Pit bulls suck� Is it in their genes?

Yes if you were some how able to erradicate every single specimen of the breed then you would not have a pit bull problem anymore. But you would still have dog maulings. Chow, Akita, bull mastiff, Rotts,German shepards, dobies, neo mastiffs,,, on and on... hell just ban all potentially dangerous animals and fire arms. data please.Most pit bull maulings if investigated properly will be a mix breed or some other breed altogether. The media is notorious for inserting the word "pit" to work up a story. This is incorrect. The APBT was bred for gameness. Gameness is a trait that is composed of stamina, courage,tenacity. NOT agressivness. There are plenty of dogs that were bred specifically for agressiveness towards humans:
Chow bred in ancient China as a war dog to attack enenmy infantry.
Rottweiler: bred by romans to be used in battle and as a protection dog.
Doberman: bred for attack dogs and defense
The pitt bull was bred for gameness, not to kill dogs or humans.
any dog that would show aggression to humans in the pit was most likely destroyed, and over time less likely to attack a human. If you have ever broke up a fight of a pit and a dog of another breed it is the other breed that is more likely to bite you.Just the other day a Great dane mauled a child here in my local area, and a few years ago 3 great danes killed a young woman of 17 years of age. Pit bulls if chosen from a good breeder and adequately socialized are just as safe as any breed. It is back yard breeders and idiots who turn these animals into antisocial time bombs. Knee jerk banning will do nothing because the aggression and propensity to kill a human is in mixed pits, mastiffs, and any number of dogs the media collectivley lable as pit bulls. IMO.

It seems the species Homo Sapiens sapiens is responsible for a tremendous amount of violence and killing of other humans. I think they should be banned.Also a extra ordinary amount of elephants over the past few years are responsible for the many attacks on humans.. we should ban them too.And it seems Florida has a shark problem as of late.....ban em.

You miss my point. Chows were bred to kill humans. They are war dogs.
Rotts were bred to kill humans by the romans, as well as Neopolitan mastiffs were fed a steady diet of Christians in the Collosium in Rome. Dobermans have been bred to attack humans. Pit bull are bred for one trait and that is to be game. They are not bred to be agressive to humans or dogs. The APBT will fight a dog, a lion or bear it is fearless. Should we ban all fearless dogs?Your argument is void of facts. Drumming up a web site or a group that claims to speak for all breeders of Pit bulls is ridiculous. Do you know anyone that breeds APBT's?? I do. Do you know anyone personally that breeds any dogs at all? Just how much do you know about dogs besides what your personal fears and the media feed you?You say you would not be opposed to the banning of Guard dogs for pets. Is that the answer???Banning things? Drugs are banned...does that stop people from using them? Crime is banned yet crime occurs. Is banning things the answer?Home | BADRAP? Listen the pitt bull has been around for alot longer than 1800's The breed is dipicted in paintings as far back as the 1200's relatively unchanged. They were called all number of names "ban dog" bulldog" mastiff take your pick. It is true that bull baiting and lion baiting and any number of blood sports in Europe were what kept the dogs popular. The poor in some parts of England (like Staffordshire) matched terriers in the pit and bred them for there gameness . Other terriers were used in the pit to entertain by killing rats and such. The dogs that were smaller and easier to confine became more popular. Also size and weight in the pitt was a consideration. Over time the dogs that displayed true gameness the courage and tenacity and stamina were the ones that are now part of the bloodlines of The American pitbull.In Ireland another line of pit dogs were becoming very popular as well The Old Family rednose. So when English and Irish immigrated they brought these dogs with them to America and the blood lines of these dogs are what we see today in the APBT.Believe me when I tell you that dogs are matched all over the world and many countries have theyre own representative breed they use to fight in the pit.
China: The Sharpae (believe it or not )
Japan: The Tosa
Argentina: The Dojo
Should these be banned as well in this country?It is well know that dogs that are bred for a specific confirmation such as coat or color and not for disposition and intelligence will lead to stupid unhealthy breeds. Many of the sporting dogs were bred for what they can do and not just for how they look which is why there is such a wide variety of pointers and hounds and such.The APBT is bred for it's gameness, intelligence, and strength. It is a fantastic dog. Unfortunately many have used this gameness and strength and willingness to please to create monsters. Or back yard breeders who produce psycotic manbiters. Or idiots who buy one and isolate it and fail to socialize the animal. And are surprised when it bites someone or them. Most protection breed will do as much when frustrated and mistreated. I remember in the 70's there was the big Doberman scare. Dobies will snap and turn on you.. hog wash.
And Rotts.. oh they will snap they are dangerous!!The truth is dogs with the propensity to kill and maime us will always exist. Just as bad owners will alway exist. I think legislation should reflect that anyone who chooses to own a dog that has the ability to kill someone should be held accountable.Notice I said any dog. Because the APBT is just one breed. You still have the Staffordshire Terrier, Bull Terrier, The Bull Mastiff, The English Mastiff, The Neopolitain Mastiff, The American Bull dog, The English Bulldog, The Rodeisan Ridgeback, The Chow, The Rott, The Doberman, The Tosa, The Doberman, The German Shepard and every mix of the above. all game and all able to hurt mame or kill a human or another dog.If you ban one breed then what about all these others? Ban em Ban em all for all you care. As I said before humans are responsible for far more harm to us than dogs. But yet you say it is ridiculous to suggest banning humans. Who is being riduculous?

