Pittbulls kill 2 year old and 5 month old

[TripleThreat]

Two young children are dead and their mother suffered major injuries after two family dogs attacked a baby and toddler outside their West Tennessee home.Kirstie Bennard, 30, suffered critical injuries when she tried to intervene in the attack on her 5-month-old boy, Hollace Dean, and 2-year-old girl, Lilly Jane, family and police said.

"She put her body on top of Lilly’s to try and protect her after the attack started," Bennard's uncle by marriage, Jeff Gibson told USA TODAY on Saturday. "Both (dogs) started attacking her while she lay on Lilly."The two children were pronounced dead when officials arrived at the home, the sheriff's office reported.

It was not immediately known what provoked the mauling.The mauling, Gibson said, lasted about 10 minutes.The dogs – two pit bulls that belonged to the family – were euthanized at Memphis Animal Services Thursday.

The family owned the pets, Cheech and Mia, for more than eight years without a violent incident, Kelsey Canfield, the mother's best friend, told Fox News.

"I can promise you those children were her world, and if there was any inkling of danger, she would have never had those dogs near her kids," Canfield told the outlet. "Those children were everything to them, and they just have a really long journey ahead."

Full Article: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ng/8219201001/

How do you feel about PittBull's? I posted this because my wife shared this story with me and my son was just recently participating in a "read to sheltered dogs" event where you could adopt a dog (I know brilliant).

I've heard the arguments that PittBull's get a bad wrap, but it seems time and time again they are the focal point of dogs who do these horrible acts.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by Jewish Rabbi

Just telling Big Daddy to go **** himself before he even makes an appearance in this thread.

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

I'm wondering if the Pitbulls were watching an episode of animal planet and the kid turned the channel to "Barney"

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by Wisconsin_Chief

I mean this family had them for 8 years with no prior incidents, and then one day they just both freaking snap? Like what the hell?

Clearly this breed is just unstable, end of conversation. As you mentioned, I don’t care what anyone says. Keep those goddamn beasts chained and fenced at all times if you insist on having one.

Thats exactly it... they're prone to snapping, seemingly out of the blue

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Mephistopheles Janx

THAT SAID.

If you are gonna get a dog like a Pitty, Mastiff, Cane Corso, Komondor, or any type of dog that is big, muscly, and has a strong sense of preservation... you HAVE to train them. If you have kids... you HAVE to train the kids how to behave around that type of dog.

We've spent as much time training the kids as we have the dog. And the rott loves those kids but he does have an edge to him that labradors don't have.

We've spent thousands on formal training for him and he's a damn well trained dog, but he has a willful streak that most dogs just don't have.

I really have to get on my wife at times to not let the damn dog buffalo her because sometimes he'll give it a thought. He doesn't really lock horns with me anymore but he did until he was about 2 and a half.

Oddly, my guess is that the Pit in question here started in a semi-protective manner. I don't know if he thought he was protecting one kid from the other, or the mother from the kids, but for most dogs like that it isn't a menacing or aggressive instinct that kicks off an incident like this. It starts as a protective thing and then if someone doesn't have the personality to step in and seize the initiative, they just kinda black out and lash out at everything. No question in my mind that one of them was something of a ringleader.

This is also why I won't have 2 working dogs. I don't need one 'feeding' the other one. 1 working dog, one sporting dog. They're just going to be wired so differently that in the event a fuse gets tripped somehow, I only have one dog to deal with and in all probability, I have the 2nd one trying to help me out as best he can.

But shit man, 8 years of no incidents only to have something like that happen - that just ****ing sucks. Something had to happen or there had to have been signs in the past. That just doesn't make a lot of sense.

[Mephistopheles Janx]

Originally Posted by BryanBusby

Shot in the dark and all, but it seems like the two pits in the OP had to be trained at least somewhat if they went 8 years without incident and there's only so much you can do to train an infant and a toddler.

They went without *REPORTED* incidents. You ever go to a dog park and have some dude's dog just playing WAY too rough while he does absolutely nothing about it? I'm not trying to shit on the parents after having lost their kids mind you... they could be wonderful people and the dog just snapped.

