pitbulls

[Twisterdog]

I agree with number one and number three. ALL dogs can be sweet, if treated well. And ONLY responsible people should own a dog, any dog, regardless of the breed.

[primabella]

thanks for all voting. i guess it was pretty dumb of me to put 1 and 3 seperate because they kind of go hand in hand. oh well, sorry about that.
i have never actually seen a pit bull LIVE, so i can't say anything about them. the only time i do see them is when the news is doing a special report on another attack.

[pupper-lover]

Addie is part pit-bull. It isn't real obvious in photos, but in person she looks exactly what you'd expect a lab-pit mix to look like. We get a lot of negative responses from people that are "breed-ist". Addie is the sweetest dog, I have ever had. As I was posting these pics, she had her head on my leg and was looking up at me with her beautiful light brown eyes. Wherever I go, she is always there at my side. I have never had such a close bond with any other dog in my life, and I think it is sad that people hate and fear her because of what she looks like. Like most pit bulls (and many breeds of dogs), Addie is stubborn, dominant, extremely strong, intelligent, loyal, and very very very energentic. I could see how this could be a problem with an irresponsible owner, but I have made every effort possible to socialize her with adults, children, dogs, and even cats. She is a pure sweetie. She had an abusive past, that I can tell will haunt her forever, but an agressive killer, she will never be.

It is very nice to know, there are so many people at pet talk that can love and respect a breed that has all but been thrown to the thugs of the society.

[Kfamr]

Actually, you can tell Addie is part Pit. She has that cute block head pits do. What a beauty!

When i take Simba and My brother's dog Honey for walks [their both pit mixes] People will pet and pet them then ask what breed they are i say "GSD/ pit mix and lab/pit mix" then they say "oh" and back away. It pisses me off to much. And then theirs some people who judge Pit Bulls without ever meeting one in real life. But then again... There are alot of morons in this world.

[manda99]

Pit Bulls are WONDERFUL dogs!!
Of course, owning one comes with challenges and you must be aware of the type of dog you have, simply because of all the negative press they recieve.

Back in the day, when APBTs were largely used for fighting, any Pit Bull that showed agression to humans would be put down immediately. The owner HAD to be able to get in the middle of a fight or be able to mend an injured dog after a fight without the dog biting the human.

Yes, they do have a tendency to be dog agressive but if they are properly socialized there should be no problems. For example, I started taking Smokey to puppy classes when he was 10 weeks old. He meets other dogs at the park and on walks... I have never, not once, seen him show any agression towards any of these dogs - even after some of them have jumped on him or tried to start something. After we get out of the situation Smokey would lay down and whine and just want to play. (What a mean, vicious dog, huh??? )
Pork Chop, on the other hand, was not socialized as a pup except for the other APBT we had at the time. And as a result of that I'm weary of taking him out because I don't know how he'll react. I'm almost sure if a dog jumped on him he'd tear it up on a defensive reaction.

BUT - Pork Chop loves people like nobody's business. Smokey, too.
People are always surprised that Smokey is a pit bull, or that he is just SO friendly.

Anyway, what's the point here?
Oh yeah, I love American Pit Bull Terriers! I hope everyone read the poem I posted about them a while ago.
These wiggle butts are the best! I've never owned another type of dog.

[primabella]

thanks for all the reponses!

i just had to mention something that i learned in class: pit bulls are able to have stitches or sugery (sp?) without having to be on anethesia (sp?) because they are so strong in that way.

[manda99]

Originally posted by primabella
thanks for all the reponses!

i just had to mention something that i learned in class: pit bulls are able to have stitches or sugery (sp?) without having to be on anethesia (sp?) because they are so strong in that way.

I don't know about that... They do have a really high pain tolerance but ...

I know our dogs were both put under to be neutered.
Maybe just regular sutures for a cut or something don't require anything but ...

[Kfamr]

Even if they could tolerate the pain, i wouldn't do it that way.

[Lynn101]

I love pitbulls! They are adorable. They cost alot of money too. I think you have to be responsible to own a pitbull, but I would never be afraid of owning one because they can be just as loving as any other pet. Every dog gets a little bit mean at times. But hey, what can you say?

Lynn101

[turner]

I personally think pitbulls can be just as sweet as any other dog. My husbands friend had 2 pitbulls, and they were the most gentle dogs and he has 3 kids that the dogs just adorded(spelling). I don't like the rep pitbulls and Rottweilers get from the press.

[Cincy'sMom]

Originally posted by manda99


Yes, they do have a tendency to be dog agressive but if they are properly socialized there should be no problems.

I think you are right, but I think that may be a something of a (perceived?)terrier trait. There are a lot of dogs that don't like other dogs in their face or are "dog aggressive" I think maybe it is a little more common is terriers then say retreivers, but I know a Golden who is very dog aggressive, a border terrier, a standard poodle, a chiuhuahua...you get the idea. And I know terriers (like Taggert) who LOVE other dogs and LOVe to play...I think socilaization is important to any dog, but even then some dogs just don't want others in their face. Like humans, all dogs have different personalities.

[wolf_Q]

I also agree with #1 and #3. Here's my own 2 cents. Yes, I think they can be just as sweet as any other dog. But dog breeds like them that were bred for many years to be fighting dogs, naturally have more of that instinct...to be dog aggressive. That doesn't mean that they will be, of course. But I think they should only be owned by responsible pet owners. Of course that really applies to any dog!! A dog like pit bulls and many other breeds like german shepards, akitas, rottweilers, etc. can be pretty strong willed and will most likely require a firm owner with plenty of training and socialization. That said, ANY breed of dog can be a wonderful, sweet, loving dog! It's not the breed that determines the dogs complete disposition, it's the owner.

And it really pisses me off how societry portrays some of the dog breeds. It's not fair at all! People think huskies are mean too! We went to petsmart and I had like 5 people ask me if Nebo was mean or if he would bite!! They didn't ask that once about Lady! And Nebo was being much more well-behaved then she was, lol.

I've met several dogs of the "mean" breeds, and oh boy they sure were "mean." I met a pit bull puppy a long time ago, and it was the sweetest little pup you'd ever see! And all of the rottweilers have just been big overgrown babies, lol. My uncle has one, and oh no, she might lick me to death!! Ahh! There was (what looked like) a black pit/lab mix puppy running loose in the park today, and she sure was cute! She really wanted to play with Nebo, but she was too big of a wuss to get close enough, lol.

[Aspen and Misty]

geisthexe posted this and I thought you all should help!!! Here post-

This news station has a poll up asking whether pit bulls should be banned... right now the results are 58% yes, and 42% no.
The poll is in the middle of the right hand side on this page....


http://www.theiowachannel.com/

So come on and vote. I personally hope no wins. That is just awful if yes wins


Ashley

[turner]

I voted for "No" to ban pitbulls. Ok so if we are going to ban "mean" breeds like pitbulls.....lets ban stupid pet owners! I think that one is better.

[geisthexe]

I believe we need to work on this breed about getting them back an able to have a pit in our back yards. I use to recsue them so I had nine at one time and they were good dogs, even the ones I had that were pit fought. Needed to be worked and trained but all in all great dogs. But I still love my American bulldogs, But that does say I would never own another pit cuz I would if one needed a home. Thanks to all your help about the poll I posted we again need to save this breed. Hexe



My son Tyler and My Male AmBull Jawz