Pit bulls are not dangerous. One has only to read on the success of the confiscated Michael Vick dogs to see that in the hands of irresponsible people pitbulls can be as dangerous as any other dog. But in the hands of good people the dogs and make the best pets ever. I think its stupid that pitbulls are targeted because of the ignorance of people. Would you ban a minority of people because of the actions of a few of them?

From PBRC.net
ο Pit bull is not a breed of dog. “Pit Bull” is typically associated with three breeds: American Staffordshire Terrier; American Pit Bull Terrier; and Staffordshire Bull Terrier.
ο The only way to identify a dog’s breed is by appearance. There is no genetic test to determine a specific dog breed. There are 25+ breeds of dogs with similar appearances and are commonly mistaken for pit bulls.

• BSL is Unconstitutional as found by US Courts:
ο The United States Supreme Court - Nicchia v. People of the State of New York 254 U.S. 228 (1920) : gave police the power to regulate and control dangerous dogs with drastic measures, as long as it does not infringe on the dog owner’s right to liberty with due process.
ο The Alabama Supreme Court - WAF/Sheila Tack v. Huntsville Alabama (2002): upheld a decision that pit bulls were no more inherently dangerous than any other breed. This case was very costly to the city of Huntsville.
ο The Toledo Municipal Court- Tellings v. City of Toledo CRB-02-15267 (ACF 2005): ruled American Pit Bull Terriers are not dangerous and granted dog owner’s due process rights.
ο The Ohio Supreme Court - State v. Cowan (103 Ohio St. 3d 144, 2004-Ohio-4777)(2004) struck down ORC955:11 which declared the "Pit Bull" vicious, because it violates our rights to be heard (due process).
ο Westbury, NY (Spring 2003) court ruled that the city’s BSL was unconstitutional and repealed the law.

It's funny, I have lived 30 years, and never once met an aggressive American Pit Bull Terrier(or any other dog people claim is a "Pit Bull") yet I have been bitten by Chihuahuas and and Shitzus.
No, I am not saying all little dogs are biters, I have met some that are very friendly, but they were raised as DOGS and not purse acsessories. It all comes down to how the dog is handled and bred. However you can breed two genetically human aggressive dogs, and still get pups who are human friendly, so Genetics isn't a valid argument either.

No breed is inherently dangerous.

It's amazing that 88% of the people responding can't read or think. TRY... just TRY to read the DAILY reports of PB attacks on children/infants, elderly and other dogs with too often FATAL results. It's proof that the Fed. dept of education needs to be abolished as well since the intelligence of the general population can't handle facts over emotions. There are NUMEROUS sources where you can get statistics on all dog bites DOG BITe LAW CENTER, CDC records and you can sign up for GOOGLE ALERTS for all the articles about Pit Bulls, both incidents of maulings and positive comments. At least educate yourself before you make stupid statements that they aren't dangerous... or that they are basically warm, fuzzy lap dogs. Virtually each child mauling is by the FAMILY pet who never ever showed any aggression before that fatal or horribly disfiguring incident.

American Pit Bulls are 'designer dogs' and are designed to be not only aggressive but to be physically muscular and skeletally designed to lock on and hold to rip and tear flesh. Yes, there may be 'X' number of 'wonderful family companions' but because of the EARLY selective breeding for aggression and taking apart any 'enemy' real or perceived. THen add to that the too many 'casual' breedings because so many men refuse to neuter/spay because they 'don't want to ruin their fun'. They are DOGS, instinctual, not humans!!!! Too many of the humans connected with this breed are the same which account for the popularity.

“In the United States, in the `70s, they did the same thing to the Doberman. In the `80s they did it to the German shepherd, in the `90s they did it to the Rottweiler, and now they`re doing it to the pit bull. So whatever dog is in fashion, people are going to blame them for things.”

Cesar Millan

No dogs are "inherently dangerous". The conditions that make dangerous dogs are all attributed to irresponsible owners. Maryland is moving backwards, while states and communities around the nation move forward and repeal Breed Specific Legislation. Almost all national animal organizations, rescues, behavioral experts, and trainers agree that BSL doesn't work. It's too costly to reliably enforce, usually increases instances of dog bites, and often really only punishes responsible owners and good pets. Education and low/no cost spay/neuter programs are the most effective way to reduce instances of dog bites. Roughly 90% of dog violence is by unaltered pets, so any responsible owner should spay/neuter . It is up to the dog owner to train, properly socialize, and above all else, always supervise pets around people and children. It's laughable at best that Maryland ignores their own research on this subject in favor of media sensationalism and testimony from biased "experts". Go to the National Canine Research Council website and search "Maryland's Experience". After looking at statistics from decades gone by, you can see today's problems are nothing compared to what they were years ago, yet Maryland chooses to ignore such data and that of bully breed activists nationwide. Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.

There was a time when society at large felt that 'Negroes' were intellectually inferior to whites. There was a time when women were considered too influenced by their hormones to hold public office. Isn't it time we moved beyond that same ignorant, based on innuendo, not fact, line of thought with pit bulls? Data has shown that small dogs are more likely to bite than larger breeds.the only difference is that when someone is bit by a small dog they are less likely to seek medical attention. I foster bully breed dogs. The only time I have ever been bit by a dog was when the neighbors dashchund bit me when I was 8 years old
. I played with that dog almost everyday. Why did it bite? I have no idea. I still have the scars on my hand, and I am 51. I have never been bit by any of my bully breed fosters. therefore, if I were to generalize based on my experience, I would have to say dashchunds are more dangerous than pit pulls!

