"Would you put your cat down for killing a mouse or your parakeet for eating your goldfish or your hamster?? Same thing. " That's a good analogy. When we first got our mice, the cats ignored them. After months, one cat suddenly became obsessed with them. After days of staring at the cage (when I should have intervened but was unintentionally irresponsible and did not), she knocked it over one day while we were gone. Have you ever looked for two mice in a 4-bedroom house?? I'm tellling you now, it's not easy. But we found both of them safe and sound and got them a new cage. Since then, the kids have learned to keep the bedroom doors closed. They scold their friends if they come over to play and are sloppy about closing doors behind them. If my children can learn to be responsible, an adult should be able to. And no, I never once thought about putting my cat to sleep because she tried to eat our mice. Duh. :) Jamiya

Jamiya you said it very well, I won't waste too much time on people who don't seem to have that much mental capacity. It shouldn't be too hard, if you don't want a dog that will mostly likely turn out dog aggressive don't get a Pit Bull, don't get an Akita, ect PitPaz that was also a good post. Some people just don't understand and never will, but again they shouldn't be owning Pit Bulls (or other dogs) if they don't understand them. The thing about irresponsibility I also agree with. When things happen it isn't the DOG its the OWNER. Not the dog, not the breed, its the owners fault. Do you thin Gina hates this dog? Well maybe a little mad that it bit her, but I'm sure she sees fault with the OWNER and the CITY. Did I sound happy my dog killed my cat? Yeah I sure did, NOT! Now I agree don't be irresponsible, letting dogs kill oer and over, yeah thats why we said handle them or give them to some one who can. Just b/c one poster has a dog who has killed over and over many different animals doesn't mean ALL of us are like that. And most cats aren't as stupid as the male who stuck his head inside a chainlink kennel with a dog that always is trying to get him, just like his brother cat walking the top of the kennel with the dog jumping up trying to get it. Not too smart. None of my other cats have been so brainless. There isn't much you can do, except find them new homes after the incident to protect the other from future harm.

Oh yeah the same should go for any breed, don't get a breed that has traits you find undesirable, especially don't put them to sleep for your mistake. If you don't want a protective dog, don't get a Fila and expect them to be all happy go lucky when a stranger just tries to walts right in. Then put them to sleep for guarding their property. If you don't want to learn about a breed and deal with its inbred traits its really ignorant to get that breed. Or a cat, the cat was a good analogy. I know people who want to get rid of or put their cats to sleep for killing OUTDOOR birds, not their pet birds but birds from their tree. I just can't believe it, thats what cats do its instinct, what'd they expect when they got a cat?????

So lets see how many other innocent dogs and cats can be killed by these pits that you people think you can change. I own a pit (who is 6 ) that would not hurt a flea because she was brought up in a good loving home she also lives in the home with a englishbulldog and 2 maltese they all share the home together sleep play everything together. But once a dog has killed or fought will do it again . I learned the hard way. You people think you can change the world but sorry it will happen to you and I feel bad for those innocent dogs and cats that loose there lives because of people like you, once there abused they will NEVER trust again or have killed they will do it again. Im also not saying its just pits this is with any breed but you people coming on here talking about how your pits killed this animal that animal and how they fight is wrong. I could care less what any of you people think of me Im stating my points if you dont like it dont read it.

You people also go on here bashing Halle about her dogs. What was she supposed to do let the dog or dogs kill all her dogs and cats or send it to a home where the dog could do it again even if the dog was sent to a ONLY dog home you cant say that there wouldnt be a dog walking down the street one day and the dog got out or are you saying the dog should be tied up all the time what a life. Responsible owner is what she is she did the right thing for she knows that dog will not be taking another innocent life!!

