Pit Bulls anyone? :)

[Chinnie15]

I volunteer at a local animal shelter and work with mostly pit bulls. I've worked with about 500 so far, and I just love them to pieces. They are all very sweet, and while some have even been horribly abused, they always find it in them to give people a chance. I have never had a bad experience, and that's why it makes me so angry with the reputation they get. Just because of a few bad dogs (actually, no, scratch that. bad OWNER), bring down a whole breed? There are even places with "pit bull bans", where they will euthanize thousands of absolutely innocent, family pets. I don't know... I just don't understand it. And I also get sick of hearing "locking jaws" and "swelling brains", they're myths! And if a pit bull had a locking jaw, it'd have a different skeletal structure, and would no longer be considered a dog...

What are your thoughts?

 

[BIG loven]

I have a pit mix(was abused before we got her) and she is sweet as could be :)
I agree with you about it being the owners fault, Pit Bulls aren't all that aggressive really, just very strong. Sadly that's why many of them are abused. I <3333 the Pit Bulls

 

[Duckster]

I've been fucked up by 2 pitbulls in my life. I also have 2 cousins that've been torn to shreds by the bastards, one requiring plastic surgery.

Don't really know how I feel overall since I've met some cute pitbulls before that were completely harmless, but I hope those 4 dogs are burning up in doggy Hell.

 

[gvmgvm40]

...but I hope those 4 dogs are burning up in doggy Hell.

Don't be silly. It's not the dog's fault ffs. We humans are the only species to attack others for "shits and giggles" (I think dolphins too, don't quote me on this). If the dog is aggressive, it's the owner's fault.

Animals only attack other creatures for food or self defense. It's the family's job to teach kids how to handle animals.

Let me tell you my opinion about the pitbull ban: It's fucking stupid. Pitbulls might be on average more aggressive than other dogs. This doesn't mean every one of them is a serial killer. If the dog is brought up with care and receives proper medications, it won't attack humans unprovoked.

I agree that people shouldn't be allowed to own dogs without licenses. Animals with troubling histories should be muzzled in public and neutered. If need to be, the dogs should take aggression tests on a regular basis.

 

[Fishy]

my cousin's dog, a pitbull/lab mix! you can definitely see the pitbull in the face/jaw, but she is the sweetest dog i've ever known, other than my favorite of my mother's dogs, LAREDO, who is a shetland sheepdog.

Anyway, I have to admit that I am a little anxious around pit bulls randomly, but that's just the stigma I've grown accustomed to from all the bad media and hype. It remains true though, that pitbulls only get aggressive from their owners training them to be so, or just subjecting them to conditions where they constantly feel threatened and just develop this chronically aggressive behavior--and that can happen to any breed of that size or larger! It's just unfortunate that you see most aggression cases with pit bulls, since they are so formidably strong and are most popularly bred for dog fights and the like. Very unfortunate for those pups.

 

[Ramblin Wreck]

The only pit bull I've seen at my animal shelter (I volunteer at it) that didn't like me was raised entirely in the ghetto, so he had basically never seen a white person. Not being racist, that was his situation. He just didn't know what the hell I was.

Most of the pitts are extremely friendly.

 

[Flamewheeler]

My fat ass. <3 I showed her off in the photo album already. ^_^ I have to be honest, I was a bit against the breed myself due to the media, but she made me love them! I didn't even know she was a pit 'til my bro told me actually.

 

[evolutia]

I'm weary of the breed. Growing up, all of the pitbulls I've seen around my neighborhood have been extremely aggressive and frightening. I'm not saying that I would not change my mind about the breed, but due the "reputation" surrounding them ,I keep my guard up and pay careful attention if one is in my vicinity.

 

[billymills]

PEMN

 

[Chinnie15]

Thanks for sharing your beautiful dogs! :)

And I honestly don't blame people that are afraid, because it is what they hear all the time from the media (which will put any story with a "pit bull" in the news....) My problem is when people will refuse to be educated about the breed, and realize that just because of a few dogs, that doesn't make the whole breed bad. Right now, unfortunately, pits are the "tough, macho type" dog that irresponsible people/criminals want. And they'll eventually move onto another breed, just like they moved from the rottweilers/gsd/dobermans, but until then, it really sucks. :( I wish people would just accept dogs as what they are, dogs. Not some sort of alien species. In fact, pit bulls are one of the few dogs that were bred NOT to be human aggressive, because in the pit the handlers would have to actually separate the dogs, and if the dog bit anyone it'd be a disqualification and the dog would be culled. Today's dog attacks are sadly from over breeding, and just poor care and treatment of these wondering animals. :( Add in the factor of people just letting their animals run free, and it's an accident waiting to happen. So why do we place the blame on the dog, and not the owner? It just amazes me...

