OT: whats your opinion on pittbulls?

[reefman420]

hey guys well i wanna know ure truthfull opinion on these dogs.
I have three females two red noses and one blue.I want to know because the laws they are trieng to pass.If one houses a pitt after it is passed.The state has the right to come in take it and put it to sleep.

Pitt bulls have been an american breed that has proved itself in historie,Ann frank,teddy roseveltte,along with a number of famouse pepole have owned this breed.it was also the mascot for the 93rd infrantrie in WW1.These are very loyal dogs and i am frusrated with the typicall stereotype these dogs get.If you had to spend ure life in a kennel u couldnt even stand up in,and the only time u were let out was to fight for ure life.u would snap tnly we can stand up and save these animals from breed discrimination.

These are the only dogs i know that will run and hide when u get mad at them
untill u go pet them.lol.......Look at my avatar thats my youngest baily..does that look like the face of a killer?

So please let me knoe ure honest truthfull opinion ..thnx

 

[reefman420]

Re: whats ure opinion on pittbulls?

bump pleez

 

[kathywithbirds]

Re: whats ure opinion on pittbulls?

hhhmmm. tough one. I think even open minded people pause at the fact that they have a bite pressure of something like 1500 psi, while a dobie has what, like 800? and they, by nature, not by training, hang on instead of doing the bite and let go and bite and let go thing other dogs do.

however, I've met a couple "normally" raised pits and they're wonderful dogs. actually passing a law saying they can take your dog is a little ridiculous to me.

I have to say I'm on fence about them, and I'm an animal nut. My daughter was bitten on the face by our pet, a laid back greyhound (not the perfect family dog but not bad either). It was just a warning bite because she scared and hurt him, but it was inches from her eyes, and I'd have to wonder what would have happened with a pit bull's sheer force. I wouldn't get one with a child in the house. I have seen first hand pit bulls after they have been trained to kill. It's truly frightening. They are literally demonic, will bite anything near them and try to tear it to pieces. You don't forget that fast.

 

[kathywithbirds]

Re: whats ure opinion on pittbulls?

I might add that, if the dog in your avatar came up to me and my daughter without me knowing it was a pit, I'd certainly let her pet it... ALWAYS with owner approval of course. If I knew it was a pit??... hmmm. I might stand a little closer to my kid but I'd still let her pet it if the owner was there and it seemed like a well behaved pooch. As with any other dog.

 

[reefman420]

Re: whats ure opinion on pittbulls?

exactly trained is the key word!!They were bred and giveing the name after they reached el savadore.they used them to grab the ring in a bulls nose after a bull fight and by not letting go the weight forces the bull to the ground..hence pitt bulls.my three dogs have never even growled at my nephew,The mail ladie makes a ritual of comeing to my door and petting the dogs and treating them..she says they are the most well behaved dogs on her hole route.......Im glad vick went to jail,if it was up to me id lock him in a kennel and let him out to fight off 4 huge gay men.lol sry...i respect ure opinion in all its ways man!!!thnx

 

[reefman420]

Re: whats ure opinion on pittbulls?

lol thats funny u say that..The moment u pet my girls ure their best friend for life.lol

 

[kathywithbirds]

Re: whats ure opinion on pittbulls?

I'm not immune to the hype, even with some first hand research and experience. There's a guy you might want to talk to, Chris something at the Atlantic County humane society, he has two and takes them to schools for presentations about them. I'll see if I can find his # if you're interested. he's made himself known by campaigning for the breed and laws about them. Atlantic County is a big hub for dog fights.

 

[DrHank]

Re: whats ure opinion on pittbulls?

The problem isn't with the dog, it's with irresponsible dog owners. Many states, counties, cities, etc. consider Pit Bulls and Rottweillers to be dangerous animals. They can be! Many insurance companies will charge a higher rate and some won't write insurance if they know you have one.

I'm on my fourth Rott. Two of the four were rescued. Three were females and one male. I had to put the male down after he got agressive with me and it took 15 stitches to close my hand. I got lucky, he only nipped it twice. It wasn't the dogs fault. I later found out that the previous owner had attempted to train it to be a watch dog.

Unfortunately, a few bad owners have generated enough fear that the public has branded these dangerous breeds. It's only the responsible pet owners that realize what a wonderful pet they can make. My brother in law had the sweetest red rust doberman that I've ever met. When we were visiting she woke me at about 2 AM by coming up to the bed and sticking her nose in my face. I thought she wanted to go out. She finally settled down after she laid down on her dog bead and I covered her with her blanket. My BIL forgot to cover her when he went to bed so she came to me to do it for her.

If you could somehow tell who would be a good pet owner and only sell these dogs to responsible owners, there wouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately, I don't know how you do that.

 

[dobejazz]

Re: whats ure opinion on pittbulls?

There are no bad dogs only bad owners

saying that I have been bitten by a Pomerianian and a Dachsund

And as an owner of multiple Dobermans in the last 20 + years (all rescued from animal shelters) I'd be more inclined to let my daughter pet any dog that appears to be well adjusted and well trained (with the owners consent) then allow her near a Golden retriever I see running loose in the neighborhood

 

[kathywithbirds]

Re: whats ure opinion on pittbulls?

you know, there was a couple walking their dogs the other day, guy had a boxer and the woman had a big ol' st. bernard. I was inclined to let my daughter pet the bernard and be a little wary of the boxer but it was the other way around. The boxer (opened his mouth to "smile" and I almost jumped at the size of the mouth, holy cow!) and was wiggly and happy and wanting to please and be petted and the bernard was a nasty SOB.

