Pit Bull

[BabyGirl Rosie]

I know there is huge controversy over the Pit Bull breed. I don't know how each of you feel about them. But I have a friend who has one. He is a big baby. Very loving to her and honestly don't think he could hurt a flea. She has put him through training and I have to say he is a pretty good dog. She told me today that her home owners insurance has dropped her. I asked her why. She was told she had to get rid of the pit or have no insurance. The only insurance that will take her is Farm Bureau. I guess I am a little shocked. She has never had a claim involving the dog. So, I guess my feeling is that I think there is some breed discrimination going on. I know that some pits have a bad reputation but does that mean that every pit is bad? And are pits the only breed that has had a history of this? I just think it is sad. She loves this dog and having to get rid of it is something she don't want to do. And wonder if anyone would even take it. Just wondering what your thoughts are.

[yorkietalkjilly]

I fell totally in love with my neighbor's pit - sweetest dog on all fours. I still miss her so. But I believe that many of the bully breeds have highly dog-and-human agressive genes bred into them from generations of inbreeding for killers that, given the right circumstances, can be deadly.

[BabyGirl Rosie]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

I fell totally in love with my neighbor's pit - sweetest dog on all fours. I still miss her so. But I believe that many of the bully breeds have highly dog-and-human agressive genes bred into them from generations of inbreeding for killers that, given the right circumstances, can be deadly.

The sad thing about that is it is the breeders fault.

[lillymae]

Originally Posted by BabyGirl Rosie

The sad thing about that is it is the breeders fault.

You are exactly rite. Humans create ALL breeds & then those breeds are punished for it. Then go a step farther & say that ALL dogs of that breed are a danger. Just ridiculous and very sad.

[Bitsy]

I think all the discrimination against Pit Bulls is just 100% wrong.

It makes me very sad.

[lillymae]

Originally Posted by Bitsy

I think all the discrimination against Pit Bulls is just 100% wrong.

It makes me very sad.

I Agree.

[BabyGirl Rosie]

I just can't believe they are going to cancel home owner insurance over this. You would think they would make them sign a waiver or something if they were worried about it. This is their pet and just a sad situation.

[BLowry]

Originally Posted by BabyGirl Rosie

I know there is huge controversy over the Pit Bull breed. I don't know how each of you feel about them. But I have a friend who has one. He is a big baby. Very loving to her and honestly don't think he could hurt a flea. She has put him through training and I have to say he is a pretty good dog. She told me today that her home owners insurance has dropped her. I asked her why. She was told she had to get rid of the pit or have no insurance. The only insurance that will take her is Farm Bureau. I guess I am a little shocked. She has never had a claim involving the dog. So, I guess my feeling is that I think there is some breed discrimination going on. I know that some pits have a bad reputation but does that mean that every pit is bad? And are pits the only breed that has had a history of this? I just think it is sad. She loves this dog and having to get rid of it is something she don't want to do. And wonder if anyone would even take it. Just wondering what your thoughts are.

I can only speak for my area....Pits are not the only dogs that you can get your insurance cancelled, not insured or a very high insurance. Rotties, Dobes, Shepherds, Mastiffs....any large breed that can "do damage". Spoke with a man a while back about dogs...said he has a chi and a pit...I asked him if his homeowners cancelled him he said no...but....pays 1000.00 more than if he didn't have one. I understand people who own pits and their love for this breed....I do believe that man has done a number on this breed...I have also heard of people saying how sweet and loving their pit is and then all of a sudden something snapped and they attacked their owner...a few years back, the town over from me, a pit attacked an 8 yr old boy and dragged him into the woods by his neck. A month ago a friends neighbor adopted a male pit...was very loving and playful...no signs of aggression...he was playing with the dog on the floor and the dog attacked him and mauled his face...not sure if they will be able to save his eye and it nearly ripped his jaw off he will need reconstructive surgery
...I know this breed gets a bad rap...and I feel bad about that ..but pits are a very powerful animal that can do alot of damage....just terrifies me...I am not bashing this breed....I have met loving sweet rotties and not so loving sweet rotties....same goes for all the other big breeds...

[Marlee12107]

I had a freind that had a pit.....Was so sweet. She had small kids & small dogs......it slept with all of them. The little dogs even chewed on his ears when they were little. He was not even fixed............Lived a long time & was great. Never had a problem with him...............

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by BabyGirl Rosie

The sad thing about that is it is the breeders fault.

110% correct! All their fault.

[Britster]

Generally, ALL dogs give signs before an 'attack'. It's just that most of the times humans are ignorant or oblivious to the fact and don't pay attention.

