Attacked by Pitbull.. What would you do?

[Photog]

Several years ago, my daughter was about 5 at the time, I came home from a shooting session. I had a Marlin 45-70 in the back seat of my car. I live on a cul de sac and directly across it were some renters. One had a pitbull. My daughter was in the front yard playing and laughing. The dog looked over at her and started staring. Then it started to walk across their front lawn towards the street, picking up speed as it went. I watched the dog zero in on my daughter. I reached into the back seat, picked up the Marlin, found a couple of rounds, loaded it and racked one in the chamber. (Amazing how you can do things quickly when necessary).
By this time, the dog was about 3/4 across the cul de sac. I started walking towards my daughter, she was still oblivious, and aimed at the dog. If he got all four paws on my lawn, he was a dead dog. The owner across the street freaked out and started yelling and running towards my house. He caught the dog just as it got to the sidewalk. He started cussing me out saying his dog was gentle, raised right and great around kids, never having hurt anyone. I told him if the dog was ever on my property again, it would be dead and that I had a good lawyer.
He still tried to explain how since the dog was "raised" right it was harmless. I then asked him one question, which I have asked several pitbull owners since. Pitbulls were raised and bred to be vicious, it is instinct now. The question I ask anyone who states that it is how you raise an animal that makes them vicious or non vicious, is, if you get a tiger cub and raise it properly, does that mean it will be a harmless 600 pound house cat when it grows up? Would you trust your life to that, or your kids life? Most get a bit peeved and don't answer.
If I would have been you, the minute that dog was on my land, it would have left this earth.

 

[ClayCow]

Where is your proof that they were raised to be vicious? Daschounds were raised to be vicious.

Instead of.simply looking at the breed you should look at the demeanor of yhe dog. Quite a huge difference in vicious dog(of any breed) vs curious and excited dog.

 

[Safestuffer]

Where is your proof that they were raised to be vicious? Daschounds were raised to be vicious.

Instead of.simply looking at the breed you should look at the demeanor of yhe dog. Quite a huge difference in vicious dog(of any breed) vs curious and excited dog.

Yet you cannot deny the pitbull and breeds like it were bred to be specifically dog aggressive, and have a high drive to fight.
Pit Bull Breed History -- Pitbull

I have a mutt, I have friends that have mutts and labs, etc..and I have friends who have pits and one with an american bulldog.
Guess which ones attack other dogs unprovoked and can't be taken to dog parks? It aint the labs or mutts.

 

[Rastoff]

Pepper spray is probably the only answer.

I think this is a reasonable course of action. However, pepper spray, Mace, OC spray, Bear spray, etc., have some drawbacks.

First, they are slow. They create a chemical reaction on the recipient and that takes time to become effective. Sure, not a lot of time, but time none the less. Thus, a dog, even once sprayed, may still clamp down on you before the spray reaches full effect. Once on you, the animal may not let go even if the spray is effective.

Second, they are not always effective. I've seen police spray people and it didn't slow the bad guy down at all. I saw one guy that had two full cans of OC sprayed on him and he still took out one officer and it took three more to subdue him. Dogs, or any animal, are the same. The sprays have varying effectiveness.

Third, and more to the point, is delivery. These chemicals come in three types of delivery systems; foam, spray and stream. The stream gives the best distance, but is a small contact area and it's easy to miss the target. Spray covers a wide area, but can be blown by the wind which reduces effectiveness and ability to hit the target. It also gives the best chance of contaminating yourself which obviously doesn't help. The foam is the most effective, but requires close proximity. If you're that close to an aggressive dog, you'll likely be bit before you can spray them with the foam.


Chemical deterrents are still a viable option. I just want to make everyone aware that there are short falls with them.

 

[ClayCow]

Yet you cannot deny the pitbull and breeds like it were bred to be specifically dog aggressive, and have a high drive to fight.
Pit Bull Breed History -- Pitbull

I have a mutt, I have friends that have mutts and labs, etc..and I have friends who have pits and one with an american bulldog.
Guess which ones attack other dogs unprovoked and can't be taken to dog parks? It aint the labs or mutts.

Dog aggressive. You mean aggressive against other dogs? Im not sure thats a result of genetics as much as it is environment. I doubt they found the gene to kill dogs and bred that. More likely they bred muscular dogs and then trained them to be vicious.

