I'm familiar with the statistics and understand they influence folk's choices when choosing a breed. Many, many dog lovers such as myself wouldn't own a breed with a bad reputation(for the reasons stated earlier) yet many non-responsible owners would just for the novelty. This skews the stats to impugn the breed. Dog's are products of operant conditioning(B. F. Skinner.) Dogs rewarded for vicious behavior will most likely be a problem. Dogs given direction by training and positive reinforcement are almost never a problem.
The dog attack danger scale is good advice. I especially like the 'newness' warning. Dogs need a chance to adjust to new owners and learn good behavior. Not all dogs are salvageable if they've been treated badly or ignored. These are the ones that need to be put down like a predatory pedophile. Seems weird you need a license to drive a car and repair computers(http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2324220,00.asp) but any moron can lawfully raise a child or own a dog. dj On Sun, Apr 19, 2009 at 2:10 PM, Slip Disc <[email protected]> wrote: > > Truth is, as I see it, dogs have been known to attack their owners > without provocation, with many attacks resulting in the fatality of > the owner. So I think people forget that all dogs are "animals" once > wild and untamed and have an innate violent nature which can emerge at > any given time. The statistics presented in the link show that not > only vicious dogs are known to cause death, as was the case with the > Pomeranian killing the infant. The correlation between dogs and > owners may have some credence within a controlled study and > accumulated statistical data but overall dogs, regardless of the > owner's temperament, can be vicious. > http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/danger.htm#meaning > I found this website to be a worthwhile read with current statistical > data. Read through "Canine Homicides" for a real eye opener. > > Here is the March 2009 portion. > > March 2009: Five people were killed by dogs in the USA in March 2009, > and a sixth perished from infection after being bitten. > A two-week-old baby was killed by a dog on March 4, 2009, in Mesa, > Arizona. The mother had placed the infant in a low-lying bassinet or > crib, with a Chow-Chow in the house. Arizona is a statutory strict > liability state. > On March 16, 2009, Hill A. Williams Jr., a 38-year-old California man, > was mauled to death by his two bull mastiffs, in his own back yard. > California is a statutory strict liability state. > On March 22, 2009, Dustin E. Faulkner, a 3-year-old boy from Georgia, > was killed by a wolf-hybrid. Details are sketchy at this time. Georgia > has a dog bite statute that incorporates much of the one-bite rule > (see Georgia on this site). > Dolly Newell, an 80-year-old California woman, died on March 24, 2009, > several days after she was bitten in the hand by a dog while feeding > it. For some reason, she told the hospital staff she injured her > finger while gardening. They stitched the bite closed and she went > home, to die of infection. This death will not appear in most lists of > canine inflicted fatalities, but it should because it was initiated by > the dog bite and it is well known that the bacteria in a dog's saliva > can cause death. > On March 26, 2009, Tyso Miller, an 18-month-old Texas boy, was > fatally attacked in his back yard by a female pit bull. His parents > had been caring for the dog and apparently thought it to be harmless. > Texas is a one-bite state and the national leader in canine homicides. > (See Dog Bite Statistics.) > On March 31, 2009, two pit bulls killed Izaiah G. Cox in San Antonio, > Texas, as the child was laying on a bed. The dogs broke through or > went over a baby gate inside the house. When the baby's grandmother > tried to rescue him, the pit bulls attacked her too, requiring > hospitalization. Texas is a one bite state and the USA's leader in > fatal dog attacks on people (see Dog Bite Statistics on this site). > > Don't forget the horrible story about the.................... > > Death of Diane Whipple > > On January 26, 2001 Diane Whipple was attacked and killed in her San > Francisco apartment building by two Presa Canario/mastiff mix dogs > owned by her neighbors, Marjorie Knoller and her husband Robert Noel. > Both neighbors were convicted of involuntary manslaughter and felony > charges of keeping a mischievous dog in 2002 (mostly based on witness > testimony regarding their level of control of the dogs and > unwillingness to take professional advice), and Knoller was indicted > for second degree murder. > Knoller was found guilty of second degree murder, but the trial judge > ruled for a new trial. In May 2005 the Court of Appeal overturned the > call for a new trial, and Knoller (a lawyer) appealed to the > California Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ordered the trial court to > reconsider the second degree murder conviction, and the court > reinstated the conviction. > On September 22, 2008 the court sentenced Marjorie Knoller to serve 15 > years to life for the death of Diane Whipple. > To date, this is believed to be the only murder sentence handed out in > the United States to an individual found guilty of causing death by a > dog that they own. > > Of course I do see a breed specific danger in Pit Bulls, Rots and > other large powerful breeds. > > Check this out............. > > Through January 20, 2002, the log of life-threatening and fatal > attacks showed that pit bulls had committed 592 (45%) of the 1,301 > total attacks qualifying for inclusion, including 280 (21%) of the > attacks on children, 222 (60%) of the attacks on adults, 51 (34%) of > the fatal attacks, and 321 (45%) of the maimings and disfigurements. > > Rottweilers had committed 291 (22%) of the attacks, including 24% of > the attacks on children, 63 (17%) of the attacks on adults, 36 (24%) > of the fatalities, and 159 (22%) of the maimings and disfigurements. > > Combined, pit bulls and Rottweilers had committed 72% of all the > attacks, 45% of the attacks on children, 77% of the attacks on adults, > 58% of the fatalities, and 67% of the maimings and disfigurements. > > Dog Attack Danger Scale > Here are the 6 danger-signs that warn of a dog attack. Knowing them > can keep you and your children safe. > > 1. A dog in its own yard, and no master present. In 2008, 78% of the > human fatalities were by dogs in their own yard. > > 2. Pit bull, Rottweiler, Akita or Chow. Most fatal dog attacks are by > pit bulls. In 2008, 65% of the fatalities were by pit bulls. > > 3. The pack mentality. Three dogs are worse than 2, 4 are worse than > 3, etc. Docile dogs often become uncharacteristically violent and > vicious when they are in a pack. In 2008, 39% of the fatalities > involved multiple dogs. > > 4. Chained or tethered. Dogs that are tied up are dangerous. In 2008, > 9% of the fatalities involved chained dogs. > > 5. Male. Male dogs are several times more dangerous than female dogs. > Unneutered male dogs are the worst. > > 6. Newness. A new dog in the house is dangerous for the first 60 days, > and a person who is new to a household where a dog resides is in > danger of attack for the first 60 days. In 2007 and 2008, 20% of fatal > dog attacks involved a new person or dog sharing a household for a > period of two months or less. > > The presence of any one factor indicates danger. Two or more of these > danger-signs should be avoided at all costs. > > > http://www.dogbitelaw.com/#scale > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On Apr 18, 8:42 am, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: >> ARE you right to trust your instincts if you cross the street when you >> encounter a snarling pit bull with an equally forbidding owner? A new >> study suggests that the owners of so-called "vicious" dogs commit more >> crimes than those who do not own such a dog. >> >> Laurie Ragatz and her colleagues at the University of West Virginia in >> Morgantown examined whether owners of vicious dogs - those classed by >> the American Kennel Club as breeds with a high risk of causing injury >> to humans - were different in personality and behaviour to others. >> Their online questionnaire of 758 students, 563 of whom owned dogs, >> revealed owners of vicious dogs were significantly more likely to >> admit crimes such as vandalism, illegal drug use and fighting than >> other dog owners and those without dogs (Journal of Forensic Sciences, >> DOI: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2009.01001.x). >> >> Hardly surprising. Perhaps we could guess each other's dog? I hope >> all would guess I own Grommet(from Wallace and Grommet), though >> suspect I might be seen as harbouring a rottweiler-pitbull! Does >> Molly's poodle have a 'pitbull shadow'? Does Chris' domesticated >> african hunting dog do ganga? > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
