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Pit Bulls => Pit Bull Discussions & Pictures => : brandon August 15, 2006, 08:03:07 AM
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Wheather you love or hate any one of the breeds considered a 'dangerous breed', you have to admit they make the news more than other breeds. In the past it has been the Doberman Pincher, the German Shephard, the Rottweiler, and now it is the Pit Bull.
We all realize the news media tend to blow things out of proportion, and misrepresent the issues, so you really have to take some of the things being reported on with a grain of salt sometimes.
Why are the bad actions of pit bulls making the headlines with the media? (Understand I am NOT saying the breed is bad, I am asking why the media insist on reporting so heavily on it)
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I am asking why the media insist on reporting so heavily on it
They have to earn a living somehow. :-\ Sensationalist reporting gets lots of viewers/readers.
Also, the bigger and stronger the dog, the more damage a bite can do, so a bite by a big paw would get more attention than the same bite from, say, a Chihuahua. Back to sensationalism ...a "pitbull" (or whatever) that produces a bite requiring hospitalizatio n is better for reporting than a mojo bite that merely requires a couple of stitches at the doctor's office. This is despite the fact that small dogs often have worse temperaments and more incidents of biting than larger ones.
JMO. :)
Sofia
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I'm convinced that sometimes they just call the dogs pit bulls to make the headlines. It could be a mastiff mix and the news story will say pit bull.
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I think it's because the media loves to scare people and they love to get a reaction. When they report on a person being attacked by a lab, there's not going to be a huge public outcry demanding that labs be banned from their town, because everybody knows somebody with a lab. But when they say a pit has attacked someone, they know that everyone is going to watch/read that story because it's just so controversial.
I remember when I was a little girl, a neighbor had a pomeranian (sp?). This dog would attack me each and every time I'd walk in front of her house. My dad repeatedly asked the mayor to do something about it, but everyone always just said "Oh, it's a pom! What damage can it do?!" My legs were covered in bites. Then when I was twelve or so, a big black stray named Joe decided I was his human. He followed me around and was extremely gentle. One day I was walking by the neighbor's house, though, and the pom came out and attacked me. Joe grabbed the pom by the neck and threw it back. Unfortunately, the pom died from the injury. The entire town rallied around this neighbor and a week later we found Joe a couple miles away, shot. It turned out the mayor himself had shot Joe. The local newspaper ran an article on the incident. It didn't say that the pom had attacked me and Joe was protecting me, it said that an innocent pom had been MAULED to death by a chow-mix. They knew that that story would get more papers sold than the truth.
EDIT: They completely made up that Joe was a chow mix. We didn't know what the he** he was, he was a mutt. He didn't have the black spots on his tongue, and to me he looked more like a lab, even now when I look at pictures of him.
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I bet that you never heard about the lab that killed a child did you? It is funny because no one did, or how about the pit bull that saved a woman? Did anyone hear about that? no we only hear the bad things. Pit's are very sweet. If we think about it.... guns don't kill people... people kill people. Any dog can be a weapon, it is the person who has the control.
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I'm convinced that sometimes they just call the dogs pit bulls to make the headlines. It could be a mastiff mix and the news story will say pit bull.
That is quite possible. Also, I would like to point out that there is the issue that sometimes a person honestly mistakes a dog going after them for a pitbull, due to fear. Then there are those who could not identify a particular dog's breed to save their life, even in a relaxed situation - although I do not mean that in a bad way; a lot of people just aren't familiar enough with dog breeds to identify one.
Sofia
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Around here we have a huge problem with pitbull fighting. All the pitbulls normally encountered here are very aggressive. So when somthing happens everyone says it was a pitbull. I have only met one pitbull and it was very aggressive towards Kiah. This was at a dog park. Now I do know that not every dog is the same, but since I live where I do it makes me worry.
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Around here we have a huge problem with pitbull fighting. All the pitbulls normally encountered here are very aggressive. So when somthing happens everyone says it was a pitbull. I have only met one pitbull and it was very aggressive towards Kiah. This was at a dog park. Now I do know that not every dog is the same, but since I live where I do it makes me worry.
I would just like to point out that the pitbulls actually bred for fighting are the gentlest toward people, by necessity, and the most aggressive toward other dogs, again by necessity. That is just their temperament, although I suppose that aggression toward people could be taught. In that case, however, the OWNER would be to blame, not that particular dog or the dog's breed.
