The Top 10 Reasons You Can't Trust a Pit Bull

[3point5]

My only dog bite that broke skin was from a Lab. I don't have a fear of Labs, but will look at a Pit with suspicion till the cows come home. It's not the dog I don't trust, it's the owners. The recent history of the breed gives me no confidence in either however.

fair enough...there are bad pits out there. lots of them. and I wouldnt want ANYONE to come into contact with one of those dogs, however, for every bad pitties, there are dozens of good ones.

i dont recommend you approach random pitbulls, or any unknown dog for that matter.

I just dont want people discrediting an entire breed because of the actions of a few.

Thats the equivalent of saying "Blacks/Whites/mexicans/asians killed a person, we should get rid of them all!!"

 

[Benny]

My only dog bite that broke skin was from a Lab. I don't have a fear of Labs, but will look at a Pit with suspicion till the cows come home. It's not the dog I don't trust, it's the owners. The recent history of the breed gives me no confidence in either however.

I'm indifferent about any stray dog that I encounter...I couldn't care less about the breed.

Collar or not, I have a simple test that lets me know if I should try to get this dog back to its owner or let it be:

I look at it in his/her eyes and with the happiest voice I can muster I say, "you a good boy?!?!" If it comes to me wagging it's tail(you'd be surprised how often this happens), I'm bringing it home with me until the owners are contacted. If it runs off, I'll casually walk towards and try to warm up to it. If it growls, I'll call the authorities and let them know that there's a potentially dangerous dog wandering the neighborhood.

I've only been "attacked" by a dog once (~60 lb black and white mutt) when I was about 10. I dropped my bike, kicked that bastard in the jaw and he went the other way.

 

[sepe]

fair enough...there are bad pits out there. lots of them. and I wouldnt want ANYONE to come into contact with one of those dogs, however, for every bad pitties, there are dozens of good ones.

i dont recommend you approach random pitbulls, or any unknown dog for that matter.

I just dont want people discrediting an entire breed because of the actions of a few.

Thats the equivalent of saying "Blacks/Whites/mexicans/asians killed a person, we should get rid of them all!!"

I'd say there are very few bad dogs. Far too many bad owners of all breeds. I've had worse luck approaching a Cocker Spaniel than I have bullies, rotties, dobermans, and chows.

As for the "bad" dogs, you can look at Vick's dogs to see what "bad" dogs can be. The majority of them were able to be adopted after testing. Dogs that are biters can be worked/trained with a trainer that knows what they're doing. Simply just far too many pieces of human trash thinking they're tough because of the breed of dog they own.

 

[7th Stepper]

11. They aren't Rottweilers

Rotts are ok, I pretty much love almost all breeds of dogs, (except Chows and Chihuahuas, they can get a bit nasty) but of all of them, Pits are my favorite of favorites. Our "big boy" (Bills dog) is a big baby too, who greets you with whatever piece of clothing he can find lying around. If it's not hung up, or up where he can't reach it, he brings it to you as a "welcome home" present. Same goes for towels, shoes, pillows, couch cushions......he's a really BIG dog.... (about 6' when standing on his hind legs), but a big baby as well (unless he wakes up grumpy).

The one we have that is most prone to biting, is our little 28lb Rat Terrorist. We call him a "nut muncher" for obvious reasons..... When he was just a pup, we taught him to grab hold of a knotted tube sock and dangle from it. He learned to swivel his body around in a circle to wind it up, then happily twirl while it unwound. He thinks mens pant crotches are for the same thing.....and for heavens sake.....NEVER go "boogedy boogedy" at him, he'll launch himself at you and chomp on what ever he can sink his teeth into. Fortunately (for our house guests) he had to have dental work earlier this year, and he lost 23 of his teeth. Little dogs have lousy oral hygiene and won't hold still to have their teeth brushed. The crunchy bones were to hard for him, so it finally boiled down to the fact that he needed them pulled. His mouth was a mess and talk about butt breath! Whoa! Bill likes to say that Pogo used to be "Tough and Ruthless"....now he's "Rough and Toothless".....

