Sunrise

[Matthew_B]

further update in the news - the amnesty on registering pit bulls will be rescinded as soon as it can be arranged, which means any unregistered ones are therefore deemed illegal and will be able to be seized and destroyed without any recourse available

Good - don't need this breed of dog. It's certaiinly not what one would class a "family" dog. It's a fighting dog.

[Sandra777]

Good - don't need this breed of dog. It's certaiinly not what one would class a "family" dog. It's a fighting dog.

Do you actually know what you're talking about or just making it up as you go along. Many hundreds of thousands of people do indeed call American Pit Bull Terriers their family dog.

Check out what was the USA's symbol dog during the first and second world wars

Check out what an American Pit Bull Terrier actually is (as opposed to a 'pit bull' which is almost certainly a mutt)

Hmmm - ever heard of Stumpy? Our Gang? Helen Keller?

[lokelani]

further update in the news - the amnesty on registering pit bulls will be rescinded as soon as it can be arranged, which means any unregistered ones are therefore deemed illegal and will be able to be seized and destroyed without any recourse available

Good - don't need this breed of dog. It's certaiinly not what one would class a "family" dog. It's a fighting dog.

Tell that to my boyfriends 4 year old daughter, who happily, and calmly sits and pats my Bosco when she is here. She is always supervised, and she has been told the rules of the house in regards to the dogs, and the dogs are not allowed to run around and be a nuisance while she is here. Bosco is always very calm and gentle when she is here and playing with him. Not once has there been even a clue of an 'incident', but I put that down to reasonably well behaved dogs, with rules in place, and proper education and supervision of the 4yo when she is here.

I have pretty strict rules in place when it comes to the kids and dogs, as I don't ever want anything to happen in this house.

Bosco could quite easily be classified as a 'pit-type' or even a 'pit-mix' and to be honest, I am proud of him. He also lives quite happily with another dog in the house.

ETA: Bosco is also very well behaved with my boyfriend's 10 year old, who when she is here enjoys practising some obedience training with him, and he quite happily follows her around, obeying most of what she asks.

Edited August 18, 2011 by lokelani

[aussielover]

It scares me a great deal that we may end up in a situation where council start rounding up dogs.. How will they decide who is and isn't a pitbull.

Me too, especially when even "animal experts" such as vets and council rangers generally ave very little idea about dog breeds.

My LABRADOR, you'd think one of the most obvious breeds to be able to identify, has been mistaken for a Kelpie by a council ranger and a labradoodle by a vet :eek:

It is scary how many rangers call any bull breed dog "pitbulls" when they are obviously Satffords, Bull terriers etc

[Guest lavendergirl]

People a poor little girl has died here - this is not about your pit bull type dogs and how well behaved and socialised they are. This particular dog will be tested to determine breed before being PTS. The point is the damage these dogs can do when they do attack.

[fuzzy82]

IMO, the major problem in Australia is that most people don't train and socialise their dogs, no matter what breed it is. I had never seen so many badly berhaved semi aggressive dogs the whole time I grew up in Europe, as I have seen since moving to Australia 4 years ago. It was one of the main things that stood out to me when I got here. Every single dog we encounter will pull towards us, choking itself, try to jump, bark, growl and/or snap at us, when we have done nothing to provoke them.

As for pit bulls, yes they were bred to fight, which makes them inherently more prone to dog aggression than other breeds. But, they are also bred to be people friendly, because the people who fought them needed to be able to handle them easily between fights. They are not inherently human aggressive.

I think the issue with the kid who was killed was a lack of socialisation more than a breed issue.

[aussielover]

People a poor little girl has died here - this is not about your pit bull type dogs and how well behaved and socialised they are. This particular dog will be tested to determine breed before being PTS. The point is the damage these dogs can do when they do attack.

All large dogs can do te same amount of damage if they choose to attack....

It has now come to light that the dog that killed the little girl (RIP), was not a pitbull, but a mastiff cross.

Should we ban all large breed dogs then?

Including our vaulable service breeds: Labs, Goldies,GSDS, Belgian Sheps the list goes on....

[poodlefan]

People a poor little girl has died here - this is not about your pit bull type dogs and how well behaved and socialised they are. This particular dog will be tested to determine breed before being PTS. The point is the damage these dogs can do when they do attack.

The response to the issue of large dogs and aggression has been dealt with in some places by banning all dogs over 30kg.

Same principle..big dogs kill the most so lets ban all big dogs. How do folk feel about that one?

