I hope some how we can change that too. My son had to do a report describing "a different kind of hero" and he did it on service dogs and search and rescue dogs. He included all kinds of dogs in his report. He is only ten years old but his report was so well done it went to the district level where it is going to be judged. I was so proud of him. Like I said we taught our kids to respect animals/pets because as you stated they are animals whether they are big or small and yes they have bad days to LOL. Even my shepherd has his own lil hideaway to get away from us and the kids know that when he goes to his space they are to leave him alone for his alone time. In fact I have already told them that mommy is getting a smaller puppy and that he is not the same as our shepherd. In fact we have been practicing with the guinnea pig how to handle a small puppy lol.
sue

Aimee you are completely right. Had it been a pit, it probably would have been all over the news. And you're right, even our little Yorkies can be aggressive! They are dogs. Just like every human can lunge out and "bite". We can all be fine one minute then snap the hell at someone for just one word they muttered. Dogs are the same way. Bouncer was fine the other day at the vets office and out of the middle of nowhere he lunged to bite their groomer who was petting him. He's NEVER done that, but he did for some reason this time. Now, b/c he's a Yorkie, no one says anything. Had Bouncer been a pit or a rottie or a dobe, everyone would have noticed. Oi vey....I could go on forever and I've been watching this thread like a hawk tonight (obvious haha). I best go to bed. We've got a lot of dogs in the morning and I'm getting too worked up over this! haha :) I just can't help it. I have the biggest soft spot for pits since my yorkie's best friend is one and two of his other friends are pit mixes. Anyways, I just wanted to say that I think it's great you can still have the heart to realize that it's not just the breed. That any dog can do anything. :thumbup:

That's incredible! Tell him I said, "Good job and congrats!" All kids should be taught that way. My three year old nephew knows animals are to be treated kindly and with respect. We even put him in our store commercial with Stacy's HUGE great dane/lab mix. haha Their so cute standing next to each other! And they should be allowed bad days. If we are, why aren't they? That's neat you're practicing with the guinnea pig. I never thought of doing something like that! :) I guess I'm out of here for the night. Loads of dogs at the grooming shop tomorrow and I'm already the hawk on this thread. haha But big congrats to your son. I would love to read his paper if you have it on the computer. You can e-mail it to me or send it to me in a private message! Have a good night!

I for one live in ontario, and I glad they band them. Nearly once a month I hear about some child or dog being hurt or malled by these dog. I don't care who the owner is . When those dogs want to attack someone they will and most of the people I see walking them, can hardly control them on the leash to be gin with.

When I see those dogs I get far far away. I love dogs but just not this one at all. I don't know what i would do if it were my child so I'm glad they did what they did. At least I feel safer on the streets.

Years ago,I had a lovely pug male who was to be my possible foundation stud.He had everything I was looking for.We loved him to pieces.We were away for the weekend and he was killed by a pit bull that was allowed to run loose in the area.My dogs were kept in a fenced yard always.The pit grabbed his leg and shook him from the other side of the fence.He had internal injuries and died before we got home.We were heartbroken and livid at the owner who we did confront.Owner and dog disapeared soon after.Don't worry,we didn't do anything to them,lol.
Even after all we went through,my husband and I do not hate pit bulls.As a matter of fact,my husband had one himself.I have worked with and groomed quite a few at the shop.Only one was people agressive(due to mistreatment) the others were all big babies and wanted to be lap dogs.Some were dog agressive,but some were good with other dogs.I now feel more cautious arround chows,cockers,and lhasas(until I get to know them)than with pits.With all the breeds I have worked with,those three tend to give me the most problems.This is just from my personal experience though.I only wrote this to tell what I have gone through and have seen with this breed,not to try to change minds,but I do like the breed.

I do not think they should have band pitbulls. Well first of all a pit bull is not a breed it is a mix usually of the staffordshire, rottie and bullmastiff with some other breeds mixed in. People call any dog that looks like that a pit bull. eeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrr this make me so mad cause I have had a bull terrier which most people called a pit bull but was not one she was a pure bred dog and she was the best best dog in the world . I have an spca so called pit bull right know which is also one of the best dogs and has never ever showed any mean behavior and everyone that meets him loves his personality and asks if he is for sale or if they can take him home. Well why doesn't everyone hear about other breeds biting people and how aggressive they can be. This is because when a pit bull bites they have such a strong jaw it really leaves a dent and can really hurt someone but i have never met a mean pit bull (but know they are out there) and have met meany other breeds that are very mean and aggressive. I do not think any thing is born mean i think it is usually how they are brought up , mental problems, issues in there life things they are upset with and it is to bad that people are so against them. My pit bull cross Rocky is so so careful and gentel with both my chihua and yorkie and I could never ask for a better dog.

