I was just curious about what the people on this discussion forum
thought about Pitbulls. I am not taking a position for or against,
I'm just curious about where others stand on this particular breed of
animals. Do you think that they are a potential danger to neighbors
and pets around them or do you think that it is just noticed more when
a Pitbull attack happens for the simple fact that they seem to be a
targeted issue in today's society. I have had both positive and
negative experiences with the breed.
When I was younger, my grandpa had a next door neigbor who had a
very friendly Pitbull. He would feed it scraps all of the time (with
the neighbor's permission), and we would go over and pet her. One day
I was petting her and I thought I heard a low growl coming from her.
I froze in fear and she lunged at me. I barely outran the length of
the chain and reached safety. My question then was, "did she sense
the fear in me and feel threatened or were people right when they say
that Pitbulls, even friendly ones, can attack you at any moment?"
The next door neighbors that we have now have a male and female
that just had puppies. They are responsible owners and watch the dogs
every time they let them out. I have never once had trouble with them
or their dogs over the years that they have lived next to us. One
day, my wife and I were taking the dumpster and the recycling bin back
up from the curb and placing them on the side of the house. Without
my knowing it the female Pitbull jumped the fence and lunged at my
hand. I pulled my hand back, but not quickly enough. Her tooth sunk
into the vein between my ring finger and pinky leaving a puncture
wound about a quarter of an inch deep.
After the initial injury, the female Pitbull did not try do
anything else to me. Reflecting upon it, I wondered if she just saw
my wife and I as a threat because we were coming up the narrow space
between our houses making a bunch of noise. My thought was that if
the Pitbull wanted to continue assaulting me, she had every
opportunity. Was she really trying to attack me or was she just
protecting her pups like any mother (animal or otherwise), would try
to do?
I have always felt that any animal could be nurtured into a very
loving and friendly creature or a very aloof and dangerous one
depending on how their owners treat them. I have always showered
loving attention on my animals and I have never had one that wasn't
friendly or didn't crave love and affection from me. The question
that I propose is one of nature vs. nurture. Can Pitbulls be nurtured
into normal, friendly, loving dogs with no chance of attacking another
animal or human or will their nature overtake them at some point in a
moment of weakness?

On 2/2/2011 11:55 PM, wrote:

When I was younger, my grandpa had a next door neigbor who had a
very friendly Pitbull. He would feed it scraps all of the time (with
the neighbor's permission), and we would go over and pet her. One day
I was petting her and I thought I heard a low growl coming from her.
I froze in fear and she lunged at me. I barely outran the length of
the chain and reached safety. My question then was, "did she sense
the fear in me and feel threatened or were people right when they say
that Pitbulls, even friendly ones, can attack you at any moment?"

Have you considered that being chained had anything to do with it? It
makes dogs crazy if they are chained 24/7 and don't get much attention.
How often was the dog chained?

Char

"Char" wrote in message
m...

On 2/2/2011 11:55 PM, wrote:

When I was younger, my grandpa had a next door
neigbor who had a very friendly Pitbull. He would feed it
scraps all of the time (with the neighbor's permission),
and we would go over and pet her. One day I was petting
her and I thought I heard a low growl coming from her.
I froze in fear and she lunged at me. I barely outran the
length of the chain and reached safety. My question then
was, "did she sense the fear in me and feel threatened or
were people right when they say that Pitbulls, even friendly
ones, can attack you at any moment?"

Have you considered that being chained had anything to do
with it? It makes dogs crazy if they are chained 24/7 and
don't get much attention. How often was the dog chained?

I don't have much experience with pit bulls, and never a problem. One of my
friends, however, had a bad experience with a pit bull when he was hiking
and encountered one who was being walked on lead by someone. He also had a
problem with a pack of three GRs and Labs who were off-leash and tried to
attack his friend's small dog. So maybe it was a problem with his "energy".

Pit bulls originally were bred and culled to remove all traces of human
aggression, and to maximize their "gameness" for fighting other dogs. But in
the last 20 years or so, many of them have been bred irresponsibly with more
human-aggressive dogs, so unless the PBTs you mention were purebred with
known ancestry, you could have an animal with any sort of disposition.

Char is correct that having a dog chained a lot can affect the animal's
behavior, but it does not make sense that you would be attacked by a dog you
knew, while you were petting her, with no other influences. And pit bulls
are not known for being guard dogs, although a bitch might be protective of
her pups if she felt threatened.

Personally, I don't especially like the breed. They (and bulldogs/pugs) are
too brachycephalic for my taste. Some people consider them cute, while I
think they are deformed. And my assessment is validated by the fact that, at
least in the case of bulldogs, they may need to be artificially inseminated,
and they often have breathing problems. But their unique underbite makes
them especially good at grabbing and holding a victim in their jaws.
http://dogs.about.com/cs/disableddog...locclusion.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulldog
http://therealowner.com/dogs/smushed-faced-dogs/

Paul and Muttley
www.youtube.com/PaulAndMuttley