Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Normally, I don't let people get to me when it comes to my dogs. I just try my best to educate everyone I meet that is willing to listen about the bully breeds and the truth. However lately things have been getting to me. I'm 6 months pregnant and have overheard and received comments concerning my potential as a parent considering I own a APBT. Perhaps it's just the hormones, but it frustrates me that people can be so ignorant.

Sorry, Just had to vent...how does everybody else deal with this?

I know how you feel, I went through the same thing when I got a chow chow pup when my son was 6 months old, my parents were so concerned that they refused to let her, Pippin come to their house. She is still a great dog even though I don't have her in my family anymore, she is with my friend and her 2 young boys, she loves the youngest one like is was her own. It will get better, you just have to show them all what a great dog pits can be even with children.

I do find it funny that if people have labs they think nothing of letting their children play with then, well guess what they have teeth too, and I have been bitten by 3 af the damned things, it all comes down to temperment, breeding and moreso how the dog was raised.

Sorry you couldn't keep your Chow!
How bout a Pit!!!

That's a very nice Bulldog!
The only way people will ever change their twisted perception of the APBT is if they actually spent time with one.
That will never happen for the majority of people so our cause will maost likely remain lost.
I have tried over and over again to educate people, but they see the ignorant people on Animal Cops and they think all APBT's are mindless, bloodthirsty, fight crazed monsters.
Most people are shocked to learn that matching dogs was a social event attended by women, children, families, politicians, clergy, etc. all in attendance wearing their Sunday best.
They don't understand that in the heat of battle the dogs can be handled without fear of being bitten.
These dogs were bred to be the best at dog to dog combat and in doing so, they had to be sound of mind and body to withstand doing what they love to do.
Because of their breeding they are superior in mental stability and don't have to show fear or threat aggression towards humans.
They can withstand incredible amounts of pain so if a child pulls the dogs hair, pokes an eye, steps on the dogs tail, or worse, his genitals the dog won't turn around and bite the child.
They had to be handled during matches so the breeding of man aggressive dogs was not perpetuated. APBT's were bred for dog on dog aggression, NOT dog on human aggression.
Therefore, we have a breed of dog that has no human aggressive qualities in it's genetic makeup. That doesn't mean there aren't ABPT's out there that are man biters, there are, but your Black Lab or Dalmation will bite a human much more often than the average APBT. That is a fact.
I just get sick of people that don't even know the difference between a Mastiff, Boxer, Dog, Presa and an APBT and they could really care less that there is a difference!
If it looks tuff and bites someone it's a Pit Bull to them!!!
Sorry to go off here! LOL Your post got me going.
Good luck with the baby. I hope he/she grows up to be a fine APBT lover!

Take care

I feel the same exact way. I must say though trying to educate every person I meet has had some positive impact. It may only be a very small impact on the problem, but I figure if every APBT owner and lover helps a small amount of people understand than it would be a much larger impact. One way we try to get to people is through the media, who are the culprits for the problem. Last week we had a story on the local news stations about a dog attack, which they falsly stated was by a pitbull (surprise surprise), and it turned out to be a black lab. Everybody from our local pitbull club, and many others contacted the stations telling them we would refuse to watch any programming on their channels, stop buying products of their supporters, etc. Just Monday they both aired another story about a female pitbull who took in 3 kittens as her own and kept commenting on how not all are bad, etc, etc. If we could get more positive stories out through the media it would be the best.

I guess we just need to take baby steps. I actually just moved in with my friend of 14 years who has a 6 month old daughter and both of my dogs (a colby bred APBT and a APBT/pointer) are superb with the baby. Things are looking good for their behavior around my own daughter and dogs' relationship!

Oh, and thanks about the comment of the dog in the picture. That's Rosie, a staffordshire bull terrier who was used as a bait dog in a New England fighting ring that was shut down. Normally, as we all know, they're usually put down immediately, but she was just the sweetest dog they tried to give her a chance. I caught her right before she made her trip through the one way door and fell in love. She was my second foster dog of last year, and turned out to be one of the best dogs ever. I wish I was in the situation I am now so I could have kept her for myself instead of finding her a new home. We lived on a horse farm at the time and I couldn't permanently keep her as there were too many dogs coming through the property. She was good and didn't pay any dog any mind unless it tried to play with my other dog (the apbt/pointer) and growled then she'd spaz on the strange dog. She was very protective of Dunkin and myself. She found a great home with no other pets and TONS of land of her own, and a 12 yo girl for a playmate.

The postulation that bully breeds are harmless to man and beast alike is as broad and unrealistic a philosophy the one that holds them all to be man-eating monsters.

The fact that an average specimen of the pit bull is dog aggressive is OBVIOUS and it rings false when pit lovers try to deny it.

It has also become apparent that there have been more than a stastically meaningless percentage of pti bulls involved in nasty attacks on people.

The fact that so many are beloved doesn't mitigate the fact that their reputation is partially deserved.

Even many pets, whose owners swear up and down that their dogs are totally sweet, carry the tell tale nicks and head scars that are ubiguitous on fighting dogs.

I'm sure many many people manage to have long healthy happy relationships with pit bulls and their dogs never inflict violent damage on other dogs or humans. (I know my old gal Tess - a great dog - never attacked anyone - because she was never ALLOWED to bite man or beast - although she would have loved to sink her teeth in to many dogs and more than a few people).

Personally, I love the breed. But I'd never try to argue that, as a group, they're not aggressive.

Despite the stories that old timers hated people aggression and culled dogs who exhibited that trait- plenty of notorious man-eaters did exist (one example: Bullyson). His genes and the genes of dogs like him course through the veins of thousands of dogs today.