Im a bit fed up of people lumping "dog aggression" and "Human aggression" together, just because a dog may be aggressive to other dogs (and ANY breed can be like this) doesnt follow that they shouldnt be around children. Posts like that only inflame the current bullbreed hysteria, and if you were as knowledgeble about dogs as you say you are, you,d know that a dog-to-dog fight doesnt mean the dog is a danger to kids. Ive got 2 dogs, one is very dog aggressive , but, as most Staffys are, is brilliant with people, especially kids.

a food spill ?? so if your friend was a dog handler or whatever did he not train his dogs not to touch food in any way unless given a command that it was ok !

sorry but i dissagree a "fighting dog" as you call them they are no longer bred for that instinct as much as any responsible breeder her i breed for type and TEMPREMENT all my bull terriers are wonderful with my kids and any other kids for that matter they squabble over who is boss among themselves nothing serious but then even when a squable does break out WE ARE ALWAYS SUPERVISING THEM and making sure it NEVER is serious

i would have to say why were the dogs so aggressive with the food as to want to fight so much so one gets killed ?????

i have many many pics of my kids with dogs and them showing my dogs

Come on, all the guy did was post a warning, a warning of something that could happen (and I usually DISagree with him!) it may even prevent an "accident" if a novice owner heeds the warning.

1. A child can spill things you know, in fact its quite common, and I expect the majority of dogs owned by people on here would of rushed to it if it fell.

2. Type and temperament? purely for pets I assume? the idea of breeding is to get an animal to conform to the standard laid down for it. A leopard dont change its spots, breed instinct does come out.

3. Thats a very naive comment, as an owner of a Bull breed, you should know that once they start fighting it is incredibly difficult to stop them, ask the majority on here, many of them keep "break sticks" in case of fights, doesnt mean the dogs are fighting all the time, nor are they bad owners, as you make this person you know nothing about, to be. A bite in the right area can kill a dog in seconds.
Dawn.

One who ignores a clear warning is a fool. I have nothing against bull breeds but i clearly warned for a specific risk involved in owning these kind of dogs. The dogs is spoke about weren't dog agressive, weren't agressive to humans and were/are in the hands of a very capable handler. In this case the dogs went for each other. in an other scenario they might have gone for the 14 year old son... luckily they didn't. I only wanted to point out the specific danger of these dogs. One thing the owner told me stands out and sais it all: "... i've had these dogs for a long time, at one point even 6 dogs lived in my house, you think you know them and you forget what they are..." These are the words from someone who is skilled and still had an accident.
I sincerely hope that time will prove me wrong but there is a specific risk in owning and handling these kind of dogs. so take your responsability and take the necessary precautions.

greetings

Johan

I have to say I agree with Dawn
Normally i don't agree with the original poster either but I do think we all have to be awre of the type of dogs we have. Example...I wouldn't let my BC off around sheep...
he is good as gold and too old to care...but he still has instinctive behaviours...as any breed does. All breeds were bred for specific purposes and it would be irresponsible of us not to accept that and be aware of it on a daily basis.:smt002

warning to "fighting breed" owners bad choice of words, I cant tell you from my experience when my dog was attacked by a Labrador my dog was not difficult to stop at all and the lab was very aggressive, as for a break stick why on earth do you think that the majority on here keep them, and lets not forget a Staffordshire bull terrier is one of the best dogs to have with children.

Because this type of dog is incrediby powerful and can do a HUGE amount of damage very quickly? (like I said )

I dont recall saying they weren't?

what happened with these two dogs is tragic, it could have been any breed, dogs don't have morals no matter what the breed.

Do you have difficulty stopping your Border Terrier if it fights.

It could have been any breed yes, I don't think that anyone is denying that for a moment.
I think the point that is being made is that the dogs, originally were bred for fighting, because of that, when a fight starts, instinct kicks in more with these breeds, of course it does, just like when you put my BC in a field full of sheep instinct will kick in. I think the warning was about that, not to forget the instinct can kick in and when it does it can be fatal very quickly, yes it could be for other breeds as well...BUT it is more likely to be for these breeds of dogs, given what they were initially bred for. I don't see the problem with anyone saying that...it's true. We all, have to be aware of what our dogs initial breeding was for and work with that, if you have a retriever..don't be surprised if it brings you a fledgling given half a chance. It's a part of the breed. I think the OP was just saying, nver forget it....fair enough, we can all be guilty of becoming complacent about what our dogs are capable of.