I guess it just goes to show appearances give first impressions and they're not always the right ones.

BTW, I still have the occasional nightmare about those trained pits. Was a story I did for one of the papers there, police were pulling out a couple of dogs from a "training house" and one of the cops got bit. Bad. Nightmare bad. He was in the hospital for a week. The other dog almost decapitated himself on the lead, and the "training videos" were released to the press a day later. I wish they weren't.

 

[goldenmean]

Re: whats ure opinion on pittbulls?

I have found pitbulls and rotwillers to be the biggest most lovable of babies.

 

[framerguy]

Re: whats ure opinion on pittbulls?

It's a difficult thing. of course your dogs are gentle, that's how you treat them. I've was attacked by a pit bull going to a friends house when he wasn't home and I didn't know the dog was outside. Scared the hell out of me and I dented the roof of his cadillac getting away from it, so I'm a little biased against this breed of dogs. I agree it's the owners fault, most every time, but the majority of dog attacks that make the news are the two mentioned by the doc, and that could be biassed reporting. I have no idea what I'm saying here, I definately don't like the law you're describing, but I don't like pit bulls either and I hope that has no bearing on how people feel about me, I just stay away from them. On a lighter note, I feel the same way about onions and the NY Yankees!

 

[ReefLady]

Edited thread title to include "OT"

 

[StoneEssence]

Everyone has brought up some very valid points. I'd like to give you one more perspective. Working in the veterinary field, I get a pretty good chance to evaluate a lot of dogs under high stress. I love well trained pitts and we have a handful that come into the clinic that I work at. However, for the most part when I see pittbull as patient breed, I become very cautious. Flat out truth, there are more pitts out there than there are good, educated homes.
Funny thing is, I've never seen a pitt inbetween. They are either great(if even on the shy side), or they are aggressive, highly offended by invasion of their space, and completely ok with putting their mouths on human skin. (which should be a no no for any dog). The stereotype is there for a reason.
Having a Dalamatian, which has slowly and more frequently been added to the list of aggressive dogs. I completely understand where you are coming from; I love my Dal, and he is extremely well behaved. But he has been bred to be a coaching dog and they were meant to be aggressive to outsiders. Add to that the inbreeding that is widespread from the movie fame, and uneducated animal owners and you have an aggressive, unsocialized dog on your hands.
Back to your original question, I hate the idea that anyone could remove your animal from your home. It seems to violate a few rights to me. I wonder if they could amend for dogs that could get a good citizen award. However, the aggressive pitts in uneducated homes I have seen far outweigh the good ones in sheer number.

 

[reefjitsu]

I feel that it is the owners fault, not the breed. I feel that pit bulls are no worse than many other breeds, they just have a reputation.

The real problem is the overabudance of dogs. Get your pets spayed and neutered. Leave pet breeding to the few who are dedicated enough to do it right. If you do breed, observe good breeding practices, and don't breed alot. Be exceedingly picky about who gets one of your dogs and demand that all except the best you produce are sterilized as puppies. There are already more dogs than there are homes, we don't need any extras.

 

[kathywithbirds]

You know what I realized from this thread? a. yes, I'm a little more wary of pits b. it's because of the OWNERS who COULD BE bad people so therefore (gee this sounds like those word math problems I hated) I am wary because I know there's bad people out there who might have screwed their dogs up.

 

[prow]

it would be a stupid law made up based on fears. i have had pits in the past great dogs, IMO. what about dobermans or german shepards. these dogs are trainned to attack humans. walk up to a police dog and it will tear you up. but the police and others will just say the dog was doing what it was trainned to do. i remember in the past a push to demonise dobermans. its nothing more than a witch hunt. its just ridiculous to blame the animal.

 

[Frankie]

I am for all animals. Its the owners i tend to evaluate. The guy down the block from me has two pit's. No, I won't let my daughter around them because i know what they are capable of. I really don't want her around any large dog other then ours.
I say each his or her own just be responsible and train your animals. And don't get offended when someone doesn't want there kid coming near your animal.

 

[Triggerjay]

How about a different opinion? I have a 200lb St. Bernard. He was the most loveable dog with anyone when he was younger. He is 5 now. One night about 2 years ago, someone tried to break into my house, and he ran them off. He has not been the same ever since. Every day he seems to get more "pertective" so to speak. He has always been loyal to immediate family members, but now, I have to put him in a room with the door closed when I have guests, so he doesn't try to eat them. I bought him at 7 months old, and don't know his history prior to my purchase. He is however the first St. Bernard I have ever seen that is scared of a water hose.. He will go nuts if I turn on the hose in the backyard if he is outside, trying to flee from it. We have to use cups to bathe him.. he doesn't mind them. But I fear, one day, I will have to put him down due to his agressiveness.. Can anyone explain that one? Basically, I feel there are exceptions to the bad owner clause... He is treated very well, and very well mannered with the immediate family. Its just the "outsiders" he has a problem with.

Jason

 

[reefjitsu]

I recommend that you watch the Dog Whisperer on the National Geo channel. The reason I say this is because the show demonstrates over and over that it is the owner and not the dog. It seems that with dogs, a kind and loving home is not enough to make a good owner. An understanding of dog pyschology is needed too. You can actually make a very dangerous dog through kindness as well as through abuse if you don't know what you are doing.