Pit Bulls, Bad or Good?

[angelatc]

+Rep

There are NO bad dogs, only bad People.

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My dogs can kill a child in one bite. They weigh in over 150 pounds a piece. Giant Alaskan Malamutes.

The point remains, there are no Bad Dogs, only Bad Dog Owners.

When I was in high school, my friend's kid sister was killed by her grandfather's Malamute. Dog had been around kids all his life, but just snapped one day. You blame the owner all you want, but he isn't the one that ripped the throat out of a little girl.

Those dogs I don't like because I can't read their body language like I can other dogs.

 

[phill4paul]

Agree about the slobbery mastiffs. They really are awesome dogs though.

Everybody says that pit bulls aren't a problem if they're raised right. To me, that seems to be making a case against pit bulls, because short of licensing, we have no way of knowing if said dog will indeed be raised right.

I don't ever support breed specific legislation. But personally I think that if pit bulls do require a more sophisticated owner, then the philisophical issue is how do we keep unsophisticated owners from screwing up pit bull ownership for the rest of you?

I wouldn't necessarily say they need a "sophisticated" owner. They just need someone that will put in some time with them. Right now we are working om "sit", "lie down", "stay" and "gentle" (which is the command not to use jaw pressure and to accept food rather than take it). Simple commands. I too don't know how we can keep bad owners from screwing it up for the rest of us other than raising a well behaved Pittie and leading by example. Part of the reason I suppose for the rescue foundations
back ground checks. I view them like i do guns. There will always be those that are irresponsible in their handling of them.

 

[mosquitobite]

I wouldn't necessarily say they need a "sophisticated" owner. They just need someone that will put in some time with them. Right now we are working om "sit", "lie down", "stay" and "gentle" (which is the command not to use jaw pressure and to accept food rather than take it). Simple commands. I too don't know how we can keep bad owners from screwing it up for the rest of us other than raising a well behaved Pittie and leading by example. Part of the reason I suppose for the rescue foundations
back ground checks. I view them like i do guns. There will always be those that are irresponsible in their handling of them.

My mom has always had small yippie dogs and, as far as I recall, not a single dog she's owned has been properly house trained. I grew up HATING dogs because of this.

And then I got a 80lb English bull dog mix (most likely dad was either a Rott or a Pitt). She was the.best.damn.dog.ever. Smartest thing! She potty trained in one weekend and never did want to leave our sides. We never did need a fence with her; she wanted to be where WE were. I did do puppy training with her though because I am a smaller woman and I wanted to be sure she knew who was in control. We lost her last spring after 10 years.

We now have 2 rescue pitties. One is sharp and obedient (very much like our dog we lost). We got her at 4mos old. The other is "dur dih dur" not so obedient. We got DDD because B wanted a friend and was annoying the cats.

So many people do not understand the "pack" idea and that's where problems with dogs come in, no matter WHAT breed.

 

[mosquitobite]

I have a 3 yr old and a 5 yr old. We often make the kids feed the dogs just to reinforce place in the pack. We make the kids "pretend" (they think it's funny) to eat the food first and then give the dogs their food, after making them sit.

Some may think it's overkill, but I agree with the poster that said dogs are similar to guns. Except, unlike guns, dogs can be dangerous weapons without any human necessary. People should not take this idea lightly, no matter the breed or disposition.

We love our babies, but they don't get to lay on the couch next to us. That's the kiddos spot!

 

[phill4paul]

Those two can't hold their licker.

 

[TomKat]

I have a 3 yr old and a 5 yr old. We often make the kids feed the dogs just to reinforce place in the pack. We make the kids "pretend" (they think it's funny) to eat the food first and then give the dogs their food, after making them sit.

Some may think it's overkill, but I agree with the poster that said dogs are similar to guns. Except, unlike guns, dogs can be dangerous weapons without any human necessary. People should not take this idea lightly, no matter the breed or disposition.

We love our babies, but they don't get to lay on the couch next to us. That's the kiddos spot!

This is a really great idea. I have been doing the same since I first got my pit. I have my parents or anyone else that comes over at feeding time give them the food after pretending to eat it. It works great. Also I or other people will take the food away in the middle of them eating, waiting a few seconds, and then giving it back just to show who is higher in the pack (which is any human in the house). I have never had any expresion from them except udder confusion as to why their food went away and they just patiently wait for the food to return.
My sister had a pocket beagle (runts bred with runts until you get a mini beagle) when she lived with me and she would not let me do this trick. The dog ended up bitting me through the thumbnail and broke skin and gave a bad bite to her husband all while trying to feed it. She got rid of it fearing that it may bite the kids. I really believe the dog could have been trained if the effort and correct training was implimented.
Because of the ticks here where I live, I do another weird thing to both of my dogs. I will hold one of their paws and check between their toes for ticks. They didn't like it at first (especially when I would find one) but now they act like as if I am petting them and they enjoy it.

 

[helmuth_hubener]

I view them like i do guns.

A good analogy. And I want to clarify that I of course do not want any limitation whatsoever on any kind of dog ownership. Total dog freedom, that's my motto. But that doesn't mean I have to like them.

And honestly, upon reflection, I think I have had more problems with little dogs than big ones, and certainly the little yippy ones take the cake for ann-oy-ing.

 

[danda]

The neighbor's pit bull bit my hand when I was 5 years old. Held on for 60+ seconds until the neighbor's daughter was finally able to pry it off. Severed tendons and nerves. Even after 4 complicated surgeries from ages 5 to 15, my ring finger remains permanently bent by scar tissue and 2 of the joints are non functional.

I am not a big fan of large dogs, and pit bulls in particular.

 

[Ender]

There is nothing wrong with these dogs. The wrong people tend to own them is the problem. Pack structure ....

Yep.

Pits are pack animals- they do not do well as spoiled babies; they MUST know who the pack leader is. If the owner establishes himself as the leader, then a pit seldom causes trouble.

I have told this before but:

I was blocked from exiting a condo building by a pit. The dog would growl and go into attack mode whenever I tried to open the door. Finally, I threw the door open and yelling at the top of my lungs, charged at the dog. The pit took off running and stayed in a corner whimpering until the owner showed up.

Needless to say, we had an educational discussion on how to train dogs- especially pits.