"once there abused they will NEVER trust again or have killed they will do it again." That is the most asinine statement I have ever heard! I happen to of had a severely abused Pit bull in my home for months coinciding with my family and other pets and she is WONDERFUL and LOVING and most of all FORGIVING and TRUSTING. Princess was beat and used as a puppy machine until her owner got drugged up and set her and four other dogs on fire. She is now burned over most of her body. But you know what she has no idea she is different and still loves so much it hurts! Princess was not the first or will she be the last to suffer the intolerable cruelty of humans. How easy would it have been for the rescue who found her to have had her PTS? Thank God there are people out there with compassion. The wonderful thing about dogs is they do not know hatred or discontent. ~Princess~ http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v338/reginaha/Foster%20Babies/Princess5.jpg

well this is a discussion board and if i don't like someones points i argue it. I for one have deprogrammed a vicous dog before. and he lived to be 15 and not 1 more incident. it does take alot of work but dogs can be re-socailized. they are an animal capable of change. True-pits..I have a fila. he doesn't really have the protestive nature....yet. one of the best dogs i have ever had

I don't bash Halle. Again, I think she did what she THOUGHT was the right thing. Of course she was not supposed to let it kill all her pets. The best way to handle it would have been to keep it seperated, as I do my big dog from my little dog, or send it to a rescue to be adopted as an only dog. A dog walking outside shouldn't pose a problem because the responsible owner will have her dog on a leash or in an adequate fence. Owners should walk the fence everyday, too, to be sure there's no holes to crawl under. Also the dog shouldn't be left outside in the fence when the owner is not home. I am glad that you know some dogs that are not animal aggressive, I do too. But others, raised in every bit as loving a home, may be animal aggressive. Missy is our indoor, adored dog. But she would kill the Yorkie if I let her. Gunny-- I bet if your Fila does start showing a protective nature, you won't have him pts for it.

Oh, ginaH I just looked at Princess, that poor sweet baby. Give her kisses for me.

terra: My dog Grace does not like other dogs. So what do I do? I made concessions where she will not come in contact with other dogs. She doesn't run loose, she can't get out of my yard, in public she wears a muzzle. It's Common sense!!! It's call "E" for Effort. I put effort into keeping her safe and other dogs. It's all about commitment. That's what separates the true dog lover from the passive dog owner. I don't need to tie my dog up all the time. She's never been tied up in her life. But to put her down for what comes natural is a totally absurd notion. So, you didn't answer. Would you put your cat down for killing your parakeet if you had one?

And one more thing from the gunny. owning a dog or a certain breed. does not make you educated about them.

wow. this thread sure got long while I was gone! I see both sides to the story. BUt I do not think comparing a human killing a human to a dog killing a dog makes too much sense. Even though dogs are domesticated, they still come from wolves, obviously a wild animal. My Henry is somewhat dog aggressive. He doesn't attack or bite, but he can be very growly and snarly with strange dogs sometimes, when he's on a leash. Although I'm disappointed he does this and it can makes walks in the city somewhat embarassing, he is a terrier and terriers are known to be scrappy with other dogs. Training has really helped him. I can't imagine Henry every attacking a dog but if he did I would not put him to sleep. I would be willing to take extra steps to insure he was not put in that position again. I do think there is a major difference between dog aggression and human aggression.

a dog growling is not always a bad thing. they cannot speak this how they let people and other dogs to leave them alone.

very true! I was just thinking about another breed, greyhounds. Arguably one of the sweetest and calmest breeds ever. Ok, maybe I am biased, but I love them, and when I was researching dog breeds before I got Henry, I seriously considered them. Got on tons of rescue websites. I noticed, over and over again, that many greyhouds up for adoption had warning saying they were not trustworthy with cats and smaller animals. I'd also read that greyhounds can often have issues with cats and smaller animals. I was just imagining if I had adopted a greyhound, it killed a cat, and I put it to sleep. Can you imagine what greyhound rescuers would have thought of that?