But don't feel sorry for him, he's all healed up now, and while he was healing he ate Gerber baby food, fried hamburger mixed with cooked oatmeal, cottage cheese and scrambled eggs. A good healthy diet full of fiber and protein. Usually with Berry flavored Jello as dessert. I fed him that while his gums were healing. He can still nip now, just not as bad. The little teeth in the front top and bottom are all gone, but he's still got his canine fangs, so he can grip bones and such. Plus he's got his molars for chewing the crunchy food they have. ALL our dogs are spoiled rotten, and they love it.......just ask them! Oh, and I can't forget their pills, usually given in a variety of ways....melted cojack cheese, American cheese, hot dogs, lunch meat (they like smoked turkey breast and honey maple ham the best) and peanut butter. I switch them around so they don't get bored. And they have their "Klean & Krunch" bones for after they go "potty" outside, or learn a new trick, which helps clean their teeth as well.

Spoiled? Our dogs?.....Perish the thought! They all have their own beds, Pogo and Benji have winter sweaters, they get blown dry if it's raining or snowing, have full access to all the furniture (we keep throws on the main stuff), a warm rug in front of the fireplace, and all the crumbs and tidbits that I drop while cooking. Benji even likes green olives, anchovies and pineapple. Sam isn't picky either, and Pogo will eat just about anything. Plus they all love Liversausage, which works well for pills if I run out of the other stuff. They're our kids...and members of our family, what can I say. Wanna reincarnate as one of them?

Our "little old man" Buster (another Rat Terrier) died a few years back, he was 23 and I fed him a combo of warmed Mighty Dog and Gerber pureed "first meats" with my fingers. It was the only way I could get him to eat. He crossed over Rainbow Bridge about 6 years ago, and we got Pogo right after that. We usually have 1 for each of us, occasionally an extra if we find one compatible with the others. Usually it's a female, our daughter and I are a bit out numbered by the testosterone level here.

But MAMA rules the roost! Well, except with Sam, he's a definite "Daddys Boy". They're all very well loved, and very well behaved, and about the most gentlest of dogs you could ever imagine. Unless someone poses a threat, then they become like a pack of wolves. "Ain't no burglar gettin in this here homestead!" Not with them on guard duty! I love Kitty's avatar..."Beware of dog! He's armed and won't take his medicine!"

There's only 2 things that will scare the poop out of the 2 bigger dogs, Thunder-Storms and Fire Crackers, then they turn into blobs of Jello, shiver, shake, teeth chatter, and they run and hide in the nearest armpit for security. It gets interesting if we have one in the middle of the night. Storms make for strange bedfellows! But that's our brood, and I love the poem that someone posted, I'm going to see if I can find that and frame it. I'll put it up to the one that says..."If Mama ain't happy, ain't NOBODY happy!"

Happy Holidays!
7th Stepper

 

[7th Stepper]

Spuds was a Bull Terrier.
just sayin.

Almost correct. Spuds was an English Bull Terrior, The RCA dog, and the ones we see in this country are the Americanized version. There are just a few differences, the head being the most obvious one. But most of them can trace their lineage back to the English Staffordshire Terrier, with a bit of Bull Dog thrown into the mix when it comes to the American Staffordshire Terrier. That's where they get the nickname of "Bullies" Pretty much the same tho, depends on which side of the "Pond" you're on.

