Howcome pit bulls are the ONLY breed being singled-out by the media, when just last week?

Question

a 5 year old girl had her face severely mauled by a family's black labrador? It didn't make national news of course, it was briefly reported in the 'Police Log' of my local paper. Should we all act hysterical now and ban all black labradors? Just curious. I've seen some pretty aggressive and intimidating black labradors myself. Pretty scary when they're running loose and approaching you barking/growling. I'd never want Labradors banned though. The bottomline is, the American Pit Bull Terrier is only ONE breed VS. thousands of other breeds that maul people every year, but you don't know it 'cause they're never reported in the news, just pit bulls are. Even if a pit bull 'slightly' bites someone, it would make national headlines over the black labrador that nearly ripped the girl's face off. Pretty biased. Yes, some pit bulls are aggressive, but so are my neighbor's Akitas whenever I walk down the street.

And let's say we did ban all pit bulls, how would this protect the public from aggressive german shepherds, akitas, black labs, etc.? You would just see a higher incidence in other breeds attacking people. Which means we should just ban ALL dogs, ALL together, and ALL over. Completely rational, isn't it?

sophylakes: Pit bulls make the news based on their reputation -- based on pre-copnceived notions and fears about them, whether they've done something or not. If my pit bull pee'd on my neighbor's prized lawn, it would probably make the news. Meanwhile, a labrador nearly rips a gfirl's face off, and the News is silent? It's just biased, pit bull-prejudice. An aggressive black lab is more "trustworthy" than a well-behaved, trained pit bull?

Private P: Wow, you're pretty informative. There should be a mass holocaust for pit bulls? You feel this way about the innocent ones too? Maybe PETA will picket on your lawn now.

martinamagrace: And what was the black labrador doing when it was chewing the girl's face off. It wasn't trying to kill her?

Nikita P: You're trying to "school" me on pit bulls? I've owned them all my life, and know everything there is to know about the APBT, and it's history. And you've owned how many... oh, that's right, NONE. Ha, you're also taking the common myth that their "jaws lock" and presenting it like it's fact. How funny. I chuckle everytime someone brings up the "their jaws lock" myth. Alot of vets chuckle at that myth too. You'e just not skilled enough on "schooling" someone on pit bulls. Backyard-fables like your's is what adds to the biased, melodramatic hysteria about them. What next will silly uneducated kids like you think of next? Same goes for everyone else.

Answer 1

Nikita and most of you are utter morons. You know nothing about Canine behavior and even less about APBT`s.

Answer 2

They are in the news because people react to it.
Actually, its a fact that more than half or the reported pit bull bites are not pit bulls at all. Either the person attacked or a witness identifies the breed responsible... Do you know how many people can properly identify a pit bull? Not many. The people reporting the news usually find out later the dog was not a pit bull but they do nothing to notify the public on it.
I would like to point out that pit bull type dogs are the only dogs whose bite statistics include not only several different breeds but also any dog that even resembles a pit bull. A lot of lab crosses look like pit bull crosses.
Pit bulls include (but not limited to): American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Terrier, Bull Terrier, American Bulldog, Bull Mastiff, Cane Corso.... and the list goes on and on.
There is no doubt that if all retrievers were put together in bite statistics they would heavily outnumber the amount of pit bull bites, even including the bites that are reported as pit bull but actually are not.

Answer 3

You do understand the problem is pit bull attacks are newsworthy, attacks by the warm and fuzzy types of family dogs are not. It is far easier to get ratings when a reporter can stand in front of the camera and looked shocked and say " A pit bull did it". No one wants to hear about the lab that attacked, pit bulls are already demons there is no work making them look bad. What is worst is there are reports out there that will say a pit bull did it when the breed involved was something else or they simply do not Know the breed of dog. Happened her twice. Same reporter both time the pit bulls were put down both times it was found out it was another dog of a different breed, both were choco. labs. Likely the station involved as been sued and I hope they have to pay a lot of money.

Answer 4

Fact of the matter is, ANY dog can bite. Anyone who says otherwise is a liar.

If it has teeth, it can bite.

Any breed, any mix, any size can and will bite in the right situations. Many breeds are singled out for whatever reason.

Proper education and owners who actually know how to raise a dog would really help keep this situation at bay. Too many people are scared of pitbulls and refuse to let their kids get near them but will let their kids get face to face with a stranger's labrador simply because they believe labs are "safe". ANY dog can and will bite.

Pits just have a bad rep.



---- Oh, and banning the breed only creates fear of the breed itself. If you had never watched the news, or never heard anything about pitbulls either positive or negative, you wouldnt approach a pit with fear, as most people do. When my friend takes her pit to the park, people yell obscenities at her and tell her she shouldn't be allowed to bring such an animal into public. Her dog is well behaved and cal, has never acted aggressively, but people believe what they hear and read. So they automatically condemn any pit that comes into their sight.

Pity.

Wish more people would take the time to educate themselves.

