Pit bulls maul pony in CT - link to story

[Riley0522]

When they start roaming in packs and attacking people's ponies, I'm sure that will be something the public will concern themselves about.

Or the media will report it as a Pit Bull attack just like when 2 Mastiffs left unattended with a 12 year old mauled him to death...they instantly became Pit Bulls. I like the media magic there.

[arabhorse2]

When they start roaming in packs and attacking people's ponies, I'm sure that will be something the public will concern themselves about.

Ambrey, a Great Dane doesn't need to be in a pack to do major damage.

My girl, who is about average size for a female Dane, weighs 140 lbs.

In some places Great Danes are on the restricted/dangerous animal list because they're so huge, and being sight hounds will chase livestock.

Dane females are also notorious for not allowing another female dog of any breed anywhere in what they construe as their territory. They can and will rip another female to shreds.

I love my girl, but if she got loose and took down or injured any of the neighbors' animals, I'd expect them to shoot her. Here in my part of VA it's SSS, and too bad so sad.

Which is why I keep Lexi either on a very strong tie out, or on a leash when she's outside. I love my dog, and I don't want something to happen to her through my own ignorance and negligence.

[VAHorseGurl]

Then why do I constantly either read or see it on the news where a Pit savaged a small child or even a grown adult?

First off, 6 out of 10 times, a dog's breed is improperly ID'd because it has a blocky head and has mauled a human, it's very obviously just has to be a Pit bull.

Generally speaking, most TV anchors couldn't tell you what the physical characteristics of a Pit bull is, just what they've seen, like yourself, labeled a Pit bull.

And just because these dog's have attacked other animals does not mean their next 'obvious' target is a human. Human aggression and Animal aggression are ENTIRELY different issues.

[Aubreyyy]

I love dogs, and have met many Pits that were great pets.

However, I have also heard of about 4 getting PTS for various agression issues. One was just a couple of months ago- a friend had to put down a younger rescue because after a year she started attacking her larger male QUITE viciously. I've never heard of anyone else with any other kind of breed have to be PTS from that kind of agression.

The problem with Pits is that they have the "bite" to back up the bark. My parents dog is the most insane little dog ever- if she were a larger dog, she would not be alive. She barks and bites and is terrible to be around if you aren't in her "family", but she only weighs 10lbs so its manageable.

[arabhorse2]

I've never heard of anyone else with any other kind of breed have to be PTS from that kind of agression.

There are quite a few Danes put down for aggression with other dogs and people.

Some factors seem to be age and neurologically related, but it can also be how the puppy was treated once it left its mother.

As far as those yippy-snippy, nasty, bitey little dogs? Those things need to have the same standards applied to them as to larger dogs. Aggression in a dog of any size is intolerable.

A 10 lb. dog can do a heck of a lot of damage to a baby or small child. It's inexcusable to let that dog act the way she does. Your parents are opening themselves up for a major lawsuit.

[VAHorseGurl]

The double standard comes into play when people see the kind of damage one breed can do vs. another when they DO act on those instincts. The Shiba Inu can get the neighbor's bunny- ok, keep him away from small animals. But an animal that can take down a horse? How do you keep the world safe from that?

A dog bites the mailman and the mailman needs 7 stitches- OK, keep that dog away from strangers. A dog mauls and kills someone? Yikes.

You do realize that any large breed dog has the ability to take down a horse? Not just a Pit bull.

And yes, I know exactly where you will go with that... I cannot say I've ever seen any other breed of dog make the news for having taken down a horse. But that does not mean it has not happened. There are a number of reasons why it didn't make the news, one is the most obvious, it wasn't a Pit bull so it wasn't sensationally news worthy.

I don't want this Construction owner owning this breed anymore than any of you want this breed on this earth. It's ignorance like this guy is displaying that makes it hard for those of us responsible enough to own and who choose to own this breed. YES, those dogs either need to be rehomed with a more responsible owner or humanely euthenized.

Please understand, that for the outrageous number of 'killer' Pits out there, there are just as many if not more Productive Pits. Search & Rescue, Police Dogs (both narcatics and bomb detection among other things), Therapy dogs(YES, therapy Pit bulls for both the elderly and child), Agility titled, Dock Diving titled, Comfirmation titled, Weight Pulling titled, and the list goes on.

While none of mine are overly productive, other than loving and being loyal to me, they should have the right to live in peace and not the fear of being Banned because a select few HUMANs are ignorant enough not to pay close attention when owning this breed.

Put the blame where it lies, with the HUMAN who fails to protect their dog and the Public at large from their breed of choice.

[Aubreyyy]

Aggression in a dog of any size is intolerable.

