Yes, my site is all about Pit Bull Terriers. Yes, it is called, Pit Bull Lovers. Yes, I am a Pit Bull Terrier fancier, trainer, and owner. With all that said I firmly believe that very few people are ready for a Pit Bull Terrier.

Pit Bull Terriers are awesome dogs but like many other breeds they are not “built” for everyone’s lifestyle. People looking for a “pet” or “house dog” should not get a Pit Bull Terrier.

Pit Bull Terriers thrive on activity. They are working dogs after all not house dogs. Running in agility, catching a rank bull, catching a wild pig or catching the “bad guy” in protection sports Pit Bulls are the ultimate canine Jack of all trades.

Pit Bull advocacy is a double edged sword. On one hand we glorify the breed and tell people the wonders they hold while on the other hand we know they are not the right dog for everyone.

This is one conundrum I’ve faced for years with PitBullLovers.com. The site paints a great picture and I try my best to include the “think before you get a Pit Bull Terrier” message but is that really going to detour someone who is a potential wrong fit for the breed?

We talk about Pit Bulls in rescue and shelters. We ask that people wanting a “pet” Pit Bull buy from one of these places rather than a breeder. When in reality shelters and rescues are just as bad when it comes to placing Pit Bull Terriers in homes that are right for them.

I’m not saying that people shouldn’t get a Pit Bull Terrier. I am saying that you should think, extremely hard, before you make a final decision. One side of having these dogs that most people fail to shed light on is the stigma you face not only from the general non-dog owning public but from the “dog lovers” as well.

“You got a WHAT!?” Sorry but I cannot come to your house anymore.

“Oh my Lord! Are you CRAZY!?” Well I guess little Billy and Jack can’t play at your place any longer.

“No, I can’t come from Christmas. I don’t trust your dog.”

These are just a few things I’ve heard and been told myself when my friends and family found out I had a Pit Bull Terrier. Are you ready for that? Are you ready for your closest friends and family to instantly alienate you because you have “one of those dogs?”

Don’t be a fool and think that your friends and family are above the cut and will not judge you. You will be very surprised at reactions.

Trying to find a place to live with a Pit Bull is becoming extremely difficult. Apartments are virtually impossible to rent with a Pit Bull. Renting a house is becoming just as hard. Landlords refusing your dog, insurance companies refusing to cover you, city laws requiring mandatory spay/neuter, facing heavy fines if you do not play by their rules.

Are you still interested in a Pit Bull Terrier? Wait there is more…

Your sitting in your home enjoying your favorite movie when you hear a knock at the door. Animal Control and Law enforcement are standing on your porch. They serve you with a notice. Either you pack up your life and your dog and move out of the city or they will come back and take your dog to the pound and put it to sleep.

Little did you know a Pit Bull ban was passed while you were sleeping and now it’s “hit the road you disgusting Pit Bull owner!” time.

Impossible you say? Just ask the hundreds of Pit Bull owners living in Denver, CO how they felt when their dogs were stripped from their homes and put to sleep as a result of their ban.

Just ask how people in Ontario, Canada feel when their dogs were taken. Those “grandfathered” in have to wear muzzles, be contained on ridiculously short leashes, and several other little rules they must follow or their dogs will be seized and put to sleep.

Still interested in a Pit Bull Terrier? Wait there is more …

The Humane Society of the United States, PETA, and the ASPCA are on the hunt for dog fighters. Offering $5,000 rewards to tips that lead to convictions. Among their “ways to spot a dog fighter” you will find such items as:

1. Has more than one Pit Bull.
2. Has a treadmill.
3. Hand walks their dogs more than twice a day.
4. Has people visiting their home often.
5. Has “spring poles” to strengthen their dogs jaws.

Interestingly enough at one time I had all of these. Matter of fact I matched up with 95% of their “dog fighter clues.” What if one of my neighbors knew about that $5,000 reward? Think I would have escaped the witch hunt?

PETA and the HSUS support breed specific legislation like mandatory spay/neuter for Pit Bull Terriers and Pit Bull TYPE dogs. They support anti-tethering laws that make it a crime to allow your dog outside when you are not allowed to build a fence because of your neighborhood association by-laws.

They support the killing of all dogs seized from “fighting rings” and declare the dogs are “unadoptable” because of their past without a single behaviorist/professional dog trainer actually testing the dogs for potential issues.

Are you ready to be a part of the club still?

If you are steadfast in your determination to own a Pit Bull Terrier. If you feel like you are 100% ready to deal with the above issues and more and you have weighed it all with your family and anyone having to deal with the dog then I encourage you to research rescue dogs and find a solid dog for your home.