 

[Zacchaeus]

Pit bulls are given their bad reputation because they have caused more deaths in the USA than any other breed of dog. Rotweilers, German shepherds, huskys, chow chows, malamutes, doberman pinscers, boxers, and dalmations are also on the list behind pitbulls. In my neck of the woods, (not including Michael Vick's incident,) most dog abuse or dog attack incidents seem to be with chow chows or rotweilers (based on what I've heard, not statistics)

 

[Ice-eyes]

I don't like dogs very much. Especially after this one pitbull went crazy and bit my leg halfway up a mountain and me and my cousin had to throw stuff at it to keep it away as I limped down. Think it smelled a rabbit or badger or something.

 

[Chinnie15]

Pit bulls are given their bad reputation because they have caused more deaths in the USA than any other breed of dog. Rotweilers, German shepherds, huskys, chow chows, malamutes, doberman pinscers, boxers, and dalmations are also on the list behind pitbulls. In my neck of the woods, (not including Michael Vick's incident,) most dog abuse or dog attack incidents seem to be with chow chows or rotweilers (based on what I've heard, not statistics)

Right, but the only reason you see such a high rate of fatalities is because they are very over populated right now. It's the same as there being more accidents on the road with more and more people driving, there's just a higher chance of an accident happening. Once the breed popularity dies down, trust me, you won't be seeing so many attacks. Pit bulls have been around for 100 years, where were all of these attacks back then if it's the breed? First it was the blood hound (and hell, no one's afraid of them anymore, but they were the first "devil dog"), then the doberman/gsd/rottweilers, and now it's pit bulls. The whole reason this mess began in the first place was the media placing fear and myths into people's minds after dog fighting was made to be illegal in the 70's-80's. That attracted a very wrong crowd to the breed, while making everyone else afraid. It's really a shame, they're such wonderful dogs.

 

[Chill Murray]

We humans are the only species to attack others for "shits and giggles" (I think dolphins too, don't quote me on this).

Just pointing out that there are plenty of animals that attack others for no discernible reason. It's mostly primates and dolphins (maybe has something to do with having big brains?) but I'm pretty sure that there are other species as well.

Anyway, I do think that pit bull bans are a good idea. However, it's better for protecting the dogs from incompetent owners than for protecting people from a "vicious" dog. Larger dogs such as pit bulls often require more training, as others have said, and some people don't have the time, energy, and/or knowledge required to train them to handle people correctly.

As for myself, every pit bull I've met personally (including the two mutts my family has owned, both of which had pit in them) were sweet as molasses.

 

[Samcker]

unfortunately the breed was bred to fight. you cannot change thisbut you can change the people that breed/keep them. i think it is very important the the owner be regulate not the dog.

 

[gerogrill]

Hey, Flamewheeler, your dog is a cuty pie. the photographs are really nice.

 

[mirza]

I've grown up in the poor part of town so unfortunately I've yet to meet a nice pitbull. I've learned to be wary of basically any dog since I was a very little kid, but especially weary of Pitbulls, Dobermen, Rottweilers, and German Shepherds. They don't scare me because at this point I think I'd stand a good chance against an aggressive dog but I get very nervous when I see my little cousins or grandmother walking anywhere in the neighborhood. Why? Because asshole wanabee thugs breed these things.

I don't know enough about dogs and not going to pretend like I do, so I don't know whether they're extremely aggressive because they were bred to be protective and used for fighting, or because their owners are a bunch of hardass dumbfucks, or both.

In my experience I've found them to be very aggressive and nasty things, and too many people I know have had horrible experiences with pitbulls. There should be some type of requirement to own these dogs, if not at least try to keep them away from morons.

People in the ghetto walk around with a couple of these overfed things, with no leash, and give everyone a stupid glare. I'm not the type to feel too much sympathy for anything that wants to inflict pain on me and I wouldn't hesitate to kill one if I felt the need.

So yeah, misunderstood animals for sure, but a lot of the stigma isn't completely false for pitbulls imo.

 

[ginganinja]

Well I have very bad experiences with dogs in general (I don't realy know why I just think they don't like me). Anyway I dropped my friend of after my birthday party (This was quite a few years ago) and his new dog came running out. I was not that frightened since I was on one side of the fence while the dog was on the other. It kept barking a lot at me and growling. I ignored it but then it made this huge lunge for my hand and on pure reflex I managed to pull my hand away.

Gave me a huge scare since even when I pulled away it only missed my hand by centimeters. Also it was just so unexpected since neither I or my friend (who owned the dog) had done anything to provoke a reaction. Dunno if its just pit bulls in general but yea I just wanted to make the point that Pit BUlls can be agresive even when they have nice owners.

Have a Nice Day!

 

[BIG loven]

For all you guys who have had bad pit bull experiences I have one thing to say. Does this look like the kind of dog who would hurt anyone?

 

[mirza]

If it's a dog with teeth, then yes.

I guess I just don't share the same affection towards animals in general as some of you here. I've never found much use in a dog especially in the city/suburbs. That and I haven't had any positive experience with any of the dogs I mentioned earlier.

