Is it time for Pit Bull Legislation?
April 4th, 2006
I had an interesting conversation with a fellow Pit Bull owner
today. We were talking about legislation and his feelings were
that owners should be screened or otherwise tested in order
to be allowed to own the breed.
I disagreed and stated that I personally feel breeders,
rescues, and shelters should be the focus of screening.
What do you think? Comment and let us know.
My reasoning is this, if we regulate the breeding,
adopting of dogs and set a standard for which dogs
are bred, sold, rescued and adopted we would cut
out a lot of the riff raff from the gene pool.
Dogs with severe issues should not be adopted
or sold.
Dogs with human aggression should not be
bred, adopted or rescued.
Dogs that have ultra fear issues should not
be bred, sold, rescued or adopted.
For those people who argue that all dogs should
find loving homes, I say, wake up.
For those who have dogs with fear issues, aggression
issues, and who rescued their dogs from a horrible
life I say, do you think the average owner would
put the work into dealing with that dog on a daily
basis?
I have a dog with fear issues I took from my roommate
who abused her but she was already ill-bred and had
a ton of other issues to begin with.
If I had it to do all over again, I would have put her
to sleep.
She lives a plush life, gets the best food, training,
exercise, and care possible, but there are literally
thousands of perfectly good dogs that are not
adopted because people choose the “sob stories”
instead of doing what needs to be done and
freeing up a space for a healthy, sound, adoptable
pet.
Again, what are your thoughts?
Best Regards,
Jason, Angel CGC, Honey < --- the issue dog
http://www.PitBullLovers.com
http://www.PitBullUniversity.com
Categories: Pit Bull Blog |
APBT’s that do not met breed standards,
(physical and behavioral) should not be bred
period. They should be spayed or neutered and if
no adequate home can be found put to sleep. My
APBT does have issues of his own and he has been
neutered. He shows no aggression with me or
family, but will bark and growl at strangers from
his backyard, but not in public. Not everyone
should adopt a “sob story”. I’ve gotten more out
of having Bosco than he has had out of having me.
Hi I just wanted to say that i agree that rescues shelters and breeders should be screened..Absoululey but that does not guarantee that the person who recieves them are responsible. I also think that more times than not, a person will choose a healthy puppy over a healty 7 yr old. Or they will choose a healthy 7 yr old as opposed to the “sob story”. For you to say that you would have put her to sleep really kind of hurts me. Dont you think that she deserved that wonderful second chance that you gave her? And how you gave her life meaning? You mean everything to her. I would be very proud of that if i were you. We all understand that not every animal can be saved as much as we wish it. I just think that issues or not they deserve a good life. So if you care what my opinion is then let me express to you, that im glad you gave her a good life and i know she appreciates it too.
Trish,
No I don’t feel bad or regret saying I would have put her to sleep if I had it to do all over again. This goes directly to the point of the post. Actually, people tend to choose the sob story over the healthy 7 year old. I see this all the time in my line of work (dog trainer). There is a no-kill shelter in Frankfort, KY that is housing dogs that are, in my (and other professional dog trainers) opinion unadoptable. They routinely rescue aggressive dogs that WILL bite a child and adopt them out ignoring their temperament problems. This is not the case with all rescues/shelters, but it is rapidly becoming more of a “we can love the aggression out of them” kind of thing rather than doing the right thing and putting the dog to sleep. Any dog that will potentially bite or has bitten should be put to sleep. We owe it to the public to protect them from unsound, biting dogs that will eventually hurt someone.
The only reason i say that most people will choose the healthy dog over the sob story is because noone i know, including myself will adopt or rescue anything other than a healthy dog. I have an APBT and he is no sob story. His parents are from champion bloodlines (sports), and was worth every penny. I myself would be nervous to adopt out a non stable dog. But…there is a part of me that seems to think they 1 out of every 20 can be helped. Please dont think that i dont understand where your comming from, i really do. Its just a matter of opinion. You my friend are better at this than I am. So i do repesct what you are telling me and appreciate the words of wisdom. bye the way what can you do for a picky eater? He has a feeding scheduel but he only eats when he really wants to. It does not seem to be enough. He is normal weight according to the vet but i’ds like to bulk him up a little. Any special food for him?
Jason,
IMHO all dogs that have teeth will bite given the right stimuli whether it’s natural for the breed or not. In my line of work I have seen allot of APBT’s that were territorial. Do you feel there is a difference between a dog prtotecting it’s turf and one that is just plain aggresive? I do understand that APBT’s are supposed to make poor guard dogs. I’ve introduced new people to him in the backyard and they get along great as long as he’s supervised, or they have food. I had to make an emergency trip and got Mom and Dad to take care of him. Mom said he was an ass until she brought his food bowl to his run. Then she was his best friend. Hell, he even did tricks for her! How abnormal is his behavior?
