1911tuner said:
I listened patiently for a minute, and then told him that the dogs he'd just positively identified as Pitbulls were actually Dogo Argentinos.
I understand your points, one being people and their incorrect assumptions, and the other stereotyping animals.
However truth be told they are in fact bred to be quite similar animals. Both are designed to be aggressive animals. Similar species are in fact what would likely replace pit bulls if legislation was passed against a specific breed.
A big difference though is such species are not currently sought after by the type of owners that give pit bulls such a bad reputation, so are more likely to be well behaved animals.
While I am against legislation or restrictions based on type of dog, and know animals of various breeds that do not fit a stereotype of a breed, such animals were bred for roles that can make them unstable and dangerous.
Pit bull type dogs for example were meant to combine the size of a stronger dog with the energy, ferocity, and instinctual aggressiveness of a terrier.
Back when terriers were bred to be mousers, or animals with such ferocity that they would rapidly slaughter large numbers of animals smaller than them, in their case typically rodents.
Combining that strong desire with a large animal can make such animals naturally dangerous to children and other things smaller than them, even absent bad owners. A lot of socialization and training can overcome such intentionally bred instinctual tendencies but that is fighting 'nature' so to speak, and while successful is not the 'natural' temperament of the dog.
It goes to the classical nature vs nurture argument, and while enough nurture can overcome nature, it does not make it not a dangerous breed.
1911tuner said:
I've heard people identify several bully breeds as Pitbulls...from Boxers to American Bulldogs...and even a Boston Terrier once.
Well that is because of what a Pit Bull was designed from.
It is a large terrier, bred to have the temperament of a terrier and the power and bulk of something bigger, like a bulldog.
Many refer to a "pit bull type" as a result.
An American bulldog crossed and selectively bred with some high energy terriers for example would give you something just like a pit bull. Basically what the American Staffordshire Terrier, an offifically recognized form of the "pit bull" is.
A pit bull is basically a large heavier terrier, but "terriers" are small dogs.
A dogo argentino or a pressa canario and many similar dogs are less well known and without the stigma of a pit bull, but essentially the same or similar temperament in a large strong animal.
So someone miscalling them a "pit bull" is not too far from the truth.
A lot of the crowd intending to make dangerous animals for use as weapons or fighters cross terrier temperament dogs with larger dogs like Mastiffs and other more heavily muscled animals.
The goal is a high energy heavily muscled terrier.
This is nothing new, the Romans used such animals in war as attack dogs.
The bad element then selectively breed only the most aggressive or those that will keep attacking even after losing limbs and being torn apart. The same kind that will keep attacking a little girl even while being hit with a baseball bat. Even when such offspring is bought as puppies from such breeders by someone else and not raised to be aggressive.
As a result these genes are well represented in a portion of "pit bull" type dogs, irregardless of upbringing, and puppies several generations removed with such genes can grow into unexpectedly dangerous animals.
Similar breeds raised improperly become just as dangerous such as in the case of Diane Whipple demonstrated when two presa canario mixes got loose and killed her in a hallway:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_Whipple
The owners are in prison.
When you selectively breed something for a dangerous temperament, as some breeds were originally bred to have to suit the role they were meant to do, you get a naturally dangerous breed. Such a temperament may be beneficial in some animals, like when they are being used to actually catch dangerous animals.
There will be exceptions in temperament, where enough nurture overcomes the nature, but that is the nature of the animal.
You can raise a friendly male lion too, but it has always got the natural aggressiveness bred into it over time just being held in check by its upbringing, and it can suddenly maul someone when things go wrong.
Pit bulls appeal to young men (and some women) that want an animal weapon, or something dangerous, or the best perceived "protector" and so are often the dog of choice of the worst owners.
This combined with the breed's traits leads them to be the most dangerous animal in the US to people.
Such a species just unsocialized become somewhat dangerous even with no further poor upbringing, while in many breeds that is not the case. So someone that buys such an animal and goes to work leaving it alone most of the time and just takes it for walks can end up with an animal that is dangerous to other people or animals.
The least force necessary to stop a threat should always be used, but it is an animal, and no human injury is worth giving an animal the same benefit of the doubt you would give a human being when aggressiveness is displayed.
I have dealt with plenty of large poorly behaved pit bulls, rottweilers, and similar animals without hurting or killing them when they are loose attacking other animals and being a problem, often while armed with a firearm. (Often times the same animals multiple times because I have found poor owners that get their animals back without much hassle, fees, fines, lawsuits, charges, etc are often unmotivated to change the circumstances that led to what is not perceived as having been a serious situation.)
But that is by choice and luck, even when deadly force would be justified, and what I can do someone else may not be comfortable with. Whether someone is willing to risk injury to take a less lethal approach is their decision to make for a given situation.
Similarly not everyone can carry and rapidly deploy from the batman utility belt with every step in the force continuum as many suggest.
I see people here recommend everything from a large bear spray can (not even legal for self-defense in many states) to several pound sticks, in addition to a gun for someone already talking about a small gun being too heavy while jogging.
Oh well, whatever works for you grasshopper.
