Sunday, May 4, 2008

The True Pit Bull Terrier

Who's fault is it anyways?

If you are an owner of a "pit bull type" dog then you should be familiar with the prejudice you go through daily. It can be very hard to own one of these dogs today. When you walk your dog you get stares and dirty looks. Mothers pick up their kids when you go by and people will cross streets to walk on the other side of you and your beloved pet. Even a simple trip to the dog park can become a nightmare. Many think Pits should not even be aloud to come there. Is this fair? Well no, but who is to blame for this? Are these dogs born bad like so many people seem to think or should we really be holding the owners accountable? I have owned 6 Pit bulls and raised them with love and I have to say that everyone has turned out great. The 2 I have now are great with my new born girl as well. Don’t be fooled though, they don’t babysit! An animal is just that, an animal and should never be alone with a child. Not any kind of dog. The sad thing is people put these dogs in situations where the dogs is expected to act as a human would. For example the reason a lot of dogs bite is not because they dislike the child but more because they have a pack mentality and the higher members of the pack will bite to keep the other members in tact. If your dog believes he is an Alpha member and that you are not the boss he may bite, even at you. You cant put a dog in a human situation and expect them to act as humans. Your dog must know its place and who boss is. If you don’t know how to do this then you need to speak with a professional trainer.
Now what else causes problems? Well we all hear to often about the abuse these dogs go through and the sad stories of " pit fights" that never seem to go away. Most dogs are not born bad but any dog can be made bad. What does this tell you? There has to be some one or something making them bad. Thank the people who fight them and do cruel and inhumane things to them like beatings, starvings and feeding of gun powder to make their stomachs upset, which will make them angry. Then these dogs get loose or left to die but don’t and they bite some one. How could this be the dogs fault? Pit bulls are loving loyal dogs when raised in a family environment. American Temperament Testing gave them a passing rate of Goldens and Beagles! Yes its true research it if you don’t believe me. So many people only go by what they hear on the media which can be twisted and lacks the true facts.
For example when you hear the term "pit bull" most assume it is a breed of dog. Well it is not. It is more of a generalized term that refers to multiple breeds of dogs that have some of the same characteristic. Some of the actual breeds are the Staffordshire terrier, Staffordshire Bull terrier, Bull terrier ( Spuds Dog ), and the American Pit bull terrier. Other dogs that look very much like them are often confused as a " pit bull " is a Dogo Argentino, Presa Canario, Boxer, and American Bulldog. If any of these dogs happen to bite most of the time they are labeled "pit bull" from the media or others that don’t know the difference. So the truth is there is many different kinds of dogs that are similar that when mistaken often give the bad name to pit bull type breeds.
There is also a lot of myths about these dogs. The biggest is the myth that Pit bulls have locking jaws. No this is not true one bit. They have the same jaws as any other dog. What they have is a characteristic that allows them to hold onto something no matter what.
Another myth is that they are not good with children. Not true again. They have a higher threshold hold of pain than other dogs so they can take a lot more of ear pulling and squished stepped on paws then other dogs can. They are actually great with kids. Other dogs on the other hand is a different story. A pit bull can be good with other dogs but you have to remember they are breed to fight. Always try your best to keep them out of fights with other dogs. A lot of times it is said that they wont start the fight but they will finish it. Some are great with other dogs and will never show a problem but I would always stay close by to keep them under control with strange dogs.
Another myth is that if they are not good with other dogs then they will turn on me or my family next. Nope again, human aggression and animal aggression is very different and it is normal that a sweet loving pit will not be as sweet to other dogs.
Bottom line is these a wonderful dogs and the people that mistreat them need to be held responsible. To many of these dogs are wasted away because they were not fortunate enough to get into the hands of a decent person. It is very sad for them so I think the penalties should be stiffer to those that engage in fighting these wonderful animals. Please research more on the breed before you judge them. They deserve so much better. They need our love not our hate because I feel they have suffered enough.
Check out my site dedicated to Pit Bulls. I will be adding more and more so bookmark me :)
www.freewebs.com/outtathepits/




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