Originally Posted by canklecat

Pit bulls are incredibly tough. That's one reason why law enforcement don't play around with games like "Shoot to wound" or "Shoot the weapon out of their paws" or whatever other nonsense armchair police learned from watching too much TV. This dog just trotted away normally. I never asked or found out but I'm assuming the bullet either went through without major injury or stopped against a rib or other bone.

And it was one of the toughest decisions I've ever had to make, and done only after we'd exhausted every other solution since the owner was unwilling to accept any responsibility, even after separate warnings from a deputy and animal control.

Personally I like pitties and don't fear them any more than any other dog. The vast majority I've encountered were lovable goofballs. I've encountered a few on my rural bike rides and don't worry about them since they're just excessively enthusiastic, not aggressive. They tend to wander around in front of me like they're leading a parade. A couple of times I've run over their haunches when they suddenly stopped or changed directions, even when I'd slowed down to a walking pace. I didn't fall and they weren't injured. Those particular dogs didn't repeat that stunt.

What I do worry about is how even apparently friendly dogs can suddenly turn when they sense fear, excitement or pain. They can unexpectedly become vicious. This sudden personality change can happen with any breed. I've seen it in my own dogs and those owned by other family members. Several years ago we had a pair of part-bassett siblings. They were fine for several months, seemingly harmless and friendly. But before the puppies were a year old the female began attacking the male, and each attack got worse -- she nearly killed him once, shredding the hide over his abdomen and throat as he rolled over submissively. We had to split them up and gave the female away. And my in-laws had a couple of goofy bird dogs that seemed to be inseparable pals in harmless mischief. But one day one of the them injured its paw and the sibling attacked and nearly killed it. But the most dangerous and foul tempered dog we tried to adopt was a young adult chow that was wildly unpredictable and couldn't be trusted around my grandmother or grandkids. None of the usual methods for winning over difficult dogs seemed to work. We finally had to give her away to an experienced owner who understood what she was taking on.

But it's potentially more dangerous with pit bulls because they have such incredibly tough bodies with dense muscles and bones. Police officers have reported shooting pit bulls in the head and having the bullets bounce off or fail to penetrate. Others have needed multiple hits before the dogs even slowed down.

So I don't underestimate seemingly friendly dogs. If they knocked me over and I showed any sign of fear, anger, pain, etc., and was bleeding, any dog might suddenly turn vicious.