Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Every breed has their fanatics. I guess I love an "underdog". Between the bad (and often wrong or misinformed) media articles, being disproportionally represented (and euthanized) in shelters and even have people calling for their automatic destruction makes me want to pull for them. However, it is after working with many, many pits as a volunteer at a local shelter that I have come to really love them. I have seen ones that arrive after been dumped, injured and/or obviously used for breeding still have an amazing love for people. Their fat heads, big chests, amazing smiles and happy tails bring a smile to me.
I have to say that I feel the same way! I love the dogs and I hate bigotry and stereotyping. Animals included.
I have a pit bull mix and she is probably the sweetest dog in my neighborhood.
Due to stereotypes and prejudices, most other dog owners taking their dog for a walk will purposely avoid us and will pull their dog away from our path.
When they DO allow my dog to come close, they are surprised how sweet and patient and freindly she is. My pit bull mix is extremely dog friendly and people friendly. She's always been this way. She's had several dogs bark and snap at her (not pits, but everything from labs to yappy dogs), and everytime my dog stays calm.
My pit mix is also well trained. I took her through every training class they had at PetSmart. She went to Puppy, then Basic, then Clicker, then Advanced and she even got her AKC Canine Good Citizen certification. The trainer actually wanted her to be a therapy dog. A pit bull mix as a therapy dog!
My dream world would be for every dog owner to be just like you.
Another false perception is that there is a dog bite epidemic. In fact, dog bites have gone way down over the years. Every attack that occurs is a tragedy, and I don't mean to minimize anything, no matter what type of dog is involved. It just disturbs me that the relatively new practice of reporting every attack purported to involve a pit bull leaves people with a false impression about pit bulls in particular, and the danger of dogs in general.
Dogsbite.org always manages to come up at the top of google searches, but they vastly under report the population of pit bulls in the US, and over report the number of attacks by pit bulls. If you click on the link I posted above, dog bites decreasing, and then on the tab that says injurious dog bites, there is a wealth of information, including reports of every fatal dog attack each year since 2009. The National Canine Research Council is the source used by the American Veterinary Medical Association in their recent review of dog bites and breed-specific legislation. Apparently they aren't impressed with the statistics provided by dogsbite.org.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I love the dogs and I hate bigotry and stereotyping. Animals included.