Also, did you know that the Bull Mastiff is not crossed with the Pit Bull? It's usually a cross between an English Mastiff (not to be confused with a French Mastiff) and a full bred Bull dog. Hence the size difference. The only one of those I don't really like the look of are the Neapolitan Mastiffs, they look too much like a Sharpei for my tastes. That many wrinkles means they're a high maintenance dog, prone to skin and yeast and fungal infections, the same way the Blood Hounds are. English Mastiffs are one of my favorites, but at this point, unless I trained it from about 6 weeks old, they're far to strong for me to handle. My back would never tolerate the stress, and my pain Dr. would have a fit! A dog that out weighs me by that much (I've seen them top the scales at between 235 to 250) and wears a mans 42" belt as a collar is WAY to much dog for me. Pits are strong enough by themselves. If you ever train a Pit to pull with a harness, you're creating one very strong dog. Did you know that a Pit weighing anywhere between 35 to 60 lbs can actually move a one ton concrete block about 1 inch, from a dead standstill? I've seen it done, it's truly amazing.

It's also why I never trained ours to harness, his leash works just fine and he's trained to walk with a "limp" leash, meaning that there's no pressure between his neck and my hand. He just ambles along at my side, happily keeping pace with me, instead of taking me for a drag as it were. Now were S*** to Hit the Fan, I could always train our bigger one to harness and teach him how to pull a small wagon, at least we'd have some way of getting what supplies we could home without killing ourselves in the process. Bill'd never stand for it tho, but circumstances alter cases as the saying goes.

 

[7th Stepper]

People do horrible things to pitbulls and everything else they touch because they themselves are horrible.

80% of society is scum and need eradicating.

Yes, I'm biased as you can tell.

Dumbasses screw things up and then other dumbasses want to rid the world of the things that were screwed up and not the dumbasses that did the screwing up.

It's a vicious cycle fueled by idiots and morons that don't seem to... or care not to.. learn from lessons of the past.

It can apply to anything really, but dogs and firearms to seem to be a favorite subject to these mentally limited factions

Pathetic, to say the least.


On a lighter note did yous know that ole Spuds Mckenzie was from Indiana?

Yep, Spuds was from Valparaiso. The owners/breeders were my friend's neighbors and I remember petting her parents sometimes, though I dont recall seeing any puppy litters.

It was a pretty long time ago. .

Spuds was born a Hoosier.

Very cool Black_Wolf! Thanks for the addition! Another thing we Hoosiers have to be proud of, as well as our love, respect, and responsible use of our guns! I guess that Hoosiers are a cut above the rest of the country, but then again, I already knew that!
Thank you my friend!

 

[7th Stepper]

fair enough...there are bad pits out there. lots of them. and I wouldnt want ANYONE to come into contact with one of those dogs, however, for every bad pitties, there are dozens of good ones.

i dont recommend you approach random pitbulls, or any unknown dog for that matter.

I just dont want people discrediting an entire breed because of the actions of a few.

Thats the equivalent of saying "Blacks/Whites/mexicans/asians killed a person, we should get rid of them all!!"

I like your analogy, it makes a lot of sense. We've taught out daughter to NEVER approach a dog she doesn't previously know, and then even if she does know it, do so with caution. The same goes for a person, regardless of race, color, religion or creed. And looks, both with animals and with people, can always be deceiving.

If the dog is with it's owner, ASK before you pet, that's the intelligent way to approach an unknown animal, for all you know they could just be thinking that you're about to attack their owner and bite before either of you know it's going to happen.

Just because the dogs tail is wagging, doesn't mean it's friendly, it just means that part of their body is in motion, the same as a tucked tail doesn't always mean aggression, a lot of time it means fear, and an animal (any animal, humans included) will bite out of fear, whether reasonable or not.

The same goes for an animal in a car, truck, on a porch, or on it's "home turf", they're protecting what is theirs, from a stranger that they don't know is friendly or not. It's the "fight or flight" syndrome, and it applies to everyone and everything.

