Pit bull & family friendly for ~$3K/m? (home, pit bulls)

[NorCal Dude]

Originally Posted by gizmo980

I fully agree, and HATE how the breed (actually BREEDS) has been demonized. Some of the nicest dogs I've met have been Pits or Staffies, while the nastiest ones have included Chihuahuas, Pomeranians, Chows, Dalmatians, etc. I used to work as a pet sitter, and the meanest dog I cared for was a Golden Retriever! He was friendly to me, but had to be muzzled on our walks, and would still lunge at every dog or human who passed. The only time I was bitten on the job was by, of all things, an English Springer Spaniel. He wasn't generally an aggressive dog, but chomped my hand when I put it out (in a "stop" gesture) to keep him from bolting through the door. So yeah, my 10+ years of professional pet care taught me not to judge by breed alone... I can gauge a dog's temperament almost immediately, without even knowing their breed/s first.

Now here's a thought - maybe you could just call them "terriers," and hope the landlord doesn't require meeting them and/or doesn't know their breeds? My pooch is 100% Heinz 57 mutt, but slightly resembles a smaller German Shepherd... after being questioned by a few landlords when I was HONEST (in calling him a mixed breed), I gave up and just started putting "Cattle Dog mix" on our applications. I also created a doggie resume, which the landlords all really loved! It has his photo on the top, name, age, "breed," weight, vaccination history & vet info, and a few blurbs about his overall temperament. Have you done that yet? I'll send you mine via DM later, if you want to see how it's formatted.

Okay lady, would tou please provide us with the two breeds of dogs that are most responsible for killing people.

Oh gee, its pittbulls and rotts, who get inbreeded like crazy. Thats why ghetto people and redneck trash love these dogs. How many pits are in marin v east oakland?

Ding ding we have a winner.

[eureka1]

I OWN a pit bull and I would never have her in the same house with another dog and an infant.

[andyadhi01]

Originally Posted by NorCal Dude

Okay lady, would tou please provide us with the two breeds of dogs that are most responsible for killing people.

Oh gee, its pittbulls and rotts, who get inbreeded like crazy. Thats why ghetto people and redneck trash love these dogs. How many pits are in marin v east oakland?

Ding ding we have a winner.

Owners of these dogs are either violent type or have deep psychiatric issues where they feel powerful that their beast can kill someone. Ironically enough pitbulls usually kill their family members! Evolution at work I guess....

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by NorCal Dude

Okay lady, would tou please provide us with the two breeds of dogs that are most responsible for killing people.

Oh gee, its pittbulls and rotts, who get inbreeded like crazy. Thats why ghetto people and redneck trash love these dogs. How many pits are in marin v east oakland?

Ding ding we have a winner.

Don't blame the breed, blame the owners and/or specific dog. Not to mention simple statistics, as of course two of the most popular/populous breeds will show up the most on any list. But hey, I was just sharing my personal experiences from 10+ years of pet sitting - never made any definitive claims about the breed, and this is not the place for the old Pit Bull debate.

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by Ceece

Do you own your own home now? I'm just curious as to why someone would go out of their way to get pit bulls knowing how difficult housing will be. I'm not hating on the dogs, but I genuinely am curious about people do this to themselves and wonder if anyone ever thinks ahead.

Of course I think this about practically everyone with dogs who move around from apartment to apartment too. I wouldn't consider a pet until I had a good place for one, but every young person I know seems to run out and gets a dog the day after they get their first apartment.

I waited until I was THIRTY before getting my first dog, and had been renting apartments/houses since age 17. Like you said, I kept thinking "gotta wait until I own a house before getting a dog," but as I was finishing grad school @ 30, I thought it was time to accept that home ownership might still be many years away. So I eventually gave up on that idea, and adopted my wonderful Rudy back in 2005. Yeah, it does limit my rental options - but we've lived in 4 different rentals together, and it wasn't exactly rocket science to find & apply for the dog-friendly complexes. So I don't really care what you or anyone else thinks, I haven't regretted adopting my beloved boy for one moment.