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"One is punished most for ones virtues" Fredrick Neitzche

I found this interesting article from the CDC. It does shows that Pit bull "type" dogs along with Rotts are responsible for the majority of fatalities in the US in 97-98 and the data on the tables looks quite damning for Pit bulls. But if one reads the whole report you can see that in 1975 the dog responsible for more fatalities was German shepards. And in the 80's it was Rotts. The Article goes on to point out that Pit type dogs and Rotts are responsible for a large percentage of fatalities but this in of itself does not address the owner part of the equation. Or the fact that they are lumping Pittbulls as a collection of these dogs.I will be the first person to say they are dangerous. I will also be the first person to say you have the right to own any breed of dog you desire provided you take responsible steps to insure the safety of others.Breed specific legislation according to this article is not an option from a scientic perspective. The popularity of dangerous breeds will always be reflected in human bite fatalities ; be it pit type dogs or what ever replaces them. IMO
Injury Center | CDC

One way is to drive your thumb into it's eyeball.
But that can be hard to do if the dog in questions has you by the throat or testicals.

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As it turns out, my sister-in-law has two chows and three children. By and large, the dogs are kept in large enclosed, locked area and the kids generally do play with them. Why? Because they make terrible pets(in her opinion, and she owns them) So yeah, ban them as(sic) pets, I'm ok with that.

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Oh,,,, I see she keeps them locked up and in a large enclosed area, the kids play with them but they make terrible pets. Hmmm ....that makes no damn sense. Lock em up but let Jr. play with em. So why lock them up if the kids are safe to play with them? And why does she own 2 of them if they are so awful as pets? Is she one of those puppy mills????

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If I knew someone that was a terrible breeder would that prove my argument?

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At least you would have some reason to condemn a breed based on something other than fear and ignorance. No thanks. I prefer to keep this discussion above board and not introduce your fetishes into it. Oh.. I see you knew a breeder of German pointers and also a breeder of Bostons...(by the way owe some of they're genes to the Pitbull) and .. and.. you also knew a gal that studied dog behavior...ok. and you yourself studied animal behavior..and your point????This has to do with just what? I suppose this is a argument from authority now that you have such a vast amount of background knowlege in animal behavior and have friends that do as well. And you all sit around and discuss the evil pit bull I suppose and how the world would be a better place if we could all just ban everything we were afraid of. Ha..funny. I know, stay in academia and you will never have to worry about trying to use that knowlege on someone who knows better. And last but not least: That is a damn good idea. The Government thought that alcohol was BAD..and banned it. And what do you suppose happened?
The government thought that American Indians were BAD and look what happened to them. The government thought that it was BAD for Blacks or women to vote. Dangerous even. The government thinks its BAD to use marijuana or cocaine but its OK to use nicotine and Alcohol now. The government thinks that you should not be allowed to watch Porn. Or you should be told what cable programs you can watch. Or any number of things banned in the name of over zelous self rightous idiots who think they know whats best for me. Your argument to ban is typical of what is wrong with our society today. Today we ban pit bulls, tommorrow we ban.....insert your next fear here.This message has been edited by 1.61803, 06-29-2005 02:57 PM

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"One is punished most for ones virtues" Fredrick Neitzche

Because I am a smart ass...whats your excuse?