We've been approached before on different occasions, with different dogs (we've had a variety over the years) and asked if the animal will bite. We always answer truthfully, which is "I don't know", because we can't guarantee that it won't happen. If approached, we have the person or older child (NEVER a youngster, EVER) walk slowly up, in a calm manner, stop just out of harms length and watch to see the dogs behavior. If our dogs seems like it wants to greet the person, we have them slowly extend their hand, palm up, and slowly and cautiously let our dog go to them, while under our control 100% of the time. I've learned that I can "feel" a growl thru the vibrations in the leash, and if I even think I'm feeling a hint of one, I back the dog off. I ask the person to slowly back away, but not look the dog directly in the eyes, as that can be taken as a direct challenge. 90% of the time if both parties remain calm, a bad situation can be averted, if one or both freak out, the end result is usually a bad one. And yes, dogs can smell fear, their noses are much more sensitive than ours are, so is their sight, and they also read body language better than most give them credit for.

If a small child is involved, and the parent is with them, we usually ask that they not approach, kids can be very reactive, which can be a good or bad thing, depending on the temperament of both the child and the animal. A bubbly child is excitable, which will excite the dog, not necessarily in a friendly way. They also make "squeak" noises, which a lot of times sounds like a noise of fear to the dogs. If the child is alone, we tell them to stand perfectly still and "make like a tree" (don't move) and we make a wide berth around them, just to be safe. Our dogs are for the most part very well trained, and very gentle, but I can NOT safely or in all honesty say that they'll NEVER bite someone, it depends on the situation at the time. So when in doubt, we steer clear of the situation, for the safety of all involved. And our dogs NEVER run free, that's why we invested in a 7 high foot privacy fence. If someone climbs over it, then they do so at their own risk, and if the dogs happen to be out, they'll see the person as an intruder and most likely bite to scare them off. At that point, it's the person who's climbed the fence over into our yard who has the problem, not the dogs. Altho we won't let the dogs go unchecked if they are in "protection" mode. They will stop when told to, but the person has no business in our yard in the first place!

We've only had 1 situation where all 3 of our dogs got out, and that was the Christmas before last. I was out in CA at the time, Bill was at work, and our daughter came over to let the dogs out to potty. What she didn't notice was that the wind had blown down a panel of the fence and they could go right over it and run loose. She got 2 of them back in the house, but Bills went traveling, and she couldn't find him. She freaked and called me. I did the best thing I could think of, and since several of our LEO's are friends of ours, I called down to dispatch and asked them to send a squad car or two, to see if they could help locate him. They did, about a mile from the house, but since he's a "bigun" they didn't want to go anywhere near him. They called her, she hopped in her car and drove over to get him, loaded him in her little car and brought him home again. Problem almost solved. All 3 of the dogs were safely back in the house, but she was unable to let them out again, except 1 at a time, while on a leash, and she has about as much luck as I do in controlling Bills dog. (She's 5'3" and he's 6' on his hind legs, and outweighs her by at least 6o lbs.) Soooo.....until Bill got home the next day, the dogs stayed in, and she dealt with the consequences of not letting them out. Fortunately they gave her a break and no one had an accident in the house. The LEO's were great, and we were really thankful for their help!

My point is that caution should ALWAYS be taken with dogs that you don't know, or aren't familiar with on a regular basis, regardless of size, as you can never predict exactly what the animal will do. It's always better to be safe than sorry. This is the reason that I don't call 911 unless I can get the dogs locked up in our bedroom first. I will NOT risk either the medics/first responders being bitten or hurt, and I will NOT risk our dogs being shot. Were someone to try and get to me while the dogs were lose, they'd stand over me and protect me from what they would see as an intruder. So far I've been extremely blessed, and I pray that the time never comes where we have to put that to the test. I always carry my cell phone on my person, and we do have backup "rescuers" who can come in and corral the dogs before having anyone risk getting hurt. It took a while to get it set up, but it works for us really well. I also firmly believe that I retire Guardian Angels by the truckload with some of the messes I end up getting into. But they've never let me down before, I don't anticipate them ever letting me down in the future. But that's just my belief, do what works for you, but always have a back up plan, just to be safe.