Sofia
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I know that I have heard several stories on breeds other than pits attacking people, but the plain truth is that pits attack with more severity than other breeds. I do not feel that this is a stereotype. Just b/c soemthing is negative, does not mean it's a stereotype. In some cases, the media is actually trying to warn the public of a dangerous dog. It is awful when any breed attacks but there aren't any stories about 2 rogue newfoundlands attacking and killing, without provocation, an old man on his riding mower (this happened with pits) b/c it just doesn't happen.
I know that there a pits who are the sweetest dogs, etc, but they seem to be the exception, not the norm. I think the media plays these stories up also b/c, often, the owners of the dogs that attack are "characters" to use a kind word, and the news loves to find and exploit ignorant people (and their dogs).
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Off Topic...... this was interesting to me , its a "find the pitbull quiz"
http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html
I got it right on the 2nd try, my first guess looks just like a pit to me. (#17)
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Around here we have a huge problem with pitbull fighting. All the pitbulls normally encountered here are very aggressive. So when somthing happens everyone says it was a pitbull. I have only met one pitbull and it was very aggressive towards Kiah. This was at a dog park. Now I do know that not every dog is the same, but since I live where I do it makes me worry.
I use to live in a town with a lot of pitbull fighting, too. The shelter there had a very strict policy on pits that came into the shelter. It didn't matter if they had tags or not, if they weren't claimed in one day, they were euthanized. They never tried to contact the owner, either. Also, if any pit had any scars of any kind on it, they were immediately euthanized, regardless of the cause of the scar or injury, and even if the owner came forward and tried to claim it. Also, no pits or rotties were ever adopted out.
Sometimes I get really scared about Laika, because it honestly sometimes looks like she's been fought, plus some people think she's a pit mix. She's always getting these weird scars on her legs, chest, face, whatever, and the only cause I've ever found is that she "fights" with one of our trees out back. It's a really weird tree with tons of low branches...alm ost looks like a huge shrub, so she gets really scratched up.
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Off Topic...... this was interesting to me , its a "find the pitbull quiz"
http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html
I got it right on the 2nd try, my first guess looks just like a pit to me. (#17)
I got it on the first try, but if you hadn't said something about #17 I probably would've mistaken it for a pit.
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Around here we have a huge problem with pitbull fighting. All the pitbulls normally encountered here are very aggressive. So when somthing happens everyone says it was a pitbull. I have only met one pitbull and it was very aggressive towards Kiah. This was at a dog park. Now I do know that not every dog is the same, but since I live where I do it makes me worry.
I use to live in a town with a lot of pitbull fighting, too. The shelter there had a very strict policy on pits that came into the shelter. It didn't matter if they had tags or not, if they weren't claimed in one day, they were euthanized. They never tried to contact the owner, either. Also, if any pit had any scars of any kind on it, they were immediately euthanized, regardless of the cause of the scar or injury, and even if the owner came forward and tried to claim it. Also, no pits or rotties were ever adopted out.
That's the same situation here. Don't get me wrong I know it depends on how the dogs are trained and I do not believe in bsl. What I was getting at is that it also depends on where a person lives for what the news reports. Now with the internet that's starting to not matter and people don't pay attention to where an attack happened. They only generalize. Now around here it's more the pits, but there's also been other stories of other breeds attacking.
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From the UKC American Pit Bull Terrier standard (note that the American Staffordshire Terrier and Staffordshire Terrier are also considered pitbulls):
The essential characteristic s of the American Pit Bull Terrier are strength, confidence, and zest for life. This breed is eager to please and brimming over with enthusiasm. APBTs make excellent family companions and have always been noted for their love of children. Because most APBTs exhibit some level of dog aggression and because of its powerful physique, the APBT requires an owner who will carefully socialize and obedience train the dog. The breed's natural agility makes it one of the most capable canine climbers so good fencing is a must for this breed. The APBT is not the best choice for a guard dog since they are extremely friendly, even with strangers. Aggressive behavior toward humans is uncharacterist ic of the breed and highly undesirable. This breed does very well in performance events because of its high level of intelligence and its willingness to work.
I added the bold print and highlighting.. .
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Our areas Pit bulls seem to make national news a decent amount.Â
In this very area we have "Spencer the pit bull" - remember the save Spencer campaign. Spencer was going to be adopted by a local radio personality. I admire her good intentions, but I think she was a bit daft, she met the dog when he first came into the shelter malnourished, dehydrated, sickly, weak, and sweet. She has a house full of pomeranians. Spencer got better and became more agressive as he got better. Anyways, the animal shelter recommended against it, but let him go to an out of state rescue. It was all a political bunch of bs, there were 5 other pits and numerous other breeds still in the shelter.Â
Hog-Dog rodeos, this was first reported / filmed by a local news station.Â
Last year a pit bull mauled a child and the mother laid on top of the kid to protect him until a local man went and got a rifle and shot the dog.Â
Earlier in the year they reported on approx 40 pit bulls being stolen in the county I live in. I am guessing with that many thefts, there is probably some dog-fighting going on.
