My lap dog turned killer

[Pele]

Quote:
I agree completely with this, having lived in DC for over a decade. I do not blame the breed itself for what humans have engineered into it, but I respect it. That's the main problem with SO many dog owners. They're so determined to prove that pits are loving wonderful dogs that they completely cover up the power of the animal they're insisting is a wonderful family pet.

I have personally spent time with wonderful and adoring pits that don't have a mean bone in their body. But what they DO have is powerful jaws, massive dense chests, and muscles that make it possible to kill animals much bigger than themselves. These animals can hurt people if they are played with incorrectly (in fact, my friend's brother went to the ER for stitches because he got her dog too excited with tug-of-war, and she accidentally got ahold of his finger). I have nothing against them, but it'll be a tropical day in antartica before I let my toddler near one.

It's so frustrating that people don't do research before getting animals, or even admit to the reality of the animal they have. A good example is the poodle from this conversation. It's a hunting dog, and does not get along with chickens. Shallow research on the breed will reveal that.

Animal ownership is an act of responsibility and respect, and only the animals suffer when people just don't care

. That's why so many pits are stuck in shelters.

 

[TheJuan-n-Only]

Awww good dog!!!

My lab/pit mix lets my cat eat out of his bowl (food and water) and lets the chickens peck @ him!!! lol Oh those killer Pits!!!! I lol every time I read stuff like that!!!

 

[Manningjw]

Quote:
I agree, that is impressive raccoons are ferocious animals for any breed of dog to handle. It did look like the dog had a major upper hand in the size department though.

 

[ChickInDelight]

Yes, Akela is over 40 lbs., so it is REALLY difficult to keep him off of my lap.

He is an obsessed little stalker, following me from room to room. He is not fenced and has a swinging doggy door, but he stays right with me. When I am gone, he stays in the house until he hears my car. Then, he runs out on the lawn to sit and wait.

I love mutts, but I do like to get the right mixture. I particularaly like herding dogs to suit my lifestyle. I looked for a full year before I found my darling, perfect, Akela.

We do everything together.

 

[terrilhb]

WW. They are both beautiful dogs.

 

[kota1369]

Quote:
I agree completely with this, having lived in DC for over a decade. I do not blame the breed itself for what humans have engineered into it, but I respect it. That's the main problem with SO many dog owners. They're so determined to prove that pits are loving wonderful dogs that they completely cover up the power of the animal they're insisting is a wonderful family pet.

I have personally spent time with wonderful and adoring pits that don't have a mean bone in their body. But what they DO have is powerful jaws, massive dense chests, and muscles that make it possible to kill animals much bigger than themselves. These animals can hurt people if they are played with incorrectly (in fact, my friend's brother went to the ER for stitches because he got her dog too excited with tug-of-war, and she accidentally got ahold of his finger). I have nothing against them, but it'll be a tropical day in antartica before I let my toddler near one.

It's so frustrating that people don't do research before getting animals, or even admit to the reality of the animal they have. A good example is the poodle from this conversation. It's a hunting dog, and does not get along with chickens. Shallow research on the breed will reveal that.

Animal ownership is an act of responsibility and respect, and only the animals suffer when people just don't care

. That's why so many pits are stuck in shelters.

IMO getting bit on the finger by a dog of "any breed" while riling a dog up playing tug-of-war is the fault of the humans. this is not even the dogs owner rough housing with a dog who has most likely not had its energy drained in a month. I really like pit bulls. Great dogs! But I, by nature am way to lazy to own 99% of the pitbulls out there. They may be kewl looking but I do not have it in me to have most of them.
Then there are standard poodles....

Love them love them....... great dogs, smart, protective and most people dont expect it. What a deal!!!

 

[the funny farm6]

My husband and I have owned pit bulls for over 20 years. They are a very multi purpose dog! I have 2 that we take to the coon compation in the next town. They hate to see me pull in and unload my dogs! They have shown up the pedigreed coondogs more than once. And I can take my dogs from that compatition and go strait to the nursing home to vist the resadents. They are also canine good citisens. Yes there are bad ones out there. But there are very good ones also.

 

[CheekyMare]

Back on track....

That's great. Your dog is UTD on Rabies right?

He's really pretty btw. I've always liked brindle dogs. Never got the chance to own one.

 

[Pele]

I think you are a very down-to-earth responsible person kota1639. Understanding that you don't have the lifestyle and/or capacity to own a pitbull is exactly what I'm talking about when I say 'responsibility'.

And I do realize the danger of playing incorrectly with a dog, but with the more powerful breeds like pitbulls, mistakes while playing have potentially bigger consequences than riling up a Spaniel. I'm not one of those people who thinks pitbulls are the devil, I just fully recognize and respect what they are. Believe me, I'll cuddle my friend's pitbull Maggie when she tries to be lapdog with us, but I'm not ever going to forget that I have a powerful animal near me, and I will always keep that in mind when I interact with her. Children unfortunately don't have the capacity to understand that, and with these kinds of breeds, there's little room for error if they do make a mistake with the dog.

I believe they would make great guardians for livestock if they're raised with the chickens, as the OP has experienced. But I would never buy one from the city, or from a non-registered breeder. Animals CAN be bred for aggression, and it's a tragedy, but some lines of pitbulls are bred for that by ignorant people.

 

[The Wolf Queen]

I didnt read the whole thread but congrats to Akela

! Even if he doesnt appear to be hurt id get him a rabies shot just in case!!! Im not sure if the pit comments ended, & im no pitbull expert, but this is my opinion: pitbulls are an awesome loyal breed but unfortunately some ARE aggressive towards animals & people, not because its their fault, but because people train them to be & some are bred carelessly for profit & or fighting. Ive met big alligator & razors edge pits (can be extremely intimidating to some) that were sweet as can be to people & some just as friendly to animals & ive seen ones that are mean to people & or animals. In an episode of Pits & Parolees there was a beautiful blue that developed PEOPLE aggression at 8 months, not because he was a bad dog, but because people carelessly breed blues for profit because they are so popular & they do not breed for temperament or health. Unfortunately this has gone on for so long that those genes are usually there. Ive read that one day an animal friendly pit can just snap & after its over act same as before. Then again couldnt that happen to any dog? Its just more likely to happen in pits because of people. Some pits are also choosy: A friends mother has all pits except for a chihuahua & one pit loves said chihuahua but went after an 8 week pit puppy (puppy is fine) she was given (long story, irresponsible pet owner didnt fix dog, dog had 11 pups, person didnt want pups so was going to put them to sleep if they didnt find homes

all pups found homes thankfully, anyways) As a matter of fact im a huge Pit fan, especially white faced ones that are the stocky type, but because of all the bad genetics created I dont know if I would bring one into our family. Even if I had less dogs (like 1 or 2 yeah right not gonna happen since I do rescue). The sad thing is that if you go to the pounds around here 85-90% are pits or pit mixes with nothing wrong with them except that some are animal aggressive & maybe 2 or 3 are people aggressive not to mention so many people fear them. Come to think of it I had a neighbor down the ditch that had between 4-6 pits, I never counted, just noticed them when I was riding my horse by, & they never appeared to have had a problem with each other.