Now, about those guns...it's the guns fault! And the ease of getting a gun! Laws! Laws! LAWS!!!

If it could save one life!

also, quick question: have you ever owned a dog?

Crusading to spay and neuter is a lot more useful and realistic than trolling pit bull lovers every day.

why can't we have tigers and lynxes and bears everywhere, too?

and my pet wolf?

laws laws laws it should be the law of tooth and claw.

Grrrrrwwwwwllllll!!

The part that I think you also should have bolded was "fought to pry the dog loose." Just like sheep dogs were bred for the most effective herders (no one seems to deny that breed speciality), pitbulls were bred for the most effective killers. Ignoring the behavioral differences it exhibits while in attack mode (which the pro-pitbull camp will deny), incredibly powerful jaws is a physically measurable outcome of this breeding.

Yes, all dogs bite, but not many are capable of breaking bones. A pitbull can break your arm just by clamping down. That kid is lucky it didn't fracture her skull.

The problem is, of course, pitbulls can truly be lovable animals, so it's easy to forget that, if they do get in a situation where they feel threatened, they can inflict far more damage than most dogs of their size or larger.

The part that I think you also should have bolded was "fought to pry the dog loose." Just like sheep dogs were bred for the most effective herders (no one seems to deny that breed speciality), pitbulls were bred for the most effective killers. Ignoring the behavioral differences it exhibits while in attack mode (which the pro-pitbull camp will deny), incredibly powerful jaws is a physically measurable outcome of this breeding.

Yes, all dogs bite, but not many are capable of breaking bones. A pitbull can break your arm just by clamping down. That kid is lucky it didn't fracture her skull.

The problem is, of course, pitbulls can truly be lovable animals, so it's easy to forget that, if they do get in a situation where they feel threatened, they can inflict far more damage than most dogs of their size or larger.

Let's see if I can post this just once...

It's nearly axiomatic.

i love dogs. i hate breed bans and i think spay/neuter laws are the way to go. but anyone who thinks breed/genetics is inconsequential to dog behavior doesn't know very much about dogs and/or is willfully delusional.

I'm talking about the data in the newer study that he didn't have access to last week. Terriers are 3.8 times more likely to be in a reported attack than the most common (sporting) breeds. With working dogs it was 3.6. Intact males are 18.6 times more likely than spayed females. It is extremely compelling evidence.

This is based on looking at the whole population of dogs and the rates of attack for each sub-group, rather than which stories get hyped in the media.

I gave Jonathan a copy of the study; I hope he posts about it soon because the information is significant. And getting people to fix their pets is much more productive then demonizing one breed.

Risk Ratio by Breed Group:

Sporting Referent
Terrier 8 3.8
Working 3.6
Herding 2.3
Nonsporting 2.0
Hound 1.1
Non-AKC 1.0
Toy 0.54

Risk Ratio by Sex-Neuter Status:

Spayed female Referent
Sexually intact male 18.6
Sexually intact female 10.5
Neutered male 2.6

Canine and human factors related to dog bite injuries.

Just because our majority loves to lock-on to innocent people who have no idea we're about to tear their life apart in a hot second for the sheer thrill of it, and then go on to attack anybody else that gets in the way, doesn't mean that we should be banned.

Just because we have jaws that can do fatal damage even with a playful bite, and it does often, doesn't mean we should be banned.

Just because our owners are assholes who love strong vicious dogs, or love us the way we are but are irresponsible, or are responsible but "we never did anything like this before", or someone has a friend that owns one of us and it's never "did anything like that before", or we're just running around aimlessly without a leash or a care in the world doesn't mean we should be banned.

Just because we demolish every breed on the book when it comes to attacks, fatal attacks, or playing-gone-wrong resorting to injury DOESN'T MEAN WE SHOULD BE BANNED. Cuz you don't even know I'm pure bred, bitch! I could be a quarter or half of something else! HA! Immunity!

