Pit Bulls
Can I just say how in LOVE with these dogs I am? Like, you have no idea. They are my favorite dog breed. They're so precious and have adorable faces and have the best personalities of any dog breed; at least in my opinion they do. They're full of life and totally sweet goofballs. And I'm totally in love with this one particular dog at the local animal shelter I'm working at. His name is Eddy and he is a total sweetheart. Guess what? I've got photos!
Isn't he adorable?
He has a precious smile. And so you know, those hands belong to two 10 year old kids at the camp.
What a goofball. My feet in the checkered Vans and those hands belong to more small children.
I have a super sad story about Eddy. This poor guy is a year and a half old and apart form a few months in foster care, has spent his whole life in animal shelters. our humane society is his 3rd animal shelter. And my mom STILL isn't convinced he needs to live with us. If that doesn't break your heart, you're made of steel. D:
But Valerie, those dogs are vicious killers! Why are there small children near them?!
If you believe what you read in the papers, they must be, correct? Completely false. A true Pitbull with true Pitbull nature love people and adore attention and being pet. To give you guys an idea, I stick my hand in Eddy's mouth all the time. I pry his jaws apart to show kids the insides of his mouth so they can see his powerful jaw muscles. He wouldn't even think of biting me. If I did that to my lab, she'd bite me.
So, I'm gonna play a little game with all my readers. It's Pitbull Facts: Truth and Myth.
Basically I'll give you guys a statement. Try and guess if it's a myth or truth. The answer will be explained below the statement.
1. Pitbulls have locking jaws.
Most people think this is true. It's completely false. If a dog had a locking jaw, it wouldn't be considered a canine. There are only 4 (well 5) animals I know of with locking jaws: horse, giraffe, alligator/crocodile and a snake. I think this myth developed from the fact that these dogs have extremely strong jaws. There's a difference between getting bit by a Pitbull and getting bit by a Chihuahua.
2. Pitbulls were bred to take down bulls.
I think this is true. These dogs are very strong. They have a high pain tolerance and their strong (but NOT LOCKING!) jaws, make them prime dogs for taking down bulls. In lots of old pictures, farmers have Pits with them.
3. Pitbulls make good guard dogs.
Hahaha! False. These dogs are completely people friendly. A true Pit makes a horrible guard dog. They're much more comfortable guarding the couch and remote control. Lol. The only good thing about guarding your house is that once people know you have one, they'll avoid your house at any cost if they're naive and ignorant to the real facts about these sweet pups.
4. Pitbulls make great family dogs.
True! These guys are wonderfully friendly. Their high pain tolerance also makes them great dogs for kids because a child could trip over them and the Pit wouldn't do anything. This doesn't mean I recommend leaving your small child alone with a pitbull (or any other dog for that matter) but they do really well with kids. They were originally "nanny dogs" in England and still make wonderful family dogs.
5. Pitbulls who show agression towards other animals will go attack people next.
False. There are aggressive dogs in every breed. A dog who is cat aggressive may not be people aggressive. And a dog who is dog aggressive may not be cat or people aggressive. There are aggressive dogs in every breed. Even your beloved labradors.
So, have I got you convinced yet that Pitbulls are completely different than what you've heard?
6. Pitbulls bite more people than any other breed.
This is also a myth. But if you believe what you read, you'd think it's true. Want to guess which dogs bites more people in my shelter than any other breed? German Shepards? Bull terriers? Wrong. Labrador Retrievers. We get more staff bitten by Labs than any other breeds. And the most aggressive dog breed? Dachshunds and Chihuahuas. Dachshunds were bred to chase Badgers down their holes. Those little bastard animals. The only reason you never hear about a lab who kills someone is because people don't want to hear it. "Ignorance is bliss" is the perfect phrase to throw in right there.
7. The only people who own Pitbulls are gangsters, drug dealers and dog fighters.
False. Many pitbull owners are normal people with families and steady jobs. These dogs make good dog fighting dogs because of their drive to please their masters. They'd do anything to make their masters happy. Even some of your favorite celebrities own pitbulls including Jon Stewart, Michael J. Fox, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel (has 3), Humphrey Boggart, President Woodrow Wilson and even fucking Rachel Ray has a pitbull. Another famous owner includes Helen Kellar.
8. PItbulls serve mankind as therapy, search and rescue and drug-detection dogs.
True! How right you are! These dogs are HIGHLY intelligent and make wonderful dogs in all those categories. Especially pitbulls who've been seized from drug dealer's houses and trained as drug-detection dogs. In fact, I know an exceptionally sweet therapy pitbull who looks great in a pair of aviators:
This is Jack. See his little vest? He goes to schools, hospitals and retirement homes as a therapy dog and even makes his way into Target from time to time. He looks fantastic in a pair of sunglasses. These dogs have heads the same size as ours so they can wear sunglasses/hats/halloween costumes...anything! They're wonderful dogs. In fact, here's some facts I bet you didn't know:
-Two pitbulls were decorated at 9/11 for rescuing people.
