My co-worker was attacked by a dog...

[Brill Weave]

Shame. That's actually a beautiful dog. Nice color. I especially like the red around it's mouth....Ok, I'm actually a little ashamed of myself for that one.

[Elesirdur]

Shame. That's actually a beautiful dog. Nice color. I especially like the red around it's mouth....Ok, I'm actually a little ashamed of myself for that one.

Oh shit that's freaky, human blood on its muzzle.

Good for her for protecting her children, I'm sure any parent would have done the same out of instinct if not love.

[Kiro]

Bad owner is giving Pitbulls a bad name. :\ Last thing they need, honestly. I had a pet Pitbull growing up, all white with a red nose and green eyes. Friendliest fucking dog EVER. Didn't bark at strangers or anything.

[Elesirdur]

I would wager that there is a disproportionately high ratio of people who own american pitbull terriers who have little regard for proper obedience training (probably a lack of their own 'obedience training') and dog socialization. Couple this lax owner behavior with a breed of dog that has a strong prey drive, is fiercy loyal to even the most lazy owner, and is bred from older stock that was designed for bull-baiting, livestock control, and aggressive defense, you have a recipe for disaster.

If municipal legislators want to do something about "dangerous" breeds of dog (which really any dog except for sissy companion breeds can be) to increase public saftey, they should enact regulations that require all new owners of breeds like american pitbull terriers to attend certified city/county obedience and socialization training for dog and owner. While this kind of program would only work in locations that already require liscencing of dogs, it would be a deterrant from uncommitted owners to get a dangerous breed and then just neglect it. This benefits both the public and the animals themselves. Becoming unruly and unsocialized in an urban or confied setting must be maddening for the animal (which is why they often lash out) and putting them in that position is a form of cruelty to me.

Anyway, I'm all for the responsible and caring ownership of dogs regardless of breed. But people mistreating and not training their animals to survive and live within our social system is just as punishing to the animal as it is to the people who are put at risk when near an untrained and violent animal.

[Norellicus]

This breed of dog should not be allowed to be a domesticated animal. Their entire physiology is built for aggression. Enough training may suppress that, but it's still pretty strongly there I think. Wolves are better behaved as long as you keep em fed...

It's as bad as keeping some fashion of wildcat as a pet, in my opinion.

Edit: Elesildur's idea would be a healthy enough compromise.

[Elesirdur]

Well I would argue that you can train a pitbull much more than you can train a cougar; hell "training" cats is a bit of an oxymoron in it's own right.

[Katlan]

That's really messed up, I bet the owner treated the dog like complete shit and then abandoned it after she/he abused it so much it was aggressive towards anybody. If they find the person I they better get some serious animal cruelty charges. Dog looks cute also

They think they know who the owner is, and she is lawyering up. The owner is basically fucking trash most likely, so I don't see her getting asswads of money from it, but the owner will most likely get negligence charges.

Owner should get more then negligence charges.. animal curelty charges can lead to jail afaik, unless you have a decent atty. And if your an indigent (sp?) then your screwed from the start lol

[Kiro]

Definitely agree about pitbulls being insanely aggressive, that is pretty much why they're bred. Same with dobermans, german shepherds and whatever else is out there. But the weird thing is all these "mean" dogs that are used as guards are nicer than some dumb family dog. Don't get me wrong though, I love labs and stuff, but I feel better with a "mean dog" at my side, for obvious reasons. Labs are loyal as hell, but so is any dog really.

If you train them properly.. man, it's awesome. My friend had a dog that was half wolf, meanest thing I ever met in my life.. UNTIL IT GOT TO KNOW ME~ Then it was following me everywhere, lol. I grew up in a neighborhood full of dogs that weren't on their leashes, and I never had a bad run in with any of 'em. Some of them were aggressive, but there's an easy way to diffuse a dog that isn't batshit crazy. All you do is whistle and slap your knee, simple as that. I don't advise going out to a fucking junkyard and testing this out on the dogs, but it's just something to keep in mind.

[Frenzy]

If municipal legislators want to do something about "dangerous" breeds of dog (which really any dog except for sissy companion breeds can be) to increase public saftey, they should enact regulations that require all new owners of breeds like american pitbull terriers to attend certified city/county obedience and socialization training for dog and owner.

Germany has something like this. If you want to own a dangerous dog (criteria on what a dangerous dog is may vary depending upon where you are living), you have to present your criminal record, have to proof that you are capable of taking properly care of that dog. The dog has to have its character evaluated (in some area it's reevaluated ever so often), it has to wear a muzzle in public (though depending upon area and the character test that may be suspended).
There are a few other things as well.

And another big deterrent is the very heavy tax you have to pay for such dogs.

