A different kind of pit bull story

[Mythsaje]

A couple of years ago my wife and I got a call from an acquaintance in town that someone had tied a pit bull up outside the store where he was working, walked in, and said that he could go to anyone that wanted him.

Since we work in dog rescue (though we usually do Shiba Inus and their cousins) I got in the car and made the 45 minute drive into town to check him out.

He was a giant, somewhere around 80 lbs at the time, though he was still a puppy. The acquaintance passed him along to me and he came home to our house, where he stayed for nearly a year. We named him Char and he became a de facto member of our family, and very close to our Pomeranian. They were actually the best of friends and played together all the time. Unfortunately we didn't have the room to keep him. We were just fostering him and, finally, we were forced by circumstances to take him to the local pit bull rescue rep.

This was a couple of years ago. Today, my wife was helping out at a rescue booth at a local pet fair and, while walking around the site, was suddenly bowled off her feet by a large black dog who promptly starting bathing her with his broad tongue.

It was Char, of course. His owner rushed up, apologizing profusely, surprised that he'd broken free and launched himself at someone who was, to her, a complete stranger. But dogs don't forget people, especially people they love.

As it turns out, this 125 lb American Staffordshire Terrier, a true giant of a dog, is now a therapy animal who visits Seniors at retirement homes. He has since earned a canine good citizen award and is one of the friendliest dogs you'll ever meet.

This is a prime example of why I love dogs...and argue on behalf of even such creatures as pit bulls. Because I know that even the biggest, scariest of dogs can be wonderful, loyal companions.

[clydefrand]

1. Great story. I love my pup, too. American Eskimo! Beautiful.

[mr_hat]

2. It's not that they're bad dogs. It's just that they have such

powerful tongues.

[Clark2008]

3. Oh - since you're in dog rescue - maybe you can help me out.

I'm having a severe problem with a dog I adopted from the pound.

She's very, very, very sweet - but very, very, very unruly. It's much deeper than I can get into, but, at the least, I can say that I have a 6-year-old boy she hurts when she jumps on him (and, yes, I've been through obedience school with my other dog - I know how to train and she absolutely does not respond to ANYTHING). She jumps the fence, she chews, she pees in the house, she climbs on the counters, she is generally very destructive. She cannot be trained - nothing phases her - no punishment of any sort works. It's a shame because she's bascially a sweet animal.

However, if she hurts my son again - inadvertantly, of course - I'm going to have to do something.

Please, if you have suggestions, I would love for you to IM me.

[Maddy McCall]

6. Sorry to butt in...

What breed is she? How old is she? She reminds me of my Weimy's behavior when I first rescued him. He grew out of it and is now the best dog.

[Clark2008]

9. No problem. Butt in all you want. I need advice.

I don't know what she is.

I suspect she's got some either Dobe or Min Pin and some terrier. She's about 40 pounds and colored like a Dobe, but wirey like a terrier.

Like I said, she's a sweet pea in terms of her demeaner - she's a kisser - but she simply will not mind. And, as she's so wirey, she can knock down my 60-pound kid and his friends without problem. It's to the point that my son can't have his friends over because I'm afraid someone will get hurt.

She's lived with me about five months now and was about five to six months old when we got her from the pound.

[Mythsaje]

10. We just got a min pin ourselves...

she's the sweetest little thing, but we were warned that they can be very difficult to train...dominant little creatures. We've had her for a couple months now and she's almost entirely house broken.

Have you crate-trained her?

[Clark2008]

11. Funny thing is that I've crate-trained her from the beginning.

However, that makes her WORSE. She's a terror when I let her out.

I believed in crate-training before because it worked so well on a Lab/Hound mix I had (who, sadly, had to be put down for a genetically enlarged esophogus when he was only 3 years old). He was Heaven once I crate-trained him.

Like I said - she doesn't respond to ANYTHING - no discipline at all works on her and she's driving me, my son and my fiance nuts. It's always about picking up or cleaning up or chasing after her. Or, it's about controlling her not to jump on or pee on or poo on or pounce on someone or something. It's a constant. I've never had a dog behave this long this way.

