Fighting Breedism and Giving Good Pit Bull’s a Fighting Chance
Pit Bull’s are only as dangerous as their owners neglect or maliciousness.
So much emphasis is placed on political correctness these days. Racism, bigotry, sexism, all hot topics that spur on debates as to what is appropriate in order to rid the world of these selfish ignorant claims. Yet one place where no such dialogue takes place, where biases run rampant with no repercussions and a limited push for awareness is breedism towards dogs.
Specifically I mean Pit Bulls of course. There is so much fear mongering towards Pit Bulls, it makes me nauseous. Now, before people start freaking out about how vicious they are, let me concede that yes, they can be very dangerous dogs, and owning one should not be taken lightly. They were bred specifically for power, fearlessness, and tenacity. These are NOT the only things they were bred for however. Loyalty is probably the most overwhelming aspect of their personalities. This is also what makes them so dangerous; they will do anything for their owners. If you want a Pit Bull to be vicious, it will be incredibly vicious, because that is what will make the owner happy.
Numerous towns, counties, and states have either passed, or proposed legislation to ban Pit Bulls from communities. This I feel unfortunately, fits our American sensibilities of attacking symptoms, and not root causes. Raised properly, Pit Bulls are actually great family dogs. Remember the show ‘Our Gang’ (or the Little Rascals)? Yea, well Petey was a Pit Bull. You know those dog owners who have a Chihuahua that constantly barks while nipping at people? That is the same root problem as nasty Pit Bulls… bad dog owners. Now granted there is a large degree of difference between an annoying ankle-biting Chihuahua and an ill- trained Pit Bull, but it is poor care from the owners that is responsible for the behavior, not the breed. If a child is running around in the streets swearing and breaking things all day, you don’t blame the kid, you blame the parenting. It is the same with dogs.
Take a look at this article to see all about heroic Pit Bulls, like the most highly decorated animal in the history of the U.S. military. The article also mentions the lack of acclaim for good Pit Bulls, via the Readers Digest article they reference. The Understand-a-bull site is great too, a couple of the stories had me in tears. To try an tell the owners of any of these dogs that they should be banned is a tragedy in itself. Oh, and did I mention the Pit Bull that is a finalist for the 2nd annual Dogs of Valor Award? The New Encyclopedia of the Dog goes so far as to call Pit Bulls ‘gregarious fawners’ when raised properly. Also, Michael Vick received tons of scrutiny for his behavior with maltreatment of his Pit Bulls, and rightfully so. Rarely reported on however, is that now over a year after the dogs were taken from him, dogs that were conditioned to fight for most of their lives, mostly all of them are in new homes and great pets for those willing to take the responsibility seriously. Great job by SI.com on a couple of their follow up articles.
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Published in: Pets
Comments: 3 | Post a CommentPost a Comment
Sean Gallagher | Jul 17, 2009 | Reply
I agree with many points in your article, but disagree on some too. I own a chocolate lab mix… mixed with what, we don’t know, although a little pitbull can be seen in the face. He doesn’t have pitbull characteristics what so ever though.
I for one don’t trust pit bulls. I really don’t. I think they are the most beautiful dogs out there, but trust wise… I don’t… especially in the downtown Albany area when I bring my dog to the park or golf course. And it is because of bad owners. Usually there’s the regular dogs at these places, and the pitbulls that are always there are great dogs! So friendly, and my dog loves specifically interacting with them.
But now with the nice weather coming out, there’s a lot more pit bulls out at these areas who are just far too aggressive with all the dogs. First of all it’s a sign of a non-caring owner when these new dogs are only around in the summer, meaning that all winter the owners wouldn’t care to give their dogs adequate exercise because it was too cold.
So I agree it’s the owner. I’m sure you’re a great owner, I’m excited to meet your dog… But when you say “persecuting the real problem, bad dog owners”, I wish you’d elaborate more on this. To me, the problem is dog breeding laws. There needs to be something done to get these dogs into the right homes. Just look up pets on Craigslist, it’s all backyard breeders of pit bulls looking to make some money. Especially in downtown Albany, where pit bulls are just as much as an accessory as a chihuahua in a purse for Paris Hilton.
for a dog that can be vicious if not raised correctly… forget puppy training lessons, there needs to be owner lessons to train them and make sure they’re aware of what is involved with taking care of a pit. I knew a pit was not the right choice for me, and luckily I’m not one who just decided “oh that dog looks the coolest, I’m going to rescue that one”, I would not be assertive enough of an owner to a pitbull.
My girlfriends got a friend who is buying a pitbull this month. I can tell you right now it’s going to be a disaster. The kid can’t take care of himself, goes out to bars almost every work night from 7pm – 3am. Not to mention him and his roommates live like they’re still in college. It’s a terrible environment for a dog like that, and I feel bad for the dog already.
There needs to be a solution of raising awareness, and I was hoping you’d go more into that, because to me we need to stop backyard breeders who will toss a pitbull pup into any random house.
Julia L. White | Sep 20, 2009 | Reply
I trust a dog that is cared for, and trained well, regardless of the breed of dog. I haven’t met a dog I can’t get along with, and have been in some pretty interesting areas of town.
Hopefully the attitudes change, it seems that everyone I know that has a pittbull has a good natured dog. Even in the ghetto areas where I live, you can see people walking their friendly and well trained pittbulls. You can bet these dogs will never see a fight….and probably don’t even have any idea they can fight.
I own another of those “suspicious” breeds, he is 9 years old. As far as he’s concerned, teeth are for food. I have trained him very well not to be aggressive, and not to do anything without a command, and he knows his commands very well. I am not a trainer, but I can follow instructions and I knew that these breeds left unattended without training are an accident waiting to happen.
Anonymous | Nov 11, 2009 | Reply
your a dumb bitch