Another Heart-warming Pit Bull Story

[LeisureSLarry]

Originally Posted by MetroWord

So, we have 4 dogs and 3 cats. The dogs are 2 corgis, a 140 lbs anatolian shephard, and a pit bull. The pit is a dwarf standing next to the big dog. He's full grown at around 40 pounds.

In the OP, the dog in question was 130 lbs. That's several more times the weight of any pit bull I've ever seen.

I think the problem is people tend to put down "pit bull" on the papers for any dog whose face remotely resemble the pit bull. Like all the bull dog breeds out there.

Another problem I've seen is that people in the hood tend to get pit bulls and then train them to be mean dogs. It's some kind of status symbol in that world.

Our pit has gotten out of the fence several times. He always seems to find a new way out. Anyway, each time he would run over to the house next door and our 83 year old neighbor would walk him back here.

I have trouble seeing him as a killing machine, considering that he sleeps in the bed with us every night. But at the same time, I fully realize the typical pit bull attack story is something like "one moment he is the perfect dog and the next..."

Like I said, I don't know if all the stats and stories about pit bull attacks are true. But I do know most people misidentify other dogs and pit bull all the time.

There is no standard definition of a 'pitbull' - they originate from English terriers with some mixed in bulldog and from there were used as foundation stock for subsequent breeds of all sizes. American Bullys are an example of a modern breed with this lineage that can get as large as you mention. The bolded comment above, that is called the switch and I have seen it, they go into the red zone and you cannot bring them out of it until they come out of it. The behavior was highly prized in game bred pitbulls and something as simple as waving your hand can cause them to attack and they will fight until they cannot fight.

[Vector1]

Originally Posted by MetroWord

So, we have 4 dogs and 3 cats. The dogs are 2 corgis, a 140 lbs anatolian shephard, and a pit bull. The pit is a dwarf standing next to the big dog. He's full grown at around 40 pounds.

In the OP, the dog in question was 130 lbs. That's several more times the weight of any pit bull I've ever seen.

I think the problem is people tend to put down "pit bull" on the papers for any dog whose face remotely resemble the pit bull. Like all the bull dog breeds out there.

Another problem I've seen is that people in the hood tend to get pit bulls and then train them to be mean dogs. It's some kind of status symbol in that world.

Our pit has gotten out of the fence several times. He always seems to find a new way out. Anyway, each time he would run over to the house next door and our 83 year old neighbor would walk him back here.

I have trouble seeing him as a killing machine, considering that he sleeps in the bed with us every night. But at the same time, I fully realize the typical pit bull attack story is something like "one moment he is the perfect dog and the next..."

Like I said, I don't know if all the stats and stories about pit bull attacks are true. But I do know most people misidentify other dogs and pit bull all the time.

That can happen, but not as much as you think. Naturally some owners play the game of calling them something other than a pit.
As a result some municipalities have banned not only pitbull, but any mixes, or even dogs with "pitbull characteristics".
Better safe than sorry.

[Vector1]

Originally Posted by OpinionInOcala

One thing that has amplified the danger of pit bulls and other breeds of defensive status has been the proliferation of unscrupulous backyard breeders. Poor genetics combined with cultural malfeasance is a recipe for disaster, particularly with creatures that have an innate capacity to cause serious harm.

That is very true.
However, even when people who know the lineage of the dog, and know how to properly raise them from puppies, still befall the same fate if their pitbull snaps and turns on them. There are many examples in this thread about those cases of never having had a problem, until the day they do.

None is worse than the kook couple who were members of BADRAP (a pitbull advocacy group) and their pitbulls killed the wife an unborn baby. The insane husband tried to prevent the pits from being put down (I would have put them down myself in his shoes).
Then after they were, he wanted their ashes to be buried with his wife and child, because "she would have wanted it the be that way".
Unfortunately we will never know what her final thoughts and final wishes would be, and I doubt she had a living will expressing that if their dogs that killed her and her baby, they should be buried in the casket with them.