[Mythsaje]

16. It sounds like you've done all the right things

and I'm not sure I can add anything that you've not thought of already.

How old do you think she is?

We've actually been pleasantly surprised that our min-pin hasn't lived up to the horror stories we've heard.

[Clark2008]

20. I'd say she's closing in on a year.

When we got her, the vet said, based on her teeth, that she was about six months or so, so she's probably around 11 monthish.

Like I said, she's incredibly sweet, but I can't have her bullying my son and his friends. It's just not an option, even if her "bullying" is more out of spunk than meanness.

She also beats up on my 13-year-old cocker and he's the most patient thing in the universe, but has actually hauled of and bit her - and Trooper has never bitten more than a flea in his life (he's a pure-bred, not puppy-milled. He's actually like the cockers that made them popular - small, sweet, loyal and friendly - but old, which is why we got my son a puppy. Trooper simply can't run and jump and play much anymore).

[Mythsaje]

26. She has an overabundance of energy, that's for sure...

Some of that is pure puppiness...our min pin bounces the cats, the other dogs, etc...and doesn't settle down very easily. We actually got her at a time when we had a kitten of approximately the same age, so they keep each other occupied pretty well, but little Bella still drives the older cats nuts. She's faster than they are, so they have a problem teaching her that they don't want to be messed with. By the time they raise a paw, she's gone again. LOL

I think some of it might be alleviated by working out some constructive games for her to play rather than letting her run wild. Consider penning her away from the kids and your older dog(baby-gates work well for this) and coming up with games you can play together...maybe some agility course type games or something.

We usually have a whole pack rather than just a couple of dogs of such disparate ages, so the dynamic's a little different...

[FlaGranny]

19. First thing, dogs don't respond well to discipline.

Dogs respond to rewards. It sounds to me like you have a very, very high energy dog. It sounds like she needs to have a job. She needs lots of exercise. If you can't run her for an hour or so a day, can you get a treadmill and train her to run on that? Train her to fetch things for you. Train her to carry "saddlebags" with something heavy enough in them to make her work. Obstacle course training would also be good. She might also be trained to search, follow scent trails, whatever you can think of. Use lots of praise and/or treats when she does good. Does she get taken on regular walks? In not, she will be crazy with boredom.

Just some quick suggestions off the top of my head. I've found that from ages 6 months to 2 years, dogs are like adolescent troublemakers and you have one with EXTRA energy.

[Mythsaje]

25. Depends on what you mean by discipline

some dogs are people-pleasers, and operate very well on a reward system. Some dogs, particularly the more primitive breeds, need a mix of reward and dominance training. These dogs in particular are far more comfortable if they have no doubts who the boss is. They need to understand their place in the pack.

Good advice about keeping the dog busy, though. This is particularly important with such dogs as the herding breeds...border collies, aussies, etc... if they don't have a "job," they can get into all sorts of trouble out of sheer boredom.

[FlaGranny]

48. You are right, of course, and

the first thing I do is establish the pack leader - ME. Don't know how I forgot that. But, most people don't know how to discipline a dog. They usually wind up hitting the dog or yelling at it, neither of which works. The dog just winds up more excited. In my experience with dogs that are extremely hyper, you can't teach them much of anything until you wear them out.

[Mythsaje]

50. Absolutely true...

Dogs don't understand hitting as discipline...we usually roll a dog and force submission to establish dominance. Our Pom, who is an alpha himself, rolls immediately to his back if he knows he's done something wrong and one of us raises our voice and walks toward him.

[EC]

55. This would be my advise also

exercise does wonders and sets boundries. Take the dog out for walks on a lease and BE the dominate one, but make sure the dog is worn out before returning home. (I know, this will wear you out too, but it may save your furniture, carpet and kids). But you must maintain Dominance, let the dog know who's boss, or he'll run all over you. The dog I have now is part German Shepard, Akita and St. Bernard, he was really the most difficult dog I've ever had to train...but with him I found that he really needed boundries, so I set them and let him know in no uncertain terms that I was the boss (although he out-weighs me by about 40 pounds)and now if I even look at him with displeasure - he goes and sits in the back hall (which is his "punishing place"- he has to sit there quietly until I say he can come back and join the family). But walking him trained him more than just letting him run in the back yard, (he got bored). He also loves to play football...

