News, Why Pit Bulls Don't Deserve a Bad Rap (bite, vet, breeding)
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I asked this before, but I will ask again--why are so many people so crazy about this breed anyway? What's wrong with a Labrador retriever, beagle, chow, or any number of other breeds? I'm not hating on the breed, or that MAYBE it's received an unfair bad rep, but rather I just don't get why so many people swarm to that breed as if it's absolutely the only decent type of dog that exists. That makes just as little sense to me as the bad rap makes to people who've had good experiences with them.
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 asked this before, but I will ask again--why are so many people so crazy about this breed anyway? What's wrong with a Labrador retriever, beagle, chow, or any number of other breeds? I'm not hating on the breed, or that MAYBE it's received an unfair bad rep, but rather I just don't get why so many people swarm to that breed as if it's absolutely the only decent type of dog that exists. That makes just as little sense to me as the bad rap makes to people who've had good experiences with them.
We are supporters of adoption before shopping.
We visited numerous shelters and rescues before settling on our dog.
We wanted a dog who was:
medium sized,not too small so that the kids could hurt it and not too big
over a year old (we didn't want a puppy)
Short haired
Even temperament
good with cats
not a barker
not a jumper
friendly
We got all those things in our dog. She happens to be considered a "bully breed" or "pit bull type" because of her looks. We know there is some boxer in her, but that is about it. Maybe some bulldog too. We don't know.
Typical shelter mutt.
She just happened to be the dog that fit our requirements. Breed was irrelevant.
And if she had been a beagle mix (which she was listed as a boxer/beagle mix so maybe she is that) or a purebred whatever, don't care as long as she fit our requirements.
I am a mama of a pitbull, a Chihuahua mix and a domestic house cat and 2 desert tortoises ... My Pit GurlLeigh is the least of the 3 canines in my house (another canine pure bred Chihuahua lives here also) that will attack or bitw anyone .. the pure bred Chi Lilly on the other hand will be the FIRST TO BITE .. the Chi mix BabyGurl will be the 2nd to bite ... GurlLeigh is the one who would come to any stranger and want lovins .. It is all in how you raise and train ans SOCIALIZE your kiddos .. Same with Human kids .. you must socialize them at an early age .. it is all in how you treat, love, and most of all RESPECT your kiddos .. All my kiddos are my Kiddos and we are in the process of trying to move but yet we were pretty much denied this one house to rent due to the fact I have a ' dangerous breed' kiddo ... it amazes me how so many ignorant people just automatically believe all the NEGATIVE hype about anything or anyone!! do you hear on the news how many pillbulls serve as not only Police K9 officers but also as our Military Officers ...or Pitbulls save a child from drowning or save a child from a predator or save children and family from burning up in a house fire???? NO ... but however we do hear of multuple pitbull attacks and this pitbull killed or mauled this child or killed that animal and this list goes on .. Let me ask a question .. so since a pitbull attacked a child.. does that mean EVERY PITBULL IS GOING TO ATTACK CHILDREN?? WELL IF YOUR ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION IS YES ... So we all have heard the horrible story about Jeffery Daumer (sp) .. he kidnapped and killed and ate several children .. anyways .. so does that mean that EVERY MAN WILL KIDNAP AND KILL AND EAT CHILDREN??? .. MY POINT IS .. JUST BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME DANGEROUS DOGS OUT THERE DOES NOT MEAN ALL OF EM ARE DANGEROUS ... I have personally been around many dogs .. and the dogs that are most aggressive as a whole ..are the lil ones .. but do I go round stating all lil breed dogs are dangerous and viciious??? no!!! why?? cause you can not put them all in a group ..it is an individual situation .. it is how the canine was treated and raised .. not what breeds they happen to be ... not because of the blood that flows thru their veins.. it is due to HUMANS AND HOW THEY WERE TREATED/ ARE BEING TREATED!! ..
Pit bull lovers use every possible excuse to justify the "bad rap" pit bulls get. The media doesn't pick on pit bulls. The media reports news. That's all. There is abundant evidence that pitbulls are more likely to attack than other breeds such as.
#1. Statistical reports (and I'm not simply referring to the dogsbite website).
#2. Media reports of attacks. They also include attacks by other breeds. For example, last year in our town an unfortunate older lady was attacked and killed by a pack of 5 dogs, none of which were pits. Our newspaper reported it the same day in detail.
#3. The fact that insurance companies often won't insure homeowners with pit bulls. They calculate insurance rates and whom they decline based on hard numbers: the profit vs. risk analysis. There is no emotion behind their decisions.
#4. A lot of landlords won't rent to owners of pits. My landlord won't, but they accepted my two Great Danes with no problems. They own over 1200 rental homes in the US. Other large rental companies in our city don't rent to them either.
#5. In my city, our Humane Society will even spay neuter pitbulls/mixes free. They don't do that for any other breed. When I asked the Humane Society employee why I couldn't get my deaf Great Dane spayed for free, she explained they had so many problems with people dumping aggressive pits, who were then quarantined and euthanized, they would rather owners bring in their adults for a free neuter so they wouldn't breed even more pups in the future.
