Michael Vick pit bull update

[lgb&dtuba]

Aw look, the cute little puppy is smiling at you.

[Tubadork]

http://network.bestfriends.org/legalani ... /4394.html" target="_blank

[The Big Ben]

All dogs (over a fairly astonishingly short period of time) were bred by humans from wolves, and the various breeds were bred for specific purposes. Dogs that were specifically bred to be huge and powerful and to fight to the death are not a good choice as a family pet. To think otherwise or be convinced otherwise is to be misguided.

Interesting thing from reading the articles:

Even the rescuers won't allow the rescued pit bulls to be unsupervised around their other dogs. Not for me.

[Tubadork]

http://network.bestfriends.org/legalani ... /4394.html" target="_blank

politics.

huh?

[Uncle Buck]

I didn't click on the article. I'm one who believes that pit bull dogs are bred to fight, to be overwhelmingly powerful, and that they are inappropriate as pets. Either fighting these dogs should be legalized + having them as pets should be illegal, or the breed should be completely banned. These dogs (a large enough percentage of them) have an unpredictable demeanor and do not belong around families. Unlike small dogs with "bad tempers", these dogs are too large and too powerful for many people to be able to fend off. There are too many (local, not just national) stories of this breed (never having been trained to fight) mauling or killing people.

All dogs (over a fairly astonishingly short period of time) were bred by humans from wolves, and the various breeds were bred for specific purposes. Dogs that were specifically bred to be huge and powerful and to fight to the death are not a good choice as a family pet. To think otherwise or be convinced otherwise is to be misguided.

Agree 100%. If the statistics for deaths from other breeds were even close to deaths from pit bulls, there would be a legitimate counter-argument. They aren't, and there isn't.

[lgb&dtuba]

Also agree completely on the "non-Chisham sense" and the author's pushing of an agenda. Pit Bulls are bad news. Those who disagree have not had a child in their family mauled and forever scarred by one while playing in the fenced back yard. The Pit Bull managed to get into the yard when the owner was walking it without a leash and it noticed my niece. It cornered my niece and then nearly killed her. The dog was shot by my brother in law in order to save his daughter, who was then dragged into court by the scumbag owner. This happened to her in San Marcos, Texas in 1996. It was hushed up by the dog owner, who happened to be a "prominent citizen" who kept it out of the papers and off TV. What a scumbag he is.

I sincerely hope that the judge tossed the case out. And then threw the book at the dog's owner.

[TMurphy]

One of his friends does have one of those hugely chunky/wide bulldogs that I have met, and he's a great dog. He doesn't get in fights at all.

If you're talking about a bulldog (as in, an English or British Bulldog), those are an entirely different type of dog. Bulldogs are about as dangerous and fierce as a beagle. They are very docile and affectionate, and will stick to your side. They're very unlikely to run away, and the odds of them attacking a person without being provoked are almost zero. A friend of mine has one, and he is an awesome dog. If I ever get a dog, an English Bulldog is one of the top breeds I am considering.



There are several breeds of dogs considered "pit bulls," most of which are much larger and more aggressive. I can't understand the appeal of this kind of dog.

[JCalkin]

Back in the late 80's (remember this fad?...see below) a friend of mine bought one of these. It outgrew his duplex, and he gave it to his sister (who lived in a semi-rural locale). It grew to become more and more violent, and eventually had to be put down. (It knocked over my friend's brother-in-law, who - I'm sure - it viewed as "competition".)

Blech. A gal I dated in hich school had one of these (or rather, her family did). Every time I came to visit, it would butt its snout up against my leg, leaving a big snot-ring on my pants.

My girlfriend's mom would say "aww, he LIKES you," and I would reply, "I like BACON."

[TMurphy]

Bob...does Audrey look something like this:



If so, she is an American Pit Bull Terrier. This is one of the primary breeds considered Pit Bulls, and, according to Wikipedia, generally are loyal to family, and accepting of strangers. They can be aggressive towards other dogs, but generally not towards humans (unless poorly trained or mistreated).

The dogs you see "gangster" types with, are most likely these:


This is a Presa Carario, or Canary Dog, often considered a pit bull. These can be aggressive towards dogs and strangers, unless properly trained.

I am no dog expert....I was actually doing some research on English Bulldogs a few days ago (thinking about adopting one in the next couple of years), so the info from Wikipedia and other sources was fresh in my mind (and browser history).

[SplatterTone]

The neighbors say that they will be getting another dog.

I've had good experiences with Chesapeake Bay Retrievers. Four of them so far. Never had one steal food (loaf of bread, box of crackers) even though it is sitting on a shelf within easy reach. Pretty quick to house break. Never had one jump the fence, although they easily could. Never had a problem with chewing furniture. They have coarse hair which drops to the floor and is relatively easy to sweep up; it does not blow and float around.

Mine have been -- and I believe the breed is known as being -- rather rules and routine oriented. So, in general, with all the normal caveats and allowances for natural variation, when something is understood as a rule, they are conscientious, in dog terms, about following it ... after growing out of puppy and teenager stage. They will usually raise a decent ruckus when strangers come around, but are very unlikely to subject you to any legal liability by actually attacking.

Junior, the big one in the picture, has been a mole exterminator deluxe. The downside of that is that he has to find a mole by digging along the tunnel. I think we all know that he does not carefully refill the trench. Once, I went in the back yard to see Junior and a mole staring each other down. I happened to be wearing heavy shoes and scored a nice field goal of about fifty feet into the side of the garage.

And yes, I have found one dead cat in the back yard. It is doubtful that the cat deliberately chose my back yard as the last place it wanted to visit.