Of course, I don't have a Pit Bull, so that makes things a bit easier... and that was something I considered, as I visited shelter after shelter full of the breed. I have nothing against them personally, and felt badly for all the ones I saw, but knew that wouldn't be a good move. Anyway, I guess you have to understand the companionship a dog (any breed) provides. Literally changed my life, starting with the 55lbs I lost in the first year of dog ownership! I pay my own rent and bills, too, so it's not like I've asked anyone else to subsidize my decision to have a pooch.

[andyadhi01]

Originally Posted by gizmo980

Don't blame the breed, blame the owners and/or specific dog. Not to mention simple statistics, as of course two of the most popular/populous breeds will show up the most on any list. But hey, I was just sharing my personal experiences from 10+ years of pet sitting - never made any definitive claims about the breed, and this is not the place for the old Pit Bull debate.

I don't see golden retriever on the list. Do you understand statistics?

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by andyadhi01

I don't see golden retriever on the list. Do you understand statistics?

Yes. Do you understand that I never claimed anything about the breed/s in general, and that statistics still don't excuse prejudice? Apply that logic to humans, and maybe you will get my point.

[kgbnsf]

Originally Posted by eureka1

I OWN a pit bull and I would never have her in the same house with another dog and an infant.

I have the most docile mixed breed, mutt dog, she is truly adorable, well trained and cared for and only 25 pounds. She loves kids. I took her to the parks and schools starting at 12 weeks to get her used to small, loud, playing kids. She loves small kids and treats them gingerly.

I don't let her alone with small children. While she has never expressed the slightest indication of being a problem, by nature of being a dog, she is unpredictable. Owning a large, powerful dog as a pet, especially those of a breed that has a repeated track record for killing small children is irresponsible in my opinion.

Ask the families of all the small children that have been brutally killed by a pit bull if they ever saw it coming. They generally say the same thing you do: - well trained, perfect family dog, no indication of aggressiveness, it never did that before. Why a parent would take that chance with their own children is something I'll never understand. It's so unnecessary to take the risk and it will be so regrettable if anything were to happen.

More relevant to the original topic, your best bet is to find a sympathetic dog owner and offer them the additional insurance and an additional pet deposit. As a last resort, offer a small premium on the monthly rent. A couple years ago when the 2 year old in the east bay was mauled apart by several pit bulls, it was because the two year old had entered into the garage. The door was supposed to be locked. Make sure you kid proof your doors/separators and also make them human proof so that a mistake won't turn into a tragedy. With the 12 year old boy in San Francisco that was mauled to death, he was simply in the house alone after school. It's unfortuante.

[mkremer90]

To everyone whose stayed on topic and gave me advice, thanks! I do currently own a home with fenced in backyard. I'd be looking to buy a home down there as well, but I need a place to stay while we home-hunt. Depending on how soon the job wants me down there, I may be moving down alone while my wife sells our house, which may give me time to get a new home lined up anyway.

And please, don't even joke about having dogs off leash. Dogs should -never- be off leash in public. This goes for -any- breed.

As for the past maulings in SF, those are obviously very sad, and I by no means am trying to defend those dogs. However, upon doing some research into one of the incidents, it is rather clear that this was owner negligence. They owned FIVE pit bulls, which is quite ridiculous, having five dogs in general is quite ludicrous. Having dogs is -expensive- (food, immunizations, flea/tick meds, checkups, licensing. You're looking at least at $150/m per dog.), so I can't imagine that all five were taken care of appropriately. The man also left both children unattended (felony child endangerment, REGARDLESS of whether or not he has dogs, NOT because he had dogs) to go play tennis while his wife slept. That's just blatant owner stupidity and nothing more. I'm glad that man was jailed, he got what he deserved. (Source: Concord Man Sentenced For 2010 Child Pit Bull Mauling « CBS San Francisco)

[Aesthete]

Attacks often come from people being ignorant of canine body cues/signals that are too subtle for most people to catch before it's too late.


Parker and the Baby - YouTube