Mark Kelly's dog attacks and kills baby sea lion in Cali

[TexasGal]

It is a pit bull. They can call it a "bulldog mix" to avoid making the Giffords look bad, but it's a pit bull. It does not need to be purebred to exhibit the behavior the breed is so famous for. The video of it attacking is evidence of the textbook style. They tend to latch on and refuse to let go and it is a very powerful bite. They don't do it halfheartedly. It would not let go even with people smacking in on the head/face. The statement the baby seal died more from the shock is ludicrous. Before anyone gets upset at me, I agree a lot of pitt bulls live their lives never doing more than wag their tails at everyone. But when they don't, this is the style of attack they typically exhibit.
The daughter is the one I feel most sorry for. She had to witness something pretty upsetting and surely will not be oblivious to the ridicule it has brought to the Giffords. It is the Giffords who apparently don't understand their own dog well enough to know it might overpower the girl on a public beach.

Thank God it was not a child that got it's attention. The thing about pits that I think bothers people the most is stories like this. Harmless family pets, but then:
The family told deputies the dogs had never attacked a person, though one of them might have killed a cat, Smith said. He said relatives insisted the toddler would play with the dogs and even "use them as pillows while watching TV."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/todd ... VTWCheG0bA

[snatchel]

I guess my only question is if Obama will comment on the death of this seal? After all, he hasn't commented on the death of any other SEAL recently.








For anyone who hasn't gotten it yet, I'm referring to Chris Kyle.

[C-dub]

Okay, I have to stand up for the dog here. Not this dog, but the Pit Bull breed. This report, nor any other that I have read says it was a Pit Bull. They all have said a bull dog mix. This is why Pit Bulls get a bad rap. There was a report here a few months ago about 3 Pit Bulls attacking a person. They had pictures and there was a Doberman, and 2 what looked to be doberman/shepard mixed.
We have always prided ourselves in getting the facts before we post, lets continue that.

Yes I have a Pit Bull

You are absolutely correct. Whether this dog is a Pit Bull or not, the breed has a bad reputation that is undeserved. I've known many incredible Pits and one or two not so good ones and heard about a lot of bad ones. There always seemed to be a common thread among the good ones and something different in common with the bad ones.

A bad dog is a bad dog no matter what the breed. Same goes for people.

[puma guy]

I realize pit bull owners think the breed is painted with a broad brush, but the reality is they do what they have been bred and developed for. Their instinct is to attack, without release. You can't simply erase the instinct developed over centuries with petting. They can be friendly and affectionate sure, but in the right circumstances that instinct causes them to react. Just as pointer and retrievers and many other breeds have traits that are instinctive. We "adopted" several over the years when owners abandoned them. We tried to find homes for them, but after a couple of clients experienced attacks their other dogs, including one that lost his German Shepherd, he would only release them to experienced trainers and handlers. Mostly LEO's and security companies. These dogs were a gentle as lambs around us.

My dad had a client that continually bought wild cats, lions and tigers among them, convinced she could tame them. It never worked out. We kept one for several months that was too much for her to handle even as a cub. A lot of zoos got free large cats when she could no longer manage them, but there came a point when no zoo would take them. Their instinct will out. Not so long ago the number one offending breed for dog bites was the Dalmatian. I'm not trying to offend all you Pit Bull owners, but please keep a realistic perspective about the instinctive traits of the breed.

[RPBrown]

I realize pit bull owners think the breed is painted with a broad brush, but the reality is they do what they have been bred and developed for. Their instinct is to attack, without release. You can't simply erase the instinct developed over centuries with petting. They can be friendly and affectionate sure, but in the right circumstances that instinct causes them to react. Just as pointer and retrievers and many other breeds have traits that are instinctive. We "adopted" several over the years when owners abandoned them. We tried to find homes for them, but after a couple of clients experienced attacks their other dogs, including one that lost his German Shepherd, he would only release them to experienced trainers and handlers. Mostly LEO's and security companies. These dogs were a gentle as lambs around us.

My dad had a client that continually bought wild cats, lions and tigers among them, convinced she could tame them. It never worked out. We kept one for several months that was too much for her to handle even as a cub. A lot of zoos got free large cats when she could no longer manage them, but there came a point when no zoo would take them. Their instinct will out. Not so long ago the number one offending breed for dog bites was the Dalmatian. I'm not trying to offend all you Pit Bull owners, but please keep a realistic perspective about the instinctive traits of the breed.

Its not what they are bred to do but more what they are trained to do. Its human irresponsibility that trains them to fight or be aggressive. True, there are some that are natrally aggressive as there are with any breed. If you were to come into my house un-invited, you would be more apt to be met by my Golden first, then the shepard, then the pit.

Any dog breed will have a few bad seeds just as we humans do. But for the most part, its how the animal is trained and treated from the puppy years on up. In the 70's it was the german shepards, 80's it was dobermans, 90's it was rott's, and now its the pit bull. All had bad raps but most all were trained that way.

And if you really want to get into mean dogs, the meanest of all of them and always has been is the chihuahua. I am just glad they are little dogs. Owning a groom shop/doggie daycare, my wife and daughter would rather take care of the "big mean dogs" than a chihuahua any day.

[C-dub]

RPBrown has nailed it again.

There are many bad Pits and bad lines of Pits because of the subhumans that have owned and bred them. So many people breeding the bad characteristics leads to a bad unpredictable and unreliable dog.

The breed is supposed to be and generally is a loving devoted family dog that is good with kids. Unfortunately, the Pit has the same problem that guns have. When bad people use it for bad things the irrational start blaming the gun/dog. The biggest problem with this analogy is that one is an inanimate object and the other is alive.

[RPBrown]

RPBrown has nailed it again.

There are many bad Pits and bad lines of Pits because of the subhumans that have owned and bred them. So many people breeding the bad characteristics leads to a bad unpredictable and unreliable dog.

The breed is supposed to be and generally is a loving devoted family dog that is good with kids. Unfortunately, the Pit has the same problem that guns have. When bad people use it for bad things the irrational start blaming the gun/dog. The biggest problem with this analogy is that one is an inanimate object and the other is alive.

[tbrown]

We can debate nature or nurture all night long but it won't change the breed of the dog or bring its victim back to life.

[stevie_d_64]

"Sooooo, Mark Kelly's dog has killed more than my guns have???"

[bigbang]

A few years ago, who could have guessed Mark Kelly would turn out to be a worse role model than R. Kelly?

[powerboatr]

marc kelly will be on fox news sunday morning

maybe they will ask the hard questions about his agenda and bad dog parenting

[Abraham]

Unlike guns, dogs do go off by themselves...

If your dog indiscriminately maims or kills, (and the real life stories are legion regarding these type horrors, often involving children or the elderly) I don't care to hear about your dog loyalty/justification...

Keep dangerous dogs under control.

[C-dub]

"Sooooo, Mark Kelly's dog has killed more than my guns have???"

Well, to be fair, I think it is actually his daughter's dog. He just happened to be there and was able to pull the dog off, but too late.