Pit bull coming at me, owner screaming "Vicious NO"

[Cacia]

Thanks! I really liked this part:

"It's all how you raise them!" - NOT!

Some people assume - incorrectly - that a dog's temperament is primarily shaped by how it is raised. You have heard these people say "It's all how you raise them!"

This statement is not only inaccurate, it is unfair to the animal, which, in reality, is influenced primarily by its genetics. You cannot raise a border collie to be a champion fighting dog, and you cannot raise a cocker spaniel to work rough stock. A retriever won't win at the dog track, and a greyhound won't lead the blind. Environment can and does influence a dog's behavior in so much as certain traits can be encouraged or discouraged, but a genetically shy or aggressively unsound dog cannot be "fixed" no matter how much that high priced "behaviorist" tries to convince you that it can.

Livin' Aloha........................................... Oren, please come back.....where is mania?


"influenced primarily by it's genetics" am I vindicated?

 

[Cacia]

From his history as a hunter's gripping dog, butcher's bull-baiter and gambler's dog fighter, the pit bull has inherited a strong desire to test his mettle against other animals. Many pit bulls are friendly with other dogs, and many live with cats and livestock, but it is not unusual for some pit bulls to be intolerant of other dogs and animals. Despite the good intentioned advice of dog trainers who have little experience with bulldogs, or who fail to understand the dynamic nature of the breed, training and early socialization has only a minor effect on how dog aggressive a specific pit bull will become once it matures. Genetics play a much larger role. I recently had the opportunity to raise an entire litter of eight pit bull pups

and remember, these are the PRO-Pit Bull people. Also, I say I am vindicated because 1.) I said from the beginning, they have a fundamental genetic disposition..... 2.) I never said I supported banning any breed


where did everyone go?

 

[NadMat]

I read it, and you sounded hypothetical..... did i miss something? hey from the very first post, I said I am not against banning Pit Bulls, didn't I? Did I say I was going to carry a gun? nope. I am just reserving my right to avoid them. Why is that a problem?

It is not a problem for me, I just think you may be denying yourself meeting some really nice dogs by that choice.
Comments in posts about 'banning' of pits were directed to kompressor. Not all posts are directed at or about you. Note that I quoted Kompressor in those posts, not you.
Carry a gun if ya want to, just remember gun control is the ability to hit what you intend, I'm in Texas and we're fine with guns down here.

sooo, okay you have neices and nephews, which I am here to report is NOT the same as being responsible 24/7, in which case you might feel the need to relax your "get to know every dog that has contact" standard. Where exactly are your kids going to be allowed to go? Friends, school trips, the park, tell me?

And yes, as I don't have kids, comments about what I would or would not do are pretty hypothetical. Only experience is with taking care of neices and nephews which I am well aware is nothing close to actual parenting. Taking care of my aussies has probably been closer to a parenting experience. But I would like to think that if I had kids I would know where and who my younger children were with.

As to where they would be allowed to go, if I did have them...

Friends - yes, hopefully the parents of their friends would not be strangers, if not some time spent when dropping them off would rectify that.

School trips- yes, I should have spent some time with their teachers, and don't see dogs coming along.

Parks - yes, and at six or younger they will not be at the park totally unsupervised and I will know who is supervising them.

We're not talking rocket science here, just meeting people or dogs and spending a little time to decide on your level of comfort before leaving that that you cherish most with them.

And I know that my sister and her husband did this with all their children (3 boys, 1 girl) when they were little so it is not an impossibly restricting thing.

 

[Cacia]

okay, well I respect your desire to parent that way. I have been a stay at home mom and only have two kids and I have been unable (and unwilling) to maintain that level of vigilance.

So..are you saying you don't agree with the genetic influence? come on at least say, hey you made your point! Kompressor has gone whaling or whatever, so looks like I am all you have. :10:

Is this a PIT BULL? I was friends with him...does that count? He did drool all the time and he was really friendly and it got all over me...the drool collects in those side pockets of gums there, as seen in the photo. In case you missed my non-drooling dog's cameo. trust me, he is salivating, just not on my rug.