A 10 lb. dog can do a heck of a lot of damage to a baby or small child. It's inexcusable to let that dog act the way she does. Your parents are opening themselves up for a major lawsuit.

Shes been MEDICATED for almost 9 years- shes on Prozac. So its being managed. Shes still pretty hyper but it way took the agression away.

But thats the drastic (and INCREDIBLY expensive) my parents took to make their dog safe. She gets boarded only at her vet with people who understand how she is, and she isn't taken out of their house. Literally, in 9 years of owning her they've never been able to take her on walks or anything like that. Just a huge fenced in backyard that is literally inescapable for her.

[MistyBlue]

The media does get overly excited about dog attacks and do sometimes misidentify breeds. Although it's not close to "6 out of 10 times."
According to the insurance institute who researches anything insurance has to insure and/or pay out for...and this covers ONLY the claims they've paid by insured people....the vast majority of "catastrophic bites/maulings and deaths" by canines is done by pits or pit crosses. Which cover the top 65-70% of these types of insurance claims. They categorize catastrophic as anything requiring hospital stay/more than general treatment and anything worse. The dogs caught and quarantined and/or destroyed are identified and reported by the vets who tend them.
Now the media might get the breeds wrong once in a while, but vets rarely do.
FWIW...the vast majority of the pits in the top 65-70% are intact male pits. They also sub-categorize by gender/whether fixed or not.
Also a good percentage is from dogs biting and seriously injuring or mauling their own people. So it's not just loose dogs. Almost half are to children under the age of 12 IIRC.
So it's not a fallacy that pits do indeed cause more serious injuries than any other breed. The key word is "serious injuries." Now there are more dog bites from goldens or labs, but less requiring treatment and maulings don't even make the list because the percentage is too low. There are more goldens than pits...but the pits are still popular and have different bite styles. They bite hard and they bite repeatedly. Few other dogs keeping biting after the initial snap. Once their biting starts, their genetics kick in and most keep biting.

[arabhorse2]

Aubreyyy, it's great that your parents have taken responsibility for their dog, and tried to make her as secure and easy to deal with as they can. That's all anyone can ask.

I still stand by my statement that the size of the dog doesn't matter, though. Intolerable actions aren't acceptable just because of diminutive size.

Every dog needs training, and it's not "cute" to allow aggressive behaviour in any animal. It makes me pukey to see those America's Funniest Video tapes where they're showing a small dog growling, snapping, and acting like a total heathen.

If it's not acceptable behaviour in a larger dog, it's not acceptable in a smaller one.

[VAHorseGurl]

I've never heard of anyone else with any other kind of breed have to be PTS from that kind of agression.

Then you very obviously haven't participated in any kind of Dog rescue. I've been active in all breed rescue for nearly 20yrs now and have had far more different breeds put down for aggression than Pit.

I had a finger severed by a 1yr old female Mastiff out of the blue. I've been attacked by a DDB from the back of my Element during transportation. I've been bitten by a Lab and attacked by a Poodle.

None of them Pit bulls or anything close to a Pit mix. All pure breds, all humanely euthanized for aggression.

[Aubreyyy]

^^

Definitely. I think the only reason my paren'ts dog could do the meds is b/c she was so small... I couldn't imagine the dosage on a large dog. The price would be staggering!

[arabhorse2]

Yep, which is why a larger dog would have been destroyed.

Glad your parents love their dog enough to have given her a chance.

[VAHorseGurl]

^^

Definitely. I think the only reason my paren'ts dog could do the meds is b/c she was so small... I couldn't imagine the dosage on a large dog. The price would be staggering!

I don't know the whole story on your parent's dog, but I commend them for their efforts.

I had a 150lbs. English Mastiff (poorly bred) with a brain tumor who at the tender age of 1yr became stranger aggressive. Yes, human aggressive and the cost was stagger, no only financially but physically on me.

I often look back and ask myself, while he was completely and entirely loyal to me, was it humane to keep him alive? For he may not have been suffering physically, but he was mentally, as your parent's little dog seems to be.

We walked very very early in the morning, and very very late in the evening. We didn't have a mid-day walker, just couldn't trust that he's recognize them. He was always kept on a double leash when we had to take him out during 'normal public hours' and we were the ones who crossed the street when we saw folks coming.

I did everything I could for 6 LONG years to provide him the quality of life I thought was right. But was it really? He eventually spiraled so far down hill before I caught it that he bit me one morning during feeding. I knew at that moment it was time to let him go. Perhaps it was far past time to let him go.

[Aubreyyy]

Then you very obviously haven't participated in any kind of Dog rescue. I've been active in all breed rescue for nearly 20yrs now and have had far more different breeds put down for aggression than Pit.

