Finally! They admit it isn't always a Pit Bull!!

[HepCatMoe]

We will have to just agree to disagree on a lot of this. I breed and show Pit Bulls, and they do still breed for the lean mucular look. You've obviously never been to an ADBA Pit Bull show.

i wasnt refering to you or most responsible breeders when i talked about "the direction the breed has gone". and its true ive never been to a show.

the dogs that i see are just the ones walking down the street, and most of them look more like english buldogs than pits. at least here in arizona. although its true ive seen a huge diferance between the pitbulls here in az and the pits that were up in washington state (where i got my pit).

to get an idea of what i mean by poor breading check out this dog show from cali. seriously, they look like english bulldogs. totally unathletic. also they are in such bad shape, it makes me feel bad for the dogs...

plus youll notice most of the dogs dont even know how to heel...

but dont get me wrong, i still think these dogs are cute as heck... i cant help it

supposedly this guy was the star of the show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_W2uimIxkU

then look at these guys, they are the "highlights"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRNfUaQ3ylk

theyre cute cuz their fat and stocky, but their is no way a dog like that could work in the field (working cattle/hunting etc).

it looks tough, but its just looks.

 

[moosassah]

I had 2 great danes. 1 adopted, the other purchased. Only once in 8 years did I see close to a nip from the female. Dogs have personalities & bad days like people. No matter how domesticated they are, the call of the wild is in there somewhere. It's up to the owners to respect that & take precautions as needed.

 

[Jeanne]

the dogs that i see are just the ones walking down the street, and most of them look more like english buldogs than pits.

I would be willing to bet, that a lot of them have Staffordshire (sp) Terrier blood in them.

Here is a link to the people that host the shows that I go to, you can see what type of dog wins there:

http://groups.msn.com/massachusettsamericanpitbullterrierclub/shoebox.msnw


Here's the picture of me and my dog, she won best puppy at that show:

http://groups.msn.com/massachusettsamericanpitbullterrierclub/shoebox.msnw

A lot of the pictures are small, the people that post them are computer "Savy"

I would love to see a picture of your dog in the "Dog Forum"

 

[HepCatMoe]

hey those are some good lookin dogs!!

 

[BalloonzForU]

I've not read all the posts here on this topic.

I'd like to say that Pit Bull as with any larger dog that has been either bred for fighting or protection will and can kill, but most likely will not. It's not always the owner that makes a bad dog, it also stems from their bloodline, so I do put some blame on breeders that breed for aggressive temperament.

My dog's breed, a corgi (30 lbs), has been known to take down much larger animals, including, Pits and Rotts, all in protecting their family whether their herd or people. They are a very protective breed. I've had my share of issues with my dog, and he gets locked up in the bathroom often when strangers come to my house. Any, and I mean any dog can kill, no matter the size, in smaller dogs it's a matter pure chance if they to.

Now back to Pits, there is another dog that looks very much like a Pit, but as my father says they are a Pit on steroids, it's a Preso Canario. These dogs are awesome in pure strength, but I wouldn't want to get on their bad side. My dad is getting 4 of these, as he's moving to Idaho in an area known for bears, wolf, and baggers. These dogs will be raised to protect in ever sense of the word and hunt. He's already warned me that if something happened to him, that they will have to be put down, because no one will be able to handle them, but him. I know that many stories about Pit Bull attacks are in fact the Presa due to eye witnesses not knowing the difference. As time goes on and the Presas are more and more popular people will see more and more attacks being blamed on Pits. However I hope with their popularity more witnesses to attacks will know the difference.

 

[StinaKSU]

interesting article...

“The pit bull is notorious for a very hard bite. They are always No. 1 in the lethal dog bite parade,” he said. “The dog was bred for pit fighting. It was bred to never give up, to bite and hang on.”

he seems to neglect the fact that they were also bred to be GOOD with people b/c they can be so strong and dog aggressive that they need to be handleable... Pitts have NEVER been bred to be aggressive with humans....the blame lies squarely on the way they're raised. If they are aggressive due to genetics, its nearly always with other animals...NOT people...and no animal/people aggression are not the same thing.

I would trust any random pitt way more than any random dalmation, chihuahua, or min pin.

Pitts get so much attention b/c they are strong and are used for dog fighting....its the dogs raised for fighting that give the breed a bad rep... I personally have never met a fighting dog, but I have also never met a pitt I didn't love. I HAVE met plenty of dogs of other breeds that would bite just about anyone in a second....both purebreds and mutts from pretty much any group/breeding background (herding, toy, etc...).

 

[OSUgecko]

I think pitbulls probably have a much stronger bite proportional to their size than rotties. Furthermore, I'm almost certain that if you had a fighting match between a rottie and a pitt, the pitt would destroy the rottie hands-down. It's not about jaw strength as much as it is about agility and sheer toughness.

That said, I am a big pitbull fan and would love to own one someday... and raise it right. They're very loyal, very protective, and great dogs all around as long as they are raised/handled by the right people.

BTW Jeanne, awesome dogs!