-The most decorated dog in military history was a pitbull named Stubby.
-Dakota is a Pit Bull who, during her career, was one of the most active search and rescue dogs in the country and was called to work some very high profile search efforts such as the search for Laci Peterson and the search effort to find the remains of the astronauts who lost their lives in explosion of the Space Shuttle Columbia.
9. Pitbulls brains swell, never stop growing and cause them to snap and go crazy.
I've actually heard my own father tell me this. This is complete rubbish. I have no idea where this came from but it's completely false. Unless there is something medically wrong with a pitbull, or any dog for that matter, this could never happen.
10. Pitbulls suffer more than any other breed from unfair BSL.
True. BSL, or Breed Specific Legislation, prohibits certain dogs from residing in city limits. I happen to reside in Colorado which has some of the highest BSL laws in the US. My local shelter takes in pitbulls from all over Colorado and trades out other dogs to make room for these special dogs. BSL usually puts many breeds together including pitbull terriers, saffordshire bull terriers, bull terriers, dobermanns, rottweilers and akitas (in some areas).
Very recently in Tulsa, OK, a black lab killed a 6-moth old baby left alone in a swing. The lab was euthanized because of it. Notice how it wasn't a pitbull and you didn't hear about it until now? I read about it as 2nd page news in a small 1/4 page article. If it was a pitbull it would've been front page news with a big picture.
Even though I don't personally own a pitbull, I work as hard as I can to advocate for these pups. They are so sweet and definitely don't deserve the bad reputation they have. They are wonderful dogs and exceptionally cute.
A pitbull puppy. Yeah, precious, huh?
What a dangerous dog. -eyeroll-
This pit, like the one above, has cropped ears. This is NOT genetic. Many people who fight their pits will crop their ears so they don't get ripped off. Sometimes it makes them look more dangerous or whatever. It depresses me that people do that to their dogs.
So, next time someone tells you they're dangerous, think back on what you've learned from reading my blog and tell them. Tell them what you've learned. I've suffered a lot from people insulting these guys. I adore this breed of dog and people tell me I'm nuts. I'm planning on adopting a pitbull (if not two) when I get my own place. one of my friends told me to call her when my dogs kill my baby. Yeah, I wanted to punch her in the face I was so upset. I can't stand it. These dogs are wonderful, totally smart and totally devoted. So if you're considering adopting a dog, consider a pitbull. I don't think you'll regret it.
Isn't he adorable?
He has a precious smile. And so you know, those hands belong to two 10 year old kids at the camp.
What a goofball. My feet in the checkered Vans and those hands belong to more small children.
I have a super sad story about Eddy. This poor guy is a year and a half old and apart form a few months in foster care, has spent his whole life in animal shelters. our humane society is his 3rd animal shelter. And my mom STILL isn't convinced he needs to live with us. If that doesn't break your heart, you're made of steel. D:
But Valerie, those dogs are vicious killers! Why are there small children near them?!
If you believe what you read in the papers, they must be, correct? Completely false. A true Pitbull with true Pitbull nature love people and adore attention and being pet. To give you guys an idea, I stick my hand in Eddy's mouth all the time. I pry his jaws apart to show kids the insides of his mouth so they can see his powerful jaw muscles. He wouldn't even think of biting me. If I did that to my lab, she'd bite me.
So, I'm gonna play a little game with all my readers. It's Pitbull Facts: Truth and Myth.
Basically I'll give you guys a statement. Try and guess if it's a myth or truth. The answer will be explained below the statement.
1. Pitbulls have locking jaws.
Most people think this is true. It's completely false. If a dog had a locking jaw, it wouldn't be considered a canine. There are only 4 (well 5) animals I know of with locking jaws: horse, giraffe, alligator/crocodile and a snake. I think this myth developed from the fact that these dogs have extremely strong jaws. There's a difference between getting bit by a Pitbull and getting bit by a Chihuahua.
2. Pitbulls were bred to take down bulls.
I think this is true. These dogs are very strong. They have a high pain tolerance and their strong (but NOT LOCKING!) jaws, make them prime dogs for taking down bulls. In lots of old pictures, farmers have Pits with them.
3. Pitbulls make good guard dogs.
Hahaha! False. These dogs are completely people friendly. A true Pit makes a horrible guard dog. They're much more comfortable guarding the couch and remote control. Lol. The only good thing about guarding your house is that once people know you have one, they'll avoid your house at any cost if they're naive and ignorant to the real facts about these sweet pups.