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There was also a facial bite at a pet adoption by a lab mix (not pit) that was reported on. A kid ran up and hugged a strange dog at the adoption and it bit her on the face. I dont "think" it was too serious. But this did not make national attention.
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Pits are reported more because they've got no particular lobby to put a positive message out for them. They're the easy target.
The media at one time pointed up German shepherds as the "vicious, dangerous" breed that nobody should have--supposedly based on the 'wolf' gene in the line a hundred years ago or so. But that generalization lost its viability with tens of thousands of K-9 officers and their partners serving on a daily basis without a single problem; not to mention the other couple hundred thousand or more that are walking around in service harnesses, particularly seeing eye dogs. Police departments and city attorneys pretty much quashed the idea of the shepherd as a dangerous breed--even though according to the same flawed reports people quote on how dangerous pits are, GSD's are number 2 or 3, alternating that spot with rotties.
Cocker spaniels were "vicious" for a long time when my mom was a kid--my aunt is still very leery of them because of the stories she heard as a kid. But even as controversial a successful policitian as Richard Nixon had some effect on how the media treated his dog, and Checkers was impeccably mannered, which got cockers out of the media's sights.
Cujo put Saint Bernard's in the media's crosshairs; fortunately, Beethoven was a much more popular movie with kids than Cujo was with teens.
The biggest problem for the pit bull at this point is the Net. Because we can all access stories for all over the world in seconds now, every 'bad pit bull' story is spread like wildfire--just like the link yesterday to the story about the poor kid in Chicago who got mauled. That's a horrible, awful story, if you didn't look at it (if you didn't, don't. The owner of the dogs is an idiot, and the consequences to the kids will break your heart.) The saddest part of the story to me is that the emphasis is that PIT BULLS were the dogs in question. Less than 2 paragraphs of the 3 day story series refers at all to the fact that the owners were back yard breeding completely unscreened and untested dogs, and that the instigator dog of the pack had already been recommended to be put down. And that's unfortunately the slant of EVERY single 'dog attack' story you will read, regardless of the breed--horrible dogs doing horrible damage, with no mention at all of the...[insert exceptionally foul Marine type cursing]...who own the dogs what they did wrong--not even if the [insert cursing again] were acutal CRIMINALS, engaged in CRIMINAL ACTIVITY will you hear anything other than the 'demon pit bull' story.
It's a simple, easy story for the media to tell and it will sell papers, so to speak.
Sooner or later, the pit bull's turn to be the "demon dog" will pass, and some other large breed dog will become the demonized one. Once we have a pit bull in the Oval Office, or some big celebrity has their life saved because their pit bull dragged them out of a fire or something, pits will get a break. But it's not going to happen until after millions of innocent, well-behaved, sweet and loving pets have been tarred with this brush.
Personally, I think OWNERS should have to be licensed, rather than dogs or cats. You should have to go to animal control pet education classes about dogs, cats, rats, etc., and have to take a test, just like for a driver's license. If you can't pass the test, you shouldn't be allowed to have pets other than fish. If you want to breed or have one of the 'dangerous' breeds, you should have to get special classes of pet license, just like you have to have a motorcycle license or Class B to drive semi's, etc.
After all, the problem isn't bad animals--it's stupid, stupid people!
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It is a witch hunt. As you mentioned, Brandon, the devil dogs have been, german shepards, then dobermans, then rotts and now pit bulls. The media feeds off of, then panders to, the public's ignorance and fear. As for why...well why was the Rodney King beatings, the explosion of the Challanger and the collapse of the Twin Towers broadcasted ad nauseatumon every channel, why are microphones thrust in the faces of obviously grieving parents after their child has been hit by a drunk hit and run driver and killed? It is all about the ratings, and shock value is great ratings.
Stella
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The media certainly does love to demonize certain breeds. However, if you look back, I beleive that this has helped in some ways.
For example, in the past,Dobermans and German Sheps were in the news for being visious, etc. And it was true- due to overbreeding and the over popularity of these dogs, people without any breed knowledge were buying and raising them. As a result, more and more people were attacked by these breeds and the popularity fell. However, responsible breeders and people who truly loved the breed did not allow the breed to become extict- they made sure to breed only the best, and to educate the public and their buyers. Possibly this is what will happen with pits.
