Are people or pit bulls to blame for attacks?

Houston,TX -- Of the 1300 dog bite cases in Harris County last year, pit bulls were responsible for roughly 200 of them.

Increasing concern over the breed has prompted Harris County to form a task force to investigate the dogs.

But is it the dog or its owner that makes it dangerous?

There’s no question that the pit bull is a much maligned breed. But, in this case, is perception reality? Supporters of the dogs argue it’s not the animals that are the problem, it’s responsible ownership to blame for the attacks.

You’ll rarely see American Staffordshire terriers – pit bulls – portrayed as docile companion animals on the news, but Zandra Anderson’s dogs are just that.

“That’s one of the misconceptions about the dog. By its very nature, the pit bull is a friendly dog. A human-friendly dog,” Anderson said.

But Houston attorney Anderson isn’t only a pit bull owner, she’s the author of the Texas Dog Law Manual.

“Anytime a dog is left to fend for itself and roam free, I don’t care what kind of dog it is, you’re going to have problems,” she said.

It became Vaughan Pardue’s problem Wednesday morning in Conroe.

“He was trying to kill me,” Pardue said of the pit bull that attacked him.

Click here to read about Pardue's pit bull attack. “They’re animals. They’re dogs. When you hear about a pit bull attack, or any dog attack, the number one issue is you have a dog that’s at large,” Anderson said.

While some cities have banned the breed, Texas is one of 12 states that doesn’t allow breed-specific legislation.

Anderson said the state should focus on enforcing existing laws. Allowing dogs to run loose is already illegal in Houston and in Harris County.

Denver has enforced a ban on the breed, and proposed bans are up for review in New York and Chicago.

“Banning a breed is never going to change human behavior. If a person is going to fight dogs, banning the breed is not going to take that out of the person. If a person is irresponsible and not taking care of his or her pets, banning the breed is not going to take that out of the human being,” Anderson said.

There’s no word on when the Harris County task force will make its recommendations.

http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou070131_tnt_pitbullsidebar.3b2b152e.html

 

I wonder if it was a real American Pit Bull Terrier or just a Mutt. In the video he said it was 80 pounds and almost 2 if that true it not a Pit Bull.


"The media thinks every dog that bites is a pitbull. Pitbull is not the definition of a dog that bites it's a breed, so stop using it like that. Every time someone gets bit. It's classified as a pitbull just because it's a big dog. They are painting a false image of the breed. Just because pitbull attack sounds better than golden retriever. Better ratings!"

 

It's the owners that don't have a clue what is involved with owning this fabulous breed. Actually, any breed of dog in the wrong hands is not a good thing.

 

i bet half wasn't a Apbt and yes of course its the owners fault,,, it's there responsibity to keep the dog up and out of bad circumstances

 

if 1300 people got bit and only 200 were reported as pit bulls. Which I doubt most of even that low number was actually a "pit bull" which isn't a breed of dog anyway. Then they have a bigger problem with some other breed or class of breed. Meaning they need to step off the APBT and find their damn problem dogs and leave us the hell alone.

In some cases people getting bit is the owners fault but in many cases it is some one either tresspassing or taunting a dog. If the dog is running loose then yah. it is the owners fault. But in other cases it is some jerk or brat messing around where they shouldn't be. I caught a little 16 year old just yesturday messing with my dogs. I snatched his ass up and took him to his father. We had a good discussion about what will happen if I sue him for tresspassing and what it means to get tossed in jail for crimminal tresspassing. Not to mention if I were to shoot him or beat his dads ass for not spanking his kid properly. Damn brat. Kids are a parents fault if they are bad, and if a dog is bad it is the owners fault. That is just simple. But a dog protecting its own or being taunted then I feel they should have the just right to bite that sucker good.

 

Thinking the same thing when I read this article.
200 out of 1300 is a very small %. And like said, they were most likely not TRUE full blooded pit bulls.

Damn media!

 

ok so APBTs account for 15.5 % of the dog bites....my ? is how many APBT type dogs are in this county compared to other breeds.

Because if there are twice as many APBT type dogs compared to other breeds then the % actually goes down. There are 73 million dogs in the USA. At any given time there is about a 4 to 1 ratio of pit bulls to others breeds in most shelters and I read a few months ago they estimate almost 55 million dogs in this country are " pit bulls type dogs".
So IMO when they do the dogs bite statistics I think the counties need to also consider the number of " Pit bulls " versus other breeds before they can find a true ratio.

 

Oh no not a word problem. lol I always skipped those or just wrote a number that sounded good to me. lol

 

PEOPLE

Stupid people, ignorant people, asinine people, people, people, PEOPLE!

It is very rare that there is an actual medical/physical reason for dog attacks. There are a very few dogs that have been found to have a chemical imbalance that causes aggression, but the rest of the time....it is how they are bred, raised, trained by people.

 

It's crazy afriend of mine actually was told if kids stick thier fingers through her fence and the dogs bites them she can get sued. The police told her that.

And I want to know was it even a pit and how did it get there? Escape? owner let run loose?

 

to me 98% of dog bites are the owners fault. Secondly of the 200 that they claim to be "pit bulls" how many were actually APBT. How many were cross breeds, boxers, mastiffs, and ect.. People fear what they cannot control! fear kills not dogs. and n
most of all fear is the reason that the world is so screwed up! they fear dogs in tx but what about the drugs and the illegal sh!t that walks across the line!

