I don't know why anyone would root for the Utah to beat the Rockets in the playoffs...but I remember you rooting against Houston one night. Why do you still troll this site?
Pit Bulls should be banned, and their owners should have the choice of having their Pits either neutered or put down. Then the breed could die out.
I donate a good amount to animal shelters on a yearly basis. I appreciate what you do. My whole point is there are some 70 million plus dogs in this country alone. They are overpopulated and I feel bad when I hear dogs are put down because they can't find a home. But that's the way it works. Why is it you rarely find golden retrievers or yorkies in shelters? When they show up they're gone within hours. Regardless of how many times you've seen a lab/retriever attach, they are the first to go. It only takes a few weeks before they become loyal/loving pets. Additionally, people drive hours to find breeders and spend $2,500 on a specific breed. Why? I know this issue has been brought up many times here. I get where you're coming from, but this is sadly how it works. I'll choose almost any other breed than take a pitbull home and care for it. Based on the posts here, I'm not the only one. I have a golden retriever and yorkie and spent good money bringing them home FWIW. They are spoiled rotten, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Not really trolling. Spent 14K on season tickets this year. If you're ever in town, let me know and I'll take you to a game for free!
had a 7 year old nephew get his face torn up by a mini pincher a week or 2 ago. the owner of the dog had it put down even though the dog had no history of violent behavior because he has twin 2 year-old daughters in the house sad all the way around.
I am a Pit Bull owner. I am neither black, nor hispanic. I live in the suburbs of one of the nation's wealthier counties and have never had a fear of crime/need for protection. When I was considering what dog to get, I wanted a breed that was both a great/loyal companion but also capable of being independent when I was away from the house. I also wanted a more medium sized dog, and one that didn't shed much. Pit Bulls were a wonderful choice for my needs. I did nothing special to raise my dog. She is extremely well behaved, though at times a bit hard headed (unless I'm holding a treat). She is unbelievably maternal. It honestly shocks me just how loving she is both around babies/kids or young animals. So much so that after recently seeing her take care of a 12 week old Pug, I have decided to get another puppy -- yes, another Pit Bull -- solely to give her the chance to be a mother. I know she is going to be amazing at it, and I know my next Pit Bull is going to turn out just as wonderful. There are a lot of misconceptions about this breed. Many of which have been reiterated in this thread. I understand the fear -- I've heard the stories too. Yes, they are powerful and can pack a pretty vicious bite. No, they are not born crazy. Nor do they require any real extra effort. When people say "bad owners" -- it's not merely a matter of negligence. There is an unfortunate amount of people out there who also know how powerful the dog is, and how vicious it bite can be, and they view their dog as a weapon. Their pride in ownership is the protection they feel it provides. They nurture that dog's aggression. They encourage it. That is a bad owner. But by simply taking the path of not being a douchebag, chances are that your Pit Bull will end up being a pretty great pet. Picture of my dog, spoilered for size: Spoiler
But that's the whole argument. You raised the dog in a decent environment. If I sneeze hard or put on a bandaid my dogs are so concerned and make sure I'm okay. It can be irritating at times, but I definitely appreciate the sentiment. I never "taught" them any moral values, but when you raise them properly, they'll know. This goes for dogs and humans. And also, you probably have the best looking pit bull I've ever seen. I would stop at the park to pet her.
What the hell have you ever done for me? I've hung out with DFW a couple of times. He's even gone out of his way to accommodate me. Very nice guy.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/truth-about-pit-bulls Pitbulls were originally bred to fight other dogs. I really don't understand what we're all arguing over now.
I think the only reasonable reason to get a dog in the first place is for companionship, and the owner must be the alpha and take care of the dog, and protect it if need be. If you keep a dog for it to protect you, that is the entire problem. The dog is now the alpha and it will "behave badly", being aggressive, short tempered [almost like the rich people are bad study from the other thread]; they have the power. In the wrong situation, pitbulls are more volatile than other dogs (that's how they are bred), and really it sucks that many pitbull owners get the dog with the thought that it can give protection. That's just a recipe for an aggressive and scrambled brain dog.