Why not buy from a breeder? Very few, I will say that again, very few breeders are breeding real American Pit Bull Terriers and those that do make it difficult for you to get a dog from them. Especially if you are new to the breed. Which is a good thing.

Rescuing a dog in need of a home will satisfy your desire to have a Pit Bull, give you a great dog you know will fit into your home, and in most cases they are already in training and have been spayed/neutered saving you some extra money.

Pit Bull Terriers are great dogs but they are not for everyone. Owning a Pit Bull Terrier comes with more headaches than you can imagine. It is a huge decision that should not be taken lightly.

Until Next Time,
Jason Mann
Author – The Pit Bull Training Handbook
PitBullLovers.com – Your One Stop Source for Everything Pit Bull.

One of the most common things people seem to misunderstand is that Pit Bull Terriers are not “pets.” Pit Bull Terriers are historically working dogs used for work and many breeders still breed for these qualities today.

Pit Bull Terriers are high energy, high drive, workaholics that need stimulation and exercise.

Choosing your breeder should be like choosing your wife or husband. You should build a relationship with them before you decide on purchasing a puppy. Ask questions about why they breed Pit Bull Terriers and what lines they are using in their breeding programs.

You should inquire as to what they do with their dogs. Are they competing in dog sports? Are they doing nothing with them? Are they selling them as pets?

Word to the wise, any serious Pit Bull breeder that says they are breeding because they “love the dogs and they make great pets” should be looked into further.

Yes they do make great pets for the right homes but breeders who breed “pet dogs” are more times than not just breeding whatever they can find to sell you. Investigate further.

Choosing a puppy should be compared to choosing a high end sports car. You’re not going to buy from just any dealer. You are not going to fork over thousands of dollars for just any car. You are going to take your time and research, investigate, and choose wisely.

Remember you will have to take care of the dog for upto 14 years. That is a huge commitment and if you are unsure in the slightest that you are ready for that commitment do not get a puppy.

My final piece of advise is to look for a breeder who breeds Pit Bulls that do what you want them to do. If you want a pet dog, rescue a Pit Bull from a shelter or a breed specific rescue. If you want a working dog, get a dog from a breeder who does the work you want to do with your dog. If you want a competitive dog, get a dog from a breeder who competes in dog sports.

Avoid buying a dog online. You should go to the breeder, see the dogs, see the breeder, see their family, meet their kids, and share some time with them to get to know them better.

The time you take to properly do your homework will be well worth it when you get a puppy that fits exactly into what you are wanting.

Until Next Time,
Jason Mann
Author – The Pit Bull Training Handbook
PitBullLovers.com – Delivering Hard Facts about Pit Bull Terriers

Mostly people email me with something along the lines of, “Jason, my puppy is super aggressive. He is biting other puppies, me, my husband, my kids, he tugs on our pant legs, what can I do to stop this aggressive behavior because I’m getting scared!”

Pit Bulls are among the many breeds that have high prey drives (chase, catch, shake, kill, eat). Prey drive is how they survive in the wild.

Prey drive is 100%, completely natural, and should not be feared. Your puppy having high prey drive does not mean he is going to be a killing machine or anything. In fact, dog trainers like myself search for dogs with high prey drives because it makes training much easier. However it can be overwhelming if you’re not used to or understand what you’re seeing.

Take pant grabbing for example. Your leg is moving (prey item) so your puppy wants to chase it (as they would prey) and when they get your pant let (catch) the start to tug (shake and kill).

Basically they are practicing hunting on your pant leg.

Biting, nipping, jumping on other puppies are all normal behavior traits for a Pit Bull puppy. They are learning how to play with other dogs, how much they can use their mouth, and what they can and cannot get away with.

If you watch your puppy with other dogs you will see the other dogs will tell your pup, “yes you can nip me that hard, OUCH! but not that hard!” You should do the same thing.

Puppies are incapable of aggressive behavior as you would think of aggressive behavior. Is biting to hard aggressive? Maybe. Depends on who you ask. For me I say no. I say it is because they haven’t learned how to control their bite yet.

If a puppy grabs my pant leg and starts to shake it is that aggression? Again for me no. It is hunting practice. However you could say the puppy is “acting” aggressively.

My point is true aggression is incredibly rare in puppies. Especially pups under 6-7 months of age.

Pit Bull puppies are like a lot of high energy, high prey drive breeds that need interaction with people and dogs in order to learn about their world. Your job is to help them learn about their world using proven, methods that achieve your objectives (soft mouth, social manners, house manners etc…)

Next time your puppy is chasing the cat, your leg, or another puppy around “acting” aggressive remember that this is a time for learning and while you don’t want to let your puppy run roughshod over you and everything around you you do want to give them a slight bit of freedom to learn.

