Pit bull attack.
 

I have a long term acquaintance whose dog was ripped up quite badly ($1200 worth of wounds that needed fixing by Buffalo Ridge Vets) by two pit bulls. This was though while he was trying to return a cell phone to his neighbors who opened the door when this guy knocked or rang the bell. The acquaintance had taken the dog to the pit bulls' house. And they attacked viciously. One of the owners of the pit bulls did get hurt trying to pull these two dogs off of the much smaller dog.

Please keep the details out of this any more than this if you know whom I am talking about here.

Just wanted to talk more about pit bulls some of whom get a bad rap. I have met maybe a couple dozen pit bulls that are a lot sweeter than most of the small dogs I have met.

The dog that got attacked is an extremely gentle pooch. Not a mean gene in its body.

Other pit bulls if I am not familiar with them I avoid as much as possible as there are very nasty pit bulls out there. But these have usually been mistreated or trained to kill other dogs for the amusement of their owners and money for various parties.

My sister-in-law's family has often had pit bulls and she adopted what looked like a pit bull/boxer mix last year from Max's Pet Connection in Lady Lake. She throws all kind of love at their dog as does the rest of her family.

I do have a female friend who had a gentle pit bull mix that did eventually get a bit aggressive when it would play rough with a boxer mix. The dog never harmed another dog though as far as I know.

My neighbor in Palm Harbor raised two pit bulls and was in hot water with the authorities for mistreating one of these dogs. Both of which were quite gentle but he kept them in cages. He had tied one to his car and tried to walk it in the neighborhood from a leash out his car's window. The cops followed the blood trial to his house after a teen called 911.

This neighbor fought to get the pit bull back from the authorities. There was a lot of resistance in the community and this did make the various Tampa Bay news stations and newspapers.

A pit bull (there area few different varieties, this is a catch-all term and not the name of any one specific breed), like all dogs, is as tame and well-behaved as its owner trains it to be. Pit bull-type dogs need a "job" and if they don't have one they will get bored and frustrated, and can then show aggression. Training them to be aggressive is another matter entirely. They need exercise, not just enough walking to relieve themselves and return home to the rug in the kitchen. Showering them with love isn't what makes a dog of ANY type, well behaved. In fact, if you praise the dog and never teach him correct behavior, he's more likely to misbehave because you're sending him the signal that bad behavior gets rewarded.

That is all correct. My sister-in-law does admonish her dog if she does something wrong. As did my female friend most of the time for her pit bull mix.

Pit Bull Facts - Villalobos Rescue Center

Myths and Facts About Pit Bulls | Petfinder

American Pit Bull Terrier Dog Breed Information, Pictures, Characteristics & Facts - Dogtime

Not familiar with this story. Are these pit bulls still alive in The Villages? Wouldn't this be dangerous? Ready to attack humans? Where are they now?

This is not in the Villages but close. They are alive. And I doubt if they would attack people.

I am trying to get the talk onto stereotypes about pit bulls as I have had a lot of talks with Villagers and those outside of it who lump all pit bulls together. Each dog is an individual even if with animals instincts and genes do play a big role IMHO.

My female friend lived in a neighborhood close to the Villages and she was having a lot of problems because her dog looked a lot like a full breed pit bull but was a mix. She had the dog's DNA tested to get the evidence that the dog was a mix.

She moved out of the Villages area.

What the OP boils down to is this:
Someone brought their dog to the front door of other dog-owners, without first checking to make sure if that was a good or bad idea. Turns out, it was a bad idea. It's very likely (almost completely likely) that the pit owners would have told the person "oh - hm. Please leave your dog at home, mine are very territorial and will agressively protect their turf until they've had a chance to meet yours on neutral territory first."

Never EVER EVER bring your animal, of any kind, onto the property of another animal, of any kind, without first ensuring that the interaction will be politely received.

A wise reply
 

As a dog owner it is your responsibility to train your dog but also to be aware of it's issues.

The op reminds me of a dog we had as kids. It was a mix of a boarder collie, they were very rare at the time and a German Shepherd. It was a smart, fairly large dog. It was great around kids, dogs etc a great dog. Except, perhaps due to abuse, the dog would respond to black people and become vicious.

Many pure bred dogs that were used for aggressive purpose have had the aggression bred out of them and are now docile pets. Classic examples the mastiff-formerly a war dog. In roman times there was a battle where the troops retreated and the roman mastiffs won the battle. Today, every mastiff, I've met is an overgrown lap dog. English bull dog is another common example.