[TorchTheWitch]

58. You're right, I have another Akita now

I had one for 12 years who finally died, and now have another 5 month old Akita puppy... I'd forgotten what a trial it is to get through those first couple of years. Establishing dominence and providing plenty of INTERESTING activity time is really key. Certain dogs are easily bored. My last Akita, and this one I have now, are not content with yard play by themselves. They really need interactive play or at least some kind of toy that is challenging enough that they won't tire of (my new Akita LOVES that wiggly-giggly ball!).

Games of fetch are probably the best way to tire the dog without tiring out yourself since they do all the running. With my new pup, he'll climb all over me if he's bored, and if I don't have the energy or time for a long walk or run with him, I play fetch with him on the staircase. I stand at the top of the steps and throw the fetch toy down to the bottom for him to repeatedly chase... all that running up and down stairs will wear him out much faster than just going out walking or running with him.

Fetch isn't a game that Akitas tend to take to very well (they'll chase after something a few times, but aren't all that interested in bringing it back after a few throws), so I incorporate the Hide The Mommy game with fetch... throw the toy, he goes to get it, doesn't look like he wants to bring it back, so I run and hide (he gets praised if he brings the toy back upstairs before trying to find me, so it didn't take but a few times for him to figure out he should bring the toy back).

Of course, since tug is his favorite game of all, and fetch incorporates a toy in both his mouth and my hand, it took awhile for him to learn to let go of the fetch toy when I wanted him to... but as long as we play tug often (and both before and after fetch), he's happy to let go of the fetch toy when I tell him.

Getting over that 2 year hump takes a lot of time and energy, but the end result is a well behaived and loving dog, so it's all worth it.

[EC]

4. I had a pit that was the most wonderful dog

I've ever had...

[AlecBGreen]

14. mine too

Speedbump is the sweetest kindest dog you will ever meet. All licks and tail wags!

[Maddy McCall]

5. The problem here with pits is that people use them for violent purposes.

They are raised to fight in the pit. They are not pets to their owners. Pits are the ultimate "macho" dog to teen boys. They somehow acquire a pit, and raise it for no other purpose than to rip another pit up.

They steal strays off the street and put them in the ring to fuel their blood sport. They inbreed the pits, beat them, house them in terrible conditions, and sometimes starve them, with the belief that all of this will make a better fighting dog.

In New Orleans, the vast majority of rescued animals were Pit Bull Terriers. Many of them had to be put down, because of their hyperaggressive nature. It's sad that these animals had no choice in their existence, either before or after rescue.

Dog fighting is so ingrained in rural society here that even many policemen and deputies participate. There's really no way to control it. Sadly, pits that are raised as pets are stolen, mistreated, and made into monsters.

I'm glad that your story had a happy ending. Most of what I hear here is sad and cruel.

[Mythsaje]

8. I hear you...

The only way to change this is to change people's attitudes toward dogs in general. They've been with us for so long, historically speaking, and have given us so much as a society...they deserve so much better from us than what they are given.

[IndyOp]

13. Hyperaggressive nature is due to genes & environment --

Individuals vary in genes they inherit from their parents, some pups in a litter are relatively friendly and others are relatively aggressive from the start. A relatively friendly dog can be made aggressive, but hyperaggressive dogs are (IMO) a result of genes & environment. I have studied behavioral genetics and I have personal, painful experience in regards to this issue of aggression in pit bulls. Pits are very, very smart and they need constant socialization and exercise and appropriate discipline. If they are genetically aggressive individuals and have received any reinforcement for aggressive behavior - for some - it doesn't matter how hard you try, they simply can't be made safe family pets.

[Mythsaje]

18. I won't argue with that...

it depends on multiple factors. We have a hyperaggressive Pomeranian. Nothing we've done to socialize him has really helped. He's over-sized (about 25 lbs) and if someone shows the slightest glimmer of fear toward him, there's a damn good chance he'll go after them.

