Pit bulls at a play date's house--why are parents offended if you aren't ok with that? (day care, health)
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We've made it a rule to ask if a person if they have any animals at their home before we agree to a play date. Why would a pit bull owner be offended if I politely thanked them, declined, and offered an alternative to a play date in their home? Are people that naive?
SELFISH and Yes.......Paramedic for 33 years, so I've seen a few.
You weren't there and didn't see what I saw. I took my dog to over 20 different dog parks from the time he was a puppy until he was 2 years old, nearly every day. The only dog to attack him and CONTINUE to attack him when he retreated and ran away was a pit bull puppy that was under 6 months old, and obviously the pit bull had not been "trained" to attack dogs. My dog is a husky mix and extremely friendly and not an aggressive dog himself as he played with numerous dog breeds and dogs of all ages.
If you honestly think a puppy that hasn't yet reached sexual maturity can display signs of real aggression (differentiated from dominance behavior, which can be a predictor of future aggression, but not always. And not likely if the owner is an experienced good alpha), then it's your prerogative to believe whatever you want to believe. Just don't expect sane, rational, educated people to take anything you say seriously.
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Not going to argue with you crazed pit bull fanatic idiots.
Not a pit bull "fanatic" here. I've never owned one, nor do I think the breed is outstanding or superior in any specific way, I just think they're really neat dogs. I think a bunch of different breeds, mutts included, are really neat dogs. I'm posting in this thread because I hate stupidity and prejudice, and the devastation that toxic combination creates.
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Google what is the breed of dog responsible for the most human deaths, statistically. It's pit bulls.
When we say "pit bull", that is oftentimes a guess at the dog's breed since misidentification is common among victims, police, and shelters that adopt out these dogs. If a dog has a blocky head they're often labeled "pit bull". There's no reliable source of data for actual pit bull related fatalities, or even bites.
That being said, and giving the accrued data the benefit of the doubt, we have to take into consideration that pit bulls were no more likely than other breeds, statistically speaking, to bite or cause fatal injuries before the 1980's. Then along came the '80s and a renewed interest in dog fighting, which led to reckless backyard breeding and human induced aggression in pitties. They became the guard dog of choice for drug dealers, but only after enduring horrific abuse that would turn virtually any breed into a killer. Criminals singled out two prized qualities, strength and tenacity, and exploited them for financial gain.
When you read of pit bull attacks, the vast majority of these cases involved abused and/or neglected pitties, and, yes, there is data to back this up. (It can be found in a link in one of the articles I'm going to post later.) These cases are consistent with the type of people, and circumstances, that pitties have frequently found themselves with and in since they became the thug's top choice of canine. We're not talking about happy families that adopt temperament tested pitties from the local rescue. Two entirely different worlds, completely different dogs.
So if you dig deeper, you find the true story of the pit bull. Too many people are all too willing, or gullible, to bother digging, though. Which is how we end up with google sensationalism that catches the eye and further entrenches harmful misinformation about the breed.
I love my dogs.
My dogs are every bit as much family as anyone else here.
They get the best of everything.
Hell, my last dog had a dermatologist, internist, and ophthalmologist.
When she suddenly succumbed to AIHA and the emergency people tried to ask me what I wanted to do based on price, I was like, "Who the hell cares what it costs! Save her!"
But you are truly delusional if you think you know what your dog will do under any circumstance 100% of the time. All it takes is once.
No, you'd have to be a raging moron to trust someone else's judgment in a case where their judgment is predicated on fantasy.
I never said dogs shouldn't be closely monitored when interacting with young children, and kids need to be taught how to behave around dogs. I feel like if I say the following you're going to misinterpret and run with that rather than reply to the spirit of the post, but here goes...
Dogs are simple creatures. Their personalities, idiosyncrasies, vocabularies, facial expressions, all of these things become intimately known by owners within a short period of time because dogs aren't the emotionally complex creatures people are. If you know your dog well, study canine psychology, engage them in routine obedience training as well as interactive play, and are a person of sound judgment, you can gauge your dog's responses with near 100% accuracy. The problem is that many dog owners just aren't that devoted to their charges. They don't form the same bond, they don't spend enough time with their dog, they don't bother trying to learn more about their dog, they frequently misinterpret subtle cues an informed dog owner picks up on.
When people say, "I never saw that coming!", they did actually see it coming. They just weren't attuned to their dog's energy or knowledgeable enough about canine behavior to predict that particular response.
It isn't always easy to assess the situation upon meeting someone's dog for the first time, or even the 50th, which is why it's critical to know that the person watching your kids has good judgment. People of poor judgment probably can't accurately determine if their own friends have good judgment, but who here is going to admit that they aren't a sensible person with a good head on their shoulders.
And, for the love of dog biscuits, don't animal lovers always end up chatting about their animals? How can it not come up in conversation that Parent A takes Fido to obedience class every week and can recite Cesar Millan by heart? It's not that difficult to ascertain a person's level of devotion to their fur kids.
Btw, "nice" has nothing to do with sense. Nothing whatsoever. The average person should realize that. I hope.
I would have reservations about sending my child to any home with a pit bull. I have no way to know if that dog is really friendly or not. I don't know that dog. Aside from the many news stories we've all seen about pit bulls attacking small children, I have to wonder what kind of person would own one. Most of the people I know who got pit bulls are idiot 20-something men who think having a pit bull will make them look tough. It simply doesn't make any sense to me that, with the exception of some rescues, any responsible person would think that that is an appropriate pet for a home with small children and would deliberately choose such a dog. It's not like there aren't a million other dogs to choose from.