In my ebook, The Pit Bull Training Handbook I go over a lot of these issues that owners mistake for aggression or bad behavior. Puppy house training, social manners, and crate training are also covered in the ebook as well.

Until Next Time,
Jason Mann
The Pit Bull Training Handbook – Practical Training for Pit Bull Owners.

Read the following quote carefully…

“My main “warning-cry” concerns itself with the direction of the breed, which many breeders – many novices – still subscribe to, a direction that would lead us off the beaten path, far off of our breed goal; toward breed ruin.

In all my articles, lectures, and judges reports of the last few years, I have desperately tried to point out that we must cling to the breed standard of the working dog, and I gave reasons why we must do so – as it was once laid down, as a model of the breed’s design. I have emphasized over and over again that we should not get overly engrossed in details of outward characteristics, even if they are ever so attractive, when, for the breeding value of the dog, he must be based entirely and decisively upon the totality of hard constitution, good health, endurance, authentic working structure and stable temperament.

The vision, the understanding of this standard, is thus sometimes lost. Many young fanciers have unfortunately hardly ever seen correct conformation in respect to these dogs. They become intoxicated with appearance which so often has so little in common with the working dog as he is supposed to be. In this case, the only thing that helps is trusted faith in the system, until one’s pondering leads to eventual understanding. The belief in what is well meant – the thoughtful suggestions and guiding principles – are for the welfare of the breed’s future.”

Diane Jessup, author of the Working Pit Bull said of this quote, “These are words which any serious student of our breed should study, and hang on the refrigerator door! They are that important.”

I agree. But here is the kicker, this quote is not about Pit Bull Terriers. This quote is from the “father” of the German Shepherd dog and was written in 1929 by Max Von Stephanitz.

Stephanitz also wrote:

“As with so many breeds, sport and fad breeding led to more severe evidence of natural traits, and therefore to bad breeding situations that had nothing more in common with working ability. This may seem nice to the faddist, however, for the true lover of Nature, who doesn’t engage in matters based on eye appeal, it appears as a strange caricature.

Over-sized, massiveness, height, racing ability, straight front or tucked up racing dog body would be for the shepherd an adverse perception leading to the death of the breed. And actually, some of our dogs and especially those who receive applause among the novices resemble the racing dog type in his over-sized, narrowness, tucked up appearance and effemination. The Borzoi, who hunts the wolf on the Russian prairies does not look like this; he is still a correct, rugged fellow. He who looks around at dog shows, pages through dog magazines, will find often enough that there are still a few other breed’s destinies which are threatened, that is, they are about to step out of their breed type because they are not bred upon a breed goal, but rather upon an imaginary “beauty concept.”

Again, I have to agree with Diane Jessup and say, what a statement from the year 1929. How true are these statements for our breed today? I’d say, dead on the money, ding, ding, here is your cookie for hitting the proverbial nail square on the head.

We have breed standards for a reason. Unfortunately some “basement” registries and some of the more popular registries are not taking a stand against ill bred, over blown, freaks of nature, that are not in anyway correct for the American Pit Bull Terrier. I am of course referring to “bully style pit bulls.”

If the dog is over 70 lbs soaking wet, it is not of correct size. American Pit Bull Terriers are supposed to be medium dogs, females weighing not more than 60 lbs and males not more than 70 lbs. The actual standard says females should not weigh more than 55 lbs and males not weigh over 65 lbs. Yet dogs that weight over 90 lbs are easily registered as “American Pit Bull Terriers.”

Breeders who are breeding for “real American Pit Bull Terriers” will not have dogs that weigh 75lbs+ or even 70 lbs+ They will not have “hippo’s” in their breeding program. They will have medium sized dogs with high drive and a balanced athletic build.

Most responsible breeders are not breeding for the public either. They are breeding for themselves or people “in the dogs” that understand the dogs and understand the situation we are in.

Fad, or hippo dog, breeders don’t care. They want your $5,000 for the over blown, walking health problem and that is all they care about.

I pray one day we will see a division of these dogs from the real American Pit Bull Terrier and the dogs will have a different name and class. Much like the American Staffordshire Terrier divided from the American Pit Bull Terrier in the early 20th century.

Again, I am not against all breeding of the dogs I am simply not a fan of anyone breeding for “looks and fat heads or short barrel legs” or whatever it is. Temperament then conformation according to the breed standard is the first place to start. If you are not breeding for those two things first and foremost then you should ask yourself why you are breeding in the first place.

Until Next time,
Jason, Angel, Honey and Patch
PitBullLovers.com