I tend to agree but how to do it? Many shelters/rescues do not actually temperament test correctly. Many rescues are die hard save-them-all types, and make excuses for dogs. Unfortunately this doesn’t benefit most people. How to stop bad breeders? It’s hard. I am working on challenging sb861 in CA w/2 other attys. It is technically not our job to come up w/new law, but we challenge laws that are unconstitutional. We are finding that many rescues and AR groups want to violate constitutional provisions as long as their agendas get taken care of. We disagree. Spay/neuter does not stop bad breeding or dangerous dogs. It does one thing, stop breeding entirely IF YOU ENFORCED IT. Since it’s not enforceable due to time,money,personnel, it’s basically not going to do anything. Evidence does show this. Shelter altering is different because you have a captive audience. We do plan to file a federal suit in Denver in a few weeks.
Trish,
I understand, but very few people see it the way you do. You would be surprised to see how unstable dogs are adopted daily to people who (A) think they can love the problem away or (B) really have no idea the dog has a problem to begin with.
Feeding schedule. If you can touch your dogs ribs without having to push your fingers into the skin, he is at a good weight. If you have to push your fingers in, he is fat. I wouldn’t worry about bulking him up. Almost every time a person says my dog needs to gain weight to me when I actually see the dog I come to the conclusion it needs to LOSE weight. Most people think fat dogs are healthy dogs. If your dog is at the proper weight, leave him there.
Jon,
Your dog is under socialized with people. As a puppy the dog was not exposed to people at home, away from home, in stores etc… Almost all APBT’s that are territorial were MADE that way by their owners. People want to feel safe. A dog that barks at people walking by is encouraged by their owners. Whether the owner does it on purpose or not, they encourage it somehow. Very few APBT’s that are socialized around people will become territorial as adults. This has been my experience.
Thank you for the word of advice. People tend to give the wrong information because this is what they have heard. I can assure you he is not over weight but i wont try to make him gain any because, like i said he is not under weight either. I really appreciate the time you have taken to listen to me.’m glad there is a posotive site that people can refer to for infomation and get real adive or opions or whatever they are seeking.
>>Jon,
Your dog is under socialized with people. As a puppy the dog was not exposed to people at home, away from home, in stores etc… >>
And at this point it would probably be an uphill battle to correct this behavior? He does warm up to people quickly, but I do recognize his faults for what they are. I believe the majority of his behavior is from fear and besides being our family pet, he is unsound because of this. That was one of the reasons I had him neutered. The display of his fear has greatly improved over the past year. After I brought him home he would run from me in the backyard. I ignored him when he displayed that behavior and went about my business. Now he runs to me and always appears very happy to see me. He will never be the “perfect” APBT, he has too much baggage, but he fits in well with the family so to speak. Should I be concerned with his barking? He barks to come in, he barks to go out. He is very vocal. Even one of the neighbors he enjoys barking at gets licked by him when they put their hand to the fence. Bosco does not enjoy walks and tolerates truck rides (from the cab). I exercise him in the backyard with fetch and his spring pole. He seems content to play in the backyard and relax in the house. I just assume it’s because he feels safe at home? Any comments will be appreciated. I do want what’s best for him and never want to be an irresponsible owner. Heck, my partner told me he hates “pits” except for Bosco. The mail lady still has a strong dislike for him however. BTW, my partner is afraid of most dogs no matter of there size or breed. That must say something for my little brown dog huh? I am assuming I will have to live with his limitations unless someone has a better idea.
Jon & Bosco
Jon,
Actually, I would do the opposite of what you are doing. Instead of backyard fetch, walk him. The barking to go in and out is how he lets you know, I wouldn’t worry about that. The barking at people however, I would tell him to “quiet” when he does and reinforce it with a squirt of vinegar to the mouth as you say it.
He dislikes walks? My rule, I don’t care what my dogs dislike. They go where I go, fear or no fear, you’re going. This is the only way to get them used to going places and being out. It will be an uphill battle because he is older. However, that doesn’t mean he is dead. Socialize him and make every experience positive to ensure that he has a good time.
Will he improve? Odds are he will. There are very few dogs that are beyond help in the fear department. Email me and I’ll give you more specific help.
Jason, I agree that breeders etc, should be regulated. I cring everytime I see the ads in the paper selling puppies(or giving them away.) Also,as you said, everytime something negative comes up about pit bulls in the paper, it does atracth the wrong element. I wish we could spay and neuter the bad humans!!!
