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.

The face of the American Pit Bull Terrier has changed dramatically since their creation centuries ago. Only a few decades ago they were the icon of freedom for the United States.

In the past “bulldog” meant tenacious, courageous, loyal, tough as nails, and steadfast.

Why did the face of the breed we love so much change from loyal and steadfast to “inherently more dangerous than any other breed of canine?”

I have an opinion about that and as with all my opinions it is quite strong. ASPCA, HSUS, PETA, and other animal “rights” groups paint these dogs as horrible. They paint their owners as thugs, gang members, and criminal types. They advise city councils to introduce breed specific laws for Pit Bull Terriers in the hopes they will rid their communities of these types of owners.

Sensational, biased, unsubstantiated media reports fuel the flames of the breeds viability. Seizing a hold of stories like the Vick case like a Pit Bull grabs their favorite tug toy. Demanding they are reporting fair and balanced news but when other dog fighters are busted, all their dogs killed, where is PBS then? Where is the press conference then? HSUS and PETA love Michael Vick. They plaster his face all over the news for their causes. Send them $19 and they will help other dogs in similar situations live! Which by the way is not true. They do not help a single dog or shelter with your money.

American Pit Bull Terriers are with a doubt a superior working canine. There in lies the problem. The key word there is, “WORKING.”

Pit Bull Terriers have taken the same turn as the German Shepherd and the Doberman before them. High quality, well bred, working dogs turned into couch potato’s.

American Pit Bull Terriers are not right for everyone looking for a dog and thank goodness there are some breeders who actually turn down people who want to purchase dogs from them. Sadly this trend is rare. Want a Pit Bull? All you need to do is fork over $3,000 for a “blue nose” from “I breed fat dogs with no use” kennels and presto you have yourself a bonafide “pit bull terrier.”

So will the American Pit Bull Terrier recover? Your guess is as good as mine. Only time will tell. My hardened perspective says not in a long time. I truly hope I’m wrong. I do know one thing, animal rights groups are sure not helping and they certainly are no friend of American Pit Bull Terriers.

Until Next Time,
Jason
Author – The Pit Bull Training Handbook
Pit Bull Lovers – Fighting to Keep the Breed Alive

With that said I think it just as important to mention that not all Pit Bull Terriers will end up in a dog fight with their housemates.

Owners need to take precautions and as a professional dog trainer I tell every dog owner with more than one dog the same thing. Having multiple dogs creates tension in the household and unless you are experienced at handling, training, and caring for multiple dogs you do not need to have multiple dogs.

So what is the answer to, “How do you stop two Pit Bulls from fighting?”

You separate them at all times and do not allow them to share space again. You cannot train this behavior out of them. Using idiot “training” methods (forced based “whispering” or compulsion) will only create more problems and anyone who suggests you can “fix” the problem is showing you right off the bat they lack experience with real dog aggression.

Let me back track for a second. Real dog aggression is when one or both dogs want to kill each other. I’m not talking about a squabble over a milkbone. I’m talking about an intense, fight to the death, experience here.

You should always consult a professional, certified behavior consultant or behaviorist before starting any behavior modification program with your dogs.

Until Next Time,
Jason Mann
The Most Complete Pit Bull Site Online

But I’m not the only one…

There is a group called, Humane Watch. You can visit their website to learn more about the HSUS and their practices.

You decide, are they are really helping animals?

Until Next Time,
Jason Mann
The Most Complete Pit Bull Website Online

Dog fighting and gangs are not new. People seem shocked that murderers, rapist, or muggers, would turn to dog fighting. These people would kill you over nothing. What makes people think they would give a crap about a dog?

These shows are not intended to help Pit Bulls. They are intended to strike bias in the minds of the public. Every single show Animal Planet has about Pit Bulls is about dog fighting in some way or another. Not a single show on Animal Planet has ever shown the breed in regular homes, doing therapy, working as assistance dogs, or working as law enforcement officers.

Nope. A bunch of uneducated back street murdering thugs are profiled. I mean, only these type of people have these dogs. At least that is what they want the general public to see. So when they start pushing for a ban they don’t see the 50 year old working mother of two. They see, “Poobear” with his grill and his gang dog.

I hate shows like this. Not only do you have to sit there and watch the dogs tear each other apart but the information on the shows is often based on lies or myths or they are just plain wrong.

For example, during AP Investigates: Gang Dogs they show dogs running on treadmills and they cut to an HSUS guy and he says they train them to be killers using treadmills.

Really? So putting a dog on a treadmill makes them a killer. This was implied by the statements. Shortly before that statement the narrator stated they train them to be killers by exercising them. Cutting to a scene of one dog running a mill, another dog running a jenny (or cat) mill, and then another one was on a spring pile.

What does a show like this do to help American Pit Bull Terriers or Pit Bull type dogs? Nada. Zip. Nothing.

Am I saying that these shows shouldn’t be made? No. It’s a free country (well sorta) and they can do what they like. However, my beef, my gripe, my anger is caused when Animal Planet (Anti-Pit Bull) does not offer a show that demonstrates the reality or at least an unbiased show that counters all the graphic, bloody dog fighting messages they love to show people.

Are Pit Bulls owned by gang members? Of course. Pit Bulls are also owned by regular people. Like you. Like me. Where is that show?

Pit Boss? Step in the right direction.

Pit Bulls and Parolees? A step in the right direction.

But where is the one hour show about the American Pit Bull Terrier that does not include dog fighting, gangs, crime, fatal attacks on people, where is that show?

If you saw AP Investigates: Gang Dogs you know what I am talking about. I am a grown man and I was working hard not to lose it. It’s sad. It’s horrific. But it is not the whole story.

Animal Planet (Discovery) needs a wake up call. I do not watch Animal Planet because they support animal rights (which I oppose) and they support anti-Pit Bull organizations like the Humane Society of the United States.

I am not saying this show is lying about everything. They had one animal control officer who actually had great things to say about Pit Bulls. However, it is the “dark and dirty” type programming that bothers me. They do it because it gets people to watch and they can sell advertising, they do it to create an image of the Pit Bull owner in the general public’s mind.

But the end result is, some dog owner sitting there watching and they see “Pit Bull = Gangs = Dangerous = yes I support a ban.” What do you think the first image they think of when they see you walking down the street with your Pit Bull Terrier? Do you think it would be positive?

That is why I get angry. Shows like AP Investigates: Gang Dogs do one thing really well. Create bias and fear.

If you’re not angry something is wrong.

Until Next Time!
Jason Mann
The Most Completely Pit Bull Site Online