[westielover]

What happens to the owners of the dog who killed the child? Do they get punished in any way? Do they cop a manslaughter charge? Or do they walk away free?

Does anyone know?

[B-Q]

People a poor little girl has died here - this is not about your pit bull type dogs and how well behaved and socialised they are. This particular dog will be tested to determine breed before being PTS. The point is the damage these dogs can do when they do attack.

This is why this is a seperate thread, as a dog forum ofcourse we are going to discuss the BSL issues that will arise from this.

DNA breed testing is mostly bullcrap, you can't determine heritage without registration.

BSL is a really nice bandaid solution that hides the problem and doesn't fix it. I'm livid with some of the comments made in this thread.

I hate to think how many attacks/deaths (of dogs and people) could be prevented if people A. Didn't BYB crap B. Researched dogs in general and what breed they are taking on and C. Understand the basics of socialisation, training and dog behaviour.

Banning breeds doesn't fix shit.

[poodlefan]

What happens to the owners of the dog who killed the child? Do they get punished in any way? Do they cop a manslaughter charge? Or do they walk away free?

Does anyone know?

Depends entirely on the details of what happened.

Look, its not beyond the realms of possiblity (not I'd argue not likely) that this dog did something completely unpredictable, given its genetics, socialisation and training. If that's the case, this is a horrific "accident".

But if this dog was raised in a manner that made this more likely, had a history of aggression etc, then the owner is clearly responsible for failing to contain it.. or was reckless as to the danger is presented to the community.

Owners of such dogs have served time before.

[Brennan's Mum]

People a poor little girl has died here - this is not about your pit bull type dogs and how well behaved and socialised they are. This particular dog will be tested to determine breed before being PTS. The point is the damage these dogs can do when they do attack.

The response to the issue of large dogs and aggression has been dealt with in some places by banning all dogs over 30kg.

Same principle..big dogs kill the most so lets ban all big dogs. How do folk feel about that one?

Well there goes my beloved dog . She weighs over 30 kilos

[Zhou Xuanyao]

What bull breeds were originally bred for has some relevance to temperament sometimes, but it is limited. Let's keep in mind that fighting dogs are working dogs. Professional dog fighters select dogs that have been bred from established fighting lines and tested parents. Even of them, only a fraction are suitable. Why do they go to this trouble and expense ? Because they know very well that the fact that a particular dog's distant ancestors may have been used as fighters is worthless.

The fact that bull breeds have a fighting history is largely (though not completely) irrelevant in it's capacity as a meaningful point in discussions about dog attacks.

Edited August 18, 2011 by Lo Pan

[aussielover]

People a poor little girl has died here - this is not about your pit bull type dogs and how well behaved and socialised they are. This particular dog will be tested to determine breed before being PTS. The point is the damage these dogs can do when they do attack.

The response to the issue of large dogs and aggression has been dealt with in some places by banning all dogs over 30kg.

Same principle..big dogs kill the most so lets ban all big dogs. How do folk feel about that one?

Well there goes my beloved dog . She weighs over 30 kilos

Yes! Mines under :rolleyes:

As if my 25kg dog couldn't inflict as much damage as your 30kg dog.

You would more likely have to ban all dogs over 5kg.

[pebbles]

Just a bit OT - does anyone remember the days way back when the GSD was the 'bad' breed? My Mother would even cross the road if there was one around and had me scared silly of them! There were some reported attacks but possible more as the news didn't get around like now. I remember that any dog that vaguely looked like a GSD was labeled as such. Same situation now with the PB's.

[Brennan's Mum]

Just a bit OT - does anyone remember the days way back when the GSD was the 'bad' breed? My Mother would even cross the road if there was one around and had me scared silly of them! There were some reported attacks but possible more as the news didn't get around like now. I remember that any dog that vaguely looked like a GSD was labeled as such. Same situation now with the PB's.

My Mum used to get glares because she'd walk me as a baby in the pram with our GSD x Kelpie-- she had people tell her how 'vicious' they are, and how they would likely attack me. Well, the only issue we had is that Sheba ( GSD x) was the one responsible for my life long love of German Shepherds

[k9angel]

Sorry this is long...

We have some young 'hero' types living just up the road.

These guys have had several pitbulls over the past years and they seriously haven't a clue not only about pitbulls, but any dog in general. They just think it is cool and tough to be seen with one.

