Ignorent neighbors (i cant believe the nerve of some people)

[pcolachic]

I have 4 apbt's me my b/f and my step brother walk them everyday their all very well trained and all around good dogs
so heres what happened were walking them down the street and one of our neighbors stops us and says
"why do you feel the need to walk your pitbulls in this neighborhood"

i was in shock for a moment my first response was "uh because we live here"

then he goes on to say he has two german sheperds and our dogs agitate his dogs and if his dogs ever got out there would be a fight and he wouldnt want that to happen so is there another neighborhood we can walk out vicious dogs in

if i thought my dogs were any danger to the puplic i wouldnt take them out(we don't need anymore bad press for the breed) but their not their all very sweet i was so upset that i was standing there having to defend my dogs that had done absoultely nothing wrong

i finally had to just walk off if he would have walked up and petted any one of my dogs they wouldnt have done anything but wag their tell

im just so frustrated with having to defend my dogs all the time i wish people would take the time to find out facts before they just asume that pitbulls are just vicious monsters

[blueshish]

My mother and sister are just terrified of the breed. My sis is actually trying to get all "Pit" type dogs banned from the small town they live in. What is really stupid is that I had owned my terrier for about 3 years before I finally told her what breed it was. Her children had been playing horsey and she had been patting this "evil monster" on the head for 3 YEARS and didn't even realize what breed it was. That should give some indication on the level of ignorance people who support breed specific bans are operating on.

[DeLaUK]

So even after your sister found out that your dog is a Pit Bull she is still trying to get them banned? Thats really sad.
Your right, its blatant ignorance and is up there with those yobs a few years ago who beat to death a JRT because they 'thought' it was a Pit Bull.!!
Cant you talk her out of this? Educate her some more, print out some statistics, shouldnt be too hard to find them for your city, she'll see then that Rottwiellers are 'probably' the highest in the list for bites, does she want to have them banned too. What about German Shepherds, Dobermans? When you look at these statistics it proves peoples ignorance and also the hypocrisy of this attitude because most people dont want to see the other breeds banned.
One thing I dont have a problem with is 'Dangerous Dog Laws' this covers any breed of dog that attacks, even then the circumstances are taken into account, meaning that its not an automatic death sentence, was it a provoked attack, did someone come onto your property and then get bit.....there are occasions when a responsible owners dog my accidentally get out, things like storms, earthquakes, break ins etc can result in a dog that normally is not loose on the streets getting out.
I remember about 30 years ago in UK, the general rule was if a dog bites 3 times its euthanized, the DDL's dont work any different, the only difference it the procedure itself now has a name. (What they did wrong was couple it with banning certain breeds-Am Staffs are not included on the ban) Maybe you caould talk to your sister about this, see if she might rather try and focus her energy on this law, put the accountability back on the irresponsible owners, like I said, any responsible owner does not allow their dog to run loose which is what causes most of the problems, well that and the fact that some people cant tell the difference between a Pit Bull and a Jack Russell.

[blueshish]

Bad dog laws work good for the most part. It seems they do more to educate people that not any specific breed is bad but that certain dogs of any breed can be a danger in the wrong circumstances. These kind of laws also seem to educate dog owners how to properly care for their animals.
I have talked at length with my sister but she will not change her mind. I have sent her stats, dog profiles, and testamonials from different APBT owners but she still insist that the breed is dangerous. She is one of those people that will only be happy when the breed is exstinct. What I find odd is that in their town there has not been a single reported dog bite that was blamed on a Pit. Apparently their neighbor's dog chased her son once but that animal looks to be a Boxer mix of some kind. As I pointed out, she really doesn't even know what the breed looks like. People don't realize that the majority of bites attributed to the APBT are actually a case of mistaken identity. That is way the press,etc. have started using the phrase "Pit type dog". I find this extremely offensive since this catagy includes all dogs, mixed breed and pure, that have a short muzzle and is stocky!! It seems the only criteria for this label is that the animal bites, thus the Pit gets a bad rap.

[DeLaUK]

Your exactly right. They dont deserve the rep that theyve got. But I think there is a pretty strong 'voice' (and its getting stronger) from people who do know the breed and will continue to make sure that the people who actually make the decision on whether or not the BSL laws go through know the facts and are made aware of the media frenzies and their sensationalism.

[blueshish]

Several years age she owned a few Shar Pei's. One all out attacked her nephew so she had all her dogs put down. Put down, HA. She had my step father come out and shoot all of them. Nice huh? Shortly after her second child was born she ran out and bought another puppy of the same breed. The poor dog spends all of its time in a 5x5 pen and is never let out. This a classic example of the owner causing the problem by not being educated on the proper care of a animal. Her previously mention dogs were kept on short chains and never let off for exercise, etc. I am not saying her breed or dog was bad but that she is a bad owner who doesn't understand the needs , physical or mental, pets.

[pcolachic]

there was another ignorent apbt owner who thought it was ok to take their dog to the dog park about a week ago and guess what happend ,it's owners like this who make the breed look bad
5o o'clock news here we go again
i'm so scared that someones gonna try and start a BSL law here they already have it in other parts of florida
last night in mobile they caught a dog fight in progress the spca took 11 dogs from the property most of the cowering when aproched by a human a couple of them 8wk old puppys when asked what was going to happen to these dogs she very coldly replyed if we get custody of them every dog here will be put down it brought a tear to my eye just thinking that those people looked at these dogs as property and a job and nothing more not even the slightest hint of a second chance for those poor pups
I wish we had a apbt rescue group or something around here to help these dogs

[blueshish]

I saw on tv that the Michigan Humane Society in Detroit automatically puts down pit bulls. Their reason was that they are used for fighting so to stem the problem they will not adopt out that breed. How hypocritical can you be? Their job is to protect animals but at the same time they are condemning a whole breed because a select few people choose to use the animals in a highly illegal act. Here is my question. Why don't the police and Humane society do their jobs and crack down and punish the people using the animals instead of punishing the dogs?

