Not Even a Dog That Looks Like A Pit Bull

[nocnurse]

A few days ago our local paper ran an article about Denver's ban on pit bulls or dogs that even look like pit bulls. The article quotes Denver city councilor Charlie Brown (not kidding) as saying, "pit bulls are trained to attack. They're bred to do that." I was just wondering what you folks thought of this.

I can agree that some pit bulls targeted for sale to drug dealers or dog fighters etc. are bred for aggressiveness, but every dog? Shouldn't the owners and breeders of viscious dogs be punished? Shouldn't a dog be judged by it's behavior?

I guess this really upset me because the best dog I ever owned was a pit bull/lab mix. He was the most loyal, obedient, loving and dignified dog I ever met. He was always by my side, he patiently endured dress-up and various other insults from DD and her friends with just a sigh. He was quiet, protective, well behaved and a beloved part of our family, and in Denver he would have been destroyed for no other reason than his looks.

It breaks my heart to think that there are probably dozens of families who have suffered the loss of a wonderful pet like my Zeus, just because of the way it looks.

 

[DoeWDW]

Such a shame to judge an entire breed by a few unreputable people and what they train these dogs to do (or their disinterest in training them to behave).

I wonder if they could legislate that you could keep the dog if he/she had a Canine Good Citizen (CGC) certificate, meaning they've been trained to behave around people and other dogs?

 

[ziggystardust]

I completely agree. Yes they do have a bad reputaion, but most of that reputation is caused by an awful person raising them.

If you have an abusive/violent person raising any kind of animal, you're going to get destructive results. They should be a bit more concerned with those people rather than a family dog with no record.

 

[Planogirl]

Unfortunately, pit bulls get all of the press and it does seem like they can be unbelievably aggressive at times. I don't know, I think that all dogs should be confined or on a leash and then hopefully no dog, whatever the breed, would cause problems.

 

[mick67]

I understand what ya'll are saying, but pit bulls have a penchant for turning nasty when they get the taste of blood. At my local shelter, 90% of the dogs there at any given time are pit bulls. That's no accident.

There are hundreds of dog breeds out there. Society wouldn't miss the loss of pit bulls.

 

[3gr8kids]

When I worked as a veterinary technician, I saw nastier cocker spaniels than I did pitbulls. It's too bad, pitbulls (that are bred correctly and treated humanely) can be the most awesome pets, but they are getting a bad rap from all of the inbreeding and abusive treatment.


~ Karla

 

[cristbaby]

My daughter and son-in-law own 2 Pit Bulls and they are the most wonderful dogs I have ever been around. My 3 grandchildren are over to visit pretty frequently and the dogs are gentle and loving with them. I truely believe it is all in how they are bred and how they are raised. Most mean, nastly Pit bulls have owners who should never have any kind of a dog. I only wish my Bichon Frise was as nice as these Pit Bulls that my daughter has!

 

[goofyforlife]

I understand that you had a good dog....

but as a breed I have no compassion....

a couple moved into a pet friendly apartment complex we lived in in 2002 with a pit bull.....

At the time I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt....

However, barely two weeks later the dog came charging through our ground floor patio door at night into our living room and attacked our Lab. My husband had to beat it off.

That nastiness is in their genes.......

 

[kellyla]

I have a 20 month old Pit Bull Terrier.He is very loving,obedient and a big lean licking machine.This animal tolerates young children pulling his tail.Here in Ontario on August 29th due to Breed Specific Legislation,my dog and many like him will be classified as monsters and have to be muzzled at all times out in public.My dog has never bitten anyone(we got him at the pound and they would not have let him be adopted if he was or had been aggressive)yet he has been bitten the neighbours German Shephard.But is this dog made to wear a muzzle?NO!So once Ontario is protected and rid of these monsters,the idiots who are in power will have nothing better to do than to pick another breed to get rid of.Will yours be next??At least they are grandfathering all Pit Bulls who are now living in the province and my dog and many others wont have to die like in Denver because of mis information that the government of this province based this law on.Thankfully an attorney has already been hired to start the appeal process and all the Pit Bulls will once again be able to go into public muzzle free.

Off my soap box.

 

[simba928]

I saw an article in our paper about Denver's ban on pit bulls. I think that it all depends on how the dog is raised and trained. Yes, too many pit bulls are bred and trained to be aggressive and end up in the wrong hands, such as drug dealers. However, if a pit bull is trained properly, they can be the most loving, sweetest dogs you will ever meet. If a golden retriever or lab ends up in the hands of "bad people", they can be equally as aggresive as any german shepherd or rottweiler or pit bull or any other dog that gets a bad rap. I believer there are no such thing as "vicious dogs", just bad people. If everyone in the world loves animals as much as everyone here on the DIS does, I think this would be a pretty close to perfect world. I'm not saying that everyone has to love dogs or cats, but if you see a dog that is in a dangerous situtation, you should help them. Just my opinion.

 

[Jackie H.]

I live in a rural area...there are no leash laws. When I was a child, my sweet Austrian Shepherd was killed by a neighbors pit bull. The pit didn't seem to like the attention my dog got from humans because of the tricks he could do.

Now I live on a farm. We had 3 out door dogs. Two died last year (of old age...one died on Christmas day...she was a 13 year old lab), we had one left and he is fairly old himself. He is a blue healer - he helps with the cows. Anyway, twice a pit bull that belongs to a neighbor has come into my yard and attacked our dog! Both times were in our yard. The first time he spent 3 weeks at the vet...he almost log his leg...he still has the leg, just no use of it. The most recent happend just last week, my poor dog is in terrible shape! He is an old dog that doesn't get far from home, I KNOW he did not go find this dog and antagonize him!

