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pusheenforchange t1_j3hw7vk wrote

Reply to comment by an_m_8ed in If you're looking for a dog, please consider one of our long-time residents by ktcat146

That's certainly part of it - they tend to attract a certain class of people, which leads to an extreme lack of spaying and neutering that's the main problem with pit bulls. The secondary problem is that when they get violent, their genetic programming makes them do way more damage than other breeds of dogs, which is why they need to be strictly controlled at both an individual and societal level.

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profgreybush t1_j3jg7id wrote

More than a German shepherd? Rottie? Doberman? Any of those large breed dogs can cause the same amount of damage. A golden retriever and a pitbull both have around 235 pounds of bite force iirc.

Gotta treat animals as individuals. Get to know each one. Upbringing matters more than anything.

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pusheenforchange t1_j3jihnn wrote

I honestly can't say whether nature or nurture is the cause of the statistics, but even when you cheese is and break pit bulls up into multiple breeds and reclassify them as mixes, the Numbers are simply overwhelming. If that's nature, we need to strictly enforce spaying and neutering legally prior to any adoption. If that's nurture, then we need to restrict adoption to specifically certified individuals who can prove they can handle the needs of the breed. I'm in favor of both, as a start. I think the humane decision would be to phase them out as a breed through enforced spaying and neutering. And automatically put down any dog that threatens a human, immediately.

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profgreybush t1_j3jojfo wrote

All animal behavorists say you gotta treat each dog as an individual. Unfortunately, right now pits are the most abused dogs in the world. Before it was german shepherds, dobermans, rotties, etc. Every John Wick wannabe "tough guy" gets one for protection.

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