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I don't know how pitbulls get a bad rep.. (lots of pics)

5K views 36 replies 18 participants last post by  Stone 
#1 ·
Pitbulls have such a bad reputation, but the two pitbulls I know have got to be the sweetest babies ever! My opinion has, and will always be, that most dog temperament problems are due to the owner, not the dog. How can you not love these faces? Mia (black and white) is half pitbull, and Chevelle (gray and white) is purebred.

Mia


Chevelle


My sleepy babies.










Mia got sent to her room for digging in the trash. Lol!
 
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#3 ·
I love pitbulls!! I sadly don't have a dog because of where I live but my mom said I can get a dog when we move to a bigger house which should be in July of next year! I'm hoping for a purebreed pit but I think my mom wants something smaller!
 
#4 · (Edited)
Because to many aggressive people want them, and then don't train them. For some reason they've become a 'tough guy image' accessory. I personally would only have one if we had an acre of land. They're very sweet dogs but a very high energy. But most of the them are super sweet and only need their energy drained, which I think causes people to mistake them being aggressive. Because they're so enthusiastic about everything.

Honestly my Lhasa Apso is more of a 'bad dog' then most pitts or bad rep dogs are. But all people want to do with Momo is cuddle him or pet him. Which if he doesn't like you and you come at him he'll tell you he'll rip your face off if you don't back off. Then do it if you don't get the hint.
 
#9 ·
I agree with you, pitts are very high energy! My Mia gets extremely excited the moment she gets the idea that we're going to take her outside. We have 1.5 acres, so she has plenty of room to run around. After playing fetch and pulling rope for a half hour to an hour, she gets exhausted, begs to go back inside, and is a total couch potato the rest of the day! She is also one of the most affectionate dogs I have ever known, she loves to give kisses! Chevelle on the other hand is not as excitable, and sort of stays to herself, but she has an addiction to tennis balls and if you throw one, be prepared for her to bring it back to you for hours and hours!

That's the same with my terrier/chihuahua. Frankly, she's a b!^$*, but no one ever seems intimidated by her, even when she's growling. Everyone just thinks it's "cute."
 
#5 · (Edited)
They have a bad rep because the media wants them too. I wish that statement wasn't true but it is. A lot of people don't know the difference between a Pit Bull Terrier and what are now classified as Pit Bull Type breeds. ( I find this funny considering most of these breeds pre-date Pit Bull Terriers) A lot of attacks by such breeds as Bull Mastiffs, American Staffordshire Terrier, Bull Terrier, Dongo Argentino, and Boxers are reported as American Pit Bull Terriers. I've never seen anyone go out of their way to correctly report the proper breed. They just say a Pit Bull attack.

You are more likely to get bitten by a Golden Retriever(The "best family dog" you can have). I rarely see someone draw back in fear when you say Akita but they hold the record for attacks, deaths, and maimings. Then there are small/toy breeds which bite often but go unreported because being small dogs they do less damage. Sorry for the rant but this subject gets under my skin because it shows that people refuse to educate themselves and just fall into an angry mob when given a chance.


BTW those faces are just adorable in my book. I have a gassy Alaskan Malamute and an American Cocker Spaniel that thinks he's a cat.
Mammal Vertebrate Carnivore Canidae Dog

Dog Canidae Dog breed Carnivore Sporting Group

Dog Siberian husky Mammal Vertebrate Canidae
 
#6 ·
I love pit bulls! They're the only breed I've ever owned for the past 10 years.
Unfortunately, no matter how sweet my dog is, most people are terrified of him. He gets along well with dogs, cats, children....he's never ever been aggressive in any way. We have gotten a few notes on our door from some one saying how scared they are to even walk past my house knowing he's in there and may "attack at any moment" lol. Someone has told me they feared for my sons life when they saw me walking my toddler and my dog down the street together (both on leashes lol)...she actually yelled that at me from her window. My dog was viscously attacked at the dog park and didnt defend himself, and everyone blamed him, just because of his breed and I was bullied out of the park and asked not to bring him anymore.

This is my boy Poker, he's a 7 yr old blue nose Am Pit Bull Terrier.















 
#7 ·
WOW those dogs are all so cute! Pitbulls aren't as common here in Australia,but at the dog park my beautiful dogs and I have met a few and they were all lovely.Staffy type dogs always seem to get a bad rep,but I have always found Staffy type dogs to be really friendly and sweet.99% of Staffy type breeds we have met have been just lovely.In my own experience/encounters I am alot more wary of a few other breeds than I am of the Staffy breeds.
 
#10 ·
Shannon, your boy looks a lot like Chevelle! She's a blue nose, too. But sadly she has a little bit of a lower jaw deformity, due to too much inbreeding. :( Still we love her all the same! And I just love the pictures of Poker and your son, too cute!
 
