They later became guard dogs after we moved away. One died after being shot protecting his new owner.

i worked at a kennel for show german shepherds and there were about 3 that were not so nice but all the rest of the 30 some that there were awesome and so nice. It depends who raises them. This was a breeder that I worked for when I was in the 7th grade too.

I agree. My husband's Aunt has a Yorkie, and that thing is MEAN. She will bite just about anyone! She growls and is just down right MEAN!

if the mother AND the baby were in the same room as the dog.. how did the mother not wake up? i assume the child would have screamed. maybe that's why they're drug testing her..

That is EXACTLY what I was thinking!

I have 2 Chiuahuah's and they are very well behaved with my son. We aren't stupid and don't let my son near them when they are eating. But other than that my son loves his chi's and even when my son is being too rough for them, they suck it up and deal with it.

It is all about how they are raised and introduced to children in the house hold.

This same thing happened in Oklahoma sometime last year I believe. A newborn baby was mauled by the family dog while sleeping in his travel swing clear across the house from his mother, who was also 16.

Children should never be left unattended with a dog, REGARDLESS of breed or size. Period.

My mistake... it was 2008 & mom was 17. 6 week old Lab puppy apparently "ate" the 2 month old baby who was left in his swing by himself for 2 hours, on the other end of the house. She was charged w/ 2nd degree manslaughter. Rightfully so.

Its just common sense... you don't judge the age, size, or breed of the dog. You just DON'T leave a baby with a dog alone, PERIOD.

The dog may have had feelings of jealousy, like an older child would feel. Who knows. The article said he had no prior violence issues (that were known)..
I love pit bulls and plan on getting one after I have my baby, probably when he's close to one year old. The dog will be a puppy when we get him, hopefully from a shelter. It's awful that it happened and the mom shouldn't have had a dog in the room with her baby at all, any animal for that matter. My cat won't even be allowed to sleep in the same room with Roland when he's born.

I'm also wondering how she didn't wake up...The dog may have gone for the throat first though and pit bulls DO have lockjaw so his vocal cords might have been crushed right away.... :( That's so awful to think about. Poor baby. :(

"The dog may have gone for the throat first though and pit bulls DO have lockjaw so his vocal cords might have been crushed right away...."

When I did a paper for my Writing class, about banning Bully breeds, pitbulls specifically, why it wasn't solving the problem, etc. I had to do a lot of research on pit bulls and I came across a site that said that pit bulls don't have lockjaw. That is a very common myth about pit bulls.

I found this online:

Dispelling some myths about Pit Bulls:

-Is it true that Pit Bulls can lock their jaw?
The infamous locking jaw is a myth. The American Pit Bull Terrier and related breeds are physiologically no different from any other breed of dog. All dogs are from the same species and none have locking jaws. Dr. I Lehr Brisbin of the University of Georgia states, "To the best of our knowledge, there are no published scientific studies that would allow any meaningful comparison to be made of the biting power of various breeds of dogs. There are, moreover, compelling technical reasons why such data describing biting power in terms of 'pounds per square inch' can never be collected in a meaningful way. All figures describing biting power in such terms can be traced to either unfounded rumor or, in some cases, to newspaper articles with no foundation in factual data." Furthermore, Dr. Brisbin states, "The few studies which have been conducted of the structure of the skulls, mandibles and teeth of pit bulls show that, in proportion to their size, their jaw structure and thus its inferred functional morphology, is no different than that of any breed of dog. There is absolutely no evidence for the existence of any kind of 'locking mechanism' unique to the structure of the jaw and/or teeth of the American Pit Bull Terrier."

If a dog is mean and bites people, and misbehaves, it's the owners fault. Lack of training and control is the problem and the dog is not wholly at fault for acting out like that. And frankly, what idiot keeps their dog in the same room as a sleeping baby?

APPARENTLY (not that this is an excuse..probably makes the situation worse) the dog didn't get along with any of the other dogs in the house (there were two others), it wasn't violent to people - but it didn't get along with the other two dogs at all - so to combat the problem, they seperated the dogs by keeping this particular one in the bedroom.

That's not really a solution, obviously.

the person is at fault but the major issue is that everything depends greatly on how the baby was introduced to the dog if it even was at all!!!!!!!!

I live in Florida and I thought that all dogs that bite get put down. I guess its different each county.

not all dogs that bite get put down. 3 years ago i was biten by a labrador retriever cause he was trying to attack my golden and bit me when i was taking my dog away by the scruff and the dog knew what he was doing and the owner let the dog off leash and was on our property when it happened and not walking the street at all. But the dog had to stay on its own property and be quarentined there and what not. Needless to say I was pissed at the guy cause he didnt even pull his dog back at all or care that he bit me and broke skin. I went to the walk in clinic and then the police went by him after that!

I think the important thing is to remember that all animals are unpredictable despite how they are brought up and how well they are trained. Yes the better they are treated and trained they are, then it's far more unlikely that anything would happen, but it doesn't mean to say it never will. All kinds of things can affect their moods, and just like us they can have a bad day. Hot weather etc can affect them. My friend has an adorable springer spaniel, and he's very obediant and very friendly, but even she has said that he once started growling and gave warning signs when her grandson was getting fussing him too much on a hot day. I think the media partly portrays staffy's and pitbulls as mean dogs, because that's the stereotype about them, but it's not to say that even the cutest of dogs haven't got a nasty streak in them. i knew someone who had a little jack russell, and to look at him, he was the cutest thing, but really wasn't! I think it's important that people realise that any dog with any temperment can always be unpredictable, and they should always keep watch when babies or children are around.

I have a friend who has a jack russel and omg the thing if you even look at it, it will start growling and come at you and try to bit you. It is so nasty and I surprised she hasn't had to put the thing down yet cause of it's temperment, it acts the same way to her that it does to everyone else which is the funniest thing too!

oh wow. my dad's jack russell is the sweetesttt dog! she's very lovable and extremely timid. if you raise your voice a little, even if it's not aimed at her, she gets upset and whines. i just can't imagine one being mean. it really does depend on the specific animal i guess!

It's sad these things happen. The majority of dog breeds that we love and cherish today and deem "docile" have a past much like, if not worse or just as bad as a pit bulls. And many bite fatalities come from those breeds as well. Cocker spanials, Huskies, Malamutes, Great Danes, Akitas, Cocker spaniels, Dashunds, Chows, Labs and German Sherpherds all have a very high bite rate fatality. And on the list of bite fatalities do you know those were the top breeds? The breeds you mentioned were closer to the bottom? It's funny that the media picks them. But the media is also full of shit. And everyone is right. The animal only responds to how it's treated. Shoving your dog away just because you have a kid is wrong. Get it training so it understands or find it a home that has no kids. But at least try first. An animal is only animal.

My niece was once bitten by a shih tzu.

My niece has a shih tzu named Muffin, and I swear to you, MEANEST DOG EVER.

they're so small and fluffy that you'd think they'd be nice.. but that little dog whipped around and lunged for her throat.. she tucked her chin in as she fell down and it got it's top teeth in her bottom lip and it's bottom teeth under her chin! mean little shit!

toy dogs are sometimes the worst ones to have. I have been biten by toy poodles already those are nasty and have bad attitudes too!

i have noticed that too. when i was a kid we had a dog that was half rottweiler and half doberman. he was the sweetest dog i have EVER had. the chihuahua i had as a child had a biting problem :/.