion attacks are pretty rare.

[patrickl]

And as a side note, my boss came in this morning saying that his neighbors pit bull came into his yard last night and mauled his large black lab. All he could find quick was a 22 rifle. He shot a warning shot into the ground next to the dogs and it didn't effect the pit at all, but scared the ---Cleveland steamer--- out of his own dog which got up and drug the pit hanging from its neck across the yard (like I said, BIG lab). Then he laid the 22 barell across the pits neck and pulled the trigger. That one finally did the trick to get the dog to let go. I told him he's damn lucky that pit didn't ditch the dog and attack him.

I saw a video of a police office shooting a pit (hanging on it's owners arm) at least 5 times with a 9mm police pistol and it still did not let go.

[shardian]

And as a side note, my boss came in this morning saying that his neighbors pit bull came into his yard last night and mauled his large black lab. All he could find quick was a 22 rifle. He shot a warning shot into the ground next to the dogs and it didn't effect the pit at all, but scared the ---Cleveland steamer--- out of his own dog which got up and drug the pit hanging from its neck across the yard (like I said, BIG lab). Then he laid the 22 barell across the pits neck and pulled the trigger. That one finally did the trick to get the dog to let go. I told him he's damn lucky that pit didn't ditch the dog and attack him.

I saw a video of a police office shooting a pit (hanging on it's owners arm) at least 5 times with a 9mm police pistol and it still did not let go.

Just to clarify, he didn't shoot the pit, he just laid the barrel on him and it burned the dog when the gun went off.

[patrickl]

Yeah I got that, but I meant that the pit didn't even budge when it actually got shot. Let alone when you give it a warning shot.

[ChadTower]

While this has nothing to do with the topic at hand, I always found this dog bite video pretty funny.   

Haven't been following that thread... but WTF, how does that dog have such regular access to her genitals?  I'm trying here really hard not to bust out laughing.

Lobby your local government on leash laws. When  the dogs are loose send the Mayor - Chief of Police, District Attorney certified letters telling them you fear for your families lives. Tell them if something happens you will not only sue them but you will get the TV and newpaper media into this.

That's what I told you, too, bro... not that it will do you much good when the mastiff goes after your wife because she smells a little too much like the female pit that week (that's not an insult - dogs can tell when a woman is menstruating).

[ChadTower]

In the case of some retrievers, for example, the dogs were bred over the years to leap into the water at a moment's notice, retrieve downed birds and carry them softly in their mouths back to hunters.

Yep... and in the case of a great toller, they'll sit in a canoe motionless, skulk out of it into a blind with the owner, sneak around the water and flush the ducks towards the hunter... then retrieve downed birds and return them.  That's what our dogs were trained to do and they were great at it.  But it took my family many, many generations of dogs to get to that extent of trainability and attributes that made them willing to do that.  By the time my great uncle was doing it these dogs would practically beg you to take them hunting... they yearned for it.

[ChadTower]

This was in my local paper tonight.  Woman sicks pit bull on Police, they tase it at close range, and it doesn't go down.

[danny_galaga]

my late, and only comment on this thread. the crappest thing about having any sort of dog as a deterent is, well, the CRAP! its nasty. i know im going to upset people here, but how can you live with a yard full of rank feces? get a burglar alarm...

[ChadTower]

It's not hard to pick up.

That said, when I first got married, we rented a little basement apartment that we liked mostly because it had a nice enclosed backyard we could play in with our son... what the live-in landlord didn't tell us is that the yard was basically only used as their dog's toilet and would soon be covered in more dog crap than you would think possible for a single dog.  You couldn't even walk in the yard.

[billf]

i know im going to upset people here, but how can you live with a yard full of rank feces?

As Chad said, it really isn't hard to pick it up and put it in a small garbage can.  That's what we do with our golden retriever.

[shmokes]

I hate golden retrievers.  It should be illegal for anything that big to be that dumb.

[billf]

You're bigger than a golden retriever.

[ChadTower]

Ba doom boom PSSSH.

No one saw that coming!   

[shardian]

I hate golden retrievers.  It should be illegal for anything that big to be that dumb.

No doubt. My sister in law breeds them and they are absolutely retarded. Now labrador retrievers are a different story. If I ever get a dog, it will be a female yellow lab.

[ChadTower]

Maybe she needs to mix in some smarter examples.  If she keeps breeding the same retarded dogs she's just making each one dumber than the last...

[billf]

My dog is certainly not retarded - not even sure what that means.  Do the dogs your sister breeds walk into walls or something?  What makes them "retarded"?

[ChadTower]

I've seen golden retrievers run full speed into walls.  They just never seem to grasp that the ball is going to bounce off and come back the other way.

[shardian]

My dog is certainly not retarded - not even sure what that means.  Do the dogs your sister breeds walk into walls or something?  What makes them "retarded"?

Awkward, clutzy dogs. No comprehension for anything other than themselves and your attention. Horrible with kids, mainly because they aren't even aware they are there most of the time (knock them over and such). Treat their puppies like crap. Stomp them, knock them over, mostly just oblivious to their existence unless you are paying attention to them instead of the mommy and daddy.

Of course, just because dogs are pure blood doesn't mean they are of a good bloodline. That is why I think AKC papers are total BS. She makes $250-$300 a pop for the puppies though, so more power to her.