I started this posted because the bottom line is

I read too damn much about Kids getting Mauled to Death by these things, owners get off easy, and neighborhoods often are terrorized by these animals (not all cases).

I have 2 young boys and it troubles me deeply at the thought of a neighbot getting one of these dogs.
I see more concern over the loss of the freedom to own one of these than the loss of life.

I don't support a ban on pits. It's just not something that could be done. At this point, you might as well try to take away the right to keep and bear arms.

I live in Shreveport, LA. This is the city that had the street where the postman refused to deliver mail (and was supported by the USPS) because he got shot at several times. This is certainly not the rule for our fair city. Every city has it's problem neighborhoods. Well, last week that same mailman on that same street was attacked by a pit bull. The search was on but officials had no luck in finding the suspect dog. The mailman started rabies shots yesterday. A tip led officials to the home where the suspect dog was supposed to be kept. They found seven pitbulls chained in the back yard. One broke free of his chains and was shot four times with a .45 caliber pistol before he stopped charging.

I don't think you could come up with a way to make the owners financially responsible. (This is pure speculation) From what I see in the news, the majority of these attacks happen in low income neighborhoods. If you sued this person what will you get, food stamps?

I am a responsible dog owner. I had the sweetest and most caring dog. He was a chow mix. I had no reservations about him being around the smallest of children. I saw him on more than one occasion put up with torture from kids. He bit a child. There wasn't a thing I could have done to prevent it. He was chained in my yard. He didn't break free. The kids were taunting him and shooting him with a water gun. One of the children thought he could ride his bike through my yard after taunting him. He was wrong. This only proves that just like people alll dogs have their breaking point.

I am all for being a empowered victim. Should I ever find myself attacked by your dog, go ahead and dig the hole.

Hmm, perhaps if the opposing team gave an inch in return, sushi would offer another inch, and so on and so forth....until a feasable solution evolves.

L_W,

Problem is half the people on the other side are arguing not over the Pitbull / Human safety issue at hand,
but rather just arguing over freedoms being taken away and big government controlling our lives.

You sir or ma'am have just made the most rediculous rebutle to the whole "Pitbull" contraversy ever. My parents have breed and raised the quote un quote aggressive Pitbull my whole life. out of 21 years being exposed to the animal I have not encountered one bad Pitbull. Not to say that there are not any out there, but banning a breed, c'mon. As a child I was attacked by a German Shepard and the well loved Labrador. pitbulls dont hurt people stupid people who own pitbulls hurt people. If this breed should be considered banned than cars, guns, and kitchen utensils should be banned....because they are dangerous in the right hands!!!!!!!

no we as a society are not legally allowed to own animals such as tigers,lions, etc. because they are wild exotic animals. and for the most part they are endangered. you cannot compare animals that have not even begun to be domesticated to the average domestic dog. doing so would be like comparing a sessna to an f-18 hornet, it is ludicrous. please come with a better comparison then that next time!

AWH!!!!!!!

"What does it take to institute a National Ban on Pitbulls within the US?" Things like that make lives harder for any responsible pet owner. READ, READ, READ! You all are savy internet users with the power to google to your hearts content -- use it!

I will amit -- before owning an APBT I too beleived all the myths of these dogs. Jaws lock..., keep them away from kids...., mean guard dogs...., I mean the list goes on and on.

READ before making such general comments on these dogs. Their Jaws DO NOT lock. They are great with kids, and a good APBT sucks as a guard dog. APBT are human friendly -- so much that a lot of APBT are stolen from back yards.

Been reading this entire thread -- people talk about government right and killer dogs. Some even compare them to wild animals like tiger and lions. These are domesicated dogs. I also put my hand in my dogs mouth and she never chomps down. I know my dog and have been doing that sice she was a tiny pup. I will not stick my hand into a stange dogs mouth no matter their size -- cause you know what they might bite me. Most dogs have a mental capacity of a 2 - 8 year old child. These means that the owners are and need to be responsible for them. With small dogs -- sure their bite does cause as much damage as a bigger dog. People say APBTs bite and so do beagles, so what so do I -- differnce is the ability to control when!!! Dont care how small the dog is -- I would never want to get bitten. But people with big dogs -- c'omon -- dont let them run off leash with the potential of something bad happening. I see this neighborhood kid walk his dolverman while he is on his bike and the dog follows off leash -- sometimes a block in fron tof him........ see that one day can lead to something.

All dogs need to be controled by their owners or something might happen. The bigger the dog the bigger the damage. In the past we have had a slew of differnt dangours or even devil dogs. Remember, when you have a small sample and only a small percentage of that sample is doing something noticable (like bite and kill a child) your less likely to hear about it. However, as the sample grows, the percentage of the sample remains the same but the total increases directly to the increas of the sample taken. So before chows where a popular dog and a few bad incidents made them the bad dog. Dolvermans increase in population and then we stated to hear the stories. Because the stories thier popularity fell and now we hear less of their victims. Now the APBT popularity is on the raise. As the sample increase so is the liklyhood of the small percentage getting noticed.