Also, more times than not, dogs who ARE NOT Pit Bulls get lumped into the "Pit Bull" category, because they may look like one. So the statistics are a bit skewed and not always right. Pit Bull is not even a breed - you have American Pit Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Terrier, etc, etc, etc.

Pitties were once known as "America's dog" if you will. Remember Little Rascals? Petey was a Pit. The pit bull was so respected in the early 1900's that the military chose an image of a dignified pit bull to represent the country on WWI propaganda posters.

In the '70s they blamed Dobermans, in the '80s they blamed German shepherds, in the '90s they blamed the Rottweiler. Now they blame the pit bull. From the turn of the century until the early 1980s, there is exactly one dog attack story to make the national papers and mention pit bulls, but that’s probably because it involved a man intentionally sicking a pack of 26 dogs on a young woman.


What happened? Well, despite being illegal in all states, dog fighting made a comeback in the 80's, and the pit bull is the dog of choice. It is also the preferred guard dog for drug dealers and gangs, with a hugely publicized attack in 1987 in which a pit bull guarding a marijuana crop in California mauled and kills a two-and-a-half year-old boy. People take advantage of a powerful dog. The main reason they are used for dog fighting is because of the fact that they won't turn on the humans. A person can be in between a dog fight and STILL not get bit. A Pittie will do anything NOT to bite a human. In the early days of the breed, all human aggressive Pits were put down. Dog aggression IS a problem in the breed. Often, well-bred pitties will have DA issues. If you get one, you need to know this, and know you probably won't have a dog park dog, and NEVER leave two Pitties out together loose, because dogs that have gotten along for years could fight to death. Or one fight will happen and then two dogs will never get along again. Many pit owners know crate & rotate is a fact of a life. Many have dogs that aren't DA. It just all depends. But it's something to look out for. Most responsible pits would never bring them to a dog park because even if another dog is at fault, the pit will get blamed, just causing more bad rep.

Are they powerful dogs? Absolutely. Should anyone be able to own them? NO. I think they are a wonderful breed and are absolutely misunderstood. In the wrong hands, yep, they CAN be deadly. But so can a lot of dogs. It's a matter of being a responsible owner. HUMANS have definitely ruined the breed.

If it wasn't Pit Bulls, it'd just be some other breed being taken advantage of.

[LuvTaycieGirl]

Originally Posted by Britster

Generally, ALL dogs give signs before an 'attack'. It's just that most of the times humans are ignorant or oblivious to the fact and don't pay attention.

Also, more times than not, dogs who ARE NOT Pit Bulls get lumped into the "Pit Bull" category, because they may look like one. So the statistics are a bit skewed and not always right. Pit Bull is not even a breed - you have American Pit Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Terrier, etc, etc, etc.

Pitties were once known as "America's dog" if you will. Remember Little Rascals? Petey was a Pit. The pit bull was so respected in the early 1900's that the military chose an image of a dignified pit bull to represent the country on WWI propaganda posters.

In the '70s they blamed Dobermans, in the '80s they blamed German shepherds, in the '90s they blamed the Rottweiler. Now they blame the pit bull. From the turn of the century until the early 1980s, there is exactly one dog attack story to make the national papers and mention pit bulls, but that’s probably because it involved a man intentionally sicking a pack of 26 dogs on a young woman.


What happened? Well, despite being illegal in all states, dog fighting made a comeback in the 80's, and the pit bull is the dog of choice. It is also the preferred guard dog for drug dealers and gangs, with a hugely publicized attack in 1987 in which a pit bull guarding a marijuana crop in California mauled and kills a two-and-a-half year-old boy. People take advantage of a powerful dog. The main reason they are used for dog fighting is because of the fact that they won't turn on the humans. A person can be in between a dog fight and STILL not get bit. A Pittie will do anything NOT to bite a human. In the early days of the breed, all human aggressive Pits were put down. Dog aggression IS a problem in the breed. Often, well-bred pitties will have DA issues. If you get one, you need to know this, and know you probably won't have a dog park dog, and NEVER leave two Pitties out together loose, because dogs that have gotten along for years could fight to death. Or one fight will happen and then two dogs will never get along again. Many pit owners know crate & rotate is a fact of a life. Many have dogs that aren't DA. It just all depends. But it's something to look out for. Most responsible pits would never bring them to a dog park because even if another dog is at fault, the pit will get blamed, just causing more bad rep.

Are they powerful dogs? Absolutely. Should anyone be able to own them? NO. I think they are a wonderful breed and are absolutely misunderstood. In the wrong hands, yep, they CAN be deadly. But so can a lot of dogs. It's a matter of being a responsible owner. HUMANS have definitely ruined the breed.

