some people are just plain dumb

[jgauger]

I rescued a pit bull about two years ago. My dad did not want me to have it at all, so I was forced to keep him at my girlfriends house, out of town. Basically he was stuck in a kennel, a nice one, but I hated it. I visited him all the time obviously and he got to be out whenever anyone was outside. Anyways, I loved him and I thought he was the sweetes dog ever. He unfortunately got a little agressive with a family friends rat terrier and killed it. I agree that they should never have been around eachother, and I dont fault Iso (my pit bull). We unfortunately had to put him down, bescause the family friends pushed so hard. It was so sad...why loose two dogs when you dont need to. Im not saying pit bulls are bad dogs at all. Iso was poorly treated growing up and was still an amazing dog, but things happen.

[sweetcheeks]

show these video to whomever hates pitbulls

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBus4GGsyb4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpqoaniA2j0

[shiftto5]

belive me i have, maybe its just that i came from a very open family, maybe its my love for all animals deadly or not. but i just cant bring myself to hate a species or breed no matter what, would i be mad if a pitbull attacked me or my wife sure, but i would want that dog punished not the breed! i mean when i was a kid i was attacked by a rot and i have nothing against the breed i have meet many on many of rots that are as sweet as a rabbit. hell i was attacked by a musk rat, should we put a ban on them as well?

[binknit]

I think the personality of pit bulls determines STRONGLY on their owner and how they were raised. An elderly lady where I live had a pet pit bull that was VERY nice, and had never bit anybody. It got in a fight with a stray and the lady tried to stop them(which she shouldn't have). It then mauled her, causing her arm to be amputated. But anyways, pits are cool IMO.

[lillyorchid]

I'm not a pitbull fan and try to stay away from them much as possible. WHY? Because were I live they are bought and trained to fight. They get loose and cause problems around my neighborhood with other dogs, and people. Around here you don't walk your dogs, nor do you walk on foot with out carring mace and a thick stick or baseball bat. I'm sure there are nice ones out there but I've been nearly attacked twice by a "super sweet would never hurt a fly" pit as the familys said they both were and for no reason at all and I've been chased by them around here alone and with my dog countless times. First time it was at a 4th of July cook out and I was sitting on my b/f's legs and his friends pit came full charging me snarling and everything. His owner thankfully was right next to me and grabbed him because he got me. The second time was over my cousions house. Her pit has seen me a million times and no no reason at all again while I was sitting watching TV, that dog laying near the sofa just got up walked over to me and start snarling at me, and when I called for my cousion to come get her damn dog thats when he lunged at me and his teeth glazed my arm before I was able to kick him away then she got him.

So yeah, people who don't like pits aren't "plain dumb". MANY anti pitbull people have reasons why they don't like pits, nor do they trust them.

[missi182]

I have a pit bull. She belonged to my brother as a baby and he taught her some very unfortunate things. I do not speak or see my brother unfortunately, for many many reasons. Anyway, my dog, while being EXTREMELY sweet, cannot be around young children. We KNOW this, so we ensure there is no way she can come in contact with them. Small children make her nervous. If they grab her ears or poke her she growls, which of course is unacceptable.

She is also a very protective and jealous dog. If I hug my mother, she will bark loudly and push herself in between us. You cannot play fight around her because if she thinks you are hurting someone, she WILL stop you.

She is difficult to teach. Each owner is responsible for knowing the behavior of their dog. It is because of my brother that she acts the way she does, and it is a constant effort to teach her.

But we know what to expect from her, and those who visit my mothers home are givin the "ground rules" about the dog before coming in.

I live in Ontario, my neighbor has a pitbull. Pitbulls are banned here. They MUST be fixed and registered, and breeding is illegal. I can see the reasoning for this but it IS very sad. For the adorable, well behaved pitbulls that live, they should NOT be punished. Sadly in certain areas, there are less trained pitbulls than "wild" ones.

