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Originally Posted by TIGGER
Yep! Besides, I'm not saying YOUR dog is bad but come on are you guys really trying to say that a Pit is not more likely to be a vicious dog than average?  |
Yes, that is exactly what I'm saying. In fact, according to the American Temperament Testing Society a Pit Bull is less likely to be vicious than an average dog. My personal experience with the breed backs that up. They are scored even higher than the Rhodesian Ridgeback.
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Originally Posted by TIGGER
That's cool. So if I come over, I don't have to worry that your dog might bite me, right? I'm allowed to make "sudden moves" and get up and walk around the room at my leisure, right? I'm not trying to pick on you, I guess I've just had bad experiences with "vicious breeds" that causes me to be leery of them. |
That is completely absurd, and it is unfortunate you know people with dogs so edgy you can't make fast moves...this is 100% bad ownership. Yes, you can come into my house when invited and do anything without fear of being bitten. You can get down on your hands and knees and put your face in my Pit's food bowl while he eats. You can slap him in the face, you can grab his tail you can run from him and have no fear at all of being bitten.
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Originally Posted by TIGGER
I understand that, it's just that these dogs seem to have a hard time differentiating between "friends" and "intruders". Also, I've walked out of the room and come back and have suddenly become an intruder.  |
Not sure where you're getting your info from but Pits are smart dogs who are very much in tune with their owner's emotional state. If you are in someone's home is is fearful or leary of you then yes, the dog will likely share the same apprehension. Fearfulness in a canine can result in a bite. This is not breed specific. This is a matter of socialization and training...and if you don't do that with ALL working dogs you are likely to have problems.
To address another myth you threw out there earlier, Pit Bulls were not bred for aggression in order to win fights. They were bred for "gameness" and determination, which in turn made them better fighters. Determination CAN be focused into fighting prowess and it is true that when a fight starts a Pit Bull is more likely to win due to the same determination.
This trait is also what allows them to be such excellent pulling or search and rescue dogs. Basically you train them to do the job for you and they will go until they are physically unable. They are capable of pulling more weight per pound than any other breed not because they are the most powerful dog breed...but because they have determination.
As MILF said, any short haired dog that attacks a human automatically becomes a Pit Bull once it hits your local news so to the average viewer it seems that only Pit Bulls attack people.
Dude, look at Cesar Milan's Pit Bulls. He has an entire pack of these dogs, many with violent pasts, that live, eat and asleep together. Thankfully they are not aware of their own stereotypes because they manage to do this without killing each other. Look at his older Pit "Daddy". This dog is completely submissive to dogs and humans yet is personal protection trained. Yes, Daddy will fuck you up if you try to hurt Cesar...yet in all the years Cesar has been doing the show and all the homes Daddy has been taken in to he has never falsely identified a threat and bit anyone.
Your image of the Pit Bull is false. Simple as that.