Justus was attacked!

I am always so surprised to find how pervasive pitbulls are. This is not to debate their merit or un-merit as a breed, but I just didn't know they were EVERYWHERE. Spain, Canada, ALL our states. You know us Californians, center of the universe, but I just thought it was kind of a California/Western US or maybe Southern US, sort of a demographics kind of thing. I didn't realize how pervasive the popularity of these dogs are. I think Canada surprised me the most.

Conversely, I am also surprised how little people know if shelties yet everyone seems to have one or know someone who has one. Just odd to me.

Back to the attack situation, breed bans, muzzles, mandatory altering, none of it matters or changes things. Any aggressive dog, pit or not, I mean I had an Aussie female that would have taken down human, dog, or elephant if given the chance, is up to the owner to 100% manage without error such an animal or not have such an animal. There are so many breeds of dog, I hate that a difficult breed ends in so many incompetent hands.

Sigh.
 
Mom2Melli said:
I am always so surprised to find how pervasive pitbulls are. This is not to debate their merit or un-merit as a breed, but I just didn't know they were EVERYWHERE. Spain, Canada, ALL our states. You know us Californians, center of the universe, but I just thought it was kind of a California/Western US or maybe Southern US, sort of a demographics kind of thing. I didn't realize how pervasive the popularity of these dogs are. I think Canada surprised me the most.

Conversely, I am also surprised how little people know if shelties yet everyone seems to have one or know someone who has one. Just odd to me.

Back to the attack situation, breed bans, muzzles, mandatory altering, none of it matters or changes things. Any aggressive dog, pit or not, I mean I had an Aussie female that would have taken down human, dog, or elephant if given the chance, is up to the owner to 100% manage without error such an animal or not have such an animal. There are so many breeds of dog, I hate that a difficult breed ends in so many incompetent hands.

Sigh.
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Very true I had a Cocker Spaniel/Spitz mix that was a bit of a psychopath. When he was young he was OK but super wild and wrestling was aggressive (my fault as we played HARD). When he got older he got senile and I would not let people around him as he was utterly unpredictable :(
 
so this is the pit that you were worried about when it first showed up at the neighbor's house.....
according to that thread, they said that they got him a rabies shot in 2012.....

very sorry to hear that it went for Justus and that the neighbors weren't on top of controlling him.:mad:
 
Poor Justice!!! I hope he bounces back quickly!

alonsoe said:
My sheltie girl, Foula, was attacked by a pitbull when she was 4 months old. I still remember it, but she seems that has forgotten that incident, although she is more shy than the male, who could escape of the attack.

I still remember it was frightening, luckly the pitbull weared a muzzle, wich is obligatory by law, if the pitbull didn't wear that, she'll probably be death now...:cry:

I didn't know the owner, I just catch her and runned away from that evil... Since that moment, I always though that pitbulls are as other dogs, and the fame of killers was not correct and an injustice, but now I have changed my mind, they are murder weapons in bad hands, but who controlls that?

I have read at the forum more similar stories that make me think that pitbulls hate in an innate way to the shelties, because there were a lot of dogs there and the pitbull came directly from away to my little puppie....

Its only my opinion, perhaphs or surely, there are good pitbulls, but I think it only happens if they are with professional trainners.

I say.
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Maybe they sense how sweet and gentle our Shelties are and that makes them a target? :(
 
What a terrible experience for all of you! I hope Justus is OK but of course he (and you, and even Flyer) are traumatized. Do have him examined by the vet, and your neighbor should pay the bill. Also, I second what others have said: File a police report! This is a dangerous dog who needs to be dealt with.

Please let us know how all of you are doing! :hugs
 
MissieLynn said:
Maybe they sense how sweet and gentle our Shelties are and that makes them a target? :(
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I think it may be more how fluffy they are, sort of like a bigger cat or a bunny. I do know that my friend who owns a pit will not allow any sort of fluffy animal near it - she has told me she has no doubt he would kill Hanna if he were anywhere near her, and she woudl not be able to stop it.

This past Sunday, while they were visiting, he insisted on sitting on my 91 year old father in law. Not aggressive, just insistent and unfortunately before they could control him, he pawed at my father in law and broke the skin on his hand as well as left a huge bruise. The dog just does not know how strong it is.

I know how smart that dog is and how much they love it, but I just would not want to have the stress of owning one and all the restrictions it has imposed on who can or will visit, where they can take him, possible liability....

