One of my favorite 'pet peeves' ... pun intended. I have enjoyed the company of all dog breeds in my lifetime and many have been family. Some folks don't get it...a dog is a commitment and a responsibility not a toy. There are people who should never become parents or dog owners and you my friend have one as a neighbor. I am with you 100%....you have a right and an obligation to protect you and yours. What I don't get is how animal control in your area has not already removed this dog from its owner....'verified aggressive and 5 to 6 episodes', in my area, if these were called in it would have been taken care of by now. Fines followed by confiscation and probably putting the dog down.
I am especially sensitive to pit bull issues like this because it provides more fuel to the fire and my lab-pit mix wouldn't hurt a fly because he was raised with a soft mouth. (Soft Mouth - Technical term meaning he's been taught that the only place his teeth belong is in his mouth)
A good friend of mine had a alpha male boxer who would become an escape artist whenever female dogs in the neighborhood would go into heat. He lives in a rural area. He chained the dog, among other things, but the dog would still get loose even when kept in the house he'd find a way to make a run for it. His dog was aggressive with other male dogs and even females if they weren't in heat. Fortunately the dog wasn't aggressive with people. The dog attacked another male boxer in its own yard one night and my buddy paid the bill after receiving a visit from animal control. He told me if it happened again he would put the dog down himself because it was his responsibility not animal control's. It happened again three weeks later and although the dog fight left neither dog harmed...my buddy took the dog out back and shot him in the head. I don't think I could do what he did and to this day I'm not sure he did the right thing but I know he cried his eyes out and took the responsibility for his dog.
I dont get to come around as much as I like but I save bully breeds and fight against BSL. These are great dogs but require superb MANAGEMENT SKILLS. Too many people shouldnt own a pet rock let a lone a large terrier/bulldog as a pet. A lot of people do not subscribe to PACK MENTALITY or understanding how K9's click.I have had 3 of Michaels Vicks dogs, they made the rounds from other no kill shelters and we rec'd 3. These were abused, beaten, starved, fed gunpowder, given roids,given live prey to reinforce their breed characteristics which is to fight and WIN. Dog fighting-DO NOT GO THERE WITH ME,TOTALLY AGAINST ANY ANIMAL OR HUMAN ABUSE WHAT SO EVER!
But Vicks dogs were a bit aggressive in the beginning, but once we began loving, giving them chores,setting up structure, they began to transform into the super affectionate loving breed they truly are. Yes indeed, they are fighters,with 200 yrs of heritage to back it up, but can be managed to live super healthy happy lives with the proper owners and MANAGEMENT SKILLS.
A lot of kill shelters try to get them adopted by saying they are like Labs. Yes they are in temperament and even beat out goldens and labs in that area by a few points. But the problem is if its a bully breed, there is 200 yrs of selective breeding making them what they are, A FIGHTING BREED. They also are excellent hunting dogs and have high prey drives. To those of us who understand the breed, there is no embarrassment or denial in what this breed is about.Bully breeds when truly accessing them I know 9 out of 10 times they will engage, not all of em and not all of em start the fight but most will always finish the fight. I do not set my dogs up for failure. We do not go to dog parks, we are never off leash in public domains. We do not allow children to act unruly around our dogs, we will never leave a bully breed unattended with children or other pets or animals. We do not condone aggressive behavior and if and when it is discovered ,all stops are pulled out to access what, AND why it is happening and begin to diffuse it THROUGH TRAINING ADJUNCTS made to help ease out some of the aggression and redirect it to a plus not a negative.And if it cant be done after exhausting all measures , we will put the dog down. In my field of rescue we do not condone bullies that are human aggressive, like I said we will go above and beyond with behaviorists and very experienced trainers to find out what is making the dog aggressive.NOTE* you wont find many well bred, well cared for,loved and well managed aggresive bully breeds,in their selective breeding,they were to be able to have a hand put into the ring and never was a dog to bite his handlers hands or anything for that matter, if so they were culled. Even today they arent normally aggressive towards people, make lousy attack dogs. if you encounter one that is, 9out of 10 times poor management or improperly bred or maybe just a rogue . Ive seen some that had physical ailments making the give warning bites and not attacking. @ different things, because if and when this breed does attack, it is usually a lethal outcome for what ever it is under attack from one. Most of the time they will give a warning bite. Al ot of working dogs also are treated this way when we are rescuing them.No dogs should ever be left unattended around other pets or kids what so ever!!
Some of the bullies are Houdini's and are great escape artists ,so here the owner has to be on top of his game at keeping them contained. I have incidents where another dog not on a lead approached myself and my dogs,immediately I have to try to protect this asshole and his dog which are breaking the law by not containing their dog on a lead (leash)I will do what ever I have to to try to avoid what is coming.I run away, or even better I began to scan my area and no bs, its like a spec.ops mission on trying to avoid all the assholes whose dogs are in public domain without being restrained. Once it wasnt good, I got hurt bad, my dog got hurt bad and the other dog was shot on scene.They tried to sue
but the judge said I dont care if you own a Bengal tiger, if its registered and on a leash, have at it, but I dont care if its a teacup breed if its not on a lead your going to be liable for what ever happens to it or anyone elses property. I rec'd 6 stitches in my hand numerous road rash trying to break this up. It was a large American bulldog (130lbs) and I was with Layla (she is in the FC PET OWNERS THREAD,She passed on my cancer remission date) and his dog was killing my baby. Needless to say it was very traumatic and I now really go out of my way to go to places very early in the morning to avoid the nitwits who dont understand and follow laws. It works well and we get to enjoy the birth of a new day and morning is the sweetest time of the day for me, serene and cool, no bugs up yet and no idiots with the same dog or even bigger than mine out walking around with out being contained. Sorry for your friend and his beloved pet,mine are my children since I do not have any. They are also working as therapy dogs, we go to the hospital for those who are very ill, the dogs really make a positive impact on the ill. Good to see that. The bullies are the hunch backs of Notre Dame and so misunderstood.
AS far as hunting goes, leave it like you found it, if you kill it you better be eating it. You can mount his head as along as you eat the animal you persue. I do not eat grocery red meat. I have 2 freezers filled with hog and venison and various fish we seek. I eat the heart and lungs of the deer and hog. They are ground up and added to the sausage mix. Large leg bones are turned in to soup and make an excellent broth for a base in any cooking dish. I learned "waste not want not " and I am an avid bow hunter and have never lost a deer. Ive taken Elk, which the table fare is excellent as well as the other antler types and hog is just so versatile sausage, roasts, chops,.Throw it in the crock pot with some BBQ sauce and some Dr Pepper and garlic,, a few other spices, leave it in 10 hrs, great pulled pork hoagies!!. I do not subscribe to any abuse. I shoot it and eat it, have some great blankets made from hair on hides, some cool jackets and gloves,mocs, from the tanned hides. We observe all conservation laws and do not subscribe to poaching or out of season hunting or harvest of anything illegally. YMMV
To clarify, I'm speaking of commercial meat production, especially CAFOs. Which I'm guessing you already knew
The 10x per acre figure comes from a comparison of beef cattle and soybeans.