#11 ·
Thanks! You're right, they do have very similar markings! Your dogs are so freakin cute, I forgot to add that in my last post! Lol.

The reason I love pits so much is because of their bad rap....I've got a sensitive side for "underdogs" in any situation, not only including animals btw. If I see something I don't agree with happening, I will defend it. Like if someone is getting made fun of or picked on, I always come to their defense. Everyone can judge my dog all they want, but the proof is right in front of them. The lady who threatened me with animal control, I told her, 'call them, I'm not afraid. They'll just see how sweet my dog is and laugh at you'.
 
#12 ·
I feel sad for the pitties around here I went to adopt a dog for my mom and the SPCA is just full of pitties. Most just wanted to lick you to death. I could not take one as I knew my br other would never let his kids around a a pitbull and they visit my mom all the time. I used to be pretty afraid of them based of the news reports I see but I've met some that are great. For the right owner they are great dogs.
 
#13 ·
I love this thread. It's fun to see all these adorable and positive pictures of everyone's dogs. I tend to like the dog breeds other people are afraid of. I guess it's something about loving the underdog, as Shannonpwns said. :)

I've had pit bulls in the past, although I don't have a dog right now because I'm not at a point in my life where I feel I could give a dog the attention, exercise, and attention it needs. Plus, I'm afraid my thirteen-year-old orange tabby (Socks) would try to beat up a dog since she attacked my mom's dachshund/terrier mix the first (and only) time they met face-to-face. But when I am able to have a dog again, I have my heart set on a pit bull or a pit bull mix, preferably from a shelter.
 
#14 · (Edited)
I've had a pitt in the past now I have rottweilers.. It's sad that they get bad names as well... it especially makes me mad when you see them in movies where the bad guys set them onto the good guys...

Here's my boy Sebastian


He likes to sneak up on my bed for naps...


and here is a pic of him and Zena on game day... (dad's brilliant idea ~insert eye roll here~)
 
#15 ·
I once worked with a man who owned pitties.
They were beautiful dogs even with a few problems from not being controlled and trained correctly.
I don't agree that he was using his dogs as breeders though however that being said it was an amazing experience to help raise the puppies once they were born, something i will never forget.

Here are some photos, the mothers name was Cherish and her puppies.
She was a WONDERFUL mother, so gentle and trusting of me to be around the puppies.

The puppies were around 6 weeks old (if i remember correctly) in this photo.


Her life was horribly taken by the council after someone put in a complaint regarding the dogs.. so many things could have stopped this happening but one silly man didnt take the nessecary steps to ensure his dogs were controlled, registered and safe.
The pups however are all still alive and are safe with new owners.

This is a photo of Cherish's half brother, Simba, a big doof head but a great dog with the right match (wasnt so good with other male dogs, egos! HA!)
 
#17 ·
I love pitties! They are the BEST dogs! Such sweet, wide smiles. :) They are the only breed to have made the cover of Life magazine several times as
"breed of the year", and in the 50's and 60's they were *the* breed recommended for families...because of their loyalty and *gentleness* with children. Once referred to as "nanny dogs". And remember the Little Rascals? That dog on there is a pittie. Look back at photos from the 18 and early 1900's...photo after photo is of children and pitties.
How quickly people forget... :(

Breed Specific Legislation is legalized murder in my book. It's inept people who have done ZERO research deciding that an entire breed of dog needs to be destroyed. Such complete and total *ignorance*. I will tolerate stupidity, it's something you're born with, but ignorance is unforgiveable. It's the WILLFUL exclusion of facts and a refusal to learn. That just makes you horrible...and some cases causes absolute evil. Unforgiveable.

I get riled up about this...don't let a southern female get on a soapbox...lol! ;)

I worked as a dog groomer for about a year when I was a pre-vet major in college...and I second the comment about the little dogs being the ones to watch. ;) LOL, they're good little guys, but if you do something they don't like, Heaven help you. ;) Shelties and cockers were by far the most likely to bite. But, we had a cocker spaniel for 18 years and she was the BEST dog. My cousins played with her, pulled her ears, tried to "ride" her (poor little girl!), and she never bit, never growled, never snapped...she just tried to hide. Never met anyone she didn't like, and wanted nothing more than to be loved on.
There is absolutely good in every breed, and every dog has the potential to be special to someone. Sometimes they may need some particular handling or a certain type of home (IE no cats, no children, etc.), but they're all GOOD creatures. :)
 
#18 ·
I LOVE Pit bulls! We can't even own them in my province, which makes me very angry, since they really are sweethearts! Even though there are my many small dog owners on this site, my personal preference is big dogs, because most small dogs don't like me and bite my ankles or my fingers. I've never once had a Pit bull or so called "dangerous dog" lung at me like a Chihuahua has. Well, there was that one mutt, but it was just having a bad day at a kennel, aha. Here's my Daisy, a complete Mutt that has a little of everything in her. I honestly think she might have some Pitt among Sheppard and Whippet XD

 
#19 ·
Your dogs are the absolute cutest <3333
My guess is pit bulls are a really common breed which many crappy dog owners allow to reproduce, thus giving their dogs to their friends. So it's just like an endless cycle of good dogs given to bad owners who keep letting them breed randomly (at least in this area, people have them chained in the backyards with no shelter and they just keep breeding, and it's clear the mothers need a break.)
 