American Pitbull Terriers and American Staffordshire Terriers are not inherently dangerous. According to the American Temperment Testing Association in 2011, The American Pitbull Terrier scored an 86.8% (that is well above most of the other dogs) and the American Staffordshire Terriers scored an 84.2%. Most of these dogs are loving, loyal family pets. The problem is that the aggressive ones are the only ones that get the attention. I have personally been in contact with over 20 pitbulls in my life (one is sleeping beside me on the couch right now) and NONE of them have EVER bit or attacked anyone(and I have small children in my home that jump all over her).

All you Pit Bull owners are so predictable. It's always the same old thing. Meanwhile you ignore all of the maullings that occur so regularly. Then you argue smaller dogs bit too.

Great! Guess what? Cats bit too. And even birds bite. But you know the difference? (doubtful) Pit Bulls latch on, lock their jaw, and proceed to mangle the victim, which is usually a small kid.

Here, read this story that ran in the Capital today (which means it will be on this site in about a week): http://m.capitalgazette.com/mobile/news/for_the_record/child-hospitalized-after-pit-bull-attack/article_caedb75f-0bff-5453-b845-0f04ed402626.html

On the same day this article was posted, a young boy was mauled by a pit bull and requires multiple surgeries.

But you dullards just keep denying it. Well, that's fine. Deny it all you'd like. Because Maryland is about to hold you responsible for your dog's actions.

One last thing. To whomever the person that said there is no such thing as a pit bull (and then actually named the American Pit Bull Terrior), then how do we know your dog is even a "pit bull?" Maybe you don't even know what you're talking about because you have never seen a pit bull. Maybe that goes for all these people on here defending this effed up breed. Maybe none of you have ever seen a pot bull. Who knows what your dogs are?

Beyond stupid.

Read this, for over 100 years, America knew what pitbulls did best - BABYSIT!!!! LOOK AT THESE PICTURES! http://www.ywgrossman.com/photoblog/?p=676

Simply put, I don't care what kind of dog it is, if the dogs bites someone or attacks something, the dog and owner should be held accountable. You dog you pay!

"Patch reader Debbie Bell" is a full-time pit bull hater and has nothing to do with this community, much less the truth.

Chris B., you are clearly the "dullard." Where did you get that word anyways? You have to be over the age of 60. Please learn to a) spell and b) formulate at least one logical argument before you post again. Reading what you wrote above was a total waste of time.

I wish promoting spay and neutering would be a larger part of the pitt bull discussions (or any dog really). Whether offering a low-cost or free spay/neuter clinic specifically for pitt bull mixes is the solution, I don't know. But, it sure would be nice to have less come into kill shelters, especially the good ones, because they ended up in the wrong hands.

I find it priceless that Gwen Lebec enjoys replying to everyone's comments with rubbish and what can only be described as biased opinion, not fact, yet she fails to post a comment that any of us can reply to. Argument fail of the year award goes to Gwen Lebec!

Kids are mauled by all kinds of dogs. It's physically impossible for a pit to "lock its jaws" - do the research. On average more bites and attacks happen from YELLOW LABS - look that up, too. And the majority of ALL dog attacks (any breed) are done by dogs that are either abused, neglected, starved, chained, trained to attack other dogs, or a combination of all of those things. The media feeds the "pits are vicious monsters" craze. Pits used to be an American symbol and bred to be "nanny dogs". The ignorance is ridiculous - go educate yourself. And don't just look up "pit bull attacks" bc then that's all you'll find - look up "dog attacks" look at statistics, look at what condition ANY of the dogs that attacked were in. Almost all of them attack bc of their life NOT bc they are "bred bad" - and that's any breed. Humans are the monsters here, not the dogs.

I am absolutely disgusted by some of the comments written STEREOTYPING "pit bull" type dogs and their owners. The breed specific legislation that was passed is absolutely awful and will only do more harm than good. The people that should be punished are the irresponsible dog owners of ALL types of dogs, not just pit bulls. There are plenty of cases of dog attacks and dog bites by other breeds; however, they are never publicized on TV because it's not what the public wants to hear. No one wants to hear that a Labrador or Cocker Spaniel could be dangerous. Pit Bulls get a bad rap and are rarely ever displayed in a positive light, and neither are their owners. I own 2 pit bull dogs and I am not a gangster or thug or drug dealer. I am an elementary school teacher and a volunteer at BARCS animal shelter in Baltimore. My dogs are FAMILY dogs. They cuddle on the couch, give plenty of kisses, are well behaved and do not deserved to be stereotyped as "inherently dangerous." I just wish some positive light would be shed on this breed, instead of selecting the few bad cases to report on. ANY dog in the hands of the wrong owner can be dangerous or vicious. We need to start thinking about who to blame and how to retrain our thinking about these phenomenally loyal dogs!! MY pit bull is MY family!

Ever seen a Pointer point ? Who trained them to do that ? Nobody. They have been selectively bred for that attribute.

Ever seen a retriever retrieve ? Most dogs will "fetch" a stick, but the retriever breeds instinctively give up their quarry when they bring it back.

Ever seen a "Staghound" bring down a large deer by the balls ? Why don't they use St Bernards to do that ? It's because many years of selective breeding made the staghound instinctively behave that way.

Dogs have been bred for specific purposes over the years. Some for physical features, others for instinctive behaviors.

The bull terriers have been selectively bred for many years as fighting dogs. It's what they do best, and they do it better than any other breed.

I'll grant that Chihuahuas may bite more people than the pit bull breeds. But no Chihuahua is capable of crushing a child's skull.

I don't trust any dog - not even my 11lb Havanese. Any dog, when provoked, is capable of biting anybody. My dog *will* bite you the third time you blow in her face, but she ain't gonna rip your face off.

I would never have in my home, and I would prefer if my neighbors did not have in my neighborhood, any dog that has been selectively bred to attack and kill.