Here is some pictures of my pit bull cross how could you say he was mean

The most famous pitbull

http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/pete.html

lilbumbleybees..... im here too, and i do have experience working with these dogs as well. And as i stated above i am weary of other breeds as well, and any large dog really. i respect your commitment and opinion, but people like me do know what we are talking about, despite what you may believe. You cannot deny that these things happen, granted they can happen with any breed. I am not discriminating against pits, i am CAREFUL, as most of you would agree that to not be careful you set yourself up to get bitten. Do i think that pits should be banned???? No not really, but they need to be controled thats for sure..... as i said i do have experience with these dogs and the sweetest one i knew snapped, MORE THAN ONCE, you should read my posts more carefully before you say that 'people dont know"

I checked out the site badrap.org and it was quite compelling. I feel SO sorry for these pit bulls now. I wish that only responsible people would breed them and that NO ONE would ever starve and beat them to try to make them mean. :(

It really is a true tragedy and just shows how inhumane humans can be.

Thanks for all the information everyone. Consider me someone more informed on pit bulls now....in a good way. The link with the picture slide show was heartbreaking. Really. I don't know how anyone could see that video and not feel sympathy for the dogs and not feel anger for those that have mistreated them.

Here is the link again if anyone wants to see the picture video.
http://www.deviantart.com/view/11454716/

Are you really dog lovers?
 

I'm very surprised with the negativity about pits coming from such dog lovers!! :mad: We have learned that you don't hate a certain kind of person(i.e. race) because other stereotypes have given that community a bad name. I am the owner of a Pit bull/ Akita mix. She is an aggressive dog. I don't take her for walks and I don't go to dog parks with her. I put her in the yard if we have company. I have never encountered an incident with her except when someone has stupidly come on her turf without OUR permission or our supervision.
These people you speak of are NOT responsible dog owners!! My SOda is one of the best dogs in the world LOVING and sweet!!! I would move if they banned her breed out here.

Sorry ... this is a long rant!
 

I have read all the posts and have really been enlightened by the links. I guess I will offer my 2 cents (not worth much really - haha) but it really is two different stories from the opposite ends of the spectrum.

I had a pitbull when I was a teenager. His name was Pitter and was a joy! I remember he used to chew on a stockpot (I kid you not)! He had chewed the handles down flat, but it was his favorite toy. He used to love chewing on it at 6:00 in the morning on Saturdays. Well, needless to say, I was a teenager and wanted to sleep until noon. I remember going out and scolding him and swatting him to stop and he never, ever showed any signs of aggression. The only time was when someone tried to get in the yard and there was an 8' fence around the yard. One evening I was sitting on our enclosed porch and I noticed a guy eyeing a motorcycle trailer in the yard. Well out of the corner of my eye I watched Pitter sneak along the fence until he had snuck up on the guy. He did nothing more than emit a low growl and just stood there. Well it scared the fire out of that guy and I started laughing. He said, "I didn't see your dog." I replied, "I know, but he saw you." That's it.... nothing else. He simply let the guy know that he was there and that there was no chance of him getting in that fence. I loved that dog and to this day feel he was one of the better dogs I have owned.

On the other hand ... we recently had two pit bulls get out of their yard in my neighborhood and attack a miniature horse. They just about tore it's ear off and mauled it pretty bad. It was a sad situation, but even more so because there are lots of kids in the area. They attacked without provocation of any kind. What if there had been a child walking? I'm sure it would be a different story.

My point? I don't think this breed should be banned, but I think that there should be stiffer penalties/fines, etc., on the STUPID owners of these dogs. Not just Pit Bulls, but Rotties, Shepherds, Labs ... whatever the animal is that bites or hurts someone. Maybe if they addressed the real problem (the owners) some things would change. I truly feel that the dog is maligned and only shown the negative. I am mixed in how I feel about this particular breed. On the one hand I have the wonderful memories of Pitter, but wonder how I would feel if those dogs that attacked the horse would have attacked my daughter. I don't think banning a breed is the answer. I think owner responsibility is. Charge these people and then maybe never allow them to own a dog again? I don't know of a good answer.

Rant over. Thank you for listening.

a LOT of people donnou the breed, really, and just comes out with ideas. The same way a yorkie that is not properly bred can show different temperament, same thing can happens to pits...the breed temperament itself should be very friendly with humans, that is one of the reasons pits are NOT good guard dogs. Now with animals, specially small animals, it brings out their hunting instinct, so yes, not all pits can live with other animals (even other pits).

Poeple have all the right not to like a certain breed, now to prohibit and KILL animals from this breed is out of questions. We have to respect, first of all...i agree with making all different kinds of requirements for your to have a pit, but not to kill a family pet who is not agressive at all, just because the breed is illigal?

Yes people, they just SHOOT those dogs. Even though the police denies, i see and know many cases that these dogs are not even euthanized, they are just SHOT.

One day my bfs neighbor went to a supermarket, there was a pit in the parking lot (just as a note, pitbulls are banned from Miami since 1989 if i am not mistaken...but there still a lot of pits here, the only thing it does is prevent these pits to get the proper training and veterinary care they deserve!) well, this puppy, walked into the supermarket, and he is about 7 months only...do you know what happened? People started running around screaming like crazy, it was like there was a bomb ready to explode...and it was just a hungry puppy trying to get some attention.

Thankfully a co-worker of mine, that lives in a neighbor city where pits are legal (broward county) took him in. That was the pit in the pictures with Mojo...and he couldn;t be sweeter:):):) I am just so happy this little guy had a happy ending, and specially happy that i could help, after all they deserve it!!