If pit bulls hate other animals, why do i see so many people with multiple ones? Its blatantly obvious its nurture not nature. The public has a unrealistic fear of pitbulls due to media. Im amazed that gun owners after the daily attacks they endure from the left media would fall victim to this propaganda.

 

[Safestuffer]

Dog aggressive. You mean aggressive against other dogs?

Yes.

Im not sure thats a result of genetics as much as it is environment. I doubt they found the gene to kill dogs and bred that. More likely they bred muscular dogs and then trained them to be vicious.

Not really.
"During the course of a dog fight, the dogs were expected to fearlessly hurl themselves at their opponents without flinching or hesitation. If a dog turned away, it was viewed as a weakness and could be grounds for forfeit. Even if the hesitant animal was lucky enough to survive the encounter, he was still not out of the woods. Many handlers killed their own dogs because they believed a dog that hesitated even once could no longer be relied on to fight with the verve and tenacity the sport required. "
Pit Bull Breed History -- Pitbull

Thats not training them. That's culling the ones that don't have a high level of aggression, i.e. selectively breeding.

If pit bulls hate other animals, why do i see so many people with multiple ones?

Because dogs are pack animals at nature.

Its blatantly obvious its nurture not nature.

I must have missed that. All sources that I've read, both pro and anti pitbull/fighting dog, admit that high dog aggression is a natural tendency of those breeds.

"Pit bull terriers were selectively bred for a violent activity that is now a felony in all 50 U.S. states: dogfighting.

Dogfighting Fact Sheet by the Human Society of the United States"
Quick Statistics - U.S. Dog Bite Statistics - DogsBite.org

The public has a unrealistic fear of pitbulls due to media. Im amazed that gun owners after the daily attacks they endure from the left media would fall victim to this propaganda.

Or maybe its the statistics that show lethal dog attacks here in the U.S. to be overwhelmingly instigated specifically by...pitbulls

 

[ClayCow]

Yes.



Not really.
"During the course of a dog fight, the dogs were expected to fearlessly hurl themselves at their opponents without flinching or hesitation. If a dog turned away, it was viewed as a weakness and could be grounds for forfeit. Even if the hesitant animal was lucky enough to survive the encounter, he was still not out of the woods. Many handlers killed their own dogs because they believed a dog that hesitated even once could no longer be relied on to fight with the verve and tenacity the sport required. "
Pit Bull Breed History -- Pitbull



Because dogs are pack animals at nature.



I must have missed that. All sources that I've read, both pro and anti pitbull/fighting dog, admit that high dog aggression is a natural tendency of those breeds.

"Pit bull terriers were selectively bred for a violent activity that is now a felony in all 50 U.S. states: dogfighting.

Dogfighting Fact Sheet by the Human Society of the United States"
Quick Statistics - U.S. Dog Bite Statistics - DogsBite.org



Or maybe its the statistics that show lethal dog attacks here in the U.S. to be overwhelmingly instigated specifically by...pitbulls

Do you think much like liberal reports that those numbers are skewed? Bites by other doga are most likely underreported but not when it comes to pit bulls! Theyre the evil ARs! I should point out it was dobermans before, chowchows next and other "vicious" dogs before that. Theyve been around the same time. I just wish people would place the same scrutiny on pit bill stats and reports as they do on their guns.

 

[Safestuffer]

Do you think much like liberal reports that those numbers are skewed? Bites by other doga are most likely underreported but not when it comes to pit bulls! Theyre the evil ARs! I should point out it was dobermans before, chowchows next and other "vicious" dogs before that. Theyve been around the same time. I just wish people would place the same scrutiny on pit bill stats and reports as they do on their guns.

Do you have anything that refutes these statistics, such as you can easily find with wonky anti gun statistics?
This isn't a study on "biting dogs". This is a study in which aggressive dogs have attacked, mauled, and killed people, not just a bite. All dogs can bite. But pitbulls kill people on an order of magnitude exponentially greater than other dogs.

 

[ClayCow]

http://atts.org/breed-statistics/statistics-page1/
Look at temperament. This is a smaller sample but other websites have it.. its not hard to google

 

[Safestuffer]

ATTS Breed Statistics | American Temperament Test Society, Inc.
Look at temperament. This is a smaller sample but other websites have it.. its not hard to google

I know that test. It is not a good example. There are NO other dogs involved in that test. Just a series of carefully controlled human interactions.
It is conducted under controlled circumstances in which the dog is NOT packed up, or under its own control. It is on a leash.
Trained dogs on a lead that are controlled by a handler are not representative of the breeds natural tendencies.
I doubt very much that many pitbull maulings or fatalities happen while the dog is leashed and under control.