>>Jason, I agree that breeders etc, should be regulated. I cring everytime I see the ads in the paper selling puppies(or giving them away.)>>
I for one would love to regulate APBT owners, Breeders, Parents (human), and an uncountable list of other crap. Here’s the skinny, it isn’t going to happen. The best way to stop Back yard breeders is not to buy their puppies!!! If they can’t sell them they will stop breeding them. Also don’t take a give away. If they can’t unload it for free they won’t breed them. I wish the local animal shelter would charge for putting puppies down too. The only good thing to come from a crappy owner/breeder is I found Bosco and He’s made me a better person, but that’s God’s work because I don’t believe in luck or chance. But hey, that’s just me…
Jon the cop & Bosco
Hey Jon. Thank you for replying to my comments.
I would never buy a puppy or dog from b.y breeder.
The people who buy them think they are helping the
animal,but of course it just encourages the breeders to keep going. Baby animals are so innocent!!!
Jason, I would like to know what is happening to my posts I have submitted to the blog ? A few days ago I saw that my last entry was being moderated’…nothing has come through….please let me know. Thanks, Sharron
Sharron,
No clue what is happening. I have approved all your comments over the past few days.
Jason
Jason , Humm , I wonder where I messed up. I sent in three posts…Thanks for the reply…it must be floating in ‘space’ some where ! heehee !! harron
I had to put my pit bull to sleep this Tuesday. I hate myself for it. If I could turn back time I would. My Sasha was turned into a shelter with her brother when she was 8 weeks old. They were going to be euthanised so my husband and I took them in. I love Sasha more than I have ever loved any person or animal in my life. She was agressive from the start. First it was food agression. I took her to an animal specialist that dealt with overly agressive dogs and I “thought” we had the problem solved. I was wrong. When she was 6 months old she jumped my 6 ft fence and attacked my neighbors dog. The dog had to be euthanised. The dog she attacked was old and needed to be out down but my neighbors could not afford it so they looked at it as a blessing that I she was attacked and I paid the vet bills to have her euthanised. My neighbors forgave me and I again got Sasha help. She again was “rehabilitated”. I put her in doggy day care to help socialize her and she bit one of the employees in the butt. I was so upset but was told that the employee was mowing the lawn and did not even think that it would scare Sasha. Through out the fours years she occasionally got too rough with some of my other smaller dogs. She was an indoor dog but when she went outside I always stayed out side with her and supervised her so I could break up any fights before they happened. A few months ago my friends husband came into my house and she bit his genitals. I looked at it as she was protecting me because he came up behind me and I did not realize he was there. This past Tuesday she went after my beagle. I tried to stop her but she had her by the neck and would not let go of her. I was on my knees and I had to put my hands in her mouth to get her to release my other dog. I rushed my beagle to the vet and she told me that I had to do something. My beagle was going to make it but Sasha was just getting more and more agressive. I say again…I LOVE Sasha. The dog is a LARGE past of my heart. BUT..I live in Fredericksburg VA where that older lasy was attacked and killed by tose 3 pitts a year ago. Pitts are not a very adoptable breed here. I called everywhere I could think of to find her a home but was told that she would be put down because she is animal an human agressive. I made the choice to euthanise her. It was the hardest decision I ever had to make but I know I did the responsible thing. I do not think that I did the right thing because I would give anything the see her little face smiling at me in the window when I come home. I love her with all my heart but I had to think of what could have happened if I let her live. She could have gone to a home where the people did not know her background and could have killed another animal or a person. Or she could have been adopted out to a pitbull fighter and died fighting another pitt. I couldn’t let that happen. I had her creamated and I bought a heart urn necklace to always have her close to my heart. I LOVE Sasha but she was too much of a risk to keep alive. She is my inspiration now. I am finishing school to become a dog trainer and hopefully I can help save someone else from losing their “sasha.” Her brother is still with me and he is the most calm and passive dog ever. I wish I still had them both.
I want to know, why Chow Dogs are no where on the list for bad dogs. I know personlly what Chow Dogs can do. I have had one myself and also my daughters best friend raised hers in her home with love since he was a puppy. My daughter and her lived together, so this dog knew my daughter very well. The dog was raised with lots of people around him in the house. Not only did the dog start snapping at this people he knew and was around everyday. He attached my daughter one day, just for letting him out to go potty. He riped her arm up. She had to go to the hospital. He also attached another person that he was raised with. I am sick of hearing bad things about pit bull dogs. I have one. My son has three, I have friends that have more than two at each of their homes. It is not the pit, IT IT THE OWNER.
Thanks,
Dale Atkins