We asked the owner about the pit bull after the first attack, his response: "my dog wouldn't do anything like that". This dog is huge and I don't think I could get him off me if he decided to attack...much less my children....or our beloved toy rat terrier (who stays in the house, but goes outside to potty).

I don't know who is to blame: the dogs or the owners, but the bad reputation of pit bulls did not just get fabricated. I am glad those who have posted here have had good experiences with pit bulls - both owners of above mentioned dogs were sure their dog would never do anything like that. Is it possible that these dogs will treat their owners and family members one way but unknown people and animals another? That doesn't seem like too much of a stretch, does it?

As for as the banning of them goes, I can't say if that is right or wrong. It seems to me that when living in a city with many other people living close by some things have to be given up - maybe large aggressive dogs is one. Just as those of us in rural areas give up things (like leash laws!).

 

[cristbaby]

I have left my Bichon with my daughter who is the owner of 2 Pit Bulls and honestly my Bichon was more agressive than the Pit Bulls. I know there are alot of bad ones out there and frankly if on approached me I would be scared out of my wits but I do believe it is because the owners just don't take the time to train them right. It also depends on how they are bred. Sometimes that can make them crazy. I really don't think it is fair though to just ban them the way they did in Denver.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

I understand what ya'll are saying, but pit bulls have a penchant for turning nasty when they get the taste of blood. At my local shelter, 90% of the dogs there at any given time are pit bulls. That's no accident.

There are hundreds of dog breeds out there. Society wouldn't miss the loss of pit bulls.

I would. So would my 12 year old niece. I think if someone took her gentle and beloved dog Nika away from her, she'd be heartbroken. Could you take the dog she's had since she was a small child away from her?

I've never met a pit bull with a decent, responsible owner who had a taste for blood. That is the most ludicrous thing I have ever heard.

 

[poohandwendy]

I've never met a pit bull with a decent, responsible owner who had a taste for blood. That is the most ludicrous thing I have ever heard.

ITA

When I was a child, my sweet Austrian Shepherd was killed by a neighbors pit bull. The pit didn't seem to like the attention my dog got from humans because of the tricks he could do.

LOL, how could you know all that? Could the dog speak?

 

[Sandy22]

I've never met a pit bull with a decent, responsible owner who had a taste for blood. That is the most ludicrous thing I have ever heard.

I disagree. Another Ontario resident here and unlike the US where pitbulls are popular with drug dealer crowd, many pitbulls here are owned by responsible educated families. However, there have still been incidents where sweet, gentle family dogs with not even a hint of agression, have attacked other dogs or children.

I'm a huge dog lover but I support the Ontario ban. I certainly don't think the breed should be extinct, I just think their distribution should be restricted.

My schnauzers are not allowed to play with pit bulls.

 

[ilovepcot]

To heck with getting out the popcorn, I'm gonna get some chocolate! And a better chair!

 

[EsmeraldaX]

To heck with getting out the popcorn, I'm gonna get some chocolate! And a better chair!

Well, I for one am not spending my night debating this subject.

 

[poohandwendy]

However, there have still been incidents where sweet, gentle family dogs with not even a hint of agression, have attacked other dogs or children.

You will find incidences like that with EVERY breed.

Ontario resident here and unlike the US where pitbulls are popular with drug dealer crowd,

There are many, many responsible caring pit bull owners here in the US...actually, I would bet most of them are. You only hear about the bad ones. Pit bulls may be popular with the drug crowd, but they certainly aren't the only ones who own them here. Just trying to clear up that common misconception.

 

[Sandy22]

You will find incidences like that with EVERY breed.

I agree. And I heard a statistic that most dog bites are caused by labs and retrievers (but this is due the sheer numbers of that breed).

But the pit bulls bite is much more destructive. I rather be bitten or attacked by any other breed. They don't just bite, they can sever limbs and just shred flesh to bits. And they don't stop...you can't pry them off, you can't scare them off....even when police are involved, they have to repeatadly shoot at it to get them off. When the police have to shoot a dog over 10 times to get it to let go....that's scary.

One thing I really don't understand is that with so many wonderful breeds available why would someone specifically choose a pit bull? Especially a family with children. I know the overall risk is very low....but why even take the chance?

 

[poohtown]

i'll have to come back and post a picture of my baby~ who's part pit? we don't know forsure what she is.


Two funny stories:

once we were at a bar-b-que and had brought our dog (owners permission). Towards the end of the day, a woman came up and started talking to me about my dog. She went on and on how's she's always been afraid of dogs but has been watching her all day and she seemed so nice, etc....finally she asked if she could pet my dog. I replied 'sure but would you mind stepping off her tail first'. My baby sat there the whole time with this ladys big heels on her poor little tail.


after an over-night stay at the vets I was anxious to get my dog back home, she was anxious too. (LOL). As I sat in the waiting room, I chatted to everyone else about our pets. The vet comes out and asks where I got my dog (very serious sounding). I get all worried but then he goes on about what a great dog she is and how good she was with everyone, etc. Everyone starts asking me about what kind of dog she is but before I can answer you here this huge ruckus. Coming around the corner is my dog (all muscle) dragging this kid trying to bring her out. She's all slobbering and excited but looks insane (LOL again). All the people in the waiting room start grabbing their kids and animals and jumping up on the chairs screaming. One woman yells 'that's the wonderful dog?!'.