Cute

Long time (years!)lurker here.

I signed up just to say that it's great to see so many educated people feel the same about this breed. I do therapy work w/ mine and have helped people with disabilities rescue and retrain their new pit bulls to be a friend, companion and tool to them.

Also - thanks for teaching me so much over the years.
Cheers.

 Quote: Amber Anderson

Long time (years!)lurker here.

I signed up just to say that it's great to see so many educated people feel the same about this breed. I do therapy work w/ mine and have helped people with disabilities rescue and retrain their new pit bulls to be a friend, companion and tool to them.

Also - thanks for teaching me so much over the years.
Cheers.

Yeah, thanks to you too! Hanging out all this time and making Val and I do all the dirty work ! Your turn.

 Quote: john j. miller

Sandy,

I aggree with you more than I disagree, BUT you are using logic that does not apply to this arguement. You do have rights, but rights that pertain to an object of ownership that has the potential to be used to injur or kill another person with rights themselves characteristically require restriction, licensure, and in some cases education. You have a right to drive, as long as you have a license and follow the rules. You have a right to bear arms, as long as you are licensed to to so and are not a felon. A dog in the eyes of the law is an object that we own above all else, and a living thing that deserves humane treatment second. Comparing that to a child which is a living thing that has rights from the moment of conception is apples and oranges. I do not support breed banning AT ALL, as it will only harm the individuals that will follow the law and are responsible owners. The same logic applies for me to guns and even drugs for that matter. Me owning my two GSD's and being free to do so does not help me when some time in the future I cannot obtain insurance because our free economy has dictated that the level of risk associated with insuring the GSD breed in general is just too great because of the idiots that own them. Licensing which requires owner responsibility and temperment testing (which all of us here are already doing) would allow insurance companies to only insure the licensed dogs and bring down that risk level to acceptable. I see no other way to cull the morons from the crowd and protect... yes protect our rights.

Far as I know, yo, driving a car and owning dogs are not "rights" in the Constitutional sense. They are privileges.

 Quote: david eagle

Pit Bulls have an image of being vicious, so "tough guys" buy them and don't do any research about socializing and training a dog. This means that, statistically, it is more likely for a pit-bull to be in a situation where they become neurotic because of poor socialization and abuse. Pit Bulls (having a higher percentage of neurotic (poorly bred, non-socialized, ignored, tormented, and untrained) animals per capita than other breeds) are more likely to attack someone (NOT! Because they are pit bulls, but because pit bulls attract the type of person who wants to own a "Mean" dog and won't take steps to control it). Newspaper articles about pit bull attacks increase, which propogates their popularity with tough guys, and perpetuates the cycle.

It's not just in America - living in Europe, you see it too, even in places where APBTs are officially banned. And every dog attack is another siren call to the Feral Set.

Just like after those two Presas killed Diane Whipple, the phones of Presa breeders immediately started ringing off the hook. Poor woman had barely finished dying....

The double irony is that the "tough guys" for the most part don't know a genuinely aggressive dog from a fear biter. Of course, training is strictly for homosexuals.

I'm not sure if this video has been posted on this site or not-I think it might have been, but as a responsible owner of a GSD and a Lab(going to be expanding the pack soon, hoping to add another GSD and possibly a Rottie, hopefully a APBT) I wanted to share this with anyone who hasn't seen it. http://youtube.com/watch?v=cJueekvhRDI

I showed this video to my fiance in hopes of getting his approval of getting a APBT, I really want one, but with all the BS with the BSL I might not be able to get one.

I would like to be an advocate for dogs that are said to be vicious/dangerous/uncontrolable by teaching people in the area that I live in that any dog can be vicious attackers and it's all on how you raise it and how your actions can be a factor on how the dog reacts to people and other animals. This is JMO and what I've seen first hand.

 Quote: keleah schmaltz

it's all on how you raise it and how your actions can be a factor on how the dog reacts to people and other animals.