[pcolachic]

it's the same where i live if they pick up a pitbull it has 24hours to be claimed if it is the owner is charged 300 to get it out and if its not they are put down adoption for these dogs is not even an option it's sad really

[blueshish]

I live in Arizona now. There seems to be a fairly well organized effort for Pit rescue and adoption here, which I am very glad to see. Also the Humane society in my town does not support the kill first ask questions later policy that so many other organization observe. They will only put a dog down if it exhibits aggressive behavior. They even give these animals a few days to calm down so they can accurately determine if it is just the high stress situation causing the behavior or if the dog is a problem animal. This determination is in no way breed specific.

[pcolachic]

thats how it should be everywhere

[rottweiler_inc]

, you know I see people all the time saying pitbulls are so mean and visious, I want to get one so bad and have someone with one lined up for me for free because they cant take care of it, the only thing is I am afraid that someone would start problems, our neighbors have already started problems because her kids sit outside and tease our rotti when she is on her chain and throw stones at her, she will bark at them. the police told them that the kids need to stop teasing her but thats all they will do, I don't think I need more problems. my friend has 15 pitbull puppies on his hands right now though that need homes, and I think I am going to get little snow she is wonderful. They just opened there eyes a few days ago and they are all so presiuos! .....people dont understand the fact it isnt the dogs it is the owners..........poor dogs, they dont deserve the bad rap!

[blueshish]

I say go ahead and get the puppy. Give it all the things a dog needs for a long and happy life, lots of love and companionship. The heck with what other people think or say!!!! Speaking for myself, I absolutely love the breed and I refuse to allow a group of ignorant, underinformed, uneducated people tell me that I can't own a specific animal because they are afraid of a myth created by media induced hysteria. I truely believe the most effective way to turn the tide of breed steriotype is to have resposible owners put their better than the average breed dog out there in the public eye so more people can get in contact with the animals and see for themselves that we are not dealing with a monster but just your every day pet that reseves and returns love the same as their cute little poodle.

[daddyfs]

[DeLaUK]

[sgk mistress]

i can relate completely.....we live on a lake where people drop off umwanted pets all the time and my neighbors-anonymously-complain to the animal control warden saying we have vicious dogs that bark at everything and the lake rangers wont do anything -so they say....(uh, they are dogs, isnt that what they do?) but all of my dogs are kept on chains during the day and brought in at night.....so they bark when they see strays running around and also when someone pulls up in our yard....does that make them killers??? no it just makes them dogs....there will always be people on both ends of the spectrum when it comes to this wonderful breed...you either hate them(i did until i got one and got to know the breed) or you love them.....which i do now-i have 3 kids who have been raised around my 5 dogs and countless friends with small children....never a problem...its all how you raise them right???

[Shineillusion]

The full reason behind the Michigan Humane Society not adopting out pit bulls is a little missunderstood.

The problem of dog fighting in Detroit is huge, as it is in many areas. And Detroit is the major area that the Michigan Humane Society operates from. For the safety of the dogs, the MHS has opted not to chance having the dogs fall into the hands of unscrupulous people who would use them as bait. It's unfortunate, but it's a reality. The dogs pay the ultimate price, but I'd rather see them humanely put down than risk the chance they'd be put to a much more horrendous use, and meet a much more horrific death.

There is also a huge liability issue. And that's an issue any rescue agency who attempts to rehome any breed of dog that is percieved by the public as being aggressive, be it pit bull, Dobies, Rotties, etc, needs to be very aware of. It's highly possible that the agency could be sued for millions if an animal they place bites, mauls, or kills someone. While I feel it's sad that so many undeserving animals are destroyed, I can fully understand the thinking that would make organizations decide not to take on that liability.

[blueshish]

I'm afraid I have to disagree with you. While I fully understand that dog fighting is a major problem in the Detroit area, my aunt lives in Farmington Hills, the answer isn't destroying the breed in order to control another criminal activity. All humane societies have strict rules and regs for adopting any animal. They can even run criminal background checks. The society in my area does this if you are adopting specific breeds of dogs. Many organizations successfully adopt out thousands of Pits every year. I do not disagree with the policy of putting down known fighting dogs. Although they are seldom human aggressive they are obviously animal aggressive and therefore pose a serious threat to the general population.

Another serious problem with the MHS is that they are now on national tv stating that their policy is to destroy all pit bulls they pick up because they are dangerous to the public. They offer very little explaination for this policy so you have a group of people already afraid of the breed for various reasons having their fears reaffirmed by a organization that they perceive as experts.

[pcolachic]

seems like the spca/mhs is just being lazy to me
couldn't they do a home study like most shelters do
couldm't they check up on the dogs and keep track of them
to make sure their cared for properly thats what most
shelters do why not them
no insead they just take the easy way out and kill any
pitbull that comes into their shelter (yea thats really solving the problem)

[sgk mistress]

thats ok.....the small town closest to me(we used to live there)REAL RURAL --like 600 people--- when they find a stray pitbull they dont call the shelter, the just kill it on the spot...unless the recognize it as belonging to someone in the town, then they will go to that owners house and give them a chance to get their dog before it gets shot.......