The only thing she'll kill you with is cute.You know the rep pit bulls have. Vicious fighting dogs. Maulers. Baby killers. Sounds a little like certain despotic rulers we've encountered in recent years.
And it’s all bull (pun totally intended).
At this point, if you still believe all that crap, you’re either completely ignorant or just plain stupid. You really think that dogs are that ferocious just because of their breed? That’s like still believing that Indians are savages, out to steal your scalp and rape your women.
It makes me sick that people are still such breedists. That’s right, I said it. People who feel negatively towards pit bulls just because they’re pits are breedists.
And there are assholes out there like Michael Vick who perpetuate the myth by maintaining dog fighting rings. I actually have to thank him, because if he wasn’t famous, that story never would have gotten the attention it did. Think about it, how many times do you see a dog fighting story on the national news? (Then think about how many times you see pit bull attacks on the news. Yeah. Breedism.)
Want to know why those pit bulls are so “vicious”?
Because they are thrown into a ring and made to fight for their lives. Don’t you think you might be a little ferocious and desperate if you were in that situation?
I’m the first to admit that pit bulls are a headstrong bunch. But that’s not a bad thing in and of itself. They are naturally very sweet, loyal, and gentle -- but all that changes once they are put into an environment where they are abused, neglected, and taught to be violent. It’s not unlike how serial killers are made -- put a child through enough crap, and his brain will break into something irreparable and often violent.
And that can happen to any dog, anywhere. A dog without training is a dangerous dog. If you put your sappy, dopey yellow lab into a dog fighting ring, she will absolutely come out of there a killer. Beat her and abuse her, and she will bite the first baby who uses her as a crutch to stand up.
The bottom line is this: you have to pick the dog that’s right for your family. And for the love of god, don’t even get a dog if you can’t take the time to train it.
I’ve been bitten and attacked by three dogs in my life. One was a Chihuahua. One was a Dalmatian. And one was a Labrador. That big ex-fighting pit bull that lived next to me? Helped raise my puppy and never once displayed the slightest aggression -- because he was in a loving home.
How do you feel about pit bulls?
Image via Megan VanSchaick/Silver & Chalk
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Comments 74
Well, they've caused more deaths in the last ten years than the cribs that just got outlawed....
I LOVE pit bulls and think they are GREAT family dogs. I had one growing up, and I would stand on her head so she could lift me up to look out the window. They can be so sweet. It's just idiot owners who mistreat them and then that's why you hear about them in the news. They are very strong dogs, and that's why people use them to fight. It's funny how little dogs bite people ALL the time, yet people think that's cute or funny or "not that bad" because they are little. Chihuahuas are way worse than pit bulls.
Totally agree with you.
It takes a responsible dog owner to raise a good pet.
I am most definitely not a breedist, though the community I live in is. We are banned from having any of the "danger" dogs. Rotweilers, Dobermans, (of course) Pitt Bulls. And we're not allowed to have anything that's a mix of those! It makes me mad...
I agree that the environment that pit bulls are raised in is part of what can make them dangerous. But the unfortunate reality is that the majority of people who own pit bulls are training them to be mean and attack. Until that changes I really don't think that their reputation is going to change. My cousin was mauled by our neighbors pit bulls when she was about 8. There was a point where we thought that she'd never walk again. She's had to have multiple surgeries and the back of her legs still look like a cheese-grater. Since she was face down while they were attacking her and dragging her over the fence she couldn't i.d. the individual dogs. As a result none of them were removed from the home. A problem that the surrounding neighbors and few shotguns rectified. Don't get me wrong I love animals, but the safety of people, especially children will always come first. So until we get stricter animal control laws, I'm not crazy about pit-bulls.
Here is my thing. I DON'T like little tiny dogs at all. They are by far the most vicious dogs around, and I was bit in the face by a shih tzu when I was 7 and gave it a hug good night. That being said, I am always hesitant around pit bulls. Why? because the majority of attacks on children and people that we hear about in the news are done by pit bulls. And I have read quite a few of those stories where the animal never showed signs of aggression prior to the incident. More often then not I hear that this was a first and only time that pit bull showed any aggression. But all animals are unpredictable because they are animals.
I don't hate pit bulls by any means, I personally don't feel comfortable owning one. Talk to me all you want about enviornment, and yes, you would be correct, raised in a violent atmosphere the animal will come out a violent animal, but I still will never consider owning one.
I worked several years in an animal clinic. I was the only tech who was not afraid to assist the vet when the pits and rotties came in for checkups and treatment. And the only time - the one single time - that any of those big "evil" "attack" dogs ever even growled at me? When I had to bandage the rott's BROKEN foot! And I'm still not sure it was an actual growl. He was probably just groaning. Some dogs sound growly when they talk. My golden does it all the time.
I got bit working at that job, too. Wanna know who bit me? The chihuahua, the cocker spaniel, and the daschound. Yeah, the ones that are "wonderful, perfect" kid's dogs.
Do your research, people. Rotts, Pits, Dobes, Shepherds - these are all excellent working dogs, all very loyal, and all very protective. Treat them well, train them well, exercise them well (Rots will pull your kids for hours in a wagon! They were bred for hauling stuff! Pits are strong and good for that, too), SOCIALIZE THEM PROPERLY, and you'll have a loving, committed member of your family for life. Treat them badly, and they'll respond in kind.
I don't trust Pits because I don't know how they are raised (as I don't trust most dogs that I don't know, but as pits are typically the choice for people who abuse them, teaching them to fight, when I see one walking up on the street, I'm concerned.) If that makes me stupid or ignorant, so be it, but I'm not going to walk up and cuddle with a pit that I don't know, and since I don't know anyone with a pit, that's all of them. I think the real dangerous ones are those that come from shelters with no known back story. The sweetest family can adopt, but who knows what that dog was conditioned to do beforehand. And call me breedist, but the people who are training dogs to fight, aren't getting shelties or beagles to do it!
Oh, one more thing... even if you don't own a dog, and never intend to, you should learn "doggie language". Watch Cesaer Milan for a while. Watch some documentaries on wolves in packs. Learn how dogs communicate. I guarantee that the vast majority of those dog attacks that a previous poster mentioned were not "out of the blue," with the animal "never showing signs of aggression". Yes, that's what people say, because they don't know how to recognize the signs of a dog about to snap.
Learn the signs that a dog gives off... a wagging tail doesn't always mean that he's thrilled and happy. He could be nervous or even scared. A tightly wound tail (on a curled-tail dog, like a Husky) doesn't always signify aggression - sometimes it means that he's really, really excited and happy. A growl is not always aggression, and a silent dog is not always a content dog.
The best way to protect yourself and your children is to know how to act around a dog. And one of the ways you learn to do that is to learn how dogs behave, and the signals they give off. Don't place ALL of the responsibility on the dog. They are not machines. But they will always tell you what they're thinking, if you know how to listen.
its all how any dog,be it pit or chiuahua(small dog) i have the sweetest most loving chiuahua in my home right now. i also when i was a teen found the most loving pit ive ever seen. even though abuse,starvation and what looked like severe urin burns on her paws, she was an angel. its the dog,not the breed in my opinion