Teddy sure is a cutie.

I know that many cities/towns up here in Canada have a ban in place on PitBulls. Sad to say that our Humane Societies were overloaded with pitbulls that were given up because of the ban.

"great majority of those were also pit bulls and pit bull mixes. Is the breed *that* popular*?? "

Not at all, except for dog fights.

They are bred for fighting; if the puppy does not seem aggressive enough, it's dumped on a shelter. The aggressive ones are kept to fight.

Not all owners of Pits are dog fighters..Some really like the breed. They are a tough dog to keep on top of..and you have to be a strong consistant person to own one as a pet.

Some areas, often neighborhoods will request that you have liabilaty insurance on them.

I think they are a very popular breed right now. I see them all over the place. The problem is that most owners don't know what they are getting into with that kind of dog, and also alot of places won't allow you to have them, so people have to give them up when moving somewhere that restricts them.

I've been searching for rental properties right now that allow dogs. I don't have one yet, but would like to get one (not a pit bull). Pretty much ALL rental properties have breed restrictions, and 99.9% of those restrictions are against pit bulls. I completely understand why for liability reasons.

ps...I have known alot of great dog owners with great pit bulls. They can be wonderful pets. They are definitely not only popular because of dog fighting.

Usually pits that aren't good fighters are used to train other pit bulls to fight...if that is what the people are raising them for, in the first place. And then, they are usually fought to the death...in other words, they are killed. People who do things like that aren't humane in any form or fashion and they wouldn't take them to a shelter. You have only to read some of the cruel things Michael Vick did to his dogs to find out that.

A lot of people get pit bulls and find out that they are aggressive towards other animals...other dogs, cats. And they worry that they may turn on their children. It can be quite a liability to own them.

You see a lot of labs and lab crosses here. Same for pits.
It is kind of a "ghetto status symbol" too in some areas of town.

I have known pits that were very gentle. However, the shelter where I go to pick up possums, will not put them up for adoption. They are put down.

I was there one day and someone brought in a beautiful dog.
It seemed well mannered. The shelter director explained that they would put it down, that they don't adopt them. The woman hesitated for a second or two and said, "Take it.
I don't care what you do with it."

Since so many people have such a callus attitude...out of sight, out of mind...about animals...it is very sad that so many of these dogs will end up euthanized. They shouldn't have been bred in the first place. Too many backyard breeders.

However, I go to the shelter at least once a week, and it never ceases to amaze me at the beautiful purebred dogs that are there. Last week there was a welsh corgi, a weimaraner,
German shepard, dachshund, Boston terrier....and a few weeks ago they busted a puppy mill and one of the shelters had dozens of small breeds...chihuahuas, Papillons, yorkies.

I wish everyone who wants to love a dog and give it a forever home, would check out their local shelters.

My girlfriend and I were discussing large and small dogs regarding behavior. I mentioned that most of the so-called pit bulls in the media are not really pits at all. That a true pit is a not an exceptionally large animal. They are medium dogs with a compact strongly muscled build.

My friend works at the Humane Society. Has been there for 6 years. Before that she worked for a vet for 13 years.

She laughed and told me she had just learned what a real pit looks like a couple months ago. One of the directors got tired of dogs being misidentified as "pitbulls" so she made everyone watch a film on the breed. Most of the dogs so mistaken are have mastiff, bull-mastiff, or dogue de bordeaux in them. Note these are not even terriers.

So even in the animal care industry misinformation abounds. My friend is the rule and not the exception in her working environment.They just don't know all that you would think they might. Kudos to her boss for educating them at long last.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pitbulls

I volunteer at a no kill shelter. I used to feel that all Pit Bulls were aggressive. We get Pit Bull rescue groups that bring their dogs in for adoption. I have come to find out that Pit Bulls are very lovable dogs. They love to get in my lap and cuddle. They never bark or growl at other dogs. I think they have been abused as a breed and that is too bad.
Donna

I have never met a Pit Bull that was nice, unfortunately. I know they're out there! A lot of people around here keep them to protect their homes...with drugs in them. When I used to take Laddie-the-naughty-Lab to doggie training class the trainer mentioned a couple of times that she felt the Pit Bull breed could be put down because of all the maulings she'd seen, and this from a wonderful animal lover and Humane Society administrator. In our town, there have been a LOT of maulings! It's so sad!

Blessings,
Haley

I've noticed at our local Humane Society shelter that there are lots and lots of pit bulls. Some look nice an some don't.

I had an experience with an loose, aggressive pit bull once when going for a walk. It didn't bite me but it challenged me, barking. I was paralyzed with fear, and the owner was rude and crude when I called for him to get the dog away from me. Now they scare me.

