2 Pitbulls were in my yard!

Please call animal control and report the dogs are loose. They should come out and pick up the dogs and call their owners.

It's not wise to approach a dog you don't know, regardless of breed.

Any breed can kill, pit bulls are not born avid killers, they have to be trained to be that way. They just happen to naturally have very powerful jaws (though mind you not all of them know this.)

Never approach a strange dog, even if he looks friendly from afar.
Call the local SPCA, and I hope you local ones are nice. As they are pit bulls and if they are not claimed they have a strong chance of being put down, even if they are not aggressive at all.

Any unknown dog should be treated with caution. If you're not comfortable reading dog behavior I would suggest staying away all together. All dogs can bite.

If you haven't seen the dogs again they probably went back home. If you haven't seen them before the chance is they simply escaped from their yard.

As for Pit Bulls, they do not deserve the reputation the currently have been saddled with. Any dog can be made mean through mistreatment. Pits which have been properly raised naturally are outgoing and have generally clown like personalities. (Remember Petey from the Little Rascals? He was a Pit Bull and rather typical of the breed's personality.) They were considered the "All American Dog" until 20 or so years ago. Unfortunately they have been the popular breed with the crowd that will typically make a dog mean for whatever reason. A selection of other larger, stronger and less common breeds are not taking their place (Fila Brasileiro, Dogo Canario, Dogo Argentino, etc.) This just follows the historical pattern, first is was German Shepards, then Dobermans, then Rottweilers, then Pits, now moving to the other breeds.

Part of the problem goes to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) a number of years ago. The authors looked exclusively at reported deaths resulting from dog bites. Over a 10 year period there were just over 250 instances over the entire US. Considering the number of dogs in this country this is actually not a statistically representative number, but the authors drew conclusions about dangerous breeds based on these numbers. Pit Bulls came up first. The AKC and AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) among other organizations took issue with their conclusions and statistical methods and the authors re-did the study shifting the evaluation dates forward by 5 years (still a 10 year period.) Several issues were found including irregularities in breed identification. (Often news reports claim a dog is a Pit Bull even if it is something entirely different. As an example, we had a serious attack, though not fatal, here a couple of years ago that the paper reported quite extensively as a "Pit Bull Attack". The dog was a pure bread Great Dane. This was never corrected in the paper.) The breeds which the revised study identified as the most dangerous was a completely different set, and included Jack Russel Terriers. The authors recanted their original claim of dangerous breeds and agreed with the AKC and AVMA that behavior of each individual animal and not the breed should determine the classification of "dangerous". Unfortunately, certian insurance companies and local governments have continued to use the original (invalidated) study in black listing certian breeds. You can tell if they're using the original list if "Husky" is on the list of banned breeds. By the way, over the last 6 years the Rottweiler is the breed that has accounted for the most deaths though the number is still extremely small as compared to the total number of dogs. (This does not in any way discount or try to downplay the impact of even a single death from a dog attack. Each is a devistating event.) There are no accurate statistics regarding dog bites in general or serious attacks specifically. Claims about the number of attacks are usually heavily tilted by the agenda of those reporting the numbers, either very high or very low.

The AKC, AVMA, HSUS, AHA and most other national and state humane and veterinary organizations oppose the use of breed as a criteria in dangerous dog legislation. Pennsylvania was the first state to actually make it illegal to include breed as a criteria for this determination. Prince George's County Maryland has one of the most severe anti-Pit Bull laws and has been extensively lambasted by these organizations with even the county animal control director stating that nearly all dogs seized under the law were sweet and friendly family pets. Several attempts have been made to pass a Pennsylvania type law to prevent breed descrimination but it has never passed (though it came quite close two years ago.)

I've seen some wonderful Pits come through our shelter, and some very nasty dogs of all breeds (the bad ones are clearly a very small percentage of the whole.) While I've seen some extremely dangerous dogs come through, the meanest, nastiest dog I have ever seen was a Toy Poodle. Given half a chance this little dog would have ripped your hand off. While a dog this size may not present the same potential threat as a larger one it still goes to show that the issue is the individual dog (and really reflects on those that raised it) and not the breed.