Many pits are sweet, wonderful dogs. I'm not advocating breed bans. But it's time for pit lovers to stop denying the fact that these dogs are more likely to be aggressive than other breeds. If they want to own a dog with a slightly higher rate of aggression, just admit it. After all, any dog can be aggressive. It's not always the owner's fault. Otherwise, we wouldn't have yet another thread about how these dogs are actually sweet and wonderful. We never have these threads about Poodles, Corgis, Schnauzers, Yorkies, or Mastiffs.
Last edited by Scooby Snacks; 03-19-2014 at 07:23 AM..
Reason: Addendum
Pit bull lovers use every possible excuse to justify the "bad rap" pit bulls get. The media doesn't pick on pit bulls. The media reports news. That's all. There is abundant evidence that pitbulls are more likely to attack than other breeds such as.
#1. Statistical reports (and I'm not simply referring to the dogsbite website).
#2. Media reports of attacks. They also include attacks by other breeds. For example, last year in our town an unfortunate older lady was attacked and killed by a pack of 5 dogs, none of which were pits. Our newspaper reported it the same day in detail.
#3. The fact that insurance companies often won't insure homeowners with pit bulls. They calculate insurance rates and whom they decline based on hard numbers: the profit vs. risk analysis. There is no emotion behind their decisions.
#4. A lot of landlords won't rent to owners of pits. My landlord won't, but they accepted my two Great Danes with no problems. They own over 1200 rental homes in the US. Other large rental companies in our city don't rent to them either.
#5. In my city, our Humane Society will even spay neuter pitbulls/mixes free. They don't do that for any other breed. When I asked the Humane Society employee why I couldn't get my deaf Great Dane spayed for free, she explained they had so many problems with people dumping aggressive pits, who were then quarantined and euthanized, they would rather owners bring in their adults for a free neuter so they wouldn't breed even more pups in the future.
Many pits are sweet, wonderful dogs. I'm not advocating breed bans. But it's time for pit lovers to stop denying the fact that these dogs are more likely to be aggressive than other breeds. If they want to own a dog with a slightly higher rate of aggression, just admit it. After all, any dog can be aggressive. It's not always the owner's fault. Otherwise, we wouldn't have yet another thread about how these dogs are actually sweet and wonderful. We never have these threads about Poodles, Corgis, Schnauzers, Yorkies, or Mastiffs.
#1 Statistical reports by the National Canine Research Council tell a different story, and their investigations include interviews with witnesses, first responders, and experts on breed identification rather than going by initial news reports which may or may not be accurate.
#2, Had these dogs been pits, we all would have heard about it because it would have been picked up by news outlets across the country. There is a demonstrated difference in the amount of national coverage "pit bull" attacks get.
#3 I'd like to hear where they got their hard numbers from. Surely State Farm and other companies that insure pits have access to the same numbers? I don't think my insurance guy is letting my dogs slide out of the kindness of his heart! It must not be so cut and dried.
#4 True but what makes landlords an authority on pit bulls?
#5 There are many cities where people offer free pit bull spay/neuters. I'm sorry the HS employee cited aggression, as the reason has to do with sheer numbers of pits, not behavior. Yes some people raise dogs to be aggressive and then dump them, and pit bulls along with other, larger, intimidating-looking breeds are most likely to be raised that way. But in urban areas there are often more of these pit bulls and mixes than any other type of dog, and they are more likely to be owned by people who don't spay/neuter, either to sell the puppies or because they just don't care. One of the biggest problem with bite statistics is the way they undercount pit bulls and mixes in their figures of dog population. When you consider just how many pit bulls are out there, the numbers of aggressive dogs are very much smaller than is claimed.
Thanks for acknowledging the sweet pit bulls out there. They are steadily gaining popularity with true dog lovers not looking for guard dogs and status symbols of toughness. I think with time you'll see that there are many fewer aggressive pitties out there.
When did the media start reporting news again ? Its been over a decade since I have trusted them since all they seem to do is opinion pieces and put their spin on it.
#1 ) Statistics are not definitive. A majority of Vets and Animal Control that I spoke with when fighting BSL said they dont keep record of the breed of dog that bit, especially considering most of the Pit are types and not actual breeds. A lab retriever mix will be called a mix breed and a Staff Lab mix would be called a pitbull to stirr up emotion.
#2) Again, media does not report attacks. They report specific bites/attacks that will stir up emotion and get people to watch. Prime example is that actors staff that got savagely attacked by the the Mastiff's and a Bulldog. That was ALL OVER the news then it turned out that he died of a heart attack, no puncture wounds and a vet said the dogs where most likely trying to get him to move after he collapsed. Not reported in MSM, you have to dig for it.
#3) Insurance companies are here for profit, not here to protect you from anything. Tree fell on my house and htey didnt want to pony up, does that mean trees are dangerous and need to be banned too ?