Some of the things that people are saying on here is so absurd. Like pts a pit for what comes natural to them. I have one extremely dog on dog aggressive female pit(Tigger).She was given to us with us knowing how aggressive she is. We took on the responsibilty of taking care of her,loving her,sharing our lives with her.Paul did to before he had to give her up at 12 months old.We took this commitiment to give her a loving safe home. She doesn't go out and kill or fight with other dogs,or kill cats unless they come into our yard,well then they better run.She's contained in her own yard,not tied niether. If I thought like you ,I would have pts one of the most loyal and loving dogs i've had the chance to know.I accept her aggression and take care of her accordingly so she doesn't hurt other dogs. Like the times of day she's walked,when she goes to the vet she's muzzled and we use the back door,she's never left out side alone.The animals in my home she wont hurt,only strange dogs or cats.Prey drive is also something that comes natural to her,I learn how to deal with it.A responsible owner will make sure that their dog doesn't get out to do harm to another dog or cat.

The more Terra post, the more I see they don't really have a clue about dogs. "I own a pit (who is 6 ) that would not hurt a flea because she was brought up in a good loving home she also lives in the home with a englishbulldog and 2 maltese they all share the home together sleep play everything together." Thats pretty scarey, you own a breed you don't understand. Yeah would never hurt a flea thats why it bit a child, you're going to court..blah blah. Such an idiot and contradict yourself. So you're saying a dog that is animal aggressive needs to be PTS, but its all cool if they bite a child. Yeah right, you're the one with the damn man biter that should be shot. While my dogs love people as THEY SHOULD its in THEIR BREED and those who don't act like their breed with POOR TEMPERAMENTS like yours should be culled, not mine for acting like bulldogs. Wow they get along, what a shot, some of the most dog aggressive dogs I know get along with their own dogs, others only certain ones can be together. Lets see my friend and breeder has an 11yr old bitch that has killed other dogs, both bulldogs and currs. Yet she has one of the best temperaments, not only this but she nurses kittens when she has milk, was just playing with my puppy and letting my puppy jump on her, bite her and take food from her. My new pup and really excitable and plays rough, but my friends bitch could care less. She gets along fine with ALL my friends other dogs male or female. In fact she was just playing with my adult female the other day. OMG let me tell you my female is psycho aggressive, I was just watching a video of her at a show, damn she acts insane. But she is playing with a dog she new from puppyhood and she jumps all over her. Mine who is dog aggressive and the other who's killed other dogs. They just play all happy and excited. Now the other day there was a cat and my dog is cat aggressive to strange cats and she tried to get it, which made my friends dog run up to mine in a threatening way so i just moved my dog away so they wouldn't start anything with eachother and gave them a time to cool down, just incase. You shouldn't have a multi dog home if you can't deal with it. Expecting dogs of ANY breed to get along all the time is non sense. Dogs will have fights and disputes at one time or another, they are not perfect. APBTs are dog aggressive breed. Some get wild just from the smell of another dog and will start whining. Then others the sound, I just got one of my females off the treadmill. Anyway while she was on there I decided to watch some doggie home videos and on the video SHE was barking, jumping up trying to get a ball. I didn't even think about her hearing it and it affecting her, but she took off running the like a bullet. When she heard the barks she would run faster. "But once a dog has killed or fought will do it again . I learned the hard way." That may or may not be true. You can't expect dogs to not fight and I'm sorry you believe this way. Its not something thats just an opinion if you have a multi dog home there are going to be fights, if somethings not settled they will try it again. Thats what happens when you own more then one dog. They can get jealous, they can become selfish, they can become food aggressive, bring out dominance aggression. "once there abused they will NEVER trust again or have killed they will do it again." Really? What makes you say such a stupid statement. SOME won't, some will. I have owned abused dogs they trusted me, so I don't know what your talking about. Just because something happened to you, or you had one certain experience doesn't mean thats the norm or how it will ALWAYS happen. One of my abused dogs had a very deep and trusting bond with me, I was probably the first person he could trust in his life. They may or may not kill again, thats where YOU come in and be responsible. Thats where you know YOUR dogs triggers because its YOUR responsibility. Or you could take the easy way out and PTS since pets are disposable and all. Some may not even have another fight again in their life if the situation doesn't arise. Others would fight if YOU put them in that situation. If you've read all the post the Shar Pei that was put to sleep wasn't just very aggressive, it did whatever it could to kill or attack other dogs. There was really not too much options left for the dog. Now maybe some one out there could have taken the dog and did just fine, but those chances would be very slim because the dog busted through fence out the window, ect and seemed to only live just to kill other dogs. The only thing would have been to chain the dog up or give it up to some one who could deal with it. The person put the dog down and I see that as a good option in this case, as it was a hard case. I think there may have been other options, but sometimes you just have to say enough is enough and the dog is extreme and their are others dog out there. But in some peoples case they are lazy and get rid of dogs just for dog aggression and they do nothing to try and keep the dog or find it a suitable home. I'm not going to bash Halle anymore, not that I mean to attack her, but you have to understand that their are 100s of stupid Pit Bull owners out there who should have never owned the breed and didn't take time to learn about them first. She's just another one, it all gets to you after awhile. Those who can't deal with dog aggression, he killed a cat what if its a kid next, now if it was Golden that killed a cat he was just playing, but people have media BS, fear, and ignorance of the breed in their head whether they claim to like them or outright hate them. My female killed a bird maybe I better go PTS, but if she was a Shepherd then its just high prey drive. Or the people who are like. When will my Pit Bull become protective, they alreaady try to go after other dogs, so I know they have some toughness to them. Complete idiots. Let me roll my 6 month old pup, they love to fight. Real smart. There are so many stupid owners on so many levels you get tired of seeing it. Pit Bulls are one of the biggest breeds when it comes to misconceptions. --------------------------------------------- Gunny I was just using Fila's as an example, because a lot of them have strong protective instincts (along with other breeds) and wouldn't be friendly with strangers. Some are aloof, some give off warnings, some hold intruders and some would bite them. Just depending on the breed and the situation, would some one put them to sleep for this? If they buy a Bullmastiff and some one walks in their yard and gets penned to the side of the house should they put it to sleep? Its doing what its bred to do. Thats where I coming from on the post. How old is your Fila? Do you have pics of him? --------------------------------------------- Eshanna I've seen that too, lots of Greyhounds would kill cats and other small animals. Lots of dogs in general would kill unknown cats. All my dogs over the years no matter what breed, probably would have tried, but I never gave them the chance. The Akitas in the rescue more then half are dog aggressive, some have killed other dogs others are animal aggressive in general. Some of the GSDs I saw in rescue are small animal aggressive and one I met was badly dog aggressive to other males.

