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American Pit Bull Terrier + Toddlers = ???
wrote in message ... I have to say that this was the misconception that tripped me up as well. I thought it was all about socialization. I worked *hard* at socializing my dog, learning to read him etc. When he got to be just over 2 years everything changed. His friends were still his friends but all other dogs were a differrnt matter. So I started to research and learn. And at last I understood. Socialization can MODERATE a dogs natural behavior, but it will not eliminate it. i agree with this completely. however, i still stand by my statement that not socializing a pit bull will only make the aggression worse. if a dog is not familiar with how to behave around other dogs, they tend to resort to aggression. i think this is true of most breeds. I think this is very hard for some people to grok because of the other lines constantly payed out to soothe the reputation of the fighting dog. With sad voices and shakes of the head they say "its not the dogs, its the owners." And thats TRUE in the sense that the dogs can be expected to obey and to behave in a socially acceptable manner WHEN IN CONTROL of the human. AND that it is abolsutely possible to train and manage these dogs safely. SO any pit bull incident IS the fault of the human. But that doesn't mean that socialization will change the basic nature of the fighting dog. Its a point that is often skipped over when defending the pit bull. Some breed defenders are afraid to admit to any natural breed characteristics, such as a desire to fight. actually, i agree with this too. and i think there has to be a happy medium out there somewhere. i will not chain my dogs to a car axle just because they're pit bulls. i do supervise them directly whenever they're outside in the yard, actually i supervise them whenever they're playing at all. i do take them to training. i do take them to public places like coffee shops and the outdoor mall. and yes, i on occasion take Lola to the dog park. honestly, i've been taking her less and less, and now that we have Manu, it will probably become even less frequent. Manu won't be going at all because he isn't as responsive as Lola, so i don't think he would be as manageable. but i still believe i can manage my young, well socialized, well trained, very submissive dog in the park we go to. remember, this is a 40 acre park, which we visit during weekdays. there are rarely more than 50 dogs in the entire park. we're not talking about a tiny dog run full of dogs. i have a hard time when people who admit they don't go to dog parks tell me what the environment is like in a park they've never even been to. i also don't believe the "one personality fits all" idea that seems to be assigned to this breed (or any breed). maybe that's a personal issue of mine. if so, i'm ok with that. thanks for taking the time to respond politely. i understand that this is a hot button issue. hell, anything to do with pit bulls seems to be a hot button issue. -kelly |
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"Melanie L Chang" wrote in message ... All I know is, one of the most frightening experiences I have ever had in the city was with a beautiful pit, and an owner who insisted that his dog was different, had "never been in a fight," and "only wanted to say hi" to my dogs. Meanwhile, his dog -- a large, intact male -- was strutting, stiff-legged, hard-eyed, off-lead, in a large circle around me and both of my dogs. I was almost an hour late to an appointment that morning because we were literally trapped by this clueless guy and his dog. I never want to have to deal with that again. By the way, something must have finally gotten through to the clueless guy, because I have never seen his dog off-lead again. that's totally messed up. i can't imagine why someone would let their dog of any breed behave that way. i'm sorry you had to experience it. -kelly |
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"Nic" wrote: think about it, if by chance a lab kills another dog at the park, no one is going to say "oh yea, i've always heard labs were vicious! did you hear about the one that killed that old woman? etc" but if it's a pit bull, it's another story all together. Right-O! I will add to this: in the 15+ years I've been going to the park- and our setup is similar to Kelly's, not a small dog run- I have seen a LOT of *DOG* people become anti-Pit after having their dogs attacked by Pits with novice owners who thought it was "all in the way you raise them". Kelly, if nothing else- for the sake of Lola and Manu, the other dogs at the park, and Pits in general, you need to buy a breaking stick, educate yourself on how to use it, and CARRY IT when you let your dogs off-lead near other dogs. The biggest problem in incidents like that is that the Pit owners stand by clueless, and have no idea how to break up the fight once it's started. |
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