At one stage they had a husky there. Some of you may remember me mentioning him in a thread in the rescue section. He'd seen that I had huskies and came down here trying to sell the dog to me. I felt so sorry for this dog. From memory he was about a yr or 2 old. He'd bought him from an ad in the trading post from memory and only had him a day or two. He was out to make a dollar I think.

As he spoke to me on the front lawn, he held the dog lead in his hand with the husky boy on the other end. He was getting pulled left right and centre all over the yard by the dog.

Seriously, the guy was twice the size of me and couldn't control a husky. I ended up taking the lead and holding the dog. I had no problem and just stood there holding the lead.

He didn't have a clue and had no control, whatsoever over that dog.

Then the idiots who live across from me. Another example. (startd a thread on that one too) they had an amstiff and a staffy. Those poor dogs were confined to a yard 24/7.

They got out one night while the owner went fishing. By then there were 4 of them. He bred the amstaff male with the amstaff staffy. The only reason I knew was because I heard a pup screaming out one day and went to check what the commotion was. I stuck my head over the fence and saw Mum and Dad dog and 2 pups. One of the pups was stuck under a metal bathtub that was in the yard overgrown with weeds. I coaxed him out.

The night they got out they were at my front gate going berserk to get to my dogs who were behind the 2nd gate.

I gathered them up and took them back. When I knocked on the door, the wife answered. I told her that I had her dogs. She refused point blank to come near them telling me she hated them. I remember asking "Well how do you go outside to put your washing on the line?" her reply "I don't. I hang it inside".

She said they were her husbands dogs and he was out fishing. I demanded she call him and get him to come home rightaway as I was not sitting there all night holding their dogs.

A while passed and he finally shows up. He doesn't even turn the car off, leaves it running while he puts the dogs back behind the gate, NOT even checking how or where they'd gotten out.

He then jumps back in his car and dissapears again.

Ofcoarse they got out again. By now it was about 2 in the morning. It was so bad I called the police to come out. They didn't. The dogs were terrosing the neighbourhood. Trying to get into ppls backyards to get to their dogs, chasing cats.

The amstaff was starving for human attention. When my neighbour opened her front door to see what all the noise was, the amstaff jumped up on her scratching the whole front of her belly. Not through aggression, but because he wanted attention and hadn't been taught manners. He didn't realise his strength. Same when I tried to put him back behind his gate. I have felt some strong dogs before but this dogs strength was incredible.

Sadly that night, those 2 dogs went on to kill someone's dog a few blocks away. People in my street could hear the dog screams and the screams of an owner trying to save their dog.

The adult dogs were picked up, impounded and pts. I advised pound staff where the dogs had come from, but nothing came of it. One pup went missing that night, and the other they still have. I often hear him barking. He never leaves the yard and they are never home. 3 dogs died that night and much heartache was caused, another dog went missing and another continues to live a lonely, isolated life - all because of some idiots stupidity and negligence, yet HE gets off scot-free. Sickening and so wrong IMO.

Sorry to go a little OT but my point being, these are the kinds of hands dogs (regardless of breed)sometimes end up in. The wrong hands.

I saw on the 11.30 news that the Police are considering laying charges against the dog's owner in last nights attack. He SHOULD be charged and held accountable IMO. A little girl has died, others have been injured. Not to mention the emotional scarring it will leave them with.

What is the world coming to?

He'll probably be let off with a slap on the wrist and a fine as per usual.

Owners need to be held accountable and be more responsible for their pets actions.

R.I.P. to the precious little girl lost last night and condolences to her family. So very sad. They'll be traumatised for some time to come, if not forever.

[poodlefan]

.

You would more likely have to ban all dogs over 5kg.

I've heard a 15kg limit be discussed.

[Atanquin]

I know our gsd was apparently dangerous and got a call from the council saying that he attacked the post man my mum looked at the time and date and knew he didn't the postman was just scared. We kept our dog out back so people could come to our front door without being licked to death our mail was left out aide in English rain and was getting drenched so my dad set up cameras to show to the council that the post man was in idot and got fired for making up that story and leaving our post out in the rain next postie we had was great never a problem. But some dog breeds are judged so quickly

Edited August 18, 2011 by Atanquin

[k9angel]

Just a bit OT - does anyone remember the days way back when the GSD was the 'bad' breed? My Mother would even cross the road if there was one around and had me scared silly of them! There were some reported attacks but possible more as the news didn't get around like now. I remember that any dog that vaguely looked like a GSD was labeled as such. Same situation now with the PB's.

And the bullterrier. They copped a bad wrap too there for a while.