ATTN: American Pit Bull owners.

[horsejody]

Name calling is immature.

I have met some very nice pit bulls and one that I wouldn't trust any further than I could throw it. The bad one was euthanized. She was rescued as a stray. She had been obviously abused. She was my mother's dog. When Mom wasn't able to rehab her and make her safe, she did the right thing and put her to sleep. On the other hand, every other pitbull I have met was raised from a puppy by responsible people that were knowledgeable about the breed, and they were all good dogs. It is just very important for people to remember that there is more to training than sit, stay, down and heel. Socialization and lots of attention are necessary, and some breeds have a very low tolerance to punishment. Positive training and re-enforcement are better. Also, people forget that shy scaredy-cat dogs are usually more dangerous to people than confident ones. That's because they get nervous if they feel threatened and there is no owner nearby taking the alpha role. If people would just learn to teach their dogs (especially large powerful ones) that humans are their benevolent leaders and are alpha over all in their domain, the dogs could just be dogs and have a lot less stress.

Healthy, well adjusted pitbulls with owners that work with them and train them are good dogs. Pitbulls that some idiot got as a lawn ornament are an accident waiting to happen just like any other breed. Because they are such powerful dogs, it is more important that their owners be responsible people.

 

[ksacres]

Quote:
In case you needed a reminder...

 

[chels23]

My parents have a pit and he is very sweet and loves everyone. Pit bulls from a repuatable breeder are very sweet and loving around children. Unfortunately they look big and tough and people train them to be mean. Just like some people they are not born mean they are a product of their environment.

 

[rebecca10782]

Quote:
In case you needed a reminder...

Exactly, that's what I have been trying to say. Clearly no one is getting the message.

 

[Chicks R Friends NOT Food]

Personally, I prefer rottweilers, so I know where you're coming from on the negativity related to the breed. I know that one of my friends was almost killed by a pitbull that was raised wrong (just keep reading). But I also know of two really sweet ones named Jackie and Loki. Jackie was a friends dog who recently passed away of old age, but she was the happiest, sweetest fat thing. She was actually attacked and had part of her face torn by another dog, but as far as I know she did nothing to hurt it when she really could've.
Loki is still a puppy, and he's a cute pie (also belongs to a friend, but a different one). He's hung out with my dog and I've had no problems whith him if there was anydog getting rough it was mine, Loki was being a wimp.
The point is that Any breed of dog can be nice or mean depending on how it's raised. If you plan on raising it right there's not a problem. It's the same thing with any species. Rescue dogs are potentially more risky but all my dogs have been rescued, without any major problems.
The only reason that dogs like rotties and pitt bulls and german shepards get such a bad rep is that they are Fiercely loyal and will protect their loved ones at all cost.

 

[tharrell]

FYI, there are more dog bites caused by golden retrievers every year than by pitts. Most people are pretty surprised by that statistic. Can pit bulls be raised to be mean dogs? Absolutely! Can my breed, chihuahuas, be raised to be mean? You bet! And I bet I can tell you of ALOT more aggressive chis than I can pitts, and I am heavily involved in the dog world! But for some reason people think an untrained 2 pound dog barking and snapping is cute. I still say that it's not the breed, it's the owner. Pitts in nature are not human aggressive, they do however have a tendency to be dog aggressive, in the same way a border collie will want to herd everything in site, and a lab will chase a stick in and out of the water until they pass out from exhaustion. They are one of the most loyal breeds you can have. If you either keep them as an only dog, or make sure you socialize them extensively as puppies you will probably be fine. At this time in my life I wouldn't recommend getting an adult because, and only because of a bad experience I had. I recently took in a pitt as part of a service dog program for me to foster and train. He was taken out of a shelter. We were told he was a very sweet friendly dog, and good with kids. Within 5 minutes of the organization brining him to our home, he turned out of nowhere and bit by son on the face. Was this because of his breed, his former owners, being in a shelter, or the stress of being in a new place after a long car ride? I will never know, but unfortunately he was destroyed. I actually asked if he could go to some kind of rescue, but the organization people said they wouldn't do that. Bottom line, just be a responsible dog owner. Find a good breeder who cares more about their animals than the money in their pocket. Meet at least the dam of the litter, but better if you meet the dam and sire. Learn about puppy testing you can do to try and predict what kind of temperament the puppy might have. Make sure to train the puppy, and not just the basics. Even try to go as far as to receive a canine good citizens certification. Be an ambassador for the breed. And bottom line, take everything you hear from people, including me, with a grain of salt. Do your own research, and make your own opinions! Sorry this was so long, I just have a passion for this kind of stuff.