Most dogs chase cats. Alot of them kill them to. My cat Chester was attacked by the neighbors dog. I told the neighbor that he needed to keep his dog contained or we would have problems. I wouldnt want him to put the dog to sleep. It loves people but doesnt like cats. I have a dog right now that doesnt like cats. I found it out the hard way when she chased and treed Chester. She isnt allowed in the house. We have 7 cats inside and dont want problems. Her oldest puppy sam is also cat aggressive. With people he is very sibmissive. He doesnt come in the house either. If Momma were to kill one of the cats she would be put in another home or penned so she couldnt get at any of the cats. Pits are sweet dogs. My next door neighbor had 2. They were male and female unfixed. The 2 pits and my dog got in numerous fights. The pits got loose and attacked my dog. They tore him up pretty bad the first time they fought. He rolled over on his stomach and they tore up his neck and chest. The neighbor payed for all the expenses from the fights. I had no problem with the dogs. They were both sweet animals but Bear just didnt get along with Naja. Seperated they were fine. I think people are pretty ignorant about pitbulls. They dont understand the breed and get suprised when a pit attacks another dog. It was breed into them. My pit came from fighting lines. I wouldnt trust her alone with other dogs when she gets older. I want to protect all my animals. I dont agree with animal cops Detroit. I want to open up a shelter that takes in fighting dogs that cant be homed. Let them live out a good live without the fear of death. Many fighting dogs have been placed in homes with other dogs and they do fine.

