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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.