Quote:
Originally Posted by pylon
All you pit bull apologists that claim these dogs are just as docile as a Yorkie, this link comes from a pro-pitbull rescue site. Just reading this page acknowledges the dangers of the dogs. When there is a heavily marketed tool, specific to a breed-type, to break it's death grip, you have to acknowledge they are not a normal dog:
http://www.pbrc.net/breaksticks.html |
There's some pretty interesting tidbits in that article about the stick.
"Remember: pit bulls do not have a special mechanism or enzyme that allows them to "lock” their jaw, nor do they possess a higher than average “bite pressure.” They simply have the determination of a terrier."
"Attempting to use a break stick on other breeds could result in serious injury to the person using the stick. Since other breeds will unpredictably snap and bite instead of getting a grip, you are far more likely to be bitten. You also should not attempt to use a break stick with other terriers. While all terriers grab and hold, pit bulls are far less likely to redirect their bite on an intervening human than, say, a Jack Russell Terrier. For the same reason, you also need to be very careful when separating your pit bull from another breed. Your pit bull will probably not bite you, but you might get bitten by the other dog."
I totally hear where you're coming from as far as the types of people that normally own these dogs, but it's also pretty obvious that when trained like any other dog, they are not really any different. It's just that, like has been mentioned, the people that own these dogs WANT them to be intimidating for some ill-percieved form of badassery that comes along with it.
I can see problems with rescues in particular. Many rescue dogs will have previous issues, but I would guess pitbulls tend to have more mistreatment, and different kinds of mistreatment (trying to make them aggressive) than other breeds.
But I personally think a pure bred of any breed is a bad idea. So many avenues for different problems. As I said earlier I have a pit bull/sheppard and I have never seen a single thing from him that would make me worry about any innate aggressiveness.