Nothing But Pitbulls

[devildc]

There's no question that a lot of the "wrong people" own pits. I have had a pit-shih tzu mix for three years. She's very well trained, loves every human she's ever met, and the only time she ever went after a dog was when a friend of mine showed up at my house with his dog, who my dog had never met. That reaction is simply because pits are territorial and she didn't like a strange dog in her territory. But pits are lovable, and the APSCA ranks pits about Golden Retrievers on their list of "good family dogs." I think that says everything that needs to be said about the breed.

[wvvdiup1]

Doolally posted a good question and I'm surprised that it really wasn't answered!

Doolally asked:
What's the general public's view on pitbulls in the states? Do you get the wrong sort of people owning them as 'status' dogs much?

Doolally, that depends on the dog laws and regulations in each state, because in each state, the dogs laws and regulations vary. In Pennsylvania, for example, pitbulls aren't banned, however, they're listed on a Dangerous Dogs list! Do we have the wrong sort of people owning them as "status" dogs much? Oh yes! But nothing is done unless the owners are doing something illegal. Only then, can the police do anything or there's a court order to remove the dogs for some other reason.

I have to say, though, as much as I have been around pitbulls, I can't remember of any of them being "mean!" They've been nice, well-trained dogs, except for one, and he had the bad habit of peeing on people's legs, including mine.

[Wes]

Most of the time, these people who get bull breeds as status dogs don't even know what breed they have. An APBT is *not* going to be 100+ pounds - the breed standard calls for 55-60 pounds at most. My own is 40 pounds. I see a lot of people (at least in New England) getting more AmStaffs than APBTs as "big tough guy" dogs. I always laugh when I see that because these aren't big tough dogs. My APBT is a lapdog and an overprotective mum to my little Doberman pup. While I don't believe the bull breeds (AmStaff, APBT, Staffy bull terriers, Am Bulldogs, bull terriers) are banned in many parts of New England, I do know from personal experience that it's difficult to rent from anyone if you own one of these breeds. Oddly enough, I've found it's been easier to find an insurance company that will take my Doberman than it was to find one who would accept my APBT.

[wvvdiup1]

That's very true, Wes! I'm seeing an increase of pitbulls in my area, however, they've been good dogs (nice, well-trained) so far. However, there seems to be a consensus that one day, these dogs will snap! I don't see that happening if the dogs are well taken care of and, well-trained, and properly treated as well as under the owner's control at all times. It seems the image of these dogs of attacking are well rooted deep in most people's psyche.

[qwkmouse]

I have owned an APBT and an AmStaf and a ASBT. All were rescue dogs. I am responding to the question about owning Bullies in the US: I agree that it depends on the individual states laws concerning the breed, some counties having even stricter laws than the actual state. Some have the breed banned, some have muzzle laws, and so on. I find that many not only have misconceptions of the breed, but also carry stereotypes (even prejudice) against the owner. Some think you are an irresponsible person for owning one, let alone more than one. Some fear for their children's lives. My babies are just that...babies. While I would never leave my cat alone with either one, and I would never leave them together alone in the house (I practice contaiment). While the breed is human friendly, they are dog aggressive, and are game and predatory. My babies are great together, and have been greatly socialized, but I am not naive to the breed's nature. With that said, given that my dogs are very friendly and loving, I have introduced them to my neighbors in my neighborhood and will educate anyone who wants to listen. That is all any of us can do who have treated and trained our bullies well- educate those around us through direct contact with our babies. Seeing -and touching- is believing.

[troop]

i dont own a pit ( im in the uk) but i have a staffi x and she can get a stand off reaction as can my ute Harry both are so sweet and love people infact it is my border collie that is the one to watch..... i just wanted to point out that the small breeds dont do as much damage when they bite hence why even though i would agree that they do seem to bite more often the damage done is minimal when compared to say rotties or german shephard... sorry just two breeds plucked from the air i love all dogs i remember getting involved with two dogs fighting a long time ago when i was panicky and knew no better both dogs bit each hand ... they stopped at once when they realised that i had been bitten bless them.... but the difference between the tibetan terrier bite and the german shephard was huge..... i honestly think dog behaviour is mainly down to breeding, environment and the owner ... thats my bit said hope thats ok ... oh and gorgeous puppy pics awwwww

[jjphoenix]

i have 2 staffies and a shepherd, and 4 ferrets and a cat, who all get on fine together, its not abou what they were bred fr, its how they are brought up (saying that all mine are rescues and their still fine)

