Pit Bull Awareness Month!

[ForbiddenSecrets]

I love pits myself, my neighbor has one that I take care of all the time and we [me and the dog] spend a lot of time hanging out and playing... but tbh I'm never going to have one as a family pet when I have children. They are really over stereotyped its true but at the same time... some dogs really are just more aggressive then others due to their breeding and genetics and this is one very powerful dog to have this problem with. [Not every single one of course... but on average breeds do carry traits]

For instance a few years back I was at a beach bonfire when this guys pit [a guy I knew and he was very good to and with his animals] attacked a lady's smaller dog that I didn't know - very randomly. We could not get the pit to release the smaller dog until my father and a few other men lifted the pair up and started to lower the dog over the fire until it got startled enough to let go. [note they didn't actually put the dog 'in' the fire. Important to remember] They used this method because the dang dog would have ripped the small dog open if we tried to pull them apart :/

I think with time and breeding for better qualities in temperament as well as more public awareness the breed really can be redeemed. But when you own a powerful animal you have to be aware of what it can do to people.

[diablo13]

My neighborhood doesn't really have any vicious dogs, but the meanest is probably A Rottweiler Lab mix. She loves me, but she got out one day and went after another dog 0.0

[Bettas Rule]

Sweet I love pit bulls! I have owned many and still have one.
Here is a part of my old crew of dogs.
From left to right
Bella, Terrible, Panson

[ForbiddenSecrets]

@Bettas Rule

Daw :D Look at those darling faces

[LionCalie]

Thank you for sharing the story of Sergeant Stubby, what a special dog. I have never personally owned a pit bull due to my living situation (condo) but I know a few people that have and they are very loyal. The city I live in has seen its share of pit bull related problems. Tia Torres of Villalobos Rescue Center (she has a show on Animal Planet called Pit Bulls and Parolees) personally came to our city to save a pit bull on death row.

A big reason pit bulls are used for fighting is their strong will to please their human. It breaks my heart when I see fighting rings busted and the dogs are wagging their tails and giving kisses, only to be euthanized due to their dog aggression from being fighters. Pits that have fought can be rehabilitated. Best Friends Animal Society did it with the Michael Vick dogs, now that was a group of some very damaged souls. Now many of them are living happy lives as family pets.

No living creature should ever be put to death because of what breed they are.

[dramaqueen]

I have read a little bit about pitbulls and I read that they have a high prey drive, as do other breeds, so it's best to not have them around small children.
Barnicks, no one has been arguing, I'm just making sure that we can discuss this without an arguement.

[LionCalie]

What I really love about pit bulls is their SMILES!

[dramaqueen]

That is a cute pic. lol

[1fish2fish]

I'm saddened to hear your opinions OFL. I can sympathize with what you've seen but I'm saddened to see you so affected that you would ban the breed.

I'm not saying pit bulls don't do damage. But, unless you've seen the dog first hand you cannot have proof beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was a pit bull that did it.. no more than I can say it wasn't a pit bull. I've seen people who own dogs, call the pit bulls, that are no more pit bull than a lab. Not to say that that is the case in all attacks.. but it happens quite frequently.

I'm also sad to see that many people here believe that a dog can attack some one unprovoked. We never know the whole story of a bite unless we are there to see it. There are some dogs that are just unstable and will bite without warning, but more often than not a dog will let off hundreds of signals before biting. The sad fact is that very few people even know what stress signals look like in dogs.

German Shepherds and Rottweilers have a stronger bite by far than a pit bull and can be just as tenacious. Should we ban these as well? Force owners to pay huge sums of money for insurance and force their dogs to wear muzzles? I wonder how that will affect the owners who do therapy and service dog work with these breeds. Pit bulls are becoming one of the most popular breeds for service dogs... it would be hard for a service dog to pick up it's owner's keys or fetch a telephone if it is forced to wear a muzzle.

A teenager I went to highschool with was killed when he hit a bull standing in the middle of a curvy country road. My cousin was also nearly killed when he hit a bull on a road. Irresponsible farmers have horses and cows get loose frequently and they can cause serious damage if a car hits them. Should high insurance fees be placed on the cattle owners? I'm sure the parents of the boy who died would have been grateful for a million dollars to cover funeral costs. Granted due to the fact that there are more dogs in heavily populated areas dog bites are much more frequent.

There has been little effect in the places where bans have been placed in effect, in fact several places are turning over bans.


And to whomever said dogs are not born vicious. No that is not entirely true. Dog agression has been bred into this breed and can be a serious problem. But dog aggression does not equate human aggression and vice versa. Dog aggressive dogs can be managed under the right owner. Dogs who are born with a serious level of human aggression should be put down... and I know someone who did make that decision for the best of the dog.



I thought I could share something that means a lot to me without it becoming a politics debate. Other members can post threads about the things they love without it turning into a debate on whether or not Animae is cool or whether a certain band sucks or not. I guess I asked too much to be able to share a big part of me with the forum and do a little education.


Feel free to close the thread. It's already gone way past what I wanted it to be.. which was educational. I need a break from this site anyways.

[ForbiddenSecrets]

Come on sweetie :c The thread is still a good idea and it's good to hear and share positive things about the breed as well as they can be great dogs - they do have a long history of problems as do a good handful of other breeds [this one just more sensationalized] but I think people should know about them so we can make steps forward in correcting them. The breed will never get the respect or, in a lot of cases, help they need if the problems aren't recognized alongside the very true good parts of the breed.

While I don't think dogs bite 'unprovoked'... what provokes them can be a lot of different things... and some of which are just not acceptable. When I was three I was bit by a dog across my face for getting too close to her food. Not in it- but close. That was not an acceptable reaction from a dog that had lived in my house before I was even born. My friends dog was mauled by his other dog because it walked in the room. [Not something that was fun to watch, and it was too fast for us to stop it from being fatal]

And I'm sorry you feel so bad about this thread. A lot of people have strong views on the breed, some differing, and they wanted to share them.