 

[OSUgecko]

I would trust any random pitt way more than any random dalmation, chihuahua, or min pin....

lol, good point Stina. But you forgot some of my favorites... chows and shar-peis. Most dogs within those breeds seem to walk around with a perpetual migraine, and are often single-person bonded/aggressive towards anyone else.

 

[StinaKSU]

hahaha....true that... I hate to characterize any breed honestly...but dals, chihuahuas and min pins are the ones I've had the most experience with/heard the most first hand experience about as far as aggression goes....being in the veterinary field I know better than to really trust any dog (at least when you have to do things to it....lol)....lol It really gets to me when veterinarians who should know better believe pitts are horrible nasty dogs......what it says to me is that they haven't had much, if any experience with pitts. If you've ever watched any of the animal cops shows on animal planet you'll notice that very few of the pitts they rescue that lunge and growl and snarl at other dogs nearby have any sort of aggression towards the vets that check them out....the ones that they rescue that are aggressive towards the people handling them are either injured (and therefore have an "excuse"...lol), or were clearly being kept as watch/guard dogs (not fighters...and had likely been trained to react aggressively to new people...or were not trained/socialized at all).

 

[OSUgecko]

A pitt came into the vet clinic where I work a few years ago, and some idiot had literally blasted about half the dog's face off with scatter shot. She lost an eye, her face was all ripped up, etc. - and it had been that way for at least a few days because it also had maggots in the wound (yuck!). The poor dog was in agony, but she never flinched while we were caring for her in the next week. We even flushed the wound out with betadine... and she never once yelped, lifted her lip, or showed the slightest bit of aggression, despite the fact that she had obviously never been socialized. While this would definately be an exception to the rule (of dogs in general, not just pitts!) - it shows what the dogs are capable of.

It pays to be careful as a vet, and you can never take any dog's friendliness for granted (I've had a few dogs that went from being happy and friendly to trying to rip my hand off within seconds just because I violated an invisible border around them - lol - you've probably had the same experience Stina). However, just because a dog has aggressive tendencies ALSO doesn't mean that it has no place in life. It just means that it need a special owner and a particular type of training/socialization (as you mentioned). Aggression channeled properly can create an outstanding performance dog, or guard dog, or any number of other things, without making the dog unreliable around people.

 

[StinaKSU]

Awe that poor girl!!! I hate stupid people! :shout:

...and yeah I absolutely have had similar experiences...lol I agree with you on the rest of that too.

 

[HepCatMoe]

its terrible the way some people treat pitbulls. when i first got my pitbull i did as much research as i could on the breed, watched as many videos as i could, etc.

i had to stop becuaes some of the stuff i was seeing was very *very* distressing. i couldnt believe people would treat something else that was alive that way.

those people have absolutely no empathy.

 

[goReptiles]

not to bring up an OLD post but... theres a book that's devoted to dogs that bite. I forget the title but it's a good book (but the cover has a close up of a dog in a kennel). It basically goes over all the terriers and whatnot. Also, agreeing with the statement that most dog bites are NOT from pits or pit type dogs. They were once "nanny" dogs who sat and watched children. They've been in wars as pet therapy, search and rescue, etc. They're overall one of the best breeds IMO.

When the media hears of a dog bite they publicize that it was a pit bite before they even know the truth. Did you guys know that? They, also, almost never tell the real reason. You know- dog abused, dog never fed, dog was constantly picked on by the kid before attacking, etc.

 

[gaparicio]

not to bring up an OLD post but... theres a book that's devoted to dogs that bite. I forget the title but it's a good book (but the cover has a close up of a dog in a kennel). It basically goes over all the terriers and whatnot. Also, agreeing with the statement that most dog bites are NOT from pits or pit type dogs. They were once "nanny" dogs who sat and watched children. They've been in wars as pet therapy, search and rescue, etc. They're overall one of the best breeds IMO.

When the media hears of a dog bite they publicize that it was a pit bite before they even know the truth. Did you guys know that? They, also, almost never tell the real reason. You know- dog abused, dog never fed, dog was constantly picked on by the kid before attacking, etc.

This is basically why I hate reading those stories in the papers! Obviously we all hate it when a person gets mauled by a dog but you always get these ignorant reporters who automatically blame the animal. I mean c'mon, there are so many shows on TV and other types of information that always give you reasons why any dog turns on it's owner or on another person. I unfortunately think that we're still going to have this problem 10 years down the line. I hope it doesn't though.

 

[techgirl]