"I dont agree with animal cops Detroit. I want to open up a shelter that takes in fighting dogs that cant be homed. Let them live out a good live without the fear of death. Many fighting dogs have been placed in homes with other dogs and they do fine." That is such a great idea, so they don't get executed for merely being Pits or having been fought. Half the dogs they say are fighters have never been in fights at all. Then they go and put them ALL to sleep, even if they are puppies. So sad. I would never PTS a cat for killing a mouse, birds, trying to kill my hamsters, trying to kill my snake and causing her to get lost in the house once. I'm not putting to sleep my dogs for being dog aggressive or having high prey drive. For fighting, for killing the cat, for killing mice, or for killing birds. Animals have instincts and will follow them, know that before getting the animal. Be responsible. Learn BEFORE and I think there wouldn't be any problems. Thats what Eshanna is trying to do right now. Learn so they can make the best decision. With any dog like its been said they may want to chase and kill small animals. I'm not going to PTS my dog for acting like a bulldog when thats what I wanted. I got the dogs. I love them. My friend has a dog with a broken spirit and it is so sad, she just stands there, doesn't do anything. This has made her not place well at shows, she has good conformation, but since she doesn't act much like a bulldog, no spunk, no alertness she's going to be out placed by those who do. She was abused, beaten all the time, when she was a pup before my friend got her. Now she trust my friend but people she doesn't know raises their hand or throwing something makes her jump and her spirit is forever broken. Now that is sad.

Thats terrible. I have seen a dog with a broken spirit and it broke my heart. Dogs are suppose to have a light in their eyes. My Aunts dog was badly abused and doesnt get along with many people. It takes her a while for her to get used to you. If anyone rasises thier voice or lifts there hand the poor dog goes running.

I can't believe anyone would pts there dog for something like this. I adopted a dog just a few months ago. He was a year old Australian shepherd/Border collie mix. He came from a wonderful rescue group and had no history of aggression. He did nip trying to herd my children but that was something I was willing to work on. He even got into a few scrapes with my Parker a Boxer/Lab mix that out weighed him by 50 pounds. I was there to make sure it didn't get out of hand. Would I pts him because they were trying to sort out there ranks? Of course not. It was only and I mean only when he attacked my nephew that I decided I couldn't keep him. Even then I didn't want him pts. He was fine with his own family but when I returned him to the rescue he was pts that day. I was devestated. I only had him two weeks but I loved him. I know realise it was for the best but I wouldn't have killed him if he attacked another dog or cat. This wonderful rescue that I adopted my babies from rehome dogs all the time with animal aggression. There are many that have been adopted that are in wonderful homes and are fully loved by there owners. Check it out at www.plannedpethood.com I myself killed a puppy when I was a child. I was sleeping with him and rolled on him. Should I be pts for that. Okay that's a little absurd but you get my point. Not to mention my little shnauzer (we owned when I was a little girl) that "loved" a kitten to death. She loved all babies a little to much. Should she have died for that? I have never owned a Pit and probably never will. I am the first to admit I don't know a thing about them and I don't want to be the "stupid" owner and I don't think anyone who ownes a Pit will disagree with that. I have to think about what type of dog will fit into my family and my particular conditions. I have to concider what I am able to offer a dog and take into concideration how much time and effort I myself am willing to put into my dog. You also have to look at things like personality traits and instinct. That is what all responsible dogs owners should do. It took me months to deside to even get a dog and then even more months to find the right breed or mix. My dogs and family are all very happy and yes we have problems from time to time but guess what? As a responsible owner I am there ready to take control and resolve the issue. It's a shame we can't end the suffering of all dogs. They should all be in loving caring homes. If I had a magic wand never again would any dog be hit or abused chained out or neglected. They wouldn't be starved of food or water or attention. They would never be in need of shelter or homeless and they wouldn't be pts for doing what is natural but "sigh" that isn't going to happen. The only thing I can do is try to help when I can. Love everyone around me including animals and do my best to be a kind loving person and show compassion to all things. We should all do that. The world would be a better place. So to all of you who say it's okay to pts your dog for animal agression I have to say I feel sorry for you. You will never really understand what it is like to trully love a dog. If you did then you wouldn't even consider that as an option. I hope that someday you will realise your mistake. For those of you who have already killed your dogs. I really do hope your dogs have found peace on the other side. God has them now and I am sure they are being well taken care of. May they rest in peace.