Overall I sit on the fence, even as a pitbull owner. My dog is ADORABLE and sweet, but after being mistreated by my brother, she is just not the same.

Its a tough issue.

*By the way, my pittbull is the current POTM, if you wanna take a look at that sappy little face*

[shiftto5]

I'm not a pitbull fan and try to stay away from them much as possible. WHY? Because were I live they are bought and trained to fight. They get loose and cause problems around my neighborhood with other dogs, and people. Around here you don't walk your dogs, nor do you walk on foot with out carring mace and a thick stick or baseball bat. I'm sure there are nice ones out there but I've been nearly attacked twice by a "super sweet would never hurt a fly" pit as the familys said they both were and for no reason at all and I've been chased by them around here alone and with my dog countless times. First time it was at a 4th of July cook out and I was sitting on my b/f's legs and his friends pit came full charging me snarling and everything. His owner thankfully was right next to me and grabbed him because he got me. The second time was over my cousions house. Her pit has seen me a million times and no no reason at all again while I was sitting watching TV, that dog laying near the sofa just got up walked over to me and start snarling at me, and when I called for my cousion to come get her damn dog thats when he lunged at me and his teeth glazed my arm before I was able to kick him away then she got him.

So yeah, people who don't like pits aren't "plain dumb". MANY anti pitbull people have reasons why they don't like pits, nor do they trust them.

i am very very sorry that it has come to that in your neighbor hood, truly i am, and i wasn't calling you dumb i was calling the lady that is afraid of a 10 week old puppy dumb! now as for you not liking pits well to each his own! but "punish the deed not the breed" comes into effect really really well here, i understand why you wouldn't like the pits in your area but just because you ran into a few bad ones do you think the entire breed should killed? and from one pet owner to another, forgiveness should be a daily thing, don't assume that just because you ran into a few "bad apples" that the entire breed is like that.

[JLC]

I have a doberman, who have reps similar to pits, although they're not in the media as much as they were a couple decades ago. I've never had a person react negatively toward her while we're out walking...everyone so far loves her. But a couple times at a pet store or grocery store, while checking out with a bunch of dog stuff (she's spoiled!)...I've been asked what kind of dog I have, and when I say, "Doberman" I've actually been asked, "Why on earth would you want one of those??!"

I swear, I wanted to ask right back, "Why on earth would you cut your hair like that???" I didn't. I just shook my head and took my groceries and walked out.

I realize there are legitimate concerns about dog safety...but it does annoy me greatly when people make sweeping assumptions about any individual dog based solely on its breed. Just like people so often make sweeping assumptions about a snake's lethality, simply because it's a snake.

[shiftto5]

I have a doberman, who have reps similar to pits, although they're not in the media as much as they were a couple decades ago. I've never had a person react negatively toward her while we're out walking...everyone so far loves her. But a couple times at a pet store or grocery store, while checking out with a bunch of dog stuff (she's spoiled!)...I've been asked what kind of dog I have, and when I say, "Doberman" I've actually been asked, "Why on earth would you want one of those??!"

I swear, I wanted to ask right back, "Why on earth would you cut your hair like that???" I didn't. I just shook my head and took my groceries and walked out.

I realize there are legitimate concerns about dog safety...but it does annoy me greatly when people make sweeping assumptions about any individual dog based solely on its breed. Just like people so often make sweeping assumptions about a snake's lethality, simply because it's a snake.

my thoughts exactly

[WingedWolfPsion]

I think if there's a problem in an area with dogs attacking people or other animals, then laws need to be passed and enforced that dog owners must TRAIN their dogs. Large dogs CAN be dangerous, and they do injure and kill people every year (plenty of small dogs cause injuries as well)--the breed is irrelevent to that. I highly disagree with BSL, but there are far too many people out there who are either too lazy or too ignorant to properly train their dogs so they will BE safe around people and other pets.

If they have to pass a law, it should be to require training, not to prevent people from owning dogs of specific kinds.