Finally, the claims that Pits have such great bite strength or can lock their jaws are simply not true. They really don't have a bite that is greater than any other similar sized dog, and the greatest bite strength ever measured in a domestic dog was in a German Shepard (Wolves, by the way, have a much greater bite strength.) All Terriers tend to grab and shake when they attack, and Pits are Terriers (American Pit Bull Terrier!) This does not mean their jaws lock, just that they tend to behave in this fashion. This was bred into them since Terriers were originally bred to go after vermin or small game. They were supposed to go after the prey, latch on, and hold and shake until the hunter or handler caught up or dug them out to finish off the prey.

George

Originally posted by Crazy-Cat-Lover
Where I live, the want to ban people from owning Pitbulls. They have killed or injured so many people. Their targets are the elderly and little kids. My local SPCA is very good! They are right there when you need them, always. I will give them a call, if the dogs come back! Thanks everyone!

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I hate the reputation that Pit Bulls have gotten, I work in a Dog Grooming Shop and we have a shop dog named zippy, she is the sweetest dog, she gets along with all people and other animals even tiny little kittens. Guess what Zippy is a Pit Bull. Another thing about zippy is that she was mistreated as a puppy, we had a man bring her to the shop because he found her locked in the basement of an abandoned house in the middle of winter, with no food or water or even heat. If any dog is going to be mean I would think Zippy would be, but she isn't. Pit bulls have a bad rap, and let me tell you i have met many a poodle that is more viscious than a pit bull. The Pit Bulls that attack people are the ones that are trained for dog fights. I do agree that you should not approach the dogs though, But i would not suggest approaching any dog wether it be a poodle or a pit bull. Thanks for letting me vent I mean no disrespect, this is just my opinion.

I agree to some extent that any dog can be trained to be a mean dog. However, doesn't bad breeding cause some unwanted behaviors such as overaggression? I know where I live there was a string of problems way back with pitbulls (as well as rottweilers).

On their defense, I must say, when I attended dog shows many years ago, I was under the impression that Rotties were all mean and upon visiting with a reputable Rottie breeder at the show - they can be the nicest dogs (with proper breeding and training). I'm sure the same can be said for any breed.

It all boils down to responsible pet ownership (not letting the dogs run at large unattended) and buying from a reputable breeder.

Sandi, I agree with you. Although it might not be the fault of the breed itself, breeders can breed for certain traits, physical or temperament. This doesn't change the present records the hospitals and police have concerning dog bites.

These traits can be bred out of the breeds also, but it takes a bit of time. Just as any parent would want a dog bred to be gentle, some people want a dog to have protective or vicious tendencies. There are unethical people in every profession who want to make money, regardless of the consequences. A dog is a result of nature and nurture, not just nature.

I was bitten by a vicious Chow when I was a child. I was not the first person bitten. The family just couldn't accept the fact that their dog, who loved the family so much and was very gentle with their children, could bite a child. Nevertheless, the dog "owned that side of the street," and no child was safe to walk on "his" sidewalk. Eventually, the dog knocked a house painter's ladder down and attacked the painter. Then the chow's family kept him confined.

(I still have the scar, but I eventually showed and bred collies, myself. I love dogs in general, but I know to be cautious around any dog I don't know.)

Well said and well noted, Jeanne! You hit the nail on the head in all accounts. I'm surprised you weren't a bit afraid of dogs being that you were bitten as a child. My mom had been bitten when she was young and has always been afraid of dogs. (Therefore, transferring it on to me - not meaning to, but kids learn from their parents). I got over my fear when we got our labrador 11 years ago. Now I'm okay around most breeds of dog, but will admit, I still have a fear of the larger stereotyped breeds: Dobermans, rottweilers, pitbulls, german shephards. Unless their owner's are with them and they are well behaved. Here I go, babbling on again...

Originally posted by Sandi
I agree to some extent that any dog can be trained to be a mean dog. However, doesn't bad breeding cause some unwanted behaviors such as overaggression? I know where I live there was a string of problems way back with pitbulls (as well as rottweilers).

On their defense, I must say, when I attended dog shows many years ago, I was under the impression that Rotties were all mean and upon visiting with a reputable Rottie breeder at the show - they can be the nicest dogs (with proper breeding and training). I'm sure the same can be said for any breed.

It all boils down to responsible pet ownership (not letting the dogs run at large unattended) and buying from a reputable breeder.

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I agree with you completely that some breeds just have a bad rap and irresponsible ownership and bad breeding are to blame. I do also have to say, I was scared of theses certain types of dogs too until I started working in the Shop.