Pit bulls suck� Is it in their genes?

Hi CS, Actually, what has unfortunately happened is a small but prevalent group of people have pre-selected the pit bulls that were the most aggressive. They roll the pups and young dogs and keep the ones that are the most agressive and cull the non agressive ones.Unfortunately, the whole breed has been corrupted. I realize thats not the same as saying "every pit bull is a bad dog," but the line is completely out of the control of responsible breeders and owners. These pits are in fact genetically aggressive fighting dogs.My buddy has a border collie. The very first day of puppy class, she instinctively herded the other puppies into a corner. No one had to teach her this behavior, it was genetically encoded in the same way that aggressiveness towards other dogs is encoded in pits.While MOST of the pit bull incidents could probably be mitigated by responsible ownership, why keep a human created failed breed around that is essentially a ticking time bomb? We wouldn't perpetuate a breed of labor horse that was genetically predisposed to have faulty knee joints, so why should an aggressively wired dog breed be cultivated?

This where we disagree. Simply outlaw their breeding and require existing bitches to be spayed. Their numbers will diminish quickly enough.

I don't know of any guns that act based on their own instincts, so I don't accept the analogy.Dog ownership isn't an inalienable right, it's a protected individual liberty and obviously individual liberties are limited based on the extent that they infringe upon others.I'm one of the biggest dog lovers you will find, it's just my opinion that breed is too far gone and shouldn't be perpetuated because some people derive pleasure from owning them.Hell, dog fighters derive pleasure from owning them. Should we let them continue on their merry way?

That just sounds like a question of timing. Then what is the difference with rocket launchers? What is the difference with a meth lab? What is the difference with pet 9ft crocodiles in the suburbs?All of this civil liberty back and forth between us aside, I think the only thing we disagree on is the degree of danger pit bulls pose to society.

I know some great pit bulls also, but i also know some seemingly great ones that just had a streak. I honestly just think that the poor breed has been ruined by bad breeders breeding for undesirable traits. I think temperament can absolutely be manipulated genetically through breeding and this line is just out of control. Thats all. i think they make the breed seem worse, but i think they also actually make the breed worse in reality.

I don't really get the outrage. All domestic dogs are the same species, aren't they?Genocidal? Who is overreacting?IMO, enough of them are genetically bad to justify not perpetuating the breed. We will just have to agree to disagree on that point. No big deal.I don't think you're going to convince me and I'm not going to convince you. Since I've pretty much exhausted my position (to the effort i'm willing to put into this) I'm going to sign off on this thread. I look forward to chatting with you in others.Edited by PMOC, : No reason given.