A hyperaggressive pit is far more dangerous.

[Boomer]

28. The root problem is jaw strength

Cocker Spaniels lead the stats on dog bites, but a bite from a Cocker probably isn't going to kill or maim a person.

Pit bulls, on the other hand, have a jaw structure that applies tremendous pressure and locks in place.

The risk of injury increases depending on how a dog is raised and how it is treated, but NO dog is 100% safe. All it takes is one instance of a lost temper, one rare trigger of instinct, and the sweetest dog in the world can cause a LOT of damage.

Each owner must decided for themselves the level of risk that they will tolerate in their own household, especially where small children are involved, but it's irresponsible to claim there is no risk at all (a claim I've heard from some people).

[Mythsaje]

32. There are few guarantees in life...

My Shiba is 99.999999999999999% safe. He doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body, and he absolutely loves people and especially kids. The one time I saw him get fed up with a couple of kids, he simply ran and found himself a den to crawl into, taking himself out of the equation.

Our Jindo/Chow cross is just about the same...she's a mama dog by instinct. When one of our fosters attacked her, she simply pinned him like a wrestler might. Never seen anything like it. The only thing she doesn't particularly like is men and teenage boys...particularly if they're wearing a uniform. She was a rescue who was abused by a shelter employee--a teenage boy.

[IndyOp]

30. Thanks -- I don't bring up my story to

put down anyone else's experience. I really, really, really wish someone had grabbed me and explained the hard facts to me before I wound up in a miserable situation with the dog I got from the shelter and thought was a lab puppy.

[prescole]

7. The war on terriors

has gotten out of hand.

[meisje]

12. It's all fun and games until granny looses an arm

[Boomer]

35. Our neighborhood was terrorized by a pit bull mix

Terrible owners -- rarely home, basically just tied the dog out in the back yard and ignored it. I suspect it was also hungry a lot of the time. And the yard was fenced in by little more than chickenwire. Needless to say, the dog was aggressive and unsocialized. And because of its genetic heritage, potentially very dangerous.

The dog killed a few cats, and managed to lunge through the fencing and attack a neighbor's small dog. Thank god he didn't bite the kid who tried to defend his pet.

But the ultimate sin was that this family had a 4-year old little girl -- a thin wisp of a child -- who could easily have been killed by an attack by any large dog, much less a pit bull. Thankfully, they finally passed the dog on to some relatives.

Now, however, they have a poor Mastiff tied up in the back yard. Less of a danger to others, perhaps, but still as sad and lonely and emotionally abandoned.

[Mythsaje]

37. That's just criminal...

I feel bad for the mastiff. From everything I know of the breed, they're gentle giants.

[Boomer]

57. Agreed on all points

But then, they neglect their children, too.

It's one of those dysfunctional families where the neglect isn't intentional cruelty so much as just an unwillingness to cope with life. That distinction doesn't make the children or the dogs feel any better, of course.

[kestrel91316]

15. Back when I still treated dogs, pit bulls were actually my FAVORITE

breed to have as a patient. They were unfailingly polite to the vet (me), obedient to their owner, had a high threshhold of pain, and seemed to understand when they were being helped, which made them VERY cooperative. The worse I aver saw in a pit was a female who was unusually nervous and shaky at the vet. But I only knew that one; ALL the others were just great, whether the owners were upper middle class yuppies, or shady gangbanger types. Those dogs love their vets.

Of course, the bad ones, the ones trained to attack and kill, never came to the vet for any care, so I never saw any of them.

[FlaGranny]

21. I don't know about you,

but the nastiest dogs I've ever encountered have been - chihuahuas!! My sister used to have a 10-pound terrier mix that would bite anyone who touched him, other than my sister and her husband. He actually acted fairly friendly, but you better not lay a finger on him.

Little dogs I think are spoiled and allowed to get away with too much because they are small and cute.

[kestrel91316]

59. Yep, the little ones were more likely to be awful, but they won't end

a vet's career like the Rotties always seemed to be trying to.

