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Are Pit Bulls Getting A Bad Rap?
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T O P I C
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Discussion Started: 02-09-2004, 1:41 PM
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Pit bulls have been involved in several recent attacks in Colorado, renewing efforts to ban them statewide. Are pit bulls getting a bad rap? Owners say that smaller dogs are more likely to bite and the media is blowing the pit bull attacks out of proportion. What do you think? Are certain breeds more vicious than others? It is the dogs fault or the owner's fault?
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View Messages: [newest first] | [oldest first]
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dogowner31
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04-14-2009, 6:15 PM
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It is a travesty and nothing more than ignorance to ban and/or remove specific breeds of dogs from a home. If ANY breed of dog commits an unprovoked attack on another living creature, it should be the owner who is punished, not the animal. Failure to maintain a fence, train an animal, oversee the animal, and creating an aggressive dog are OWNERS screwups, not the dogs. My pit is well trained, sleeps with our cats, and is a shining example of what a dog should be, especially when she is compared to our neighbors barking, howling, leg humping, aggressive, generally unleashed Yellow Lab. Should that Yellow Lab be the poster dog for destroying all Labs? No, that would just be human stupidity, something the local government in Denver appears to be well versed in.
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guinness08
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01-06-2009, 3:58 PM
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Well, if we look into the past years the Pit Bull is not the first breed to be punished because of their owner. Other breeds that were treating unfairly were: German Shepards, Rottweilers, Doberman Pinschers, and believe it or not the Labador Retriever! The saying is: "What we do not know, we FEAR!". How true this is of any creature on this planet, wolves, sharks, wales, etc. and now the American Bull Terrier or Staffordshire Bull Terrier, sadly named "Pit Bull" because of non-responsible owners out of greed many years ago, decided to see what these animals would do in a PIT against each other and created a gambling sport out of the death and blood shed of a beautiful animal. They took a dedicated, caring, strong and lovable animal and turned them into outrageous fighters for profit. It sickens me when the public will hate an animal because the media pounces immediately on an incident that does harm to human and elaborates the story over and over negatively without proper investigation. I too believe the animal should not suffer for it's owners lack of knowledge and responsiblity, they are the ones we need to punish harshly for animal abuse and gruelity. I know and have seen people who have no care for animals and feel they are here at our beckon call and that is sad. If they could look into the eyes of any kind of animal, they would see the fear they have of us. American and Staffordshire Terriers are a breed that only wants to please and serve it's master, and if they are to fight with positive recognition of it's master they will continue to do so with anything because the dog is pleasing and being rewarded for this horrible behavior. These terriers have been used for centuries for baby-sitting children and infants, helping in wars along side the soldiers, delivering messages strapped to them to others as needed they were not bred to fight and kill. I ask that this breed of dog not be punished because the ignorance of others, but to be revered as a most truely, dedicated, lovable and stoic breed it is and I pray the media and the public not be so judgemental until they have searched the history of the American and Staffordshire Bull Terriers, you owe it to them!
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skipsusan
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12-20-2008, 3:59 AM
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Tell me what you want, about pit bulls. My Service dog was VISOUSLY ATACKED 3 TIMES by pits in 2004, and 1 time in 2008. EVERY OWNER said their dogs have never done anyting like that, and WERE NOT TRAINED to be fighters. Now to be fair to breeds she was also attacked by a chow when she was in training in 2000.
You pit bull and other violent breed advocates will probaly have to learn the hard way.
I just hope the U. S. gets to be as smart as Canada.
Let's grow brains bigger than a pits
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PitBull13
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12-16-2008, 1:44 PM
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pit bulls are not mean they are trained that way and i say "Blame the Deed Not the Breed"
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mygirlbill
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12-10-2008, 1:33 PM
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As so many people have already articulated beautifully, blame lies with irresponsible ownership. I would like to add that I am now blessed with my 3rd rescued pit who loves everyone and every animal she meets. I would never dream of letting her out off leash and have had several encounters with other dog owners of breeds like goldens, labs, corgies and dalmatians that have attacked my pits while they were being walked on a lead.(and by the way my dogs did no damage to any of them because they are trained to listen to me!)My last pit, who died of cancer at age 11 was the most amazing and loving dog of my 40+ years of dog ownership. She alerted me to a house fire, to my next door neighbor being burglarized and tracked my blind cat who had been lost for four days, eventually finding him half a mile from our house! My vet says that pits are some of his favorite dogs to handle because of their lovingness and stoicism. You will find that most vets, animal control officers and shelter workers agree. These are the people that are the experts in dog temperament. Some good books to help one understand the fault of bad owners and sensationalist, often wrong media pieces are The Pit Bull Placebo by Karen Delise and The Working Pit Bull by Diane Jessup. There are also tons of positive web sites to be found (google pit bull). The public needs to be educated by honest authorities, not by getting their information solely from news stories that are designed for ratings and sales.
