Pit bull attacks one-year-old girl

re: Pit bull attacks one-year-old girl

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:34:45 GMT

Poor baby. I hate pitbulls. They aren't dogs, they are monsters.

re: Pit bull attacks one-year-old girl

Sheri — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:22:00 GMT

I love ALL dogs. Even pit bulls, but ALL dogs are just that, dogs. And they should not be left alone with little children. It would just take a second. And in this case, it did.

When we went to adopt a dog at our local humane society, we looked at a pit bull. We would have considered her, but in the end, should she get mad or be snippy, she would have the strength to seriously hurt anyone. We also found out that she was in the process of being adopted.

I think this is another parental stupidity story, and less about the dog.

re: Pit bull attacks one-year-old girl

Courtney — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:04:04 GMT

This happened to me when I was a little girl. I think I was about 4 or 5, and I was staying at a babysitter's house for the night. Her Great Dane had just had puppies and they were keeping them in the garage. I really wanted to pet the puppies, so I snuck into the garage and the poor mama dog reacted.

I was lucky. The babysitter's boyfriend heard the barking, ran into the garage, grabbed me up and held me over his head until he could calm the dog down. Even so, I had to go to the hospital for bites to my hands, feet, and the back of my head.

Even as a little kid, I understood that the dog was just doing what she thought she had to to protect her puppies. While I agree that someone should have been keeping a better eye on this one year old, the dog was just doing what any of us would do if we thought someone was going after our kids.

re: Pit bull attacks one-year-old girl

Nicole — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:03:42 GMT

For some bizarre reason, people continuously keep pitbulls as pets, and breed them to boot! Here in Texas, we've had several stories in the news about pitbull attacks on children that were fatal- not just injuries. I don't see their appeal nor understand why someone would keep children and this breed under the same roof.

re: Pit bull attacks one-year-old girl

St — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:43:07 GMT

Thanks Kat. I knew this to be true of Pits and I appreciate your links. I've never owned one but the ones I've met are just so sweet! It really is just their strenth and tendency to hold on that gives them their bad rep. I know tons of people who have been attacked by other breeds, it doesn't make the news because the injuries aren't as severe.

They aren't bad dogs.

re: Pit bull attacks one-year-old girl

Kat — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:57:47 GMT

Responsible dog owners do not allow their dog to become pregnant.

Responsible parents do not allow any child to be unsupervised around any dog.

The American Pitbull Terrier is not, by nature, human aggressive. Pitbulls score an average of 84.3% of the American Temperament Test (http://www.atts.org/), the same as a Golden Retriever and higher than many other popular breeds. Animal aggression and human aggression are separate traits. In fact, even when the dogs were bred to fight the tendency for human aggression was bred out so that the handler could control the dog. The trait that has been abused by disreputable owners is the breed’s insatiable need to please. If you intentionally socialize your Pitbull to be aggressive to people, it will.

Back in the 70's and 80’s when the popular dogs to train (abuse) for aggression were Rottweilers and Dobermans, these breeds were splashed across headlines to sell papers. I am not even sure that dogs are properly identified in these articles; the average person cannot even pick a Pitbull out of a lineup. www.pitbullsontheweb.com/.../findpit.html

Please think twice when making blanket statements about dog breeds. Millions of dogs with no history of aggression are killed every year because of ignorant fear and ignorant people who don’t spay and neuter their backyard, unsocialized animals.

re: Pit bull attacks one-year-old girl

Dwtintx — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:15:23 GMT

You can train beagles or labradors to be aggressive, but the fact is that no one does. That's why you don't hear about other dogs attacking people, along with the fact that it is far more publicized when pitbulls do it versus another kind of dog. Remember when it was fashionable to bash Dobermans as aggressive and scary? Or German Shepherds? And I have personally been witness to a boxer attack. The real point is the one Sherry makes about pitbulls' strength- they are so strong, their attacks can do far worse damage.

Seriously, as a dog lover and one who has been around dogs all my life, ANY dog will attack if she feels her puppies are threatened. Pitbulls are unfortunately the victims of too much bad press.

re: Pit bull attacks one-year-old girl

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 05:50:43 GMT

Strange how I NEVER hear stories of beagles or labradors attacking people. Yet I ALWAYS hear of pitbull attack stories and pitbull owners saying that ANY dog would have attacked and that pitbulls aren't overly aggressive. Sorry...but that's just not true. Pitbulls are by nature extremely aggressive dogs and a huge liability. Poor little baby...I hope she's ok.

re: Pit bull attacks one-year-old girl

Sherry — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 04:12:25 GMT

Yes, any dog with puppies is likely to bite someone if she feels her puppies are in danger. However, with pitbulls more often than not a bite turns into death for whomever the dog goes after because of their strength and natural aggession. Small children don't stand a chance.

Yes, yes, you can claim it is all how they are raised and trained; but the fact is that while all other breeds of dogs bite and injure, pitbulls often end up killing. When was the last time you heard of a goldern retriever killing someone? Maybe biting or some how injuring someone, but mauling them to death?

That girl and her parents are very lucky that she survived. Having a dog like that in the house with a small child is just stupid in my opinion.

re: Pit bull attacks one-year-old girl

Meg — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 02:57:38 GMT

I'm sorry, but the fact that the dog is a pitbull is irrelevant. A little girl was left alone with a mama dog and her pups - any dog, a golden retriever or a poodle - could have attacked the baby under those conditions. What were the parents thinking?

re: Pit bull attacks one-year-old girl

Deb — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 02:41:49 GMT

Oh great! Another pit bull story. As quoted "The dog is a pet, and the child went to touch the pooch's puppies; when she did, the dog bit her." Any dog will do that when it has babies. I wouldn't have done that unless I knew for sure the dog was comfortable with me, even if I had the dog for years and the dog knew me. But yes, where were the parents, a 1 yr old wandering on it's own, plus, where were the owners of the dog knowing there was a 1 yr old wandering around. I would of made sure the baby wouldn't be able to get close to the dog. And yes I have 2 pit bulls, friendly, but I still keep an eye on them when someone is over. I also do the same for my 2 Norwegian Elkhounds, and the oldest one I don't trust much because of her age. She get grouchy.

I'd leave my URL, but I don't know what the darn thing is.

So I left my web page

re: Pit bull attacks one-year-old girl

Yvie — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 02:26:46 GMT

There are lots of pitbull attacks too. It's not just a dog but a pitbull. Yeah, I am wondering where are the parents. If this is a mama dog, it's a no-no to go near this creature.

re: Pit bull attacks one-year-old girl

Erin — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 01:34:20 GMT

Mother dogs like human mothers are protective of their children. Did anyone consider this is the reality of why the dog bit her? I am not excusing the action of the dog or any dog for that matter but think about it. An unknown person comes near your babies, first reaction? On guard. I have little boys and a 2 yr old nephew, kids that small do not understand the meaning of being gentle and careful with animals. In the future. Remember that dogs are animals and animals have instincts..Probably best to keep an eye on your child and the mother dog and puppies.