Pit bull attack on 7th Ave?

I have no idea the origin of this story or the dog in question but let me say....

While you are correct children shouldnt pet strange dogs - your comments about Pitbulls and Rottweillers are factually and demonstratibly incorrect.

As a breed neither is "unpredicitably aggressive" - in reality they are predictably aggressive - that is when the dog is aggressive - it will be aggressive repeatedly - no breed of dog simply "turns" bad.

And speaking of Pits, which I know something about - they absolutly are not 'human aggressive' as a breed, and are some of the best dogs with kids for various reasons including b/c they have a high threshold for pain and therefore (generally) wont act aggressivly when a child makes the (all too common) mistakes of pulling the tail, or poking the eye or whatever (try that with a Cocker Spaniel). This disposition toward human 'non-aggression' has been tested and documented.

It is true however that Pits (especially non-altered males) can be aggressive toward other dogs. This is not absolute (heck some retrievers dont retrieve) but it is in their wiring so unless approriate socialization and training is given it CAN be a problem. However it is absolutly untrue that a dog that is aggressive toward other dogs (or animals) is therefore aggressive toward people. Totally seperate.

Finally, unfortunatly Pits (and Rotties) are the breed of choice of people who under every criteria shouldn't have dogs - people (generally young and irresponsible) who are attracted to the 'image' that a muscular dog can project and people who encourage the worst behaviors in their dogs while abusing the dog through neglect and/or physical abuse and NEVER getting the dog 'fixed.' As with any living creature raised under these circumstances, the dogs often become dangerous and uncivilized (just like their owners often are) and when your talking about a dog with the strength of a Pit Bull (or Rottie) the danger can border on lethal. These facts have NOTHING to do with the 'breed' of the dog and everything to do with the 'breed' of the people attracted to the dog.

Anyway it just raises my ire when someone perpetuates incorrect facts about great dogs that are already the victims of some of the most horrendous misinformation and abuse.

Now back to your regually scheduled programing....

Malcolm Gladwell had an interesting post about pit bulls on his blog a while back. An excerpt:

A reader writes, in response to my Troublemakers article:

As an emergency vet in Las Vegas, I see lots of pit bulls. I would rather work on a pit bull than any other breed as they are very sincere and don't change their temperament 1/2 way through the exam. They let me know up front —" I'm going to kill you if I get the chance", and they get muzzled and drugged. Many german shepard dogs, american eskimos and some retrievers will decide that they want to eat my jugular veins as I listen their heart after giving no indication of aggression up to that point. They are very dangerous. I think the most vicious breeds are daschunds and chihuahuas.

I realize that I've said a great deal about Pit Bulls already. But this is a very interesting point. I've heard now over and over again versions of what the reader above says—namely that what distinguishes the Pit Bull breed, above all else, is its stability and evenness of temperament. This is, in fact, why so many bad actors have, in recent years, made the Pit Bull their dog of choice. If you are going to abuse a dog, and encourage it to do socially hostile things, and leave it chained up and frustrated, the Pit Bull is a far better pet than, say, a Rottweiler or Doberman for the simple reason that a Pit Bull will accept an awful lot more maltreatment than other dogs, and will much more clearly telegraph its intentions in time of stress. In other words, what makes Pit Bulls over-represented in dog bite statistics is not just a product of the dark side of their character (their ferocity and status as fighting dogs) but the good side of their character (their evenness of temperament.)

http://gladwell.typepad.com/gladwellcom/2006/03/the_pitbull_par.html

I agree with everything friendlypitbull said.