I firmly believe that ownership should be very highly restricted to people who can demonstrate full control and that further breeding should be absolutely prohibited, as it is in Ontario. There are literally 100's of other breeds to choose from. Until this happens the maulings and attacks are never going to stop, because people will keep getting these dogs without having the skills and training necessary own one responsibly. It doesn't matter that many of them are great pets - it isn't something anyone can tell just by looking at the dog, so when you meet one you just never know what kind it is. The public should be able to have an expectation that they are safe from any domestic pet and thatthe owner is able to control it.
 
OH NO! I'm so glad you were able to save them both, and that Ham didn't decide to really go for it. It sounds like he was out of control.
 
I hope poor Justus is okay! Thank god little Flyer didn't get hurt at all. Definitely file that report so you have it in case anything else happens!

EJHUNTL said:
I think it may be more how fluffy they are, sort of like a bigger cat or a bunny. I do know that my friend who owns a pit will not allow any sort of fluffy animal near it - she has told me she has no doubt he would kill Hanna if he were anywhere near her, and she woudl not be able to stop it.

This past Sunday, while they were visiting, he insisted on sitting on my 91 year old father in law. Not aggressive, just insistent and unfortunately before they could control him, he pawed at my father in law and broke the skin on his hand as well as left a huge bruise. The dog just does not know how strong it is.

I know how smart that dog is and how much they love it, but I just would not want to have the stress of owning one and all the restrictions it has imposed on who can or will visit, where they can take him, possible liability....

I firmly believe that ownership should be very highly restricted to people who can demonstrate full control and that further breeding should be absolutely prohibited, as it is in Ontario. There are literally 100's of other breeds to choose from. Until this happens the maulings and attacks are never going to stop, because people will keep getting these dogs without having the skills and training necessary own one responsibly. It doesn't matter that many of them are great pets - it isn't something anyone can tell just by looking at the dog, so when you meet one you just never know what kind it is. The public should be able to have an expectation that they are safe from any domestic pet and thatthe owner is able to control it.
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It is exactly how fluffy they are. To a pitbull they look like a cat of fox or some other critter. Pitbulls have extremely strong terrier instincts. I used to own one. I'd never let him near a fluffy dog. Your correct about the restrictions though. I own a sheltie now because of how difficult a pit can be and how I could only truly trust him around only certain people and animals. They're certainly not the easiest dogs to own.

No offense but the restriction of one purebred dog can and will lead to the eventual restriction of all dogs. I think its a very bad idea and precedent. Do you know how many pits are mixed breed? Almost all. The pit just seems to be what really stands out. I know a pit/ mini greyhound mix. Looks like a really small pit who's silly fast nothing like a mini greyhound so stopping the breeding of purebred pits doesn't seem to be the answer.
Also... Preventing breeding will do nothing to stem the problem. People who are attracted to the bigger muscular kind of dogs will just get another breed that they still won't be able to control.
If we as a society are going to have dogs in our lives we have to accept that these kind of incidents can happen regardless of the breed.
 
What a dreadful thing to happen to Justus and you. :( I can understand that you are worried for Flyer too because just witnessing something like this can make a pup fearful, and no wonder. I agree with what everyone has said about getting yourself and Justus checked out by the medics. When Epic was attacked I didn't think there were any bites that had broken the skin but when he was checked over the next day there were two or three. One got infected and he has a bald patch on his back as a result. Also there is likely to be bruising and pain meds might be helpful. If you have any rescue remedy then dose all of you with it too. I really feel for you and it must be doubly awful that the dog lives next door. :hugs

On the subject of pitbulls, they are a banned breed in the UK along with Dogo Argentino, Fila Brazillio and Japanese Toza. However this has not really prevented the breeding of pit bull 'type' dogs. It is a really controversial subject here, not because it might lead to the banning of all breeds, but because it doesn't seem to be working. You also have a situation where dogs can be seized because they appear to be 'of type' and even if they haven't attacked or done anything, they can be held and sometimes destroyed. There have been several very high profile cases where this has apparently happened.
Personally I would not want to see these breeds being legalised, inspite of all the various arguments surrounding the legislation. I agree with a post made earlier, some breeds of dogs ARE inherently more dangerous than others. They have been bred to have extremely powerful jaws and the tenacity to grip on. They also seem to be more volatile in temperament. I find the thought that people know their dog would kill another if it got the chance, very disturbing. That is not a safe dog to own, no matter what precautions are taken and is a tragedy waiting to happen IMHO.
 
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