---

I honestly don't believe I've ever known a dog that went 8 years being a loving member of the family and suddenly snapping and killing people without provocation or without some sort of warning.

[PHOG]

That's just....horrible.

[BryanBusby]

Originally Posted by Mephistopheles Janx

They went without *REPORTED* incidents. You ever go to a dog park and have some dude's dog just playing WAY too rough while he does absolutely nothing about it? I'm not trying to shit on the parents after having lost their kids mind you... they could be wonderful people and the dog just snapped.

---

I honestly don't believe I've ever known a dog that went 8 years being a loving member of the family and suddenly snapping and killing people without provocation.

Can only go off the report here, my man. But, it happens.

German Sheps are cool ass dogs but my wife wants another baby so there's just no way in hell there will be one in this house.

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

We've spent as much time training the kids as we have the dog. And the rott loves those kids but he does have an edge to him that labradors don't have.

We've spent thousands on formal training for him and he's a damn well trained dog, but he has a willful streak that most dogs just don't have.

I really have to get on my wife at times to not let the damn dog buffalo her because sometimes he'll give it a thought. He doesn't really lock horns with me anymore but he did until he was about 2 and a half.

Oddly, my guess is that the Pit in question here started in a semi-protective manner. I don't know if he thought he was protecting one kid from the other, or the mother from the kids, but for most dogs like that it isn't a menacing or aggressive instinct that kicks off an incident like this. It starts as a protective thing and then if someone doesn't have the personality to step in and seize the initiative, they just kinda black out and lash out at everything. No question in my mind that one of them was something of a ringleader.

This is also why I won't have 2 working dogs. I don't need one 'feeding' the other one. 1 working dog, one sporting dog. They're just going to be wired so differently that in the event a fuse gets tripped somehow, I only have one dog to deal with and in all probability, I have the 2nd one trying to help me out as best he can.

But shit man, 8 years of no incidents only to have something like that happen - that just ****ing sucks. Something had to happen or there had to have been signs in the past. That just doesn't make a lot of sense.

I've owned several Rotts in the past . Used to have a Champion line from "Radio Ranch" and sold pups to soldiers at Fort Bragg.

Mine were well trained and loveable.

Pittbulls ae in a different class as Rotts as far as agressiveness towards people.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Red Dawg

Hate pitbulls and rots. Kill them all.

Don't necessarily fault anyone for simply not trusting dogs with this kind of reputation - there's no NEED for them to exist; plenty of 'safe' dogs out there for anyone that wants one.

But I'll say this - that rot if mine, hard headed as he is, is the most fiercely loyal and attentive dog. He's aware of everything. If he sees someone walking down the sidewalk and the kids are in the driveway, he'll just go to the end of the driveway and watch everything.

And I don't have a good way to describe his personality apart from just being very mercurial. He's charming as ****; everyone that visits us loves that dog because he's just an interesting and extremely affectionate little heathen.

But again - I don't fault the 'I'll never have one' crowd because they are different. Different to train, different to own.

And ultimately I think that's where people truly fail. They try to pretend like their rotty or their pit is a golden retriever. They aren't; never will be. They're working dogs and they're laser focused. If you can't direct that focus, you'll end up with a bit of a neurotic dog. And a neurotic dog with that kind of bite force is not great.

[KCrockaholic]

When I worked at the Water district here in Johnson county I would get this route where every god damn time these 2 obese pit bulls would run loose in the neighborhood over near Johnson drive and Nall/Roe and those bastards would come hauling ass towards me and I had a water meter pit wrench in my hands at all times but I’d have to literally stop my walk, turn back towards them and scold them to get them to leave me alone. They’d do the swarming walk where they attempt a double attack mode and I’d point the wrench at them and come back at them with a firm and loud “NO!” And they’d eventually wander off around the neighborhood elsewhere. The owner was a total dumbass. Older lady that lived on a corner of the street and acted oblivious when I told her her dogs where loose AGAIN. I would’ve felt no remorse if I needed to go swinging Ken Griffey style on those fat mutts.