Cocker spaniels and terriers of all sorts were memorable. I did know a perfect gentleman of a chihuahua once, lol. Acted more like a Lab than a chihuahua.

[IndyOp]

39. One of the amazing facts I learned about pits is that

as the breed was being 'selected' for deadliness in the bull-fighting ring they had to be simultaneously 'selected' for gentleness with human hands that reached into the ring to pull them out, sew them up and put them back in to fight. Dogs who bit a handler would be put down - and not leave any genes in the next generation. Disgusting to hear (for those of us who despise people who would put a dog in a fight) but an important part of the explanation for why pits love their vets.

I had one occasion with my pit mix, Sam, when we had to go to the vet for stitches -- he ran into a fence while chasing a rabbit and got a nasty cut above his eye. It was evening, and the vet was young and didn't want to suture him up until the next day when she could anesthetize him. When it came time to take his stitches out she warned that they might have to keep him all day to anesthetize him again. I stayed with him, and he kept his head on the table as she cut the four stitches and pull them out with a tweezer. No problem. (My Golden Retriver, in contrast, would prefer anesthesia before a nail trim!)

He was a good dog and I miss him very much. :cry:

[Mythsaje]

42. Yeah, that's one of the little-known secrets

about the breed. Aggression towards humans was something they tried to breed out of them.

[IndyOp]

44. When pits were used to fight bulls they tried to breed aggression

toward humans out of them. Over the past few decades, since they have been bred to fight other dogs & defend human turf - they have been breeding for out of control aggression. That is my understanding anyway - :nuke: :nuke: :nuke:

[Mythsaje]

45. I wish there was some way to stop this crap...

but there isn't any that I know of.

[IndyOp]

47. I've been told that in the UK you have to apply for license to breed dogs

- if, at any time, the person who adopts/buys the pups no longer wants them - they go back to the breeder! People who breed would be a hell of a lot more careful and would breed many fewer animals.

Could this be done? If public will was behind it, yes. A BIG step: Mandatory spay/neutering. Make sure that all animals released from shelters, rescues, and breeders are ALL neutered/spayed before being released. Give tickets to people caught walking their dog who haven't had their animal spayed/neutered.

[Mythsaje]

49. In most cases

I'm opposed to this sort of stuff, but when it comes to animal welfare, I have to say I'm sorely tempted to do something along those lines.

I think backyard breeding should be banned...they're even starting to screw up the "good" breeds like the labs and retrievers through too much inbreeding.

[MuseRider]

17. I met a scary Lab once

and could not believe my eyes. A mean, scary Lab! It all depends on how they are raised I think. I rescued a dog once who had been beaten and dumped. It took a couple of years to get him to settle and be accepting of strangers in the house. He did learn, was always skittish but he learned.

Lovely story. Gotta love the doggies.

[alfredo]

22. Mail men and dogs. It is a special relationship. Rage and Sugar were

two pit bulls on my route. Sugar attacked me one day. It was swift and without warning. My hand was in my satchel. I shoved it in his mouth. It nearly broke my hand, but the skin wasn't broken. She backed off, quit her attack.

Rage, he was my buddy. Rage, another unnamed pit bull and a Rottweiller would pick me up at the same corner every day. I guess they thought I was a dog too. I would walk from house to house, pausing, then moving on, just like I was marking my territory. Rage always had to be the nearest one to me. He would shove the other dogs out of the way. Sometimes he will climb into my jeep.

They would only go so far, that's when a BYD picked me up and escorted me through his territory.

BYD = big Yellow Dog.

Near the end of my route an Alaskan Husky picked me up. He would not get to near me, he stayed about 5-6 ft away. The other dogs on my route would interact with me, but this one was silent.

The worst dog on the route was a Cocker Spaniel. I had to take a tricycle to him one day.

[Mythsaje]

27. My Shiba LOVES our mailman...

They're buddies. My wife had an aussie that actually used to accompany her mailman on his rounds every day. That was her "job." She was quite disappointed when they moved and got a different mailman who didn't understand this whole arrangement.

