scout

It all comes down to a choice. If there is any chance of the dog biting a child, what would you prefer, the dog or the child?

godef

The KID?!? Since when do KIDS listen to anybody?!? The child was visiting, so if there's any doubt, keep the dog isolated, for Pete's sake.

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See you at Super Bowl XLVI!

Fixit

#2: Someone did a piss-poor job of training their dog. The first thing we did once my son started walking was supervise him putting his hands in the dog dish while they were eating, and the dogs learned that he wasn't a threat. They've never so much as growled at him. Then we taught my son that he shouldn't ever do that, anyway.

#3: This is funny. Dogs around kids need CONSTANT supervision and retraining. Anyone who trusts a 5-year-old kid or an animal to do the right thing because they've done it in the past should only have one or the other.

betterthanthealternative

There IS some genetic predictability regarding violence and dogs, but it isn't due to the breed, it's due to the parents and grandparents.

In the cities and counties that have enacted pit breed bans, the dog fighters quickly switch to another breed, and nothing really changes except a lot of innocent dogs are killed due to their heritage, and other breeds get the bad rap. The thoughtful, experienced localities are instead passing dangerous dog legislation, empowering the animal cops to evaluate and seize dogs based on behavior rather than what they look like.

Pit bull attacks and bites are reported in the press at a rate nearly 50 times that of other breeds, and it isn't due to the difference between bite and maul. It is because no one reports the neighborhood dog that looks like a dog everyone should like.

Did you know that President Bush's dog bit two children at its birthday party this year? Think that got reported?

eom

omg racism!

BradyFTW!

When I was 4 or 5 I was almost killed by a German Sheperd, so I get the downside to having the more 'aggressive' types of dogs. That said, I firmly believe that the high rate of incidents with a select few breeds has more to do with the people that tend to buy them than the dogs themselves. As a kid, I also remember one of my best friend's family owning a rottweiler that was one of the nicest dogs I've ever been around.

That said, owning ANY dog requires you to be responsible and have some common sense, and that goes doubly so when there's a kid in the household. Looks like this was just a total failure all around on Harrison's part.

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