Some breeds may not be imported to Germany or bred in Germany (the breeding prohibition depends upon where you live).

[Pikarya]

Definitely agree about pitbulls being insanely aggressive, that is pretty much why they're bred. Same with dobermans, german shepherds and whatever else is out there. But the weird thing is all these "mean" dogs that are used as guards are nicer than some dumb family dog. Don't get me wrong though, I love labs and stuff, but I feel better with a "mean dog" at my side, for obvious reasons. Labs are loyal as hell, but so is any dog really.

Typical stereotype of dogs marked with an "aggresive breed" label.

[altwight]

While im glad the woman is okay I would be rather pissed off if they put the dog down because of it.

[fantasticdan]

While im glad the woman is okay I would be rather pissed off if they put the dog down because of it.

Instead of doing what with it? Wasting money trying to rehabilitate it?

I don't understand the incentive for owning any type of aggressive dog in the first place. Is it just for image?

[Izzy]

I had 3 PROPERLY trained Doberman Pinschers. They were the greatest dogs EVER. Never growled, bit, or went after ANYONE once.

Put the same 3 dogs in a junkyard with an abusive owner, those things woulda been killers.

[Darkslitter]

Gotta watch out for dawgs in the bronx, they'll put holes in your face.

But seriously hope that owner gets owned :/

[fantasticdan]

I had 3 PROPERLY trained Doberman Pinschers. They were the greatest dogs EVER. Never growled, bit, or went after ANYONE once.

Put the same 3 dogs in a junkyard with an abusive owner, those things woulda been killers.

Yes of coarse they can be properly trained to be safe most of the time, but WHY? Why deal with the risk at all? Why not just get a normal dog instead?

When I was about 3 or 4 years old, my parents had a half-german shepard, that was about a year old, not full grown. I'm not sure if it was "properly trained", whatever that means, but they had had it since it was a puppy, and it certainly hadn't been abused. It was nice to me, and had never shown any signs of aggression to anyone as far as I know. One day I was in the living room, which was blocked off by one of those dividers you use to keep dogs out of rooms, and out of nowhere it just went berserk, jumped the divider and attacked me. If my dad hadn't been there to pull the dog off of me, I probably would have died. Following that, he dragged it outside and snapped its neck.

[Pikarya]

Yes of coarse they can be properly trained to be safe most of the time, but WHY? Why deal with the risk at all? Why not just get a normal dog instead?

Every dog is normal, until it has an idiot master to teach it negative habits & abuse. If you can't "handle" a breed that is titled aggressive by the moronic media or uneducated public. Maybe your just incompetent, or just don't have the patience to teach an animal correctly.

[mootsfox]

This breed of dog should not be allowed to be a domesticated animal. Their entire physiology is built for aggression. Enough training may suppress that, but it's still pretty strongly there I think. Wolves are better behaved as long as you keep em fed...

It's as bad as keeping some fashion of wildcat as a pet, in my opinion.

Edit: Elesildur's idea would be a healthy enough compromise.

Wolves can be wonderful dogs, BUT they still shouldn't be allowed in a fucking city. Same with pitbulls.

[mootsfox]

Yes of coarse they can be properly trained to be safe most of the time, but WHY? Why deal with the risk at all? Why not just get a normal dog instead?

When I was about 3 or 4 years old, my parents had a half-german shepard, that was about a year old, not full grown. I'm not sure if it was "properly trained", whatever that means, but they had had it since it was a puppy, and it certainly hadn't been abused. It was nice to me, and had never shown any signs of aggression to anyone as far as I know. One day I was in the living room, which was blocked off by one of those dividers you use to keep dogs out of rooms, and out of nowhere it just went berserk, jumped the divider and attacked me. If my dad hadn't been there to pull the dog off of me, I probably would have died. Following that, he dragged it outside and snapped its neck.

Your dad sounds like a great guy btw.

[fantasticdan]

Every dog is normal, until it has an idiot master to teach it negative habits & abuse. If you can't "handle" a breed that is titled aggressive by the moronic media or uneducated public. Maybe your just incompetent, or just don't have the patience to teach an animal correctly.

I like how you skipped over my personal example of almost being killed by an 'aggressive' breed of dog that grew up with me, and had never been abused. If it's a case of poor dog training, how exactly do you teach a dog to not randomly snap one day?

Your dad sounds like a great guy btw.

He's a terrible person for a lot of reasons, but killing a dog that almost killed me isn't one of them. Sure taking the dog and having it put to sleep would have been more humane, but really, the result is the same.

[mootsfox]

Maybe you shouldn't have pissed off the dog, or been left alone with it, or had it trained properly?