re: Non-Pit Bull Thread: infant killed by family dog

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Don't trust the family pet with young children. Period.

They are animals. It doesn't matter sweet or well trained they are. Leaving your kid unattended with a dog is asking for trouble.

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This is a correct response.

Babies and small children can act out in ways that trigger behavior in dogs that would not likely to be seen with larger children or adults.

The other issue is a simple size issue. If a baby is bitten it will be a potentially serious bite even if the dog is very small. If a toddler or small child is bitten they are at the right height to take a bite to the face or neck that can be disfiguring or life threatening.

Dogs aren't bad, but you should take the same types of care you would with them that you would with a stranger. And presumably you would never leave your child unattended with a stranger.

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this story not near as entertaining to the tards on here because it doesn't involve a pit bull and black folks

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I can't speak for the black folks comment, but pit bull stories are going to get more play than German Shepard stories due to the fact that people can't believe they're still allowed to exist.

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34 U.S. dog bite-related fatalities occurred in 2015. Despite being regulated in Military Housing areas and over 700 U.S. cities, pit bulls contributed to 82% (28) of these deaths. Pit bulls make up about 6.6% of the total U.S. dog population.

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^^That is why pit bull threads get so many responses. There is no reason it should continue happening.

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^^That is why pit bull threads get so many responses. There is no reason it should continue happening.

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eradicating the breed isn't the answer though


I especially like the try hards that say they will shoot a pit if someone in their neighborhood has one.

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eradicating the breed isn't the answer though

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There is no point to keep breeding pit bulls.

Don't kill the ones currently here, just give the owners 1 year to spay and neuter them and outlaw their breeding.

I am as big of a dog guy as you can be. My 70 lb dog sleeps in the bed with the wife and I. There is just no point to continuing to allow pit bulls to be bred. 95% of their owners do not raise them correctly. They require very strong, specific training.

They should be treated like other non-dog animals that are only allowed via permit. You shouldn't be allowed one unless you can prove you can handle it.

They can be very well behaved, nice dogs. But its muuuuch easier for them not to be. I know nice rescue pits from our dog park and I think even the owners of those pits will agree that they should stop their breeding. They also are one of the most common homeless dogs because of the irresponsible owners.


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FWIW, pit bulls are attributed for 82% of the dog bite fatalities in the US in 2015.

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I'm not suggesting it would be 20 minutes of struggle, but between the dog and the infant, surely the attack made some noise. Dogs don't just silently bite and go about their way.

I'm sure the dog is at fault, I just question the story of a 20 minute nap.

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German could lay two hard bites down on an infant and pierce an artery.

I have to think the infant pulled its tail or ear as it was walking by or something.

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If you think they considered the dogs unbridled weapons of war they would take them to elementary schools or do interviews with reporters?

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They keep them under fairly tight control around others - until it's time not to. Some of the dogs have a "mode" and when they're set to "on" they are much more likely to go off than if they are home. They do have difficulties in retirement because of this and often need to stay with their former handlers because of their training and disposition.

I agree it's not the same as having a pit bull of unregulated breeding around the babies - sure, a lot of them are great dogs, but it is still like having unexploded ordnance in the kids' toy box.

Professionally trained dogs are at a lower risk of this, I'll agree.

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They keep them under fairly tight control around others - until it's time not to. Some of the dogs have a "mode" and when they're set to "on" they are much more likely to go off than if they are home. They do have difficulties in retirement because of this and often need to stay with their former handlers because of their training and disposition.

I agree it's not the same as having a pit bull of unregulated breeding around the babies - sure, a lot of them are great dogs, but it is still like having unexploded ordnance in the kids' toy box.

Professionally trained dogs are at a lower risk of this, I'll agree.

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Germans are absolutely great dogs. They are incredibly smart and kind if raised that way. But like any dog, they can be incredibly mean if raised that way.

They aren't pits. They aren't prone to snap like that. These unprovoked attacks are pretty rare (not counting the ones trained to attack) and GS's are one of the most popular dogs in the world.

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Shooting family pets isn't the answer.

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I'm inclined to agree, but I'm pointing out the logical fallacy between the two arguments. A pit bull poses a greater threat to your life than a poisonous snake.

German Sheppards are the most neurotic dogs.

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34 U.S. dog bite-related fatalities occurred in 2015. Despite being regulated in Military Housing areas and over 700 U.S. cities, pit bulls contributed to 82% (28) of these deaths. Pit bulls make up about 6.6% of the total U.S. dog population.

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All of that information is false or unverifiable. Using dogsbite.org as a source is a like lifting your statistics from a crazy hobo doing Mel Gibson impressions.

There are serious professional organizations like the AVMA and the CDC that give informed opinions on animal policy. They have seriously studied the issue and concluded that dog breeds are not a variable that should be addressed in the way that people who would like to ban "pit bulls" would like to see done.

The best available studies on the effect of breed targeted legislation have concluded they are ineffective in reducing the number of incidents and the trend is now towards a reversal of this type of pandering and useless legislation. In previous years a range of other dog breeds including bloodhounds, german shepherds, dobermans, and rottweilers have enjoyed the same reputation that pit bulls presently do in parts of the public. These are signs of public opinion, not breed characteristics being a primary issue.