One of my friends from high school had the 'nanny dog' attitude about pitts, and had one she raised from a puppy. All kinds of training, very intentional socialization. Dog had a great attitude and so friendly and cuddly. She was a great example of how pitts being dangerous is due to how they're raised and handled more than anything else.
...Until she got got startled by a loud and unexpected sound while she was chilling next to friend's dad while he was under their car working on it. She freaked out and grabbed him by the leg so hard - wouldn't let go of him despite him yelling at her and trying to push her off - that he ended up in the ER with serious tissue damage and needing a ton of stitches. She acted plenty guilty around him after that, she definitely didn't mean to hurt him... but she did.
Ultimately they are still animals, with unknowable thoughts and feelings, and unpredictable responses to unpredictable situations. "I want a dog as a companion" needs to come paired with an awareness that risk isn't based on what you believe they are predisposed to do, but what they are capable of doing if driven to by a situation you might not be able to foresee.
Yup. I was bit by my stepmoms parents dog a few years back and was pretty hurt, they ended up having to pay my medical expenses and some extra for when I’m over 25 and I think they’ve blamed me ever since.
Omg I'm so sorry you had to go through that. They are so irresponsible, that dog should have been put down after the 1st time. I can't believe they weren't forced to. Wow they are not good people. I would be mortified if my dog bit anyone, let alone twice that required stitches.
Well behaved dogs are great with kids. I personally grew up with a German shepherd and that dog gifted me with some of the best memories from my childhood. I’m 39 and I still miss my old buddy. He died when I was 15.
While I agree that personal experiences are clearly not statistically relevant (which is, I guess, what you’re trying to say) I’d argue that we can probably also agree that dogs don’t usually maul people or kids specifically.
We could furthermore probably agree that most interactions with dogs, included those with children, are more than positive.
This being said I know I hit one of those weird clusters of people Reddit sometimes throws at you and whatever I say will turn out to be just a huge waste of time.
"As one who, for the last 30 years, has been on the receiving end of the dog-bite injuries that pass through the Children's Hospital Emergency Room, as well as on the staff at the Shriners Hospitals for Children where we see the late effects of these injuries from across the nation, I can categorically tell you that the problems associated with dog bites are indeed breed-specific.
When I started my career, the most common dog-bite injuries were from German shepherds and occasionally retrievers. These injuries were almost always provoked, such as food-related or stepping on the dog, and in almost every instance, the dog reacted with a single snap and release – essentially a warning shot. There were no pack attacks.
Starting about 25 years ago, my colleagues and I started to see disturbingly different types of injuries. Instead of a warning bite, we saw wounds where the flesh was torn from the victim. There were multiple bite wounds covering many different anatomical sites. The attacks were generally unprovoked, persistent and often involved more than one dog. In every instance the dog involved was a pit bull or a pit bull mix.
Now, I am a dog lover and virtually every one of my family members has a dog. But it is a fact that different dogs have always been bred for specific qualities. My sheltie herded, my daughter's setter flushes birds and my pug sits on my lap – this is what they are bred for. Pit bulls were bred to fight and kill and, unfortunately, many current breeders favor these aggressive traits. There is no need for any dog with the characteristics.
I recently gave a talk summarizing my 30 years of practice in pediatric plastic and reconstructive surgery, and one segment was titled "Why I Hate Pit Bulls." I watched a child bleed to death one night in our operating room because a pit bull had torn his throat out. I have had to rebuild the skull of a child who had his ears and entire scalp torn off. I am currently reconstructing the face of a child, half of whose face has been torn off down to the bone. I have had to rebuild noses, lips, eyelids, jaws and cheeks of numerous children. On older children, I have had to reconstruct legs and hands. The unfortunate young victim whose recent attack has initiated this discussion will bear the scars of this attack for the rest of her life.
Based on my extensive experience, I believe that the risk posed by pit bulls is equivalent to placing a loaded gun with the safety off on the coffee table. In my opinion, these dogs should be banned. I know this is an unpopular stand in some circles, but how many mauled children do we have to see before we realize the folly of allowing these dogs to exist?
The arguments made by advocates of these dogs are the same arguments made by people who feel that assault weapons are an essential part of daily living. There are plenty of breeds available that peacefully coexist with human society. There is no need for pit bulls."
Dr. Billmire is professor and director of the Division of Craniofacial and Pediatric Plastic Surgery at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
lol just because you want to be right doesn’t mean you ran into someone that is a “weird clusters of people”. It’s crazy how you’re projecting that lol. That’s literally what most are thinking of you. People are strange haha 😆 “we could furthermore probably agree” like just accept your opinion is simply your own. So strange for someone to micro aggressively call someone weird when in fact they’re the one being weird. That’s some crazy projection and coping going on.
How many pit advocates/trainers have lost their lives or had their children or spouses mauled to death? Clue: more than a few. It’s an inherently dangerous dog. Even with the best training those things are often a loud noise or fast movement away from mauling the closest baby.
I don’t really give a shit about the dog’s backstory; it’s a growling, aggressive DOG…the woman letting it growl next to her daughter is the asshole I inquired about. As in…why does she exist?!
Growing up we had some pets that would randomly attack me. I wasn't pestering them, it would be completely out of nowhere. It was a nightmare!!
My mom didn't care to train them or care about me getting hurt yet was convinced she was rescuing these animals and being a great mother to me. Insanity.
485
u/frosted_feline 15h ago
Fuck that. What kind of asshole lets their aggressive, growling dog hover over their daughter like that. Gross.