If it wasn't Pit Bulls, it'd just be some other breed being taken advantage of.

Very well said!

In the 1900's they were also known as "Nanny Dogs" as well. Then, they were trusted protectors and companions of babies and small children.Families prized them for their compassion, gentleness, strength, and loyalty.

Helen Keller famously had a Pit Bull, Phurghahurg, as a childhood pet. President Roosevelt also had a Pit Bull. Sgt. Stubby, the first WWI Canine Hero who was a decorated soldier was also an American Pit Bull Terrier!

My very wise Horse trainer of mine told me, "You can teach an animal a good habit or a bad habit. But to them, a habit is just habit, whether it be good or bad. The correct thing is to teach them the RIGHT habit, so you don't have a bad habit to break" He would also say, An animal with a behavior problem is usually because the Human gave the animal a problem to have."

It is really sad to think what humans have done to this breed. It really is heartbreaking.

[Sweet Girls]

Originally Posted by Britster

Generally, ALL dogs give signs before an 'attack'. It's just that most of the times humans are ignorant or oblivious to the fact and don't pay attention.

Also, more times than not, dogs who ARE NOT Pit Bulls get lumped into the "Pit Bull" category, because they may look like one. So the statistics are a bit skewed and not always right. Pit Bull is not even a breed - you have American Pit Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Terrier, etc, etc, etc.

Pitties were once known as "America's dog" if you will. Remember Little Rascals? Petey was a Pit. The pit bull was so respected in the early 1900's that the military chose an image of a dignified pit bull to represent the country on WWI propaganda posters.

In the '70s they blamed Dobermans, in the '80s they blamed German shepherds, in the '90s they blamed the Rottweiler. Now they blame the pit bull. From the turn of the century until the early 1980s, there is exactly one dog attack story to make the national papers and mention pit bulls, but that’s probably because it involved a man intentionally sicking a pack of 26 dogs on a young woman.


What happened? Well, despite being illegal in all states, dog fighting made a comeback in the 80's, and the pit bull is the dog of choice. It is also the preferred guard dog for drug dealers and gangs, with a hugely publicized attack in 1987 in which a pit bull guarding a marijuana crop in California mauled and kills a two-and-a-half year-old boy. People take advantage of a powerful dog. The main reason they are used for dog fighting is because of the fact that they won't turn on the humans. A person can be in between a dog fight and STILL not get bit. A Pittie will do anything NOT to bite a human. In the early days of the breed, all human aggressive Pits were put down. Dog aggression IS a problem in the breed. Often, well-bred pitties will have DA issues. If you get one, you need to know this, and know you probably won't have a dog park dog, and NEVER leave two Pitties out together loose, because dogs that have gotten along for years could fight to death. Or one fight will happen and then two dogs will never get along again. Many pit owners know crate & rotate is a fact of a life. Many have dogs that aren't DA. It just all depends. But it's something to look out for. Most responsible pits would never bring them to a dog park because even if another dog is at fault, the pit will get blamed, just causing more bad rep.

Are they powerful dogs? Absolutely. Should anyone be able to own them? NO. I think they are a wonderful breed and are absolutely misunderstood. In the wrong hands, yep, they CAN be deadly. But so can a lot of dogs. It's a matter of being a responsible owner. HUMANS have definitely ruined the breed.

If it wasn't Pit Bulls, it'd just be some other breed being taken advantage of.

So very well said. Here in Ontario there is a Pit bull ban! Crazy, and all due to political expedience...hopefully we can get that overturned...I'm hoping to go to a rally this week to support a new bill that will target aggressive and dangerous dogs and not breeds...even in the case of dangerous and aggressive dogs I feel bad because it really is the human's fault...for breeding, training and not socializing/controlling their dogs...but to ban a breed??? To me, that is nothing more than "racism" of the canine variety!

[BabyGirl Rosie]

Originally Posted by Sweet Girls

So very well said. Here in Ontario there is a Pit bull ban! Crazy, and all due to political expedience...hopefully we can get that overturned...I'm hoping to go to a rally this week to support a new bill that will target aggressive and dangerous dogs and not breeds...even in the case of dangerous and aggressive dogs I feel bad because it really is the human's fault...for breeding, training and not socializing/controlling their dogs...but to ban a breed??? To me, that is nothing more than "racism" of the canine variety!

My thoughts exactly!!

[MikaTallulah]

Buddy my golden plays primarily with pit bulls and pit bull-mixes at the dog park because other people don't what to us the park when the pits are there. Buddy does better with the Pitts than other dogs. They are all so sweet.