 

It is the people that should be blamed! I need some help. My town paper is in a war against pit bulls, any and all pit attacks make the front page and I am getting sick of hearing my co workers give me a hard time about my dogs even though I have never that I know of had any of the pits I have bred attack a person. One Co worker will not get off my back, he has German Shepherds. If any of you see any news on his type of dog attacking some one or another dog please send me the info so I can show him that even the dog of his choice can get in trouble.

 

This is such a "no-brainer" question. It is the owner's fault if a dog bites someone. People who own dogs should behave responsibly. That's why I love this forum because most of the people on it are responsible owners. They know their dogs and they take care of their dogs.
Given that most people don't know their "hind end from a hole in the ground" when it comes to dogs, what is amazing is the small proportion of people who get bitten by dogs given the number of dogs in this country. It is a good thing that dogs are dogs and not people or we'd really see serious slaughter in the streets if dogs acted like people.
I vote that it is 99.99999% the owner's or handler's fault if a dog bites. Of course if a person has a dog, that person must consider that the average person on the street doesn't have a clue about dogs and the owner's must be prepared for strangers to be complete idiots and fools. Little toddler's are particularly at risk from dog bites given that their faces are usually dog teeth height and little kids don't know any better than to act like "prey." Their parents are usually off in "la-la" land without properly supervising their spawn. And older kids will "tease" a dog without knowing how wrong it is...again because their parents are totally irresponsible as parents.
Oh well, I still like dogs even little fluffy yappy ones. Most of them are better behaved than the average person and we know that if the dog has behavior problems it is usually because their owners are morons. Too bad people are not held accountable for the actions of their dogs. Instead the dogs are blamed. This is hardly news to anyone who has read through this forum for a day or two...
Oh yeah, my feelings apply to ALL dog bites...not just "pit bulls."

 

I will never own a GSD again. Had a 100# GSD raised from a 12 week old pup. One night while watching tv he grabbed my 7 years old daughter by the head and shook her like a rag. When I finally got him off of her we found he had ripped her scull wide open. Got to the hospital and we were told 98% of all dog bits they see are GSD who bite a family member. That was 37 years ago. She still has the scars.
Every other GSD I owned bit someone. Little female I had hated this one horse dealer so bad she would force her way through a car window only open a few inches just to sink her teeth in him. The other male would nail a little 8 or 9 year old boy any chance he could...luckily for me he only got a mouth full of jeans. My mother's GSD was also dangerous. I decide after my daughter got bit to only own dogs descended from the mastiff (Dobies, Boxers, APBTs) No one in my family has been bitten since.

German Shepherd bites teen
http://greenvilleonline.com/news/2005/06/07/2005060765795.htm

Children Under 1 at Highest Risk for Dog Bites
http://kidshealth.org/research/risk_dog_bites.html

 

Forgot this link

Dog Bite Prevention (PDF)
From nips to bites to actual attacks, dog bites are a serious health ... bred dogs most often involved are German shepherds and. Chow chows
http://www.osmre.gov/safety/safety091605.pdf

 

How true!!! Several years ago were were at the in-laws. Well, my SIL & my husband were out front while one of our dogs, then 6 m/o, was on a runner for a pee break. All of a sudden I hear a toddler's play scream & here is my 5 y/o niece running across the yard, jumping at my dog & screaming in his face!

Meanwhile, her mother & my husband were nonchalantly chatting about 6 feet away. Now if my pittie would have jumped back at her & bit her, who do you think they would have blamed??? That's right - me & my dog!! When actually it was the fault of her mother, who was not keeping an eye on her!! Hell, the child ran & screamed in my dog's face three times before I could stop it! And the mother was standing right there! And the only reason it was stopped was b/c I stepped in!

I chewed my husband's a.. out big time for that & we have never, ever let any of her kids around our dogs again. The sad part is that while my dog did not react to the child's teasing at the time, now he hates any kid around 5 years old.

 

Every time I hear a child scream I freak out. I can be at the store and some kid screams I am thinking their arm just got cut off or something. I wasn't raised around that sort of behaviour so it bolts my senses. Only time I heard screams is if some one got their hand caught in the combine or something very bad. I suppose if I heard it in my yard I would die of a heart attack or something.

 

We can't blame the dogs,,,its always,,,no doubt the people,,,I see it all the time,,,I usually end up training some goofy ass dog that the people have already ruined,,,it dosen't matter what the breed,,they all have teeth, period,,as good as all my dogs are trained and I would bet my life that they would not bite ,,I still do not leave kids alone with any of my dogs,,that is just asking for trouble. I can pull up any article of any breed attacking people,,,it just dosen't matter.

 

Yea, it would me too. When I heard her scream I about fell out. I mean us kids used to run around & make a little ruckus - my mom once gave me a toy parade set for example & I used to go about making noise on that, but we didn't run around & scream. if we screamed, something was really wrong.

But the mother's attitude about her kid's screaming says it all - she was so used to having the kid run around & scream it didn't even phase her.

Oy. Another example of modern parenting.

 

Two words: IRRESPONSIBLE OWNERS!!!!!