And, please, let's not forget: just because my owner is too stupid, ignorant and selfish to acknowledge that I'm dangerous and even though I'm smiley-nice and cuddly-luvin' and totally part of the family, it doesn't mean I should be banned. Even though, no doubt, my owner is equipped with a fucking shitload of double standards in this area, because they're most likely some liberal idiot who runs off and points fingers about guns in general and liquids on planes.

I'm not a pit pull. I'm a dog. You can't ban me, but you can be sure that I'll attack out of nowhere. See also: Carollani.

I understand that there are many people who like dogs much more than people. However, it doesn't matter whose fault it is; these dogs regularly kill random people and animals. They can't be 'owned'. They cannot be pets. They are not domesticated. and shouldn't be anyone's pet any more than an innocent python/tiger/scorpion/poisonous tree frog should be someone's pet.

You're a fucking idiot. If Apple sold a sarcasm radar, you might have hope. But alas, they don't. You can go back to talking to your friends with your hands now.

Uh, no. Clearly you haven't seen Apple's commercials. If you did, you'd know that the average Apple fanatic cannot speak without using their hands. In related news, you're a fucking idiot.

I love you.

Then climb up 9 floors and try to fly like a Russian dove.

Go ahead and ban the 'breed'... Let me know how that works out for you. Let's see... given the societal success banning alcohol, drugs, non-procreative sex, guns, and evil thoughts, I think y'all might have a shot at a breeding ban.

Except that those other things are completely dependent on humans. Dogs will fuck anytime, anywhere. Guns (and evil thoughts, and the rest) are made by people.

Like I said, let me know how that works out for you.

If that doesn't work out for you, well, ask Amy Kate Horn to give you my e-mail address. I'll find you a Pit that needs a home. Mmkay? K. I have a "dog" ready for you. I'll wait.

However, having worked 10 yrs at a vet school for a large mid-western university, volunteered hundreds of hours at local (mid-western) humane societies, and having lived with several pits and rotts (none my own), I still say a breed ban is completely unworkable, unenforceable and so low on the radar to be considered plausible, let alone possible.

Mandatory sterilization has a better chance.

I'd take you up on your offer, but I live halfway across the country, and am already raising two rescued dogs (both fixed).

What are you doing to help? (Snark don't count.)

In Washington on sat Jun 28 an Anatolian Shepherd attacked an elderly woman (Sunderland Echo)and in Vancouver WA on March 27, 2008 a yellow lab bit a 6y.o. girl's face severely. These stories won't be found on front pages, but they exist.Pit Bulls DO NOT bite more frequently than other breeds...you just see the stories more frequently.

As for the sentiment that only Thugs own Pit bulls...Really?
Are these people thugs? John Steinbeck, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson,Ira Glass,Alicia Silverstone, Jessica Alba, Jessica Beil, Michael J. Fox, Thomas Edison,Ray Romano, Jon Stewart(The Daily Show),Ashley Olsen, Rainn Wilson (The Office/6 feet Under),Sophia Bush(One Tree Hill)Frankie Muniz(Malcolom in The Middle), PINK,Kristen Johnston(3rdRock)Orlando Bloom, Madonna, MaryTyler Moore, Penelope Cruz, Ceasar Millan,Mel Brooks,Judd Nelson,Jimmy Carter,SandraBullok,Rosie Perez,Jack Johnson,Linda Blair, Rachael Ray,Rick Springfield,Jamie Fox, David Spade

Ignorance kills. It's easy to bully a target that can't speak for itself.

Can you really blame us for trying to thin your herd?

Perhaps she can open that closed rat-trap of a brain of hers.

I read the intro of the studies as well that warns "these statistics were obtained to the best of our abilities and should not be considered entirely accurate". Funny how this part never gets posted.

There are many variables when dogs attack. One being that people often mis-report the type of dog that committed the attack. To some, any block headed dog is a "pit bull" so the stat is initially recorded as pit bull". Once the dog is captured, however it may be determined that it is in fact another breed. Often this yields double reporting.

I am not denying that SOME pit bulls attack.Only an idiot would purport that. The reality is that MANY breeds attack and finding accurate statistics is difficult.

Nothing is ever black and white, but the killing of a breed is a LAZY person's INHUMANE solution to a problem that far surpasses breed.