A national Ban on one bred is silly. You will be affecting the entire population vs the small percentage of the total. Make the owners resposible for their dogs. Make sure people get the trainging or at least scare them into getting it. Thats how I currently am. I am glad I learned so much on the breed. But its funny -- my dog hardly barks. Other dogs around us bak and growl and show teeth. No one cares. As sson as my dog barks once -- everyone is scare. Look at that vicious dog it barked.

Truth is people are not educated enough on the breed. They are good with people, children, strangers, everyone. Dog aggressive yes -- but its their terrier mix in them that makes them want to chase smaller animals. Any lonely dog is dog agressive -- they dont knwo how to react. If a stanger walked into your house unannounce would you be thinking how to get them out as quickly as possible?

Nation ban on pit bulls is not good -- even the idea gives responsible pit bull and future "devil" dogs a hard time. Let educate ourselves on the breed. Blame the owners for not watching over their pets.

Remember Pitbulls are national stars and heros! Pete in the little rascls, and the main stars for all our US posters back in the day. Everyone wanted a PIt Bull -- they were America's dog!

Lets not feed the fire -- lets work on a solution and try to get people educated on how to treat ANY animal and not just the APBT.

--

I also put my hand in my dogs mouth and she never chomps down.

Maybe you haven't done anything to piss her off. Or maybe it's because
"Overwhelmingly, the dogs involved in fatal dog attacks were unaltered males"

Did you read the post? When I commented about. " I also put my hand in my dogs mouth and she never chomps down," keep reading. I only do that cause I know my dog. If you put your hand in her mouth she might bite you -- and damn good too cause I would bite you too if you put your hand in my mouth! I was trying to tell people who use that as an example to show that their dog will not bite that their example doesnt hold any water.

All dogs bite -- they dont have hands to move you away! Some bite hard and other damn hard! Pet owners should take care of their dog and not allow their dogs to get into a possible sistuation. All pet owners for all pets.

Also, male dogs are more popular than females -- that might lead to the differnce.

Good post -- it gets people talking -- but if people are serious when they say things like "Pitbull must be banned," then we all know they are talking without fulling understanding the breed. If you read each post from a responsible APBT they are trying to find a a good solution. People are extreme -- ban pitbulls, you should expect someone to go to the opposite extreme -- pitbulls are angels and never hurt. But you dont see that -- APBT owners know and understand that there are iresponsible APBT owners and we all want to change that. Help us focus on them vs. giving us more fires to put out with these over the top statments.

Pitbulls are great dogs. The problem is that most pepole that want a pit is someone who wants a mean dog and thinks he'll be cool because of his mean dog. Most pepole who want a mean dog keep it on a short chain and doesn't socialize the dog. The dog is trained to only like his master. When this dog that hates pepole because of his owner gets off the chain what do you think would happen. When the owner is asked if the dog has a history of vilance, ofcourse hes going to say no hes the sweetest dog I ever saw. Then it is own the news as a great pet that just snaped. Also pepole rescue pits that where trained fighters. The sad thing is those poor dogs should be put to sleep. They will most likely be a dangerois pet. ACk dose reserch on all dog attacks and in almost all cases its these kind of situations, and also dogs that have had multiple owners. So if you know all this you think we should banned a breed of very loving dogs because of jackasss in this world. Parrents and owners should make sure a one year old kid is not near a large dog. Come on think about that thats like parrents that let their kid play in the street and never makes them where seat belts. I love my pit and I realy hope im right that its the owner and not something in the dog that makes them snap.

your a fuckin mug mate when i find u which i will i will send all 12 of my pits chargin straight at ya and u think i wont i fuckin will chavy. as u said in the wrong owners hands u mug my pitbulls are allways at local school gettin stroked by my sons mates your a fuckin mug so u whant them gone ill make u gone u fuckin cock.

you mate are right u are a nice fella i like the man who said they should be brought up loved

your a fuckin mug mate when i find u which i will i will send all 12 of my pits chargin straight at ya and u think i wont i fuckin will chavy. as u said in the wrong owners hands u mug my pitbulls are allways at local school gettin stroked by my sons mates your a fuckin mug so u whant them gone ill make u gone u fuckin cock.

I can tell you're a good pet owner. (sarcasm) P.S. learn English.

See alot of bad owners that think their bad with there mean pits, even down under.

your a fuckin mug mate when i find u which i will i will send all 12 of my pits chargin straight at ya and u think i wont i fuckin will chavy. as u said in the wrong owners hands u mug my pitbulls are allways at local school gettin stroked by my sons mates your a fuckin mug so u whant them gone ill make u gone u fuckin cock.

Wow I didn't know Crocodile Dun Dee raised Pits or was such a great debater

fuk you...there fine and they should not be baned because of pepole if you see a dog that looks scary umm LEAVE IT ALONE