I had a finger severed by a 1yr old female Mastiff out of the blue. I've been attacked by a DDB from the back of my Element during transportation. I've been bitten by a Lab and attacked by a Poodle.

None of them Pit bulls or anything close to a Pit mix. All pure breds, all humanely euthanized for aggression.

I haven't, which is why its significant (potentially only to me) that I've heard of so many people having to put their pits down. These people have been friends and aquaintances, not sensationalized stories churning through the rumor mill.

I'm sure all dogs can be agressive and all dogs can cause injury to other animals and people- but why does it seem much more prevalent with pits?

[Aubreyyy]

I often look back and ask myself, while he was completely and entirely loyal to me, was it humane to keep him alive? For he may not have been suffering physically, but he was mentally, as your parent's little dog seems to be.

(Wow, threadjack! lol)

Thats the hard part. When her agression started to manifest itself, she was pretty young, but we were attached. She was SO GOOD with our family, seemed so normal- how do you put a dog like that to sleep?

We are all VERY lucky that the prozac helped- we sent her to 3-4 trainers first and they all told us to put her down.

[VAHorseGurl]

I haven't, which is why its significant (potentially only to me) that I've heard of so many people having to put their pits down. These people have been friends and aquaintances, not sensationalized stories churning through the rumor mill.

I'm sure all dogs can be agressive and all dogs can cause injury to other animals and people- but why does it seem much more prevalent with pits?

Piss poor breeding and inconsistant training. HUMAN error, and just because these people were 'friends and acquaintances' doesn't mean they are less likely to purchase a puppymill Pit or a BYB pit and then work consistantly on training and soicalization.

With pits, training and socialization is COMPLETELY different, it is a 24/7, 365 day a year training and socialization. It's understanding that regardless of loyalty, they are NEVER to be left alone with children or other animals, big or small.

I don't know these peoples story, you don't know the WHOLE story, just what they feel is relevant enough for you to hear. But what I can tell you is without a doubt in my mind, those dogs gave a sign, a signal, something to indicate there was a potential problem in their lives. It was up to their owners to read and understand the next step.

Look, I'm not doggin' ya, I hope you know this? And while I'm a huge advocate for the breed, what the owner in this story fails to understand is that this dog was not ever meant to be used for protection. And it's obvious that they do not intend to keep the dogs safe from themselves or keep the public safe from the dogs. So the dogs and the pony have suffered do to the lack of responsibility by the owner.

So, yes, put them down.

[Aubreyyy]

Look, I'm not doggin' ya, I hope you know this? And while I'm a huge advocate for the breed, what the owner in this story fails to understand is that this dog was not ever meant to be used for protection. And it's obvious that they do not intend to keep the dogs safe from themselves or keep the public safe from the dogs. So the dogs and the pony have suffered do to the lack of responsibility by the owner.

So, yes, put them down.

Oh god! I know And I understand totally about agressive dogs- they're the exception of ANY breed, not the rule.

I was just curious to why it seemed like it happens so much more often with the Pits- but then again, everyone loves to villify them...maybe you only hear the stories b/c their pits? Like, nobody thinks its newsworthy to have to kill a poor innocent cutey Lab b/c it was (of no fault of its own) a little imbalanced. Oh the shock! lol

(and I just remembered that when I was a kid, I think the next door neighbors Border Collie went to "live in the country" b/c she was very whacko and escaped often. So I just proved myself wrong lol)

[Chall]

Anyone heard of dogs having all their teeth filed down and canine teeth extracted?
Seems to me that would render a dog pretty harmless. And if an owner loves it (but can't control it), then he could feed it canned mush the rest of it's life. Any reason this isn't done or offered as an alternative to euthanasia ?

[MistyBlue]

With some dogs the lbs of pressure alone on the bite can break bones. The teeth cause punctures and allows them to hold on, but the strength/pressure alone is what breaks bones. You'd be amazed at how hard some animals without teeth can bite.

[WorthTheWait95]

Anyone heard of dogs having all their teeth filed down and canine teeth extracted?
Seems to me that would render a dog pretty harmless. And if an owner loves it (but can't control it), then he could feed it canned mush the rest of it's life. Any reason this isn't done or offered as an alternative to euthanasia ?

That's a tough one. While I see your point I don't really think that's fair to the dog in the long run. I'd almost rather euth them then put them through the pain of extractions and then have them live tooth less for the rest of their lives unable to eat anything but mush. And as someone else pointed out they force of the bite can still be very strong.

We had a pit bull who was the sweetest most affectionate dog ever. He would sit outside the horses stalls and lick their faces/noses when they hung their heads over the half doors. As much as I loved that dog I would also like to see the end of pit bull breeding...too many people are just too clueless.