 

[ClayCow]

Youll fond extremely pro pitbull and rxtrenely anti pitbull websites. Like guns, its up to you to filter the data. I know ill never convince anyone and i dont intend to, like i said i wish people would put as much scrutiny into pitbulls as they did their guns. Maybe itll be the same conclusion and maybe their minds will change. But this is America, we can think what we want.

 

[ClayCow]

That test is for trained dogs on a lead.
Trained dogs on a lead that are controlled by a handler are not representative of the breed, just well trained, controlled examples of it.

These are dogs on a leash. In my experience dogs are much more aggressive on a leash. It still shows one set of data. You can research others on your own.

 

[ClayCow]

Im also not quite sure what you want
There isnt any other non objective way to testing without this kind of testing. You have them all dogs roam wild youll never come to any valid repeatable tests.

 

[Safestuffer]

Im also not quite sure what you want
There isnt any other non objective way to testing without this kind of testing. You have them all dogs roam wild youll never come to any valid repeatable tests.

That's where statistics come into play, and the statistics show that pitbulls cause more fatalities by far in this country than any other breed.

In my experience dogs are much more aggressive on a leash.

I'll just have to assume you've never come across a feral or free roaming dog pack, and agree to disagree.

 

[one eye joe]

I live on a 12 acre parcel. The property next door is inhabited by a mix of undesirables (tweakers). The actual renter is an alright guy, but some that stop by, not so much.

He's had a woman hanging around and she has a Pitbull. Yesterday I was walking my fence line with my Shepard mix. I saw the woman and her dog in the field adjacent to mine. The dog was going away from her and I tried to get her attention to contain her dog.
As I did, the dog spotted mine and I took control of my dog. The pitbull started across the field in my direction. I put my arm around my dogs neck as the pitbull came in. Ruger Mark II in my other hand.
The dog took one second and attacked. I had steel toed boots on and fended off two surges. He stepped back and I had him point blank with the safety off. He responded to the woman calling him off. I lowered my gun and let him live.

I know the owner of the property and called to report the problem. He came over immediately and told them the dog had to go.

If I see the dog again on my property I will drop it on the spot.

How would you react?

THE SAME AS YOU. SHE AND HER DOG GET ONLY ONE BITE OF THE APPLE…..

 

[ClayCow]

That's where statistics come into play, and the statistics do not favor pitbulls



I'll just have to assume you've never come across a feral or free roaming dog pack, and agree to disagree.

Yup. Statistics definitely do not. But statistics can be skewed! Agree to disagree.

As for th OP case i think he should assess the "threat" instead of blindly shooting because of the breed of a dog

 

[Safestuffer]

Yup. Statistics definitely do not. But statistics can be skewed! Agree to disagree.

As for th OP case i think he should assess the "threat" instead of blindly shooting because of the breed of a dog

Threat. Not "threat". No quotation marks needed.
He was not preparing to "blindly shoot" because it was a pitbull.
The man was attacked on his own property and had to defend himself with his feet. He would have had to shoot the dog to protect himself if the owner had not intervened. Lets not forget that.


I guess It must be just a strange coincidence that a yet another pitbull attacked someone...again.

 

[Rastoff]

You know, it's not about the breed. If a dog, any dog, large enough to do damage (Chihuahuas are very aggressive dogs, but can be handled easily with my boot), comes growling and snarling at me, my family or pets, I will deal with it. I'm not going to take the time to assess its lineage.

 

[G-Mac]

My memory on such things ain't what it used to be, but weren't pit-bull threads banned here a while back? Just asking....

 

[ClayCow]

Threat. Not "threat". No quotation marks needed.
He was not preparing to "blindly shoot" because it was a pitbull.
The man was attacked on his own property and had to defend himself with his feet. He would have had to shoot the dog to protect himself if the owner had not intervened. Lets not forget that.


I guess It must be just a strange coincidence that a yet another pitbull attacked someone...again.

He was never attacked. A dog ran toward his child. He was preparing yo blindly shoot because it was a pitbull. Please reread his story. Dont go twisting it as a defensive self defense.