[Maddy McCall]

40. I love mail carrier stories!

You guys are truly unsung heroes. How do I know? Because my dad is a retired rural mail carrier. The folks on his route cried the day he retired. He wasn't just their mailman, he was their go-to guy who took care of them, often against regulations. He brought shut-ins dog food or groceries when they needed it. He bartered and traded with men on his route (say, a tractor tire for a bushhog job). He held mail for people who asked him to. He sold stamps to people who needed them. He was so dedicated to his job. Not many like him anymore.

Oh, yes, and he has dog stories, too. His mail car was attacked by a rotty once, and it wouldn't let him move. He had to pepper spray it to pull away from the box. And there are many more stories that are insanely funny.

Anyway, here's a salute to you. :hi:

[alfredo]

53. Thanks. I am retired now, but I did work as a rural and city

carrier. City is easier in many ways. Rural carrying is a dangerous job. City had its dangers, but not like rural.

I had a dog that would attack the rubber coating on my mail truck. I have a picture somewhere of it happening. I took to spraying the bumper down with pepper spray. That stopped his attacks.

I had a pepper spray can go off inside my jeep. No fun.

[IndyOp]

41. I had to take a tricycle to him one day.

I am not going to laugh. I'm NOT!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[alfredo]

51. It was too cold for the pepper spray, and my satchel was too

heavy to move quickly. Picking up a nearby tricycle was the most logical choice.

[mark11727]

23. Take this vicious little beast right here.

She'll lick the toes right off your feet...



Maxie the wonderdog

[LuCifer]

24. My dog is pit/jack russell

Yeah! What a mix heh?! But she's the NICEST dog I've ever had or known of. A tad bit over-protective of ANY food ya put down, but otherwise no problem. People can make ANY dog nasty, and those people are the ones who should be PUT DOWN! Bastards.

Lu

[Mythsaje]

29. A lot of dogs have that food issue...

It's not allowed in our house, but, then again, because we work with primitive breeds we have to strictly enforce pack order. The food in the house belongs to US, not them...we just allow them to eat it. Primitive breeds are weird that way.

[LuCifer]

33. It comes from...

...where she spent the first 5 months of her life, at this DUMP ASS HOUSE, and the moron who had her, also had this HUGE bulldog who wouldn't allow her to eat. So, it's understandable that that is ingrained...and it's a pain in the ass, cuz she's a BITCH (so to speak!) to my dad's dog, who's a bigger dalmation!!!!!

[Mythsaje]

36. We've seen that before...

working in rescue we've fostered all kinds.

A firm hand and a lot of patience can help them work through it. We've had five dogs of various breeds and sizes lined up side by side waiting for us to toss each one popcorn in turn.

[LuCifer]

38. It's weird, cuz...

...otherwise, they get along fine! Ok, other than when they fight over rawhide bones and stuff like that! Needless to say, with a 6 dogs, I don't worry too much about any burglars!

Lu Cifer, any repukes drop by, you don't get feed to the dog...YOU GET FED TO THE GATOR IN THE LAKE OUT BACK!!!!!!!!!!!

[EC]

63. Like my Rascal here?

But he isn't protective of his food...my daughter has him now and there are 2 other dogs...he doesn't seem to care if they go to his dish, he'll just eat their food...

[LisaL]

31. My neighbors got a pit bull. I saw their kid smacking it on the face

one day. I just hope one day I don't end up as its dinner.

[Mythsaje]

34. Stupid people shouldn't breed...

or own dogs, for that matter. The end result is likely to be quite darwinian. Unfortunately to the detriment of both the kid and the dog in the end.

[LisaL]

43. Oh, they bred, o'key. They have a lot of children.

They also rent (and not a very large apartment, I might add), and don't have renters insurance. Why would they get a pit bull? Sure beats me.

[Cats Against Frist]

52. I'm nervous about the more aggressive breeds

That said, I don't know much about them, and firmly believe that those who do know about them, and are careful owners can enjoy the dogs -- so I would never support a large-scale ban on them, or anything.

Again, that said, the dogs, being not fully "human," and therefore, "rational" (like people always are, but, oh well), I think that if a dog bites anyone, it should be put down, and, god forbid, if it ever kills anyone, it should be immediately destroyed, and the owners should be charged with murder.