OMG...what a "beast" Rocky is,:D:D:D:D...how come that doens;t come out as a news update??Or on the first page of the sunday newspaper??..**Pit mix sleeps with yorkie and chihuahua** would make a great headline..:D:D:D Loved the picture...very cutee:) Thanks for sharing that..

I'm a groomer as well and I full heartedly agree that those three are some of the biggest one I have problems with as well. Only one pit have I ever had a problem with and he wasn't even aggressive. He just hated his bath! haha It's good to hear someone else ona realistic perspective. :)

Adorable!!
 

What a baby!! He is too cute! :D I'm gonna get some pics of Gracie LuLu at work tomorrow to post here. Maybe she'll even wear one of her cute jezebels and doggles for you guys. :)

I think we've both misunderstood each other here. lol The joys of the internet! :) I do see a lot of people here who definately know what they're talking about. And I in no way DENIED that these things do happen. They do, all the time , with ALL BREEDS of dogs. That was my point. Lots of people here know what they are talking about, but I also see a lot who are just being judgemental on what they hear and see on the news. I just am a big advocate for educating people more about many breeds of dogs. I'm a groomer, I've done tons of research and I work with a huge variety of breeds of dogs. I have a lot of experience with them. I just want to educate people more that any breed can be this way and to discriminate just isn't right. Hope that kinda clears things up. lol :)

It is so nice to meet fellow groomers.I actually fell in love with yorkies and silky terriers through my job.It is a great way to be able to meet so many different dogs and find the breeds that agree with you and your lifestyle.Not to mention the ones you just might steer clear from,lol.Good to meet you.

i personally have no problems with pits. a friend of mine had one named RIP and i use to take that dog everywhere he would ride in the front seat with me he even knew how to open doors i agree that ALL dogs can attack. when i was 6 i was walking to my neighbors house to feed their animals and a lab came out of the woods and jumped on me and probably would have bit me but my dad was watching and he came and got me. i didn't do anything to that lab.....he didn't even live around there......do you ever hear bad things about labs.....nope that's man's best friend. i have nothing against labs i'm actually trying to talk my dad into getting one, just wanted to make a point. pits have a bad rep that's all there is to it. everyone is entitled to their own opinions and mine is that banning pits is bull sh** i don't think any animal should be banned. i could go on and on but i won't i'll just give my opinion, any dog can attack, not just a select few!! and i think it's terrible how some people treat pits how could anyone train a dog to fight?? then everyone else wonders why it attacked someone?? wouldn't you if that's what you were trained to do? :mad:

I agree that their are other breeds that have a bad temperment. When I was growing up we had an Akita as our family pet. He done everything with us he was an inside/outside dog, wherever we were Thore would be. He even slept with us. He was raised very well with lots of love. He was just as part of the family as we were. But one night when Thore was around 2 is where the nightmare began. We were all in the living room waching tv. My brother was laying on the floor next to Thore petting him. And thats where our family pet attacked. He went and latched himself onto my brothers neck. Another 1/2 cm and Thore would of got my brothers vain and he would of died. So my brother was 1/2 cm away from loosing his life from a pet that we trusted and loved so much. We could not put him down right away. We had to wait for tests to come back (like rabbies). Two weeks later we were given the ok to put Thore to sleep. By that time we all forgave him and thought he just had a bad night. So we decided to keep him. A few months later we had a birthday party. We tied Thore out back on a very short leash far away from the party. One of the little boys at the party found Thore and went to him. Thore attacked again! We could not take anymore chances we had to put him to sleep. To this day my other siblings thinks he was taken to a garage to be a gaurd dog. As much as he was so unpredictable we did love him but we had to do what was right. So I guess I disagree with banning a type of breed. All dogs breeds are capable of attacking. I believe vicious dogs are only that way due to poor breeding. You cant have bad blood in the line at all. If you do you are playing with fire.

previous posts have gotten to the root of the problem..... yes pits can be agressive, BUT, stupid people that dont understand that tend to make accidents happen by being ignorant about their temperment.... i watch animal cops on tv and my heart breaks at the abuse these pit fighters are enduring, but after some treatment such as that is it really safe to let them into the public? (this is a serious question, because i have seen them release some of them back as pets) another question you have to ask yorself is.... are the shelters doing enough "temperment tests" and are they doing it thoroughly enough before letting dogs go to new homes AND are they releasing animals to RESPONSIBLE owners
There are so many factors on why these things happen, it is hard to concentrate on one,

You may be right orisnkye...but i tell one think, do u know why these dogs fight to death? Even when they are in a imaginable amount of pain? Because there is NOTHING more important to them than to make their humans happy!! Now, how safe is a fighting pit going to a family home...i don;t really know and truth is, i don;t think anybody can guarantee...but the person who adopts a pit or any large breed dog for that matter should be well aware of it...they are not forced to adopt a dog, they choose to so they are accepting the responsability that comes with it.

And as per temperament tests, even if they are not people agressive or aggresive toward another animal...something can happen and their insticts will speak lauder and an attack can happen...lets not forget that no matter how well trained they are, these are animals and do not reason like we humans do.