People expect an aggressive dog to be a pit bull, ergo, they were attacked by a pit bull. Even if the dog was a boxer/labrador mix. You see what you want to see.
If you honestly think a puppy that hasn't yet reached sexual maturity can display signs of real aggression (differentiated from dominance behavior, which can be a predictor of future aggression, but not always. And not likely if the owner is an experienced good alpha), then it's your prerogative to believe whatever you want to believe. Just don't expect sane, rational, educated people to take anything you say seriously.
Not a pit bull "fanatic" here. I've never owned one, nor do I think the breed is outstanding or superior in any specific way, I just think they're really neat dogs. I think a bunch of different breeds, mutts included, are really neat dogs. I'm posting in this thread because I hate stupidity and prejudice, and the devastation that toxic combination creates.
You know I didn't used to have anything against pit bulls, until that dog attacked my dog. Why you are arguing with my objective experience is beyond me. It shows your willful ignorance against reality.
If a pit bull attacked my child, you would have all the same excuses you have now, plus something trying to blame my child for it. You never place blame on the dog itself because it's your sacred cow and you refuse to acknowledge reality, which makes you a fanatic. you are fanatically devoted to an ugly, useless breed of dog that is documented as being dangerous. There is a reason why pit bulls are banned in many places, along with other aggressive dog breeds. it's not because people make things up for no reason about these breeds. It's because they actually are violent. Like I said, my dog was attacked by one unprovoked, and my dog is not an aggressive dog who ever fought with any other dog, he is a husky, which are notoriously dog friendly dogs.
I post real links to real stories about thousands of people who have been mauled by pit bulls, and statistics about it, and you reply with links to made up stories about how pit bull aggression is a "myth" and how it's like some mysterious trend that first it was this breed, now it's pit bulls, then it's going to be some other breed. No, just no. No other dog was ever as violent as pit bulls, that's why their surge in popularity has also caused a surge in emergency room admissions of dog maulings. Not dog bites, but dog MAULINGS.
People expect an aggressive dog to be a pit bull, ergo, they were attacked by a pit bull. Even if the dog was a boxer/labrador mix. You see what you want to see.
Why do you devote yourself to this ugly dog? Why don't you give it up and adopt one of the hundreds of other homeless dogs of a different breed? Why do you choose to keep a liability as a pet? Do you even have an answer for this, or are you just being a troll in life by owning an obnoxious, potentially deadly animal and then yelling at everyone for not loving it?
Why don't you just go adopt a rattle snake and then start yelling at everyone who says they're not safe? It's just as stupid as owning a pit bull when it's simply easier to just NOT own a pit bull
I would have reservations about sending my child to any home with a pit bull. I have no way to know if that dog is really friendly or not. I don't know that dog. Aside from the many news stories we've all seen about pit bulls attacking small children, I have to wonder what kind of person would own one. Most of the people I know who got pit bulls are idiot 20-something men who think having a pit bull will make them look tough. It simply doesn't make any sense to me that, with the exception of some rescues, any responsible person would think that that is an appropriate pet for a home with small children and would deliberately choose such a dog. It's not like there aren't a million other dogs to choose from.
It's usually people with a major chip on their shoulder, or violent, macho men, or it's people who really hate other people and love dogs more than they love people, and they use the dog as yet another reason to hate people.
So basically, anti-social, aggressive people own pit bulls.
I have rarely seen so much apoplectic rage in a person, let alone a person discussing dogs and not a hot button issue like politics. It's something else alright And I find it very typical that all your links are to anti-pit bull sources. Sources count. You can't quote just anybody, especially opinion pieces, and expect people to take you seriously. My sources, reputable sites absent an agenda, aside from promoting animal welfare and love of all dogs, contain links to valid research. Like CDC and American Bar Association valid. I care about the quality of information I share, which is one reason I avoid sites with any agenda, pro or anti. Either you didn't read anything I posted or you just like to spout off.
At any rate, I feel sorry for you. It can't be easy being stuck in a head filled with that much hatred.
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Ne9, you rock
You're too kind I've really enjoyed reading your contributions as well! And am amazed that a pit bull owner can remain so calm and level-headed in the face of so much anti-pit bull slander. It's depressing that people can be so irrationally hateful towards an animal I encountered a pittie owner once who was nervously telling everyone in the vet's office that her dog was really very friendly, there was no reason to be concerned, etc., and all the while the dog is standing there relaxed with tongue lolling. This poor girl...it was impossible not to feel bad for her. No one should ever feel the need to defend an innocent, loving animal.
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And I find it very typical that all your links are to anti-pit bull sources. Sources count. You can't quote just anybody, especially opinion pieces, and expect people to take you seriously. My sources, reputable sites absent an agenda, aside from promoting animal welfare and love of all dogs, contain links to valid research. Like CDC and American Bar Association valid. I care about the quality of information I share, which is one reason I avoid sites with any agenda, pro or anti. Either you didn't read anything I posted or you just like to spout off. 
I've really enjoyed reading your contributions as well! And am amazed that a pit bull owner can remain so calm and level-headed in the face of so much anti-pit bull slander. It's depressing that people can be so irrationally hateful towards an animal 
I encountered a pittie owner once who was nervously telling everyone in the vet's office that her dog was really very friendly, there was no reason to be concerned, etc., and all the while the dog is standing there relaxed with tongue lolling. This poor girl...it was impossible not to feel bad for her. No one should ever feel the need to defend an innocent, loving animal.