Keleah, I commend you for wanting to help APBTs, but I have to chime in w/something I've said a thousand times. There's a flaw in the "it's all how they're raised" theory. It's a nice thought, for sure, but it's just not true. Genetics is the single biggest contributor to temperament. If it were "all how you raise them" then we would not need working bloodlines. We would be able to go get a showline and raise it to be a PPD. See where I'm going with this?

People simply need to understand temperament and be on the lookout for aggressive tendencies and always be honest w/themselves and others about what their dog's true temperament is. Yes, you can work on control and stability, but at the end of the day, or when things get ugly, that dog is going to react the way his genes are telling him to to a certain degree.

Every time someone excuses or blames a dog because of it's upbringing, we're walking a thin, dangerous line. Yes, it's very sad that dogs are abused. However, the majority of shy, mistrustful dogs have not been abused. Take ownership of the dog you have, understand it's strengths and weaknesses, and realize that you can only do so much to overcome nature. I've used my own dogs as an example so many times, I'm sure everyone's sick to death of hearing about them, but not one of them is the same,and in fact a few of them are absolute contradictions to the way they were raised, indicating that it's not "all how they're raised." They are individuals w/very strong genetic personalities.

The answer to the breed/aggression problem lies in exposing this lie and educating people about the importance of breeding practices and understanding temperament. If people believe that you can raise a dog properly, and then it just flips out at 4 years old, Pit Bulls will be exterminated for sure.

 Quote: jenni williams

...and in fact a few of them are absolute contradictions to the way they were raised, indicating that it's not "all how they're raised." They are individuals w/very strong genetic personalities.

Thank you. Yes. In agreement with all of your post.

 Quote: jenni williams

The answer to the breed/aggression problem lies in exposing this lie and educating people about the importance of breeding practices and understanding temperament. If people believe that you can raise a dog properly, and then it just flips out at 4 years old, Pit Bulls will be exterminated for sure.

Just a great post, Jenni. A truth well worth taking seriously.

I agree that breeding is the key. So many people get into the breeding craze,they do not think about the two dogs they are breeding. Have you noticed whenever a new dog movie hits the screen and becomes popular that type of dog is bred and bred and bred, (of course to make money) and the breed really takes a nose dive in temperment and confirmation? Sad.
Also, as I see society becoming more and more violent, they love to parade the fact they own an agressive dog. My husband and I were talking the other night about how some people encourage their dogs to be agressive when they are puppies and have no idea what they are doing. Then when they are older, they can't handle them any more, they take them to shelters.
I believe the answer is what was stated above, exposing the lie and educating people abut the importance of breeding practiced and understanding temperment.
I hate to see the dogs what were trained to fight and kill other dogs be put down, because they were only obeying what we taught them. I hate to see anyone give up on an agressive dog, but many don't know what to do with them and are afraid. I think it is commendable that we try all we can to save them. But when there is really no hope, we have to protect other dogs and people.
I live in an area where people love to have pit bulls for protection (they call it). Many are drug users and are hoping they can get them to protect their stash. We had a neighbor who did this. Then one day they left the gate open, and a neighbor was walking her elderly mid sized dog, and the pit bull charged out and killed her dog right before her eyes! The shelter came after our neighbor, who just decided to let the dog out of the yard one day and not claim ownership of it. This is a complicated issue. But I feel we owe it to the dogs to try and help them. But we also owe it to our families and our dogs to protect them from dogs that are really dangerous.
I wish we could get some good education out there.
It is heart breaking for people whose dogs are killed or mauled, and for the dog who learns to be agressive who ends up a case too hard to rehabilitate and is put to sleep.
Maybe we could each call our shelters, or go down and visit and talk with someone about their policies re: agressive dogs, and adoption. I don't know, what do you think we can do?
Sharon Empson

 Quote: kevin mason

...

The double irony is that the "tough guys" for the most part don't know a genuinely aggressive dog from a fear biter. Of course, training is strictly for homosexuals.

Hahaha. I couldn't stop laughing when I read this. Absolutely.

A "mean dog" is cool. Why would you TRAIN one? That's for sissies. You just want to make him as mean as possible.

Blah. Euthanize Tough Guys, I say.

And Jenni, you know I agree with you on Genetics.