 

[idratherbediving]

ive been reading this thread and i need to put in my 2psi. i am a very proud owner of an american staffordshire terrier aka "pitbull". i tell you she is the sweetest dog i have ever known and i have had a few different breeds. i trained her very well and kept her very active and socialized. i have changed the opinions of several people who have met her thinking pitbulls are viscious. some people out there just should not own dogs, no matter what breed, and unfortunatly the people who get bully breeds get noticed the most. if you cant train a dog properly then you should not get a dog.

 

[Randy43068]

ive been reading this thread and i need to put in my 2psi. i am a very proud owner of an american staffordshire terrier aka "pitbull". i tell you she is the sweetest dog i have ever known and i have had a few different breeds. i trained her very well and kept her very active and socialized. i have changed the opinions of several people who have met her thinking pitbulls are viscious. some people out there just should not own dogs, no matter what breed, and unfortunatly the people who get bully breeds get noticed the most. if you cant train a dog properly then you should not get a dog.

I had one that was half Staffordshire and was the best dog I ever had. Very nice to me and others. I sure miss him.

 

[Randy43068]

if I recall correctly, more serious dog bites are from German Shepherds than any other bread. I'd lave to look that up, but I recall the stat coming from the insurance industry.

 

[NadMat]

okay, well I respect your desire to parent that way. I have been a stay at home mom and only have two kids and I have been unable (and unwilling) to maintain that level of vigilance.

So..are you saying you don't agree with the genetic influence? come on at least say, hey you made your point! Kompressor has gone whaling or whatever, so looks like I am all you have. :10:

Is this a PIT BULL? I was friends with him...does that count? He did drool all the time and he was really friendly and it got all over me...the drool collects in those side pockets of gums there, as seen in the photo. In case you missed my non-drooling dog's cameo. trust me, he is salivating, just not on my rug.

Not sure what breed the first dog is...

Love the pic of your bowser with the bunny, makes me lonely for my baby.

If you will look back to my first post, you will see that from the start I stated that both nature and nurture play a part, and repeated that in one or two others. Nature being the genetic influence and nurture being the training/socialization thing. I think nurture is the more important part, but all the nurture in world will not overcome really bad breeding creating some schizo dogs. And really bad nurture can turn even the sweetest aussie in to a vicous dog.

But not all pits are victims of bad breeding (IMAO & experience) which is why I was down on yours and Kompressors 'all pits are bad' stance. And I also wanted to make the point that a Rottie, or a daschund, or a lab(or even one of our beloved aussies) has about the same chance of being a victim of bad genetics as a pit.

Good luck with all that rain, we were way short here till today, be we finally got a good one. But we wouldn't mind a little more so just pass some of those clouds our way.

 

[ClevelandDiver]

Revised Below

 

[ClevelandDiver]

and remember, these are the PRO-Pit Bull people. Also, I say I am vindicated because 1.) I said from the beginning, they have a fundamental genetic disposition..... 2.) I never said I supported banning any breed


where did everyone go?

To be fair, you should quote some of the postive stuff from the site as well...

The pit bull's work has always been control and mastery of other animals - not humans. A correct pit bull is more often than not submissive toward all humans, and adores children. A pit bull that snarls, lunges or growls at a non-threatening human is NOT typical of the breed, and to keep such a dog alive endangers people, pets and the image of the breed we love. Nothing could be more incorrect than for these people-loving dogs to be considered a vicious breed. A correct pit bull is NOT a good choice as a guard dog - only an unstable pit bull will react with aggression towards a non threatening stranger. A normal pit bull looks upon all people as friends unless their actions prove otherwise. This happy-go-lucky attitude is a result of their confidence.

I had the door open talking to mailman the other day and my dog charged out to greet him with a lick. We were playing at the beach a few months ago and he ran out the water and jammed his tongue into a sun bathers mouth. Fortunately the startled person liked dogs and thought it was funny. He had a 2 year old jam a finger up his nose and just sat there. He loves kids, but I would not leave alone with any under the age of 10, because he plays hard and might knock down a little one accidentally.