Answer 5

I agree with you completely. ANY DOG can be aggressive and it is more based on how the animals is raised and treated that determines if he is agressive or not. I personally have only met sweet loving pit bulls. I think they make the news because people want to hate pit bulls. The media knows this, so they find the 'pit bull attacks' to put on the news. And i know that not all 'pit bull attacks' were actually pit bulls. A lot of times they name the aggressive dog as a pit bull when they are unsure of the breed. My friend has 5 dogs, one of them is a pit bull, and one of them is a cocker/lab mix. The cocker mix bit her neighbor. Her neighbor knew she had a pit bull, so she told the police that the pit bull bit her. It made it to the news as a pit bull attack, when actually the pit bull was the sweet dog, and the cocker mix was the one to bite. But the neighbor knew that she would have a better chance with a law suit, and more attention if she said it was the pit bull. And i know from my personal experience with dogs, i have never been bitten by an 'aggressive breed' I have been bit by a few beagles, some little terriers, and a golden retriever who did attack my face, and he left scars. Of course it was not the goldens fault. And know one even payed attention to it. People are just ignorant, and love to believe the news when they hear of pit bull attacks. And most people that talk so badly about pit bulls have never had any personal experience with pit bulls. I know my mom and step dad hate pit bulls, and can't believe i want one. They said if i get one, they would never come over, but they have never actually pet a pit bull. And my real dad used to be the same way, until he met his friends pit bull. He said she was the sweetest dog he has ever met. Any dog can be aggressive and bite someone. And pit bulls are NOT the most common dog to bite. They are very low on the list of dog attacks, though when they do attack, they can be more traumatic. But i personally would trust a pit bull over most other dog breeds. And when i get a house i plan to adopt an adult pit bull because of their sweet, and loyal nature.

Banning pit bulls with do absolutely nothing. People who want an aggressive dog will either find a way to get their hands on a pit bull, or just move on to another breed. And the focus from the media will just turn to another 'aggressive breed' like a mastiff or something, and then they will be talking about banning that breed.

I want to add that pit bulls, in some areas, may be used as fighting dogs by very bad owners, but they are used to fight Dogs...not people. If there is to be a problem with a pit bull it would be dog aggression. They were SPECIFICALLY bred to be sweet to humans. The assholes who fight the dogs don't want the dog to bite them. I used to work at an animal shelter. All the dogs that were rescued from dog fighting were the most sweet and forgiving dogs i have ever met. For this they hold a special place in my heart. Best dog breed i have ever met.

Answer 6

Oh I am laughing my head off here!!
I know what you mean. German Shepards bite ALOT, many children. But since they are such "noble" public servants, the media ignores it. Likewise with Labs it seems.
It is a matter of experiences, personally and those on the media. Unfortunately, some may never have a personal experience due to fear generated by the media.
I have 2 Rottweilers who have friendly personalities, and love children and all people, but I get the "look" if I walk them or if they are barking in their yard.
I don't want to see ANY breed banned. I believe that further fuels the "bad A** dog" image, and encourages MORE irresponsible ownership. What it boils down to is more supervision by the government- who then punishes ALL owners and dogs regardless of being a good owner, a good dog or whatever "criteria" is being used to ban breeds.

Answer 7

I agree, any dog can attack if provoked enough or if raised improperly. Golden Retrievers are supposed to be the most gentle breed yet if you google Golden Retriever attacks, you will find several. I was shocked because I have a Golden mix, my Mom and Aunt both have AKC reg. Goldens and they are all wonderful. But just goes to show you can't single out a breed - they need to single out the bad owners!

Answer 8

I have heard of FIVE Pit Bull attacks in the last ten days. One person was killed. One child was mauled an still in critical condition. The bottom line is this, Pits were bred to fight and that is difficult to breed out. Pits can kill quicker than any other dog because of their jaws. Once they clamp down, you are not going to get them off. Don't tell me anything different, I had a Pit and had to put him down. I loved that dog like a child and I had to put him down at nine months old.

Any dog can bite or "attack". It is just that they don't do it to KILL as the Pit Bull.

Answer 9

i know how you feel about pets having a bad rap. i love all dogs, no matter the size or breed. my friend had a black lab that was so wild, even i got scared in his house sometimes. i think its just because pit bulls, rotties, dobermans, etc, are portrayed as being viscious dogs. in my opinion, theres no such thing as a viscious dog, just viscious owner. it doesn't matter if your buying a great dane or a teacup chihuahua, the attitude of the dog matches its owner's. if your mean, your dog will be too!

hope this helps. i hate biased people, no matter where their stereotypes are directed.

Answer 10

I think the same way- I have a pit-bull and she is a precious baby. She is the sweetest dog. I have never had a problem with her and I have had her for 5 years.

Answer 11

In my city the dogs that are considered dangerous aren't all pitbulls, unfortunately a majority of them are. It's the owners not the dogs BUT you are NEVER going to get every single owner of every single dog to have control over their dog by being the pack leader so you are ALWAYS going to have aggressive dogs, whatever the breed.