#20 ·
Being common is a big part of it. But a bigger part is that there are some ignorant, horrible, evil people who intentionally use pit bulls to fight one another, often to the death. People hear the word pit-bull, and they instantly conjure up the media-driven idea that ALL pitties are blood-thirsty killers...because of this practice. What the media *doesn't* tell you, is that these dogs are used this way because of their loyalty, and absolute willingness to please their owners. They only want to do what they've been told...and if they've been conditioned, and yes, told, to fight another dog...then they'll do it. If only because they are following orders from their leader. It's not the dog's fault. It's the fault of the evil piece-of-walking-filth who put them in that situation to begin with. :(

They are some of the most loyal, most protective, and most *loving* breed of dogs out there...and it's absolutely heinous what's been done to them in the eyes of the general public. :(
 
#30 ·
He hates when Kato comes over. As you know pitties don't mature until several years old, and he likes to jump on our dog and doesn't heed the snarls from my dog.My biological uncle had a pit bull/st.bernard mix and he said that she was protective of us and didn't mind us pulling on her
 
#32 ·
I understand completely. :( Off leash dogs are the bane of my existence, and I got into it pretty seriously with a neighbor when her sheltie ran out into the road, ran down several hundred yards, and *attacked* one of my boys. It got nasty with the neighbor, and I stopped walking my dogs in my own neighborhood. We walk 3 to 5 miles a day, and we just go to a different neighborhood now. It's obnoxious...but whatever. :p

And you are absolutely right...I can control my dogs...it's having to work around other people who DON'T control their dogs, or who see mine barking and fussing about their own dogs that can be an issue. :( They just assume that my guys are going to eat their faces....when that's not the case at all. The court of public opinion can be a ridiculously misguided and uninformed place. :(

These two are the first dog-aggressive dogs I've ever had...and it is definitely a commitment and a fight. You hit it on the head when you mentioned that it takes a specific home and a specific person to deal with it. :) Fortunately, my guys are *awesome* dogs (at least I think so, lol!)...and their issues are easily worked around if I get just a little bit creative about it. :)

I know what you mean about people being against you, *especially* when you have a dog of a breed that's perceived to be aggressive. My two are terriers, so they're deceptive...people assume they're friendly until they get too close with another dog...and that low growl starts...and then they back off pretty quickly and look terrified.
My grandparents had a Siberian husky when I was a child, and I can still remember people scolding my mother for letting my brother and I play with him unattended. He was *huge*, but absolutely the kindest, gentlest dog. :) We rode the poor creature... :) But he was big...and he was black and white, so people thought he was "scary". We knew better, but it put the ridiculous notions people have about things they have no experience with in perspective at a very young age. :)

Fortunately, around here pitties are pretty common, and for the most part they're pretty welcome at dog parks from what I've been told. :) I'm sure that's not the case in other areas, but at least around here they're actually fairly well tolerated. :) There's hope, lol! :)

I'm sure your girl is adorable! I love the little pits, it's those wide heads and those giant pittie smiles. :) My cousin recently adopted a little black and white girl who was supposedly a "hound cross" (read: southern shelter terminology for pittie mix, but we want this dog to get adopted, so let's take out "pit bull" and put in "hound") and Maisie is just the *girliest* dog... :)

I've never actually owned a pit...but it just totally irks me when *any* entire breed of dog starts getting ragged on and blamed for things that are just as prevalent in other breeds. It could be any breed, not just pitties, I'd still go to bat for them. ;)

I think for the most part we totally have the same opinion on this, we just come at it from slightly different angles. :) You obviously love dogs and value pits just as much as anyone else, which is awesome. :)
 
#33 ·
Here are my two guys:

Chase:

He doesn't like the door to be closed. He enjoys being able to roam at will. I do NOT enjoy him roaming at all, because it lets all the heat out in the winter, and bugs in during the summer...argh. ;)

Benny:

I swear this creature is dog-autistic. Life is just very scary and stressful for Benny...but he's getting better. :) The **screaming** anytime we see another dog has mostly abated... ;)

And the REALLY BIG DOG... ;)

She's a total dork. ;)
 
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