But what about the gray area -- as a often-walker, sometimes-jogger, I'm always afraid that some whack-o will let their stupid dog out, or that they'll just put up a thick hedgerow between me and a pack of rotweillers (which has happened), and why, as a person who is walking on the street, do I have to be terrorized by a snarling, drooling animal?

For that reason, and that reason alone, I think there should be some sensible regulations on the dogs, and I also believe -- and this is the most controversial part of my post -- that, as a rural town resident, the first time I see a dog that I don't know, loose, on my property or unattended on public property -- I call animal control. The second time I see it -- I shoot it. I don't own a gun, but that's what I'd like to imagine that I'd do, if I did. And I might get one, someday. As a citizen, with a four-year-old, I shouldn't be terrorized by a loose dog. And while I don't believe in banning the dogs, or making them illegal, I'd like to think that I should be able to mete justice out on the fucker who is letting their dog out on my property.

I also like to think that an aggressive-breed dog owner, in a public place, particularly a bazaar or street fair, wouldn't give their dog the chance to bound up or lick anyone, because it would be muzzled and on a leash.

I know the OP intended for this story to be heartwarming, but, he/she must realize that the "unstated" oppositional-construct is a factor in the posting. As in, the post "in response to accusations that pit bulls are dangerous."

I say that people should be able to own them, and let them eat their own kids' guts out, if they wish, but, seeing the complete lack of regard that many large and/or aggressive dog owners have for the general public doesn't make my heart warm up.

[Mythsaje]

54. A dog protecting its property

has the right to bite someone if they don't belong there. That's one of the purposes of having a dog. It's a security system. If it's running loose and bites someone, that's a different matter. But killing something for acting according to its nature and/or training is a little ridiculous.

And what's an "aggressive" breed? In general the most aggressive breeds are the small dogs.

[StopRoy]

60. I'm with you.

I used to be an avid walker. I haven't walked in several years after moving to a rural area full of loose dogs. I'm effectively confined to my own yard unless in a vehicle. I do believe that it would be acceptable to neutralize aggressive dogs in the street.

[ConsAreLiars]

46. A friend has a street rescued pit bull that has worked as a "therapy dog"

Presumably, vet says, an AmStaff, but half the weight of yours. While working at a transitional housing facility that targetted the most vulnerable of the homeless population she would bring the dog in regularly, and the ability of the dog to conform her behavior to the needs of the various residents and to bring about positive changes in unexpected ways was amazing. The smartest and gentlest dog I have encountered; the kind of dog that looks people in the eyes and establishes an instant rapport.

Great reunion story, Mythsaje!

(edit: for clarity? and typos))

[RebelOne]

56. That;s a great story.

Pit bulls are great dogs. I had a 96-pound giant at one time. He lived to the ripe old age of 13. An absolutely wonderful dog. I had a Rottweiler, that was a total sweetheart, and she died when she was 12. I now have another Rottie. She just turned 8 years old last month and I hope to have her around for at least another 4 years. She is a big baby. These breeds have been given such a bad rap by the media. Every time there is a pit bull or Rottweiler attack, the press jumps all over it. Do you ever read about Cocker spaniel or any breeds other than large dogs attacking people? No!! My son has a cocker that I am even afraid to pet because he is such a mean little critter.

[cynatnite]

61. Great story!

I've always been afraid of large dogs since I was a kid. I still get really intimidated by them and do okay if the owner is close by with some reassurance. Otherwise, I steer clear of them.

I went to a friend's house and their really old great dane came out and scared the hell out of me. He's a big baby from what I learned during the visit, but he stood up to my chest.

Stories like this are great and are reassuring that not all of a certain breed is as bad as they get made out to be.

[Tim4319]

62. Great story.

That goes to show you, you have to take dogs case-by-case. I have a Rottie, and my dog makes liars out of all of those, "these dogs need to go" people out there.

There are some little girls in my neighborhood who are petrified by dogs, and they took my Rottweiler for a walk, by themselves, without incident.

So, if you show them love, and give them attention, you will have a loving dog.