Jogger Mauled By Pit Bulls This Morning on Lakefront Path--Could Easily Have Been a Cyclist

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Permalink Reply by igz on January 6, 2012 at 11:22am

pit bulls will attack a perceived threat.  quite frankly, human aggression is bred out of them - otherwise, their handlers in dog fights would not be able to handle them.  please dont make assumptions.  these dogs used to be known as nanny dogs.

El Dorado said:

Lots of people say that it's not the dogs breed but how you train them. I don't think thats true. Pit bulls seem to like to attack humans. Luckily that guy who came out with a bat had his windows open on a cold January morning to save the day!

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Permalink Reply by igz on January 6, 2012 at 11:31am

i used to have a family dog - a great pyreneese. had it since an 8week old pup.  we played together all the time, till he was taller than me.  i would crawl into his dog house and nap with him there. we were great buds.  one day, at a small gathering bonfire, the dog sat next to my mom. my mom was the real master. it was incredibly loyal to her.  i was playing hide and seek with the kids. my little bro was being a punk and kept pointing everyone out with a flashlight.  i frustratingly grabbed the flashlight from my brothers hand, stomped over to my mom, and did one of those 'here, ma take this' moves with the flashlight in my hand to give to her.  the dog thought i was going to strike her with it. he grabbed my wrist before i could harm her, chomped down, and ripped off a finger nail.  i still have the scar.  it was an isolated incident, never happened again. we were buds after wards. he was only doing his job, protecting his master.

Joe Schmoe said:

Kind of tired of the bad owners line.  Dogs, like humans, are animals, and will sometimes do unprovoked, crazy, violent things.  You can't do a psych analysis on a dog, so you can't always tell how balanced they are.  A family friend had a German Shepherd; a rescue dog, but they had had her for almost 10 years. Never bit anyone, was over-protective of the owners, but that's GS's for you.  They took their son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter camping down south.  They spent 5 days in the woods, no problems, and on day 5, the 5-year old granddaughter made some kind of move the dog didn't like, and it bit her in the face, 12 stitches.  Was the owner bad?  No.  Was the dog bad?  Ehhh. Not really.  My wifey heard about it and said: "I knew there wasn't something right with that dog."  Now, you can blame the previous owners, who most certainly abused the dog, but then don't we have to blame circumstances for humans too?  Animal/human behavior is nowhere near as predictable as we'd like to believe.  And bad things happen sometimes, regardless of our best intentions. 

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Permalink Reply by igz on January 6, 2012 at 11:56am

this is a clear case of a responsibility of the owner. there is a difference in the cause and in the fault.  people seem to forget that distinguishment all the time. just like if your shoe lace gets wrapped around your crank arm - its not the shoe lace's fault, not the crank's fault, its your fault for not checking your damn laces.  these dogs cannot be treated as criminal, but they should be recognized as a liability due to their capabilities - a responsibility of the owner. they should be trained, they should be restrained, they probably should be fixed, they should definitely be tagged - again, all a responsibility of the owner.  i dont know all the circumstances of the dog chase, i can only assume, the dogs were loose, near their property, they see a man, think he may be suspicious, see him running, must be up to no good.  in their mind, they probably thought they were protecting their owner, their territory.

 

its also clear that proper socialization of the animal is not present, also a fault of the owner.  i happen to have 145lb pit mix.  he runs the yard. he is completely secure.  but i have made sure to socialize him from the very beginning, because i know of the consequences if i do not.  it was actually a concern of mine, bringing him home as a pup in the fall, that he would not have the necessary socialization over the winter months.  alas, his cuteness prevailed and people were drawn to him, and he was great with other animals.  he is protective of the house, when in the house. but its more of a symbolic thing. so many people come by all the time that he is sure its a buddy coming over.  he has made friends with people and their pets in the neighborhood.  people always stop by at the fence to greet him. he slobbers on everyone giving them big licks.

this is not an anomoly.  this is my second bully breed.  i didnt have any issues with him either. only time anything of concern happened was when he was watching me eat a bagel.  a dog walked up behind him and startled him.  he snapped at the dog. but i had him on a leash. i pulled him back, and nothing happened.  he was once again fixated on my bagel.  i gave him a piece.  it had salmon cream cheese on it.

 

hearing the myths, hearing the proposed legislature, hearing people say that the owner is not at fault - drives me nuts.  i will agree, this is not a chihuahua.  a chihuahua is a million times more aggressive than a pit.  it largely acts this way of fear, due to its diminutive size. our family chihuahua attacked the shit out of my little brother.  it was really funny, actually.  now if it was a pit, sure, it wouldnt be as funny.  but these dogs have a much better disposition than most small dogs.  poodles are known to be much more aggressive.  there are areas where the owner must take precautions, be responsible.  it is basic dog ownership responsibilities - of any breed.

 

i guess the phrase im looking for is - its not that they are willing, but capable.

 

a tree is capable of falling on your head.  should we chop em all down?

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Permalink Reply by Zoetrope on January 6, 2012 at 11:56am

Plus, it sounds like all the commotion of the night got to your dog, too.  For example kids running around and rough housing can excite them and they may nip or bite in those situations, especially depending on if they were exposed to that type of stimuli as pups during the critical development phase. 

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Permalink Reply by Zoetrope on January 7, 2012 at 6:51pm

Look at this little guy.   We're all capable of "evil" and good.     

Remember we are all born with a chance, especially man's best friend.  If you use positive reinforcement correctly and consistently, and are mindful of your body language, it is hard to go wrong, imo.  

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Permalink Reply by Linda Boyack on January 30, 2012 at 5:35pm

I know a cyclist that was attacked by a pitbull in fall. He spent at least 3 days in the hospital with multi injuries including broken ribs & a punctured lung. I personally carry pepper spray. It's either in my bento bag or under the band of my shorts when I ride.

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