Working for a vet, you kind of learn of what dogs/breeds to keep an eye out for. Most of the time, it's the litte ones that are going to 99% bite. The larger breeds, like rotties, pits, mastiffs, those are usually owned by the idiots that think owning a dog that size is cool, but have no clue as how to train them. I have seen people actually terrified of being in the same room with their dog when we have to examine them. I hate it even more when they laugh because their dog is so aggressive. Then they get upset when we suggest sedating them because we can't get near them. A few times we have refused to continue an exam unless sedation is done. I remember when I was 5 months pregnant and working the night shift and a cop with his collapsed, violent rottie came in. Not only would he not help me get the dog out of his car, he was terrified to muzzle her!! It took the vet, who was a petite woman, another female tech and myself to hold this dog up for an exam and to just keep it from killing one of us. Then he couldn't make up his mind as to admit the dog or take her to a specialty hospital because she was neurologic. After 2 hours of keeping us hanging, the vet finally told him that he was going to have to take the dog elsewhere because he obviously was not comfortable with us taking care of the dog and that I should have left hours ago and was still here and didn't need to be handling a dog like this in my condition. I was under doctor's orders to not lift above 25 lbs and this dog was 120 lbs. He finally went to a specialty hospital after spending an hour talking to his wife who was a nurse and then had the nerve to ask us to get the dog back in the car for him!! The vet had him and the other tech put the dog in the car. I just couldn't believe that this guy was scared of his own dog.
I have owned several types of dogs and did have to euthanize my Whippet several months ago because she started to get aggressive to my daughter. I am contemplating on adopting a pit bull puppy when my friend's dog whelps in April.
I am a true believer that dogs and people have to match each other in order for them to work well together. If you can't handle the dog you get, then that dog will be out of control and not happy.

 

[OSUgecko]

Jessica, I completely understand what you are saying. The funny thing is that there are people who EXPECT vets/techs to be able to handle their dogs which they obviously have no control over. Why a vet should be able to handle a dog better than a person that sees it on a daily basis... I have no clue... but it is often expected.

I have also had people laughing because their dog is snarling and trying to rip my face off (makes me feel real inclined to help them out). And yes, sedation is always frowned upon because somehow, you are thought less of if you can't control the animal otherwise (even if it's not your fault that the dog is misbehaving and it would be less stressful on the dog to sedate it).

I also get pretty upset with people who bring in a blatantly aggressive/dangerous dog and then proceed to throw a fit if you try to restrain it ("Oh, don't hurt the poor darling!" (to the dog) "Momma won't let the mean people hurt you, sweetie!")... even when the dog is snapping at the owner. It just shouldn't happen. You know that dogs like that will eventually bite someone, because they are being taught that THEY are alpha and humans are not. However, most of the time you can't get it through the owner's head that they are handicapping their dog and setting someone else (or themselves) up for a terrible bite sometime in the future. They laugh at you instead... "my dog would NEVER do something like that, and he's just stressed out in the vet clinic". While some dogs do become more aggressive in strange places, such as clinics, most of the time it's obvious that the dog is misbehaving because it has no respect for any humans including the owner.
Sad (and sometimes scary!) to watch.

 

[Jayyoung]

That MAY be true, depends on the dogs they used to test with. But a Pit Bull will take down a Rottie with no problem, because Pit Bulls are so much smarter at fighting that a Rottie, amongst other reasons

This does not mean that I condone (SP) Dog Fighting in any way

This is the reason pits are are tough breed. they are dangerous. dogs do what they are bred to do. Collies herd, Pointers point, Retrievers retrieve, Pits fight. I will never trust any dog around someone new. I never have, regardless of breed. All dogs have the capacity to attack. The increased aggression Pits have was bred into them. http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/breedinfo.php I think this about sums it up (pulled from above link)
As with all breeds, the Pit Bull has positive and negative traits in their temperament. Their breed history has led to a dog unlike any other in the history of purebred dogs. What can you expect from an APBT? First and foremost, memorize the following: THE GOLDEN RULE OF PIT BULL OWNERSHIP- NEVER TRUST YOUR PIT BULL NOT TO FIGHT!!!!! This breed is descended from pit dogs one way or another, and, given the right circumstances, most Pit Bulls will fight and against any other breed, they will win (you really don't want to see that!).

 

[StinaKSU]

Once again, pitts were NEVER bred to be aggressive with humans.....that is NOT in their genetics (typically anyway). As far as fighting, that is in the genetics of many pitts.....however I personally have never a known a pitt that was in any way aggressive with other dogs. Pitts that have been bred responsibly and socialized well will nearly always be perfectly fine with other dogs. Also a dog that is dog/other animal aggressive is not necessarily a bad pet in any way shape or form...it just needs to go to a home where it can be controled by the owner (I recognize that some dogs are basically impossible to control, generally just about any dog trained to fight...) and that doesn't have other pets.

 

[Lyndsey]

I love Pits. Always have, always will. Ive owned two Pits. A red nose (BIG guy) when I was like 12. And a Pit mix I had to rehome a few months ago.

Neither of these two ever showed any aggression towards me or anyone else. Ive also worked with and been around hundreds of pits without a problem. My 14 month old used to play with my most recent Pit...pulling ears, tail...never even gave my son an "off" look. Just licked him to death. A friend brought their FIFTEEN lb dog over to play. Guess which dog was being the submissive one and running away from the other? MY dog! Thats right...a 75 lb Pit mix was being submissive to a 15 lb Lhasa Apso mix! LOL


EVERY dog has a hunting/fighting instinct somewhere in them. Yes, Pits might have a stronger one, but all dogs have it.

Pits have such a bad rep...and its just so sad to me

Ban the deed...not the breed

Pits will be the only dogs I get in the future (if I decide to get another dog in a few years).



This is a pic of my boy that I had to rehome:

Still love you, Stanford!

 

[BalloonzForU]

Very pretty brindle!!!