Far as pit bulls I, through business, knew a guy that bred aggressive pit bulls and I'm certain he is not the only one.
Sadly he and others like him are the reason why you pay extra and may not even be able to get insurance if you CHOOSE to own a pit bull same is true of a Rottweiler.

MY POINT-as a dog owner it is your duty to know and to control your dog. You are and you should be liable for any damages your animal causes.

Someone brings their dog to YOUR house, without first asking YOU, then that person accepts the risk. Your pitbulls in your house protecting their own property from an unfamiliar animal should not be liable. The person who brought their dog onto your property, to your front door, without first warning you that he had a dog there - was in the wrong. THAT dog owner should be liable for any damages to your pitbulls, and your door, and your stoop, and your person, and any other part of your property caused by that dog owner not bothering to mention that they were bringing a dog to your house and just showing up with it.

Judge Judy has many, many, cases that involve dogs on her show and the law is the same almost everywhere, that you are liable for your animal and it needs to be leashed when in public. Recently she, who is a dog lover, has been saying that Pitt Bulls are dangerous and unpredictable.

I won't mention names either but one of the sweetest and most fair posters on this site, who loves animals dearly, once said that Pitt Bulls (Staffordshire Terriers) had a different bite mechanism and behavior from most other dogs in that when the bite they clamped down and hurt by shaking the other animal. I am a dog lover but what I have heard and read and the fact that actuaries give them a greater risk makes me wary of them. I think some dogs shouldn't be bred.

And some humans too.

And the "Best Post of the Day Award" goes to:



:mademyday: :clap2: :1rotfl:

:ho: :eclipsee_gold_cup:

1. Judge Judy...seriously?
2. The context of this thread is not about a dog not being leashed in public. It's about a dog on a leash, being led to private property, where two dogs legally reside within the dwelling on that private property. The leashed dog, who was a visitor, uninvited, was attacked on private property by the dogs that have legal residence on that property.

In the OP, there is no mention that the dogs ever left private property, with or without a leash.

3. The "lockjaw" mechanism of pitbulls is an urban legend. It is not true. In addition, the biting and shaking behavior is common for all species of dog, it's not specific to pits, or even specific to guard dogs, or trained dogs, or agressive dogs. You can even buy tug-o-war toys in all pet stores to accommodate play with this behavior. The toys are sized for all types and varieties of dogs, from miniature chihuahuas to Cane Corsos and everything inbetween.

4. Pit bulls (one t - unless you're referring to Brad) are not only Staffordshire Terriors. Pit bull is a category that includes four different breeds of terrior/bull mixes, with a fifth considered by some dog fanciers. According to Wikipedia:
Most of this stuff you can easily find with a google search.

Yes. Judge Judy. Seriously. I enjoy her program very much and Tal was asking about opinions of the breed.

Here is his quote in the third or fourth post above; "I am trying to get the talk onto stereotypes about pit bulls as I have had a lot of talks with Villagers and those outside of it who lump all pit bulls together. Each dog is an individual even if with animals instincts and genes do play a big role IMHO."

I will jump in with the opinion that it looks to me like science is pointing to a lot of behavior being genetic, human and animal. Not to rule out that behavioral modification can well modify behavior...SOME.

I have never met a golden retriever that wasn't goofy and loveable and sweet.

Or a cat who wasn't quite a bit of a narcissist. I do love them though.

It's not a singular breed. And your opinion seems to be based on faulty information. Aggressive pit bulls are aggressive because they're either a) trained to be aggressive b) treated as aggressive animals or c) incorrectly trained/inadvertently or intentionally mistreated. Some of them become the result of however they're treated, even if they're not specifically trained that way. This is true for all dogs. Every single one of them. Pit bulls get the bad rap because they are the most prolific in "ermagerd dog bite story of the week" and the most commonly used in dog fighting. Of all the dogs I've ever been exposed to in my life, the only one I've actually been concerned about biting me was a really unfriendly, spoiled, poorly trained chihuahua.

Pit Bull Behaviors | PetCareRx

I hear your opinion and still will give a Pittbull wide berth and I would have a FIT and a BAD SPELL if any were around the little children I love.

Making up our own minds is one of the wonderful things about being older and...….I have a few years on you. ;) Which could mean I have picked up a little knowledge and experience OR I am losing brain cells.