4. Pitbulls make great family dogs.
True! These guys are wonderfully friendly. Their high pain tolerance also makes them great dogs for kids because a child could trip over them and the Pit wouldn't do anything. This doesn't mean I recommend leaving your small child alone with a pitbull (or any other dog for that matter) but they do really well with kids. They were originally "nanny dogs" in England and still make wonderful family dogs.
5. Pitbulls who show agression towards other animals will go attack people next.
False. There are aggressive dogs in every breed. A dog who is cat aggressive may not be people aggressive. And a dog who is dog aggressive may not be cat or people aggressive. There are aggressive dogs in every breed. Even your beloved labradors.
So, have I got you convinced yet that Pitbulls are completely different than what you've heard?
6. Pitbulls bite more people than any other breed.
This is also a myth. But if you believe what you read, you'd think it's true. Want to guess which dogs bites more people in my shelter than any other breed? German Shepards? Bull terriers? Wrong. Labrador Retrievers. We get more staff bitten by Labs than any other breeds. And the most aggressive dog breed? Dachshunds and Chihuahuas. Dachshunds were bred to chase Badgers down their holes. Those little bastard animals. The only reason you never hear about a lab who kills someone is because people don't want to hear it. "Ignorance is bliss" is the perfect phrase to throw in right there.
7. The only people who own Pitbulls are gangsters, drug dealers and dog fighters.
False. Many pitbull owners are normal people with families and steady jobs. These dogs make good dog fighting dogs because of their drive to please their masters. They'd do anything to make their masters happy. Even some of your favorite celebrities own pitbulls including Jon Stewart, Michael J. Fox, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel (has 3), Humphrey Boggart, President Woodrow Wilson and even fucking Rachel Ray has a pitbull. Another famous owner includes Helen Kellar.
8. PItbulls serve mankind as therapy, search and rescue and drug-detection dogs.
True! How right you are! These dogs are HIGHLY intelligent and make wonderful dogs in all those categories. Especially pitbulls who've been seized from drug dealer's houses and trained as drug-detection dogs. In fact, I know an exceptionally sweet therapy pitbull who looks great in a pair of aviators:
This is Jack. See his little vest? He goes to schools, hospitals and retirement homes as a therapy dog and even makes his way into Target from time to time. He looks fantastic in a pair of sunglasses. These dogs have heads the same size as ours so they can wear sunglasses/hats/halloween costumes...anything! They're wonderful dogs. In fact, here's some facts I bet you didn't know:
-Two pitbulls were decorated at 9/11 for rescuing people.
-The most decorated dog in military history was a pitbull named Stubby.
-Dakota is a Pit Bull who, during her career, was one of the most active search and rescue dogs in the country and was called to work some very high profile search efforts such as the search for Laci Peterson and the search effort to find the remains of the astronauts who lost their lives in explosion of the Space Shuttle Columbia.
9. Pitbulls brains swell, never stop growing and cause them to snap and go crazy.
I've actually heard my own father tell me this. This is complete rubbish. I have no idea where this came from but it's completely false. Unless there is something medically wrong with a pitbull, or any dog for that matter, this could never happen.
10. Pitbulls suffer more than any other breed from unfair BSL.
True. BSL, or Breed Specific Legislation, prohibits certain dogs from residing in city limits. I happen to reside in Colorado which has some of the highest BSL laws in the US. My local shelter takes in pitbulls from all over Colorado and trades out other dogs to make room for these special dogs. BSL usually puts many breeds together including pitbull terriers, saffordshire bull terriers, bull terriers, dobermanns, rottweilers and akitas (in some areas).
Very recently in Tulsa, OK, a black lab killed a 6-moth old baby left alone in a swing. The lab was euthanized because of it. Notice how it wasn't a pitbull and you didn't hear about it until now? I read about it as 2nd page news in a small 1/4 page article. If it was a pitbull it would've been front page news with a big picture.
Even though I don't personally own a pitbull, I work as hard as I can to advocate for these pups. They are so sweet and definitely don't deserve the bad reputation they have. They are wonderful dogs and exceptionally cute.
A pitbull puppy. Yeah, precious, huh?
What a dangerous dog. -eyeroll-
This pit, like the one above, has cropped ears. This is NOT genetic. Many people who fight their pits will crop their ears so they don't get ripped off. Sometimes it makes them look more dangerous or whatever. It depresses me that people do that to their dogs.
So, next time someone tells you they're dangerous, think back on what you've learned from reading my blog and tell them. Tell them what you've learned. I've suffered a lot from people insulting these guys. I adore this breed of dog and people tell me I'm nuts. I'm planning on adopting a pitbull (if not two) when I get my own place. one of my friends told me to call her when my dogs kill my baby. Yeah, I wanted to punch her in the face I was so upset. I can't stand it. These dogs are wonderful, totally smart and totally devoted. So if you're considering adopting a dog, consider a pitbull. I don't think you'll regret it.