There are lots of insurance issues with Pit Bulls. Some companies won't cover you if you have one. I volunteered at the local SPCA and all the Pit Bulls that were up for adoption were screened. So I would suggest if someone were to get one that they do it where they are tested for aggression. The ones I met there were the sweetest dogs and very intelligent.
Clare

A well socialized, well trained pit bull is no more dangerous than any other dog.

Pit bull Poppy lives across the street. She's never in her 7 years growled or snapped, much less bitten anyone. She's very intelligent, and I know she would protect her family if necessary, but she doesn't assume everyone coming to visit to be a threat. But she is trained! The owners came and introduced her to all the near neighbors when they first moved in. Poppy knows us, and will respond to "Sit", "Stay", "Go Home", etc.

The Dalmation Patches who lives next door has attacked the letter carrier, and snarls and snaps at anyone who walks past her fence. Patches has never been through obedience training and it shows - if she gets out it's a 3 hour ordeal for her owners to get her back into the yard. She won't come even for them.

Don't even get me started on the miniature breeds whose owners think they are so cute that they don't need training!

It's not the breed - it's the people who own them and don't socialize and train and exercise them.

I've had the same experience as Organic Donna, finding family-raised pit bulls to be friendly, sweet dogs.

Painfully sad about the dog fighting, and that any animal would be trained to attack.

I hope more people start adopting from shelters instead of pet stores or breeders. We have two rescue dogs and three rescue cats at home -- all wonderful pets.

I know there are nasty pitbulls out there but all of the ones I've ever know were the sweetest dogs I've ever known.
After we put our last Lhasa down (she had been my Dad's) DH started bugging me to get another dog. I caved and off to the NHSPCA we went with the intention of adopting another dustmop. LOL The first dog we came to was a white with a brindle eye patch PitBull. She was STAR OF THE WEEK! They called her Madonna. LOL She sure was a looker! We looked at all the other dogs. Not a dustmop in the bunch. I went back to Madonna, she seened very sweet. Out I went to ask about her. She came in as a stray and had been there about a month. We took her out for a walk and played ball in the snow. One of the volunteers told me she was the best dog they had at the moment. After filling out the forms and making sure we could bring her back within a reasonable amount of time if things didn't work out, we took her home.
I have never for one minute regreted adopting Peati. Peati is my BFF.
After moving to FL I met a man that had raised pitbulls for years. He told me Peati was a Colby bull dog. Hmmm... what the heck is a Colby bull dog. I googled it and discovered that Mr. Colby brought some of the first pitbulls into the county from England. I've contacted the family and Peati is from this very old line. When the AKC accepted pitbulls as a breed they used a Colby to set the standard. March 16 was a very lucky day for Peati and I. She will be 10 this year and has Cushings Disease, which I cannot afford to treat. She's not in pain and I will make my decisions based on her quality of life.

Sorry this is so long. I'm very passionate about responsible dog ownership and breeding. Dogs are like children it's all about how they are raised. In my very humble opinion the Michael Vicks of this world should spend sometime working in a shelter. Then they would know what unconditional love is.
Marion

As Marilyn stated, "A well socialized, well trained pit bull is no more dangerous than any other dog." and "It's not the breed - it's the people who own them and don't socialize and train and exercise them."

This is extremely true. A dog learns what he is taught. If you teach a dog to be aggressive, he will be. If you leave a dog in the back yard on a chain for it's existance, then you are teaching him that he won't have human contact and should be mean to the person that walks into his chained area.

I have a Pit Bull. She is the smartest, most loving dog I have ever owned. But believe me...when my son came home with her as my Christmas present, I was a tad bit leary. She was housebroken in 2 days...she can sit, roll over and play dead, speak, go to bed, tell us where Santa lands..."roof" of course, all on command. She hangs out with a Boston Terrier all day long and has never so much as growled at him...however, she should kick his butt as he is more aggressive that she will ever think to be.

Here she is:

My pet peeve is not so much the dogs, but in RV parks those who have them and the so call lack of respect towards others. We have traveled extensively and yes we had dogs, but because we had excellent neighbors who took care of the dogs, and they were not raised to travel, we chose not to do so. The worst ones were the smaller breeds--with the majority of the people saying oh my---never bit anyone as the dog is growing and snapping at any walking by, or left in the RV all day, bark, bark, etc.
We did camp right near someone who had 3 rottweilers (big) small trailer, and I finally did get use to one of them but never did the others. They always would lunge/and threaten everyone. Park personal did always warn owners, but never did anything. After I left the park I did report it to the main office.
Yes it is how they are raised. My relatives do have a staffordshire pit bull and yes she is very protective of her family, but so far they have never had problems.

Uh, Vicki,

Marilyn had wonderful comments to the thread, but those you quoted were my comments.