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maxibrubru
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11-24-2008, 3:44 PM
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yea they are i own one and i dont think it is right to think that because someone treats there dog bad and they attack that every pittbull is horrible and any other dog like a chihuahua could attack and that is nothing.
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deepcrow
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11-19-2008, 6:18 PM
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We need to support legislation that increases penalties for people who train animals to be dangerous. Abusive owners should be subject to heavy fines and prohibited from owning pets in the future. Legal repercussions must outweigh the gratification that people derive from keeping dangerous dogs. Current laws are inadequate in doing this, and must be strengthened.
Human irresponsibility is the root of this problem. Any breed of dog can be made vicious in the hands of a cruel owner. Any person who has raised their dog to be dangerous should be punished to the fullest extent of the law, regardless of the dog's breed.
It's ignorant and short-sighted to scapegoat dogs that can't defend themselves from inhumane owners. The media is guilty of perpetuating this ignorance, and sensationalizing it out of proportion.
The American Pit Bull Terrier was bred with a strong drive to please their owners, and to be loyal and trustworthy around people. In the early 20th century, APBTs were regarded as the all-American dog. Everyone from President Teddy Roosevelt to the US Army to the Little Rascals owned them.
APBTs are still popular as therapy dogs, for search & rescue teams and with K9 units, because of their loyalty, tenacity and strong desire to please their owners.
Aggression towards humans has NEVER been a characteristic of the breed, and absolutely should not be tolerated. It's the result of mistreatment by cruel and dangerous people who don't deserve to own animals. These people need to be held accountable for their actions.
Breed bans and breed specific legislation are NOT the answer. They do nothing to protect breeds that are susceptible to abuse by dangerous people. They wrongfully penalize loving, responsible pet owners and well- trained family pets.
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GrandmaJ59
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11-19-2008, 1:50 PM
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All dogs reflect how they are treated. If an animal is raised with love and treated kindly he will be a loving and kind dog. For a long time we have going through the different breeds of dogs saying they are bad; the Doberman Pincher, German Shepard and the Rottweiler: now the Pit Bull Terrier! The problem is not the dogs it is the owners.
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SaneVoice
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11-19-2008, 1:33 PM
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I'm sorry, WILLYWILLY, but you are very misinformed. Certain dog breeds are not born with the "urge to attack," they are RAISED that way. I'm very sorry for what happened to you but it's the fault of the IRRESPONSIBLE OWNER, not the dog. I own two pit mixes and they are the sweetest babies in the world. Humans attack humans, I don't see anyone banning them!
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Bully-Mom
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11-19-2008, 9:58 AM
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willywilly - I'm sorry to hear you were attacked. But I don't think my dogs should be punished for the acts of another dog. I agree that owners need to be held responsible. I am responsible for my dog?s actions; I have the insurance, etc. I do think pit bull attacks are blow way out of proportion, they are the only breed of dog whose attacks make it in the paper or on the evening news, media never report on any other breed attacks, and there are other breeds that attack. Banning the dogs will not stop the problem. Banning anything only makes people want it more (prohibition). The blame needs to be placed on bad owners, put them in jail, and fine them, whatever. But do not blame all pit bulls for the acts of the few. My dogs did not hurt you and never would, because they were raised properly. The dogs that attack are also victims. They are abused by their owners until they become mean, but everyone over looks that. These dogs are not born mean, it is not normal for a pit bull to be people aggressive. These dogs live to make people happy, it takes a great deal of abuse and neglect to make a pit bull mean!
Punish the idiot on the other end of the leash not the dog who was only doing what he/she was taught to do. If you got to know a true pit bull you would understand. People hate what they fear. They also fear what they do not understand. You can go through your whole life hating pit bulls for the acts of one dog, or you can be the better person and go out and meet a true pit bull that is owned by a responsible person. We are not hard to find, we are everywhere advocating for the rights of our dogs and ourselves. The criminals that abuse these dogs are not the ones speaking out and talking with people trying to educate them. The responsible owners are the people to see. I do hope you can get past your fear someday; you are missing out on meeting one of god?s most amazing creatures.
I used to be afraid of them; I believed what I read in the news and what I saw on TV. That was until a police officer called my rescue and asked me to take in a pit bull that they got from a drug bust. I was scared to death when the police showed up. But by the end of that day she had completely changed my mind about the breed. These are the best dogs we have ever had the pleasure of having in our home. They are great with my kids, my cats, and even my rabbit. They show love like no other dog. They look into my eyes and all I see is how much they love me! I feel the same way about them. I could not imagine how empty my life would be without them.
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