[Bob Dole]

Originally Posted by Hog's Gone Fishin

I've owned several Rotts in the past . Used to have a Champion line from "Radio Ranch" and sold pups to soldiers at Fort Bragg.

Mine were well trained and loveable.

Pittbulls ae in a different class as Rotts as far as agressiveness towards people.

I had a Radio Ranch Rottie back from 90-96 then lost her in the divorce. First dog I owned that wasn't a bird dog and a lot harder to train.

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

Originally Posted by KCrockaholic

When I worked at the Water district here in Johnson county I would get this route where every god damn time these 2 obese pit bulls would run loose in the neighborhood over near Johnson drive and Nall/Roe and those bastards would come hauling ass towards me and I had a water meter pit wrench in my hands at all times but I’d have to literally stop my walk, turn back towards them and scold them to get them to leave me alone. They’d do the swarming walk where they attempt a double attack mode and I’d point the wrench at them and come back at them with a firm and loud “NO!” And they’d eventually wander off around the neighborhood elsewhere. The owner was a total dumbass. Older lady that lived on a corner of the street and acted oblivious when I told her her dogs where loose AGAIN.

I'd have offed those bastards. At least shoot their eyes out with a pellet gun. ****em!

[BryanBusby]

Having a Rot/Shep/pit is like having Papa John live in your house.

Sure he's doing his best to train hard to no longer say the N word and does a really good job avoiding it, but eventually he's going to be on a Zoom call and randomly drop it casually.

As the keeper, you have to decide how much risk you're willing to chance.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Hog's Gone Fishin

I've owned several Rotts in the past . Used to have a Champion line from "Radio Ranch" and sold pups to soldiers at Fort Bragg.

Mine were well trained and loveable.

Yeah - I over-research the hell out of most things and really thought I had done so with my rot. But I still hadn't really prepared myself for him.

Grand champion lines from serbia; spectacularly bred dog (Thunder Mountain actually breeds his littermate as one of their two dams). But he's the alpha from the litter and comes from REALLY high drive lines. So he's very very affectionate but it can be on his own terms sometimes. He's not a dog who, when he's laying down, you oughta walk over to him and rest your head on him like he's a pillow.

We've trained him to simply walk away in those situations where he's uncomfortable, but there's not a ton you can do to get rid of the underlying drive. And you can't come down hard on him for growling either because that's how he communicates - if you train a dog who gives those little guttural grumbles not to do it - he won't. And that doesn't mean anything other than he's simply not gonna warn you before he gets pissed off.

I spent a solid 18 months trying to hammer a square peg into a round hole with mine and it got to where myself and the dog openly loathed each other. It wasn't a path to continue down. But once I learned how to guide him and allow him to still have agency (because he's still a sentient being; free will is still a thing there), I understood better how to train him.

Now he's my freakin' shadow; dog loves the hell out of me. But it took some doing and a completely different approach than what I'd done in the past.

Gotta put the work in with dogs like those.

And I also think my Rot is different. We have a couple folks on the board with dogs from this breeder and from different lines (mine was their first european breeding) and they're evidently super sweet. Dogs have personalities of their own - it just is what it is.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Hog's Gone Fishin

Pittbulls ae in a different class as Rotts as far as agressiveness towards people.

I agree with this as well, but didn't really wanna go down the rabbithole.

Our poop scooper guy comes over and he really likes the Rot. But Winston will make sure he's got the guy's attention when he shows up. And once they understand each other he's just wiggling through his legs and being his best buddy. Our cleaning lady loves him as well but he's GOING to make sure I'm aware she's there and that there's nothing to be concerned about.

I've talked with the poop guy before and he's mentioned that Rots are all pretty similar in that regard but that the pits still make him nervous because they won't stay in front of him. He sees them constantly searching angles and trying to get behind him.

I'm not a fan of pits, but I do recognize that for many it's 6 in one hand, a half dozen in the other. Aight - I'm not gonna try to tell you any different. It's something you're going to bring into your home; to each their own.