It's not stupidity. It's fact based. Pit bulls test better on a temperament basis than many other breeds. The ATTS test breeds yearly. http://atts.org/breed-statistics/statistics-page1/ Doesn't mean they don't inflict more physical harm, which they clearly do. Extremely strong animals. Other things also can work against them. Whereas historically they were bred to minimize "violent" behaviours - with animals showing any aggression towards humans (even fighting dogs) put down to try and get that trait out of the breed, the pendulum has obviously swung completely the other direction there. Moreover, they do generally have a rough and tumble play style. And many pits when they reach older age tend to only remain super friendly with those other dogs they've known since they were young. Exactly, this is the same of pits, as noted above. They learn who to be loyal to - people and animal alike - at a young age, and are protective of that group thereafter. I understand and agree with your general comment, but do think it important to understand the specifics. As noted, pits on a temperament basis test just fine, better than a ton of breeds. And moreover, I think you severely underestimate the "only irresponsible owners own pitbulls" comments. Clearly that's not the case, and increasingly not, but it is more the case than I think you'd believe. The breed, for various reasons, is so so hugely popular among irresponsible, idiotic dog owners that indeed, this is a big factor in their being so dangerous. In almost all cases, vicious pit attacks are carried out by unneutered/unspayed - usually male though - that are unattended and already exhibit violent tendencies. But to your point, those dogs are definitely out there... and if you're kid is just walking down the street and gets attacked by one, do you really care whether or not it was a responsible or irresponsible owner? Whereas your kid may get attacked by a Chihuahua and still get hurt, but obviously not be in anywhere near the same danger. But it is important to consider that there are MANY MANY more irresponsible pit bull owners than German Shepherd owners, for example, who rank #3 on the list. see below Yes, this is common. It's anecdotal, but common. Even a well behaved pit bull in an apartment can be a recipe for disaster. This is true of younger animals, as it is in most dog breeds (see labs as obvious example), but they mellow as they get older. In my case I have a 7 year old pit mix (but more pit then anything). She pretty much sleeps all day. Granted 7 years old is getting up there for a dog, and she did have energy when she was young. We've had her since she was a couple months old. She exhibits all the natural pit tendencies. When she was young, she loved to play in more of a rough and tumble style - tug of war games being the favorite, and you'd certainly be shocked at the strength in those games. She made friends very quickly with us, our extended families, her sister dog - not genetically her sister and not even a pit, just the other dog we have... but at this point if a stranger comes to the door, she can put on quite the menacing face and bark and isn't even the best fan of other dogs. Also a common trait amongst most pits - she's crazy about licking people. We are of course extremely responsible owners. She's been spayed since she was young. She was never allowed to even have her mouth touch a hand, for example when playing tug of war. worked with a trainer on both dogs to teach us (principally) how to take that alpha position, and them how to accept it. I have a 3.5 year old and a 1.5 year old. I have absolutely no fear of them around her, or our other dog (just a mutt). And with other young family children - nieces and nephews who have met her many times, we feel the same. But of course we don't just let random people into our houses, and certainly not kids without "restraining" her. When we have a birthday party at the house with lots of kids, she gets put away... that type of thing. It's just common sense... but again, I'd do all that with a Chihuahua, too. The benefits of a pit then, to all those making silly comparisons to cars or girls. Plenty. Protective can be good, too, and we love that about her. Extremely loving, playful, loves to help, etc. Many of the same traits a lot of dogs can point to as positives. Besides this comment being ripe in prejudice (albeit canine prejudice, but prejudice nonetheless... of the type my ancestors faced in WWII for example), breed specific legislation has proven to be a very mixed bag, more often than not, not typically being effective. It generally punishes the responsible owners while the irresponsible ones go into hiding and continue to breed the animals. Moreover, another breed will simply take over for the pit if they ever were successfully eradicated. Perhaps the Rottweiller or German Shepherd... or whatever breed the irresponsible owners promote and cling to next. Consider pits test better on a temperament basis than Rotties and German Shepherds. Consider that there are way more pit/pit mixes in America than the other 2 breeds. Pits go away and one of those breeds take over.. increasing meaningfully in number principally by irresponsible owners... is that a good thing? Do we then eradicate those breeds? It's just a dumb comment. That said, I am of course in favor of reducing vicious dog attacks. The aspca has good stats: http://www.aspcapro.org/resource/di...al-fighting/are-breed-specific-laws-effective 97% of fatal attacks involve dogs not spayed/neutered. 78% not pets but guard/fight/breed dogs. 84% owned by "reckless" owners. I'd love to see strong spay and neuter laws for every breed. There's way too many dogs generally, with overcrowded shelters and rescue groups There's no reason a dog owner should ever really need to breed their pet. Of course, to the extreme, that eliminates the whole species, but of course you'd put in place very stringent laws, licenses, permits, etc. to allow controlled breeding. Of course there are all kinds of problems with enforcement there. So not sure what the "answer" is, but strict pit specific BSL doesn't seem to be it.