#4) I as a landlord wont let cats on my property. Landlords can do what they want, most of them dont let pitbull types in are because of their insurance policy not for common sense.
#5) Logic tells me that they get aggressive pitbulls because they are abused. Its not hard to realise that the #1 abused dog's are pitbull types. If a Lab is chained up for all its life and gets off and bites a person do you feel sorry for the lab ? If a pit in the same situation does the same do you hate the dog because they are so dangerous ?
We rarely have threads about other breeds and their aggressivness because people who own pitbull types dont go looking for the stories and most normal people dont go looking for the stories either. This place has had (thankfully mods cleared a majority of it up) people that pretty much foam at the mouth when theyre looking to prove why having a lion in your house is safer than a pitbull.
Check out the Mastiff thread we had about them killing the guy. People where all over that until it turned out they didnt harm him and the people never came back to post. That right there tells me a lot.
Any dog will go mad when mistreated and the pitbull is the #1 dog for that right now. I remember when it was Rottweiler's and before Doberman that they media had an agenda against. Do you know the Irish Wolfehound is banned in some counties because hounds are dangerous ?
Pit bull lovers use every possible excuse to justify the "bad rap" pit bulls get. The media doesn't pick on pit bulls. The media reports news. That's all. There is abundant evidence that pitbulls are more likely to attack than other breeds such as.
Many pits are sweet, wonderful dogs. I'm not advocating breed bans. But it's time for pit lovers to stop denying the fact that these dogs are more likely to be aggressive than other breeds. If they want to own a dog with a slightly higher rate of aggression, just admit it. After all, any dog can be aggressive. It's not always the owner's fault. Otherwise, we wouldn't have yet another thread about how these dogs are actually sweet and wonderful. We never have these threads about Poodles, Corgis, Schnauzers, Yorkies, or Mastiffs.
Total crap.
Pit bulls, if raised the way loving families raise Golden Retrievers or Labs, are one of the LEAST LIKELY dogs to be aggressive toward humans. They are terrible watch dogs, unlike German Shepherds, which won't let anyone near your house. A pit bull, yes, will greet the burglar with a wagging tail and follow him around the house, hoping to be petted. I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP!
Our contractor sent two men to our house. We were not home and left the door unlocked. They walked in and we were told were given a big welcome by our pit bull.
I will concede that pit bulls are more likely to be dog aggressive. But some are not dog aggressive at all.
If you go back hundreds of years, they were bred to fight each other. But in order to have these fights, they had to be submissive to their owners, and not be aggressive toward other humans in the rings. So human aggression was completely bred out of them.
If you tie a dog to the back of your house, and only have people approach it waving baseball bats, and screaming and yelling, the dog will fear humans and become aggressive. It doesn't matter what the breed is. And that horrible situation is more likely to happen to pit bulls than any other breed.
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!
For people to say that all pit bulls should be euthanized, is disgusting and ignorant.
These bully breeds face so much abuse from humans, they're forced to fight, they're starved, they're abused, they're used as bait dogs, they're overbred....and yet most of these dogs will endure hell and still show love and loyalty towards a human. If anyone is to blame it is humankind.
Quote:
Originally Posted by shyguylh
I asked this before, but I will ask again--why are so many people so crazy about this breed anyway? What's wrong with a Labrador retriever, beagle, chow, or any number of other breeds? I'm not hating on the breed, or that MAYBE it's received an unfair bad rep, but rather I just don't get why so many people swarm to that breed as if it's absolutely the only decent type of dog that exists. That makes just as little sense to me as the bad rap makes to people who've had good experiences with them.
Because pit owners don't see a viscous attack dog like the rest of the world.
We see this breed as athletic, fun, playful, rough-housing, loyal, sweet, freindly, and hardworking.
And one thing these dogs have is personality! Lots of personality. They have facial expressions that you don't see with other dogs.
The problem isn't the breed, its the dog owners. Most dog owners would probably get a D+ rating if Cesar Milan came to their house. Most dogs are untrained, nervous, and obnoxious. I think about all the people that have dogs in my townhouse area, and so many of them have those small little ankle biters that yap yap yap yap yap yap all the time, its noise pollution. And beagles that hoooooooooowl for hours when the owners aren't home. Yet my dog is well behaved, quiet, and trustworthy around a room of infants.
Yet the average person is scared just to look at my dog.
Dogs aren't people, they are mostly a product of their genetics.
And Pitbulls are messed up beyond repair. Every one of them should be sterilized. Mankind bred them to begin with and then he ruined the breed by cross breeding aggressive pits with other aggressive pits and killed the docile ones off or let the aggressive pits kill them for training.
Cops kill every pitbull they have to deal with, they don't even hesitate. The cops I know anyway.
This is really sick. "Cops kill every pitbull they have to deal with" ? I'll be looking into this further. The cops you know sound like thugs. They ruin the rep of the decent cops out there.
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