 

[Gatorpupsmom]

One of those very, VERY tragic deaths by dog attack ocurred about 20 miles from where I live. ABSOLUTE tragedy, makes me SICK to think about it. It's the death of an 8 year old that happened in May 2008. What that piece of information does NOT tell you is that there were actually 4 dogs present when the attack on the little boy happened, and 2 of them weren't pits. The media reports first said that the boy was attacked by 4 pit bulls. When it was learned that 2 dogs present weren't pits, the emphasis turned to the pit bulls and the other dogs were dropped from the story. Yes, the pits are the ones who did the damage that killed him, and no one really knows what started the whole thing, but dogs allowed to run in a "pack" do aggressive things that a single dog wouldn't do. That's dog nature. None of them need to be turned loose to run unsupervised, that's ignorant, and it's sure asking for trouble letting pits run loose. The owners of those pits got prison time for it, which won't bring back that little boy, but maybe that will make the next ignoramus who thinks it's fine to let his pits run loose think twice before doing it. They have sure made it hard for those of us who are responsible dog owners, though.

Another kudos for pits, since this is what this thread is supposed to be about. Blue, my six year old bulldog that we have had for a year and half, is more "in tune" to what's going on in our family that any other dog I've ever had. I have type 1 diabetes and wear an insulin pump. I was having some pretty bad night time low blood sugars a couple of months ago, and Blue was getting up with me when it happened. I treated the low blood sugar and sat in the recliner, waiting for BGS to come up before I went back to bed. Blue refused to let me go to sleep in the recliner. Every time I dozed off, he would hit my hand with his big goofy head. I didn't think too much about it until a couple nights later when he came to my side of the bed and began bumping my hand with his head again. I was aggravated at first, but then it dawned on me that he had done this before when I was low. I got up to check, and sure enough, I was going low. I have had diabetes for most of my life, and have had dozens of dogs, but he is the first dog who has ever seemed to notice low blood sugars.

I have had pits now for 16 years, and I try to fight ignorance about them all the time. It's exhausting work, because the majority of people ignorant about the breed prefer to stay that way. The media will continue to feed them the fodder they need to stay that way..........

Kim

 

[chickenfanatic]

thankyou all you folks who have a brain and love the breed . to sandypaws your biased and need to just drop out your obviously media brainwashed leave the kid alone let him get his GOOD bred apbt and live thier life. OLDNEWCHICK remember what i said be careful choose well and if you want a great dog for your money that i can guartantee will be wonderful contact me. Oh by the way anyone noticed how nobodys post the numbers of the good things pits do like service dogs for the blind and handicapped or search and rescue. Yes they are out there and alot of them look it up. they have a bad rep. but they do alotta good things. im gonna stay away from this thread now before i get real annoyed. bottom line like the rest of my life i say to you this "if you dont like them dont have them but dont talk bad about what you obviously do not know about"

 

[kstaven]

If this thread goes off track again I will not be amused. If you wish to breed bash please take it to another forum. This is the ONLY warning I will post here.

 

[bestponymilo]

I hope nobody thought I was breed bashing

I was just pointing out their history, and how I thought that needed to be taken into consideration.

Everyone has their pref..in everything, not just dogs. Good luck with your new doggie, OldNew! Post pics once you get him/her