Mary

Addicted to watching The Dog Wnisper!
He has lots of inf on pit bulls!

My nephew had two - male and female, and you know what happened. The fires litter yielded 9 pups, the next only 7, and so on, and so on. The kids and his wife love them. I got along well with the male (had him first), but the female came at me as soon as I walked in the door. I NEVER came in the house while they were out. She was actually foaming at the mouth. Just so happens, she was the one that killed the first one out of jealousy - he was sniffing after one of the pups from a later litter. Now he only has 4, I think. They have never harmed any of the kids. My nephew takes very good care of them, but I'm sure that NO ONE will come to his house, unwanted. I have another friend that has female PBs as watch dogs. I've never seen any of them - I can't. He has trained them this way, but is not abusive to them.

My county won't allow PBs, so I think there are so many that are put down because of that. It's sad, but with all of the maulings around here, it might be a good thing. I just hate to see any animal put down because they've been trained to be abusive. That being said, my old manager is a dog trainer and show judge. She was the one that told me that the PBs were trained to kill other dogs, and not people. I think if not careful, they will do both. Sad all the way around. They can be really sweet pets, at times.

Oh Mary...I sincerely apologize. It is times like this that I REALLY wish there was an edit option after you hit submit.

Again...I apologize!!

Vicki,

I'm not upset, and I too REALLY wish there was an edit.

I just wanted to make sure any negative comments about my support for pit bulls was aimed at me, and not someone else.

Gneegirl - if your nephew is just letting his dogs breed indiscriminately - well, I have words which are not allowed on this forum. I will say - ZERO RESPECT for that person.

Responsible dog owners do not let their dogs breed. Responsible dog owners NEUTER their dogs! Responsible dog owners also train their dogs.

ANY dog can be vicious. MOST dogs want to please, and can be trained. Not training is just jackass-irresponsible.

We used to have a neighbor who had Pits a couple of years ago.He was the most conscientious,responsible dog owner on the block.His Pits were well socialized with both other animals and children.

He was a scary looking guy (not to me) with the neck and hand tats and all. Kept an eye out on the neighborhood and would drop everything if you needed his help. I got to know him when I found a loose dog and he walked the neighborhood with me to find the owner. A really great guy with a love of dogs and people.

I can't say the same of some peeps with their family dogs. Fluffy is allowed to be snippy,poop on the neighbors' lawn and snap at other dogs. Buts that's OK because awwww golly gee...isn't she precious.

Viki,
Your Pit Bull is adorable. My building doesn't allow dogs. Someday, when I retire I will move somewhere and have several dogs and cats. I would love to have a PB.
Donna

Marilyn and Mary C...you both are so right on!

I learned years ago our shelter puts down all Pits unless claimed by their owner. :(

I truly despise the folks who have a Pit (or any other dog) for all the wrong reasons..I see a lot of that in my declining neighborhood..just breaks my heart. ;(

It's amazing what teddy bears Pits can be..I've known a few who I'd trust completely.

Rosemary and Vicki..love your doggies/pics. :)

My sister has been a dog trainer for 35 years. She teaches both individuals as well as groups. She has experience with all types of dog breeds. She uses positive reinforcement along with clicker training.

The one breed that she doesn't trust is a pit bull. While not all pit bulls cause danger, many pitbulls that she has had in a group training class have had to be removed from the training and asked to not come back. She said all of the owners of the pit bulls swear that their dog was raised around the children, wouldn't hurt a fly, is a very loving dog, etc., etc., etc. She has had many pit bulls, unprovoked, attack other dogs in class. She has seen a few pit bulls turn on their owners, again, unprovoked.

The thing about a pit bull is their jaw strength. A pit bull has 2200 lbs of pressure in their jaws, and can crush bone. A human has about 10 lbs of pressure in their hands. Once a pit bull attacks, even if the dogs want to release, the formation of their jaw inhibits the ability to release. Often times pit bulls, when attacking someone, need to be shot in order to release the victim.

Everyone says their pit bull is the best, kindest, most loving dog. The thing about a pit bull can be their unpredictable behavior. If you do a Google search on pit bull attacks, there are hundreds of articles.

And I personally have been charged by a pit bull. Fortunately the owner was near and was able to call the dog back. I wouldn't go near a pit bull.

A couple months ago, I can't remember why, but I was searching the pics of the local shelter - I must have had a friend looking for a dog.
Any hoo, I noticed and commented to TG that the majority - seriously, like 70-80% looked like pit bulls or pit bull mixes. I was really shocked.

Used to own a pitbull he was the best dog....
Pinky the pitbull lives next door great dog....
Some other people I know have pitbulls and theirs are mean and agressive...but they trained them that way!!
They are like any other breed.....I think it is how they are raised....Stacy