I look at this two ways. Its easy to sit here and get a kick out of what Brendan says. I don't agree with everything he says but I sure as hell respect his opinionated outspokeness! I also don't blame Pit Bull enthusiasts like Ted for speaking up, obviously defending the breed from an educated point of view. Like said earlier, Brendan has made some excellent points on this board. This one obviously has struck a nerve because of the nature of the topic. I think all the debate about the comments of Brendan has clouded the original issue. Like Richard said earlier, the original post did not give any indication that keeping both of these dogs was even remotely a good idea. As far as Brendan goes, Jason said it best. Check out point #1 he made in his last post again! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

George,

I was refering to Jason's last post, not Brendan's.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I don't find pits particularly attractive, but I sure do respect their heart. They're not for everyone, that's for sure. But neither is any breed.

Anyway, I wonder if we scared bmatis away? I think we all really wanted to help, even Brendan in his own way.....

I would strongly suggest that you place one of the dogs. Yes, it can work, but it is not worth the headache of figuring out if it will. I have never had good luck raising two dogs of the same sex together, regardless of breed. Unless you are willing to take turns with each dog being let out. Or, have seperate kennel facilities. I use compulsion with my dogs from day one to teach my dogs, dog avoidance. Especially with the dogs I choose to work. I also, do not beleive in letting adult dogs play together, with toys or other objects that may stimulate their prey drive.

Come on Ted my old mate, dont take it so hard and serious! AS for the comment about the pits being tougher than a heeler no doubt they are, heelers are breed to drove cattle not pit fight. Havent seen many pitts droving cattle lattely... like I said its simply horses for courses.

The romans used to say faults are simply virtues taken to a extreme, pitts are a bit like that. It happens with a lot of animal breeds that are highly bred for a certain task, quarter horses that will work cattle on their own or bite them. Kelpies that are so manic to work sheep they'll whine and run around all day even when tied up because they want to get of and work. They actuall wear out the steel chains from running around. They have to be tied up or theyll run off and work on their own. Thats extreme drives. Thats fine if you are a drover and have continual work, the average farmer dosent need such intensity. The average companion animal owner dosent need a pitbull.

I have no doubt pitts are loving devoted companions, so what, so are labs but without the extreme dog agression. I have no doubt that the guys like Ted who obviously love the breed are more than capable of careing for it and catering to its unique needs. Unfortuately the average person isnt. I dont think the average person is capable of caring for a rott or working GSD either. For the average person looking for a companion animal there are plenty of other breed options which will meet thier needs with out the pitts draw backs.

A classic example of what Im talking about is the following, Im in our local town the other day with my rott on her leash. I leave her out front a shop tied up whilst I go into the shop for a few mintues. I come out and this guy with all this face jewllery shit stuck in him has a pitty on a bit of rope straining on its leash trying to get close to Linda who is a bit apprehensive about the whole thing. Shes not at all dog agressive and i want to keep her that way, our deal is I take care of the agressive dogs, she takes care of the agressive people. I say to this guy move your dog away please and he says why shes only 11 months and she just wants to say hi to your dog. I tried to explain a dog fight can come out of now here in seconds and i didnt want my dog hurt etc etc. He just gave me the run down that i hear here and about how pitts arent really dog agressive and all the usual soft soap. Fine, no problem just keep them away from me, my dogs and my live stock and we'll all stay friends.

Id really like to see legislation that made people vicariously responsible for the actions of their dogs. So if your dog attacks another persons dog the law will punish you as if YOU attacked the dog, similalry if you dog rushes out in the street and savages a little girl as she rollerskates by the law will treat the case as if YOU savagely bashed the child and give you the jail years you deserve.

Once again guys dont take it so personal, chew the meat and spit out the bones, have a few laughs.

I agree that typical dog owners should not have pit bulls, and a lot shouldn't even have pets other than goldfish!

I love my pit bull's "never give up" attitude, but it is a full time job to keep her focused on acceptable behavior.

Oh come on guys. I think you are blowing this out of proportion. With most of the pitbulls with whom I've dealt, their natural dog aggression is easily taken care of with totally minor training effort - like **misting them with water** - when they are a few months old and growl at another puppy. They are not bloodthirsty. They have only been bred to fight each other for <200 years - and with most, the past several generations have not been bred to fight at all. Pits have been wolves for millions of years and ordinary dogs for 20,000, and they have the same understanding of rank and pack order as most other dogs.

Keeping any three female dogs as housepets in the average home is not a good idea. I would never do it. But I hear more stories about lhasa apsos who live together trying to kill each other than pitbulls.

Yes, I have run into pitbulls who were very dog aggressive and had to be put down. But those were the very occasional exceptions, and all of them that I can think of came from backgrounds where their socialization with both humans and dogs was totally negligent - as in, four years on a chain in a junkyard, or a month in a basement without food.

For most dog owners, a pitbull is a great choice for a housepet because they require a relatively minor amount of exercise, they like to play games, they are highly trainable, they have high pain tolerances which helps make them easy with kids, and they are simply more interested in getting attention from their masters than anything else. When contrasted with the (couch-eating, manic-barking, cat-chasing) behavior of the average under-stimulated yearling lab, a yearling pitbull is a little saint.

The only reservation I have about pitbulls as housepets is that when flaky people let their dogs run loose, the way they can do with a golden retreiver all day, other people freak out and pass breed bans. To be a good pitbull owner you have to do public relations with your dog - not everyone is up to that.

Brendan I completely agree with you that people should be held responsible for the actions of their dogs toward other dogs. If that were the case maybe I could get something done about the standard poodle who ran out of nowhere (owner chasing and yelling far behind) and bit my pitbull, and now he is scared to walk down that street.

cnielsen,
You give me 200 years and I will turn apples into bannanas for you. Just look at how quickly some have ruined the GSD in the US. Man this thread is getting long. What's the record anyway?