 

[Chinnie15]

I appreciate the fact that you guys have had bad experiences with these dogs. Yes, some pit bulls are aggressive. I'm not saying there is no such thing as an aggressive pit bull. What I am saying is that responsibility lies on the owner, and how a dog turns out has a whole lot to do with how it's cared for and managed. There are a lot of pit bulls out there that would never think of hurting anyone, and that's good, because that's what pit bulls are supposed to be like. Bad temperaments stem from bad breeding, abuse, or just poor socialization. It's never the dog's fault, yet that is who continues to be blamed.

 

[Gamma Vector]

I'm rather terrified of pit bulls. Where I grew up, and am still living, every Tom, Dick, and Harry what figures himself for a thug has one of those things. And whether by training, nature, or (most likely) some unholy combination of both, every single one of those dogs I've met has been a horrible, vicious monster. I grew up seeing them in the media as monsters, seeing them on my street as monsters, hearing about them in conjunction with the monsters who used to breed them to fight. By now, I've got this sort of sixth sense for the things. I stay well away from them, and anyone who owns them.

And then I met Daisy.

Daisy is the sweetest dog you will ever meet in your entire life. She's friendly, gentle and just plain adorable. She belongs to a little old lady who lives a couple of blocks over from my house. I first saw her and her owner (Mrs. Hampton) one day as they were walking back from the market. Of course, I shied off to the other side of the road, like I usually do when I see a pit bull (especially one not on a leash, as Daisy was.) But Daisy stayed right beside Mrs. Hampton's leg and didn't even give me a second look. I hurried home.

This happened several times, until one day one of the plastic grocery bags Mrs. Hampton was carrying broke, and soup cans went everywhere. Feeling sorry for her, I helped her pick them up, got introduced, and Daisy still left me alone.

That was almost a year ago. I see Mrs. Hampton and Daisy walking home about three times a week, usually. In that time, I've gone from utterly terrified of Daisy to just a little bit skittery around her. It's a shame. I know she's sweet. I know she's gentle. I know she has a good owner, and that neither of them could hurt a fly. But still, my heart speeds up and my stomach jumps every time I see her, and I have to consciously tell myself to calm down. I can pet her now, which I count as a small victory. She loves it, and licks the heck out of me. I don't panic and jerk my hands back when she licks me anymore either, though it does make me pretty nervous. Once or twice I've let her lick my face, but it was very, very difficult.

I'm getting over it. It's taking time and effort, but the logical part of my mind realizes now that not all pit bulls are monsters. I hate the fact that I'm so scared of these dogs, but I just can't help it. *sigh* It makes me angry at the people who started this hysteria in the first place.

 

[TheMartian]

For all you guys who have had bad pit bull experiences I have one thing to say. Does this look like the kind of dog who would hurt anyone?

The dog is drinking goddamn alcohol. Yeah I totally trust a drunk dog to not fucking kill me.

 

[Chinnie15]

Gamma, thank you very much for sharing your experiences! It really helps open my eyes to why a lot of people are so terrified of these dogs. Unfortunately, right now, they are the "thug dog". But it hasn't always been that way. Pit bulls used to be very respected, and trusted dogs. They were on war posters, they were in advertisements, and they were in films! All of this hysteria started in the 80's, when dog fighting became illegal and the media started going crazy about these "dangerous dogs" during every raid (when really, dogs from organized fighting rings were VERY people friendly. I'm not talking about today's street level fighting), then with that, came the bad crowd. People saw the "bad dog" in the news, and went out and got one.

I'm sorry you've had so many bad experiences with these dogs. It's really sad, because when raised well, they are terrific dogs. It just goes to show you what some people are capable of. They leave their dogs on chains, beat them, starve them, don't show them any love, and they can turn very aggressive. Then let one get loose, and well, it's a horrible situation. But that would be the case with any large breed dog, it's just that right now, it's the "pit bull".

I loved your story of Daisy. What you described is what a true pit bull should be like. She sounds so sweet! It's awesome that you see that there is good in this breed, after having so many bad experiences. Unfortunately, some really bad people are attracted to this breed right now. And your neighbor sounds lucky to have you to help her out too!

 

[Charmander#4]

While I agree that owners and not dogs are to blame, I still think that a pitbull ban is fair.

Think about them, not as pets, but as weapons. Because that's how the thugs who abuse them se these dogs. As rows of teeth. That, in essence, makes them the same as furry guns. Now, I must ask you all: Is it really so unfair to ban them? I mean, some people clearly can't control the things. There's bound to be people getting molested by them sometimes as long as they are legal.

My solution: Get a rabbit. Much softer and fwuffier and much less, you know, predatorious by nature.

Oh, and that brings me to another point: Dogs and cats are predators by nature. Even the cutest dog or cat has an instinct that tells it that human babies are food. Please don't be lulled into a sense of safety around muscle dogs. Those things can go crazy. I'm not saying they will, but they have the potential for it.