Re: Another pitbull makes a headline !!!!!
For the first time ever, I am inclined to agree with a widespread ban of the breed. Here is my reason: There are a significant number of people who seem intent on destroying the breed through a twisted criteria for selective breeding. It is very sad, because I have lived with them before, and they are such sweet dogs. But, I see no other way to prevent what is happening.
However, I am not certain that this will even work. If pit bulls are denied to these idiots, what other breed will they latch onto? Any large breed could be ruined in exactly the same manner. Pit bulls were a very decent breed until a bunch of assholes came along to ruin it. Maybe we should be finding a way to stop people from breeding bad dogs instead of banning breeds wholesale?
This is exactly it. Pit bulls are just the most recent.
At various points in the 20th century, you will find a variety of breeds who had the same reputation that pit bulls now have: shepherds, rotties, dobermans, etc.
People will just pick a different breed. And ultimately, none of them are innately "ruined." They are just owned by abusive people, and thus become insane. Even if their owner isn't a dog fighter per se, a lot of people who are just generally nasty will go for the current "mean dog" breed, slap them around a bit, fail to train them to do anything else, and just let them terrorize people from the yard. If you deny a dog comfort and are constantly trying to rile them into striking back, yes, they'll be mean, even if you're not doing dedicated fighting training.
Pit bulls are not mean dogs. In fact, for quite a long time, they were referred to as "nurse maid dogs," for their gentleness with children.
I personally have never met a mean pit. I love them. But then again, the pits I know are owned by decent people.
Just decent people. Not gifted dog trainers. Just decent. They don't have to be perfect, or keep their pit on an incredibly short leash. They just have to be nice to them, and provide appropriate outlets for all that energy, like with any other big active dog. I know some pits who are perhaps a little bit under-trained, and they're still sweet as pie, even if they do sometimes get excited and want to get on your lap as if they were a chihuahua.
Speaking of chihuahuas, that is actually a breed that I tend to be much more careful around. Chihuahuas are perfectly nice dogs, but a lot of people tend to do things that make them nervous and deny them a sense of territory, in addition to doing no training whatsoever and under-exercising them, which can make them pretty neurotic. I've had chihuahuas snap at me before, but never a pit.
Pits who are treated like any other dog breed seem to be some of the dopiest, happiest dogs around. If I were ever to get a big dog (not likely while my nervous kitteh is still with me, but if I did...) a pit would actually be pretty high on my list.