7th Stepper

On a side note....if someone is obnoxious enough to tease the dogs, then ask if they bite, I usually tell them that yes, they will, and SO DO I! They usually leave at that point, unwilling to push their luck with either of us!

 

[lovemachine]

Rottys rule, Pits drool!

Theres nothing like coming home to a 130lb baby!

 

[7th Stepper]

Rottys rule, Pits drool!

Theres nothing like coming home to a 130lb baby!

Your dog is gorgeous! And I laughed myself silly at the picture of him (her?) upside-down on the couch! That's a position seen frequently in his household. Now try 3 of them in a row, taking up the whole couch, all in what we refer to as the "****-up" position! I'll post more of our brood (pack) once I figure out how to move the pictures stored on my hard drive to a post on here. I've got some great ones of the two bigger dogs, curled up on the couch, in laps, in the recliner and in bed with us. Dogs are great fun, and great to be owned by, they really make life complete. And you're right, there's nothing like coming home to an animal who loves you unconditionally and is ALWAYS happy to see you, even if you've only been gone for 10 minutes or less.

Please give your dog a big smoochie from me, that's just a precious picture!

Happy Holidays!
7th Stepper

 

[7th Stepper]

Ah-Ha! Bill just showed me how to do it! Here's a few pics of our brood of furry children that we love so much! This is Benji.

 

[Benny]

Your dog is gorgeous! And I laughed myself silly at the picture of him (her?)

Lovemachine, don't let your boy read this thread...I'd imagine it would hurt his feelings. Last thing you need is a 130 lb Rotty that feels inadequate.

 

[7th Stepper]

This is all 4, the Chubby one in the back is my baby girl Mischa, she's no longer with us, she crossed over in 08, but I know she's waiting for me on the other side. The other 2 big ones are still puppies, and the little guy is our Rat Terrier Pogo. Sorry for the sideways pics, I have no clue how to make them turn right side up. Oh, and please excuse the puppies, they get excited when they get their pictures taken.....

Merry Holidays to everyone and their packs!
7th Stepper

 

[Benny]

Your pit(mix?) and lab(mix?) seem...Happy.

 

[7th Stepper]

Your pit(mix?) and lab(mix?) seem...Happy.

Well....that's one way of putting it.

Benji is a full bred Pit, the other one is a Lab mix, Pogo is a full Rat Terrier, and Mischa is a "Heinz 60". That's a Heinz 57, with 3 other dogs in there that we've never figured out what they were.
She was the only female and taught the puppies their manners, just like a mom would do. Unfortunately she had a heart condition that caused her untimely passing. I had her cremated and put in a beautiful Mahogany Box, that sits with the Urns of the other dogs we've had along the way. It'll probably be weird to some that we do that, but this way if we move or anything like that, we can take them with us. They have little figurines of what they looked like posed in front of them, their collars and pictures of them as well. What the heck, people do it for their birth children, and these are our furry ones.

 

[nox]

Top 10 Reasons Why You Can’t Trust Pit Bulls
By Jason Mann of pitbulllovers.com

10. They will steal your spot on the couch while you are up getting a soda.

 

[sepe]

Your pit(mix?) and lab(mix?) seem...Happy.

That happens to me too when I get my picture taken. I really need to start wearing pants.

 

[m82mike]

There are no born bad dogs. It takes a person to make a dog bad.
Our late Pitt Bull, 'Sako' loved kids and was a friendly, but protective dog.
With Cub scouts using our farm for activities, he thought he had to check
every child if they fell down during a activity. We all miss him.

 

[Black_Wolf]

Those are some cute pups.

Think I will always like them more than most people.

Maybe I'm just odd?

 

[CindyE]

There's no dog sweeter than a good American Pit Bull Terrier. I have been arguing about this on Facebook recently, since the Burnettsville incident. Too many people saying the breed should be banned, etc.

 

[peloe16]

I love my pitties. thanks for the laugh.