[Dixies momma]

lets see. if i can post the links i found. reason for the links is this. i received a text with pix and a message that the pit was on steroids and the "victim" is the dogs owner. apparently the dog bit off the face of the owner. this seriously disturbed me so i was curious and googled it this is link one. pretty much what was in text http://www.motohouston.com/forums/showt ... p?t=143287 so i read the floowing comments and it kept bothering me that this was the only thing the pit did...someone mentioned in the thread that it was a 12 gauge suicide attempt gone bad. so that got my curiousity up and googled it. so here is link 2 notice that the dog is missing and the topic is very diff. http://www.bestgore.com/suicide/blood-f ... -survived/ ................so this makes me pause to wonder is this said dog innocent or did he really hurt someone. either way he became part of the statistic regardless of whether he did it or not. it bothers me that people have nothing better to do with their time to create pix under false info and forward it to people. i have been trying to show my bf that pits are not a bad breed despite that a friend of his keeps talking negative about them. he is seeing what i mean. and he was the one who received that text and forwarded it to me.after our time googling and discussing this topic he has a whole diff outlook on the text he was sent. he feels horrible that people can do such things. we saw a utube video where th gu was having the dog literally pull heavy weights he was like wow and i told him look at the guy encouraging the dog and look at how the dog wants to please the owner. thats wrong to make dogs do stuff they shouldnt. all any of them ( no matter the breed) want to do is please the owner.. forgive me for rambling. but i just wanted to share this in hopes that if anyone else sees a forwarded text or whatnot, they can think about this thread. and if i should not have posted the link bc of the graphic nature i apologize and let me know so i wont do it again. thanks.

dixie update. my chocolate pit is now 7 months old and in the lanky stage. long legs and body gotta catch up with them.lol she is also in the inbetween stage too where she is rambunctious. still working with her on training tho. she is well and loved

[Noobs]

Whoa, warning! Photos are GRAPHIC!!! Don't click if you don't have the stomach for it.

Also, that pit photo looks like a photo I've seen before. Definitely not in someone's personal collection so it's got to be a hoax as you said.

[Dixies momma]

see what i mean? i mean the first supposedly attack then the second has the same pic but is suicide attempt// either way thats false info and if that dog is innocent, it just became another statistic bc some moron had nothing better to do with their time. drives me nuts

[smokeyandme]

My dog is half greyhound, so I always say he's half greyhound, half pitbull. He's so sweet and beautiful, folks seem to be charmed when they meet him. He's not dog aggressive; so he's great with any type of dog or human.
Fighting pitbulls are dog aggressive because they are trained to be, and because their lives depend on being the top dog. I saw a group of pit bulls that were chained in a yard, each one to a seperate dog house, with chains too short for them to be able to reach each other. I thought they might be fighting dogs, but this was back in the 80's so I wasn't sure. When the dogs saw me, they all jumped up on their hind legs and pawed the air, pleading with their eyes, for me to pet them. Nobody was around, so I did pet them. I felt very sad when I left them.
Of course, now I would call Animal Control.
Please forgive me, pups!

[Dixies momma]

i have discovered that we make choices at the time we think is right but then as we get older and look back to yesterday or yesteryear and think man i could have did something or said something. i know that feeling all too well. at one point in time(younger days) i never gave much thought to that kind of stuff(fighting etc) due to i really was not knowledgeable but i find as i get older i know more and what i may not know i google to learn more. that saying i once heard is so true....knowledge is power. we cant change the past BUT we can do something in the future

[smokeyandme]

People who know dogs, know right away that Smokey is part pitbull. To the ones that ask what mix he is, I usually say Greyhound and Pitbull, because the site that listed him said he was half American Bulldog and half Greyhound. Anyone who knows dog breeds would see that he has no ABD in him. Since he looks like a "stretch pitbull," I figure the GH part might be right.
He is such a good dog. Very friendly with other dogs, hasn't started a fight in the 2 years he's been going to the dog park, greets all new arrivals at the dog park gate, and loves his "Momma" more than he loves his "Daddy." Some say male dogs bond more closely with women. At any rate, I plan to be a dog owner as long as I am able.

[laceygraves1995]

oh i love pits so much i would love to have one but unfortunatly my dog is very jealous and would probably get depressed if i got another one, i always get mad at people who say that pits are bad, it all depends on the way they were brought up the way they were bred and how much training and excersize they get, people are always saying thta pits are such bad dogs when, (even though i like golden retrievers) golden retrievers are the most known to bite people, there are more retriever attacks a year than there are pit bulls. i just get so mad at people that say pit bulls are a menice and i wish i could just show them how wrong they are, even though i have never owned one, i am always so sad when i go vollenteer at shelters and the only dogs i see there are pits, it just breaks my heart, if i was old enough to get a lot of land and adopt pits i would, but im only 15 .... oh and i have a question, being part shih tzu does it affect the sixe of your pit?