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Unfortunately,in the news negitive or bad sells more than positive.
The fact is that pits,dobies,rotti's,GS are big dogs and big dogs do much more damage than little dogs,the more the damage the bigger the story.
Magic and I do bite prevention presentations all the time in public schools,and one of the 1st questions I ask the kids no matter what age,is *what kind of dogs bite* unfortunately,the media has done a very good job.the above mentioned are the most popular answers.
The thing is no matter how many answers I get in a given presentaion I tell them they are all correct.BECAUS E ALL DOGS BITE!!!!!!
Why because they have teeth,there are many reasons why they choose to bite and we go on from there.
It is always a human that is the cause not the animal IMO.
I truly believe that education is the answer,and that is why I am so devoted to going into the grade schools and talking about responsible pet ownership,and while we do talk about saftey,you can't talk about one without the other.
It should be in the circulum for all kids in school.
but that's just my oppinion
Tricia and the fur kids
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1st an American Eskimo
Thank God you're in Illinois, or I'd be CERTAIN it was Max. He has a positive jones on for the dane that lives around the block from him...
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I still wonder what made the news media choose the pit as their next 'demon breed', why not some other breed. I wonder if it all started with a really popular attack story that made national news or something.
I don't mean any offense at all by this please understand I don't.... but just a question of curiosity. It has been mentioned that pits are the most popular breed, I have no idea if they are or not, I know the Lab used to be, but no idea what is now... anyways they have become rather popular.
No one who has defended the Pit, owns one.
Understand I don't mean this as accusatory or anything, I am just trying to understand the other side of the fence.
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Actually, I just thought about what I asked, that was a stupid question probably, as this is a board dedicated to giant breeds and Pits are not considered a giant breed....Doh! Sorry about that.
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I find this a very interesting thread. Since the other was shut down before I got a chance to respond, I will say a small bit here.
I couldn't tell you why the pit bull is targeted by the media. In most cases, the dog isn't even a pit bull but some other breed entirely. I've seen stories on the media where they talk about a dog bite and show a picture of a generic pit bull, when the dog in question was a golden retriever. Why? I think b/c of the scare factor. People are afraid of pit bulls, mostly due of course to the media. Where this all started? Haven't a clue. Wish I knew. I think perhaps once dog fighting became a more commen thing, and it is well known pit bulls are used in fighting rings, and the fact that many questionable people own them it started getting sensationalize d by the media any time one did bite a person.
As far as being the most popular breed in the US? I can't say it's THE most popular breed. The lab certainly has the most dogs registered. But I can probably say with certainty it is in the top 3 of unregistered dogs in regards to numbers. Which is also why you see more cases of bites. It's all numbers. The more popular the breed, the more cases of bites you will see. Which is why the rottie, german shepherd, and dobie used to hold #1 spots for bites in the 70's, 80's and 90's. They were the most popular breeds during those decades.
It doesn't mean the dogs are bad dogs. It just means they were in the wrong hands. I agree with NoDog in that people should be required to take a class before being able to own any kind of pet. It would solve so many problems with abuse and neglect and probably even overbreeding of animals everywhere.
I really feel for the bad rap the pits are getting right now. I've known many over the course of my lifetime, and if you can point out a bad owner (which usually isn't hard), you can often point out a questionable dog. Most of the pits I have known have been extremely submissive towards humans and easy to work with. I am more cautious approaching labs than I am any other breed, b/c I have been lunged and snapped at by more labs than any other dog breed combined.
BTW........my mom is wary around St. Bernards b/c after the movie Cujo came out, numerous cases of dog bites by St. Bernards were reported for months/years afterwards.
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Whether you are a fan of the pit bull or not, I think we all agree the press is not painting a pretty picture of the breed. Which as someone said is further hurting the breed because of the 'bad boy' status. If the press didn't popularize them so much , the thugs , and etc wouldn't be as interested in owning them, but they do and we end up with god-awful bred dogs, lots of agression problems, etc... unless something changes, or some other hot button takes the eye away, it looks like the breed is doomed.
I am not a pit advocate, I will admit it freely, but I do feel the press is not helping.. and things like this really tick me off:
<< Was an outrageous video called "the lounge bbq" on youtube, with thug types dressed up in their baggy pants and all their pits w/ spiked collars,etc.. really silly stuff. The rap song says a curse word though, so not appropriate >>
Most of those aren't even APBT, they're boxer mixes, but I'm sure most people consider them pits.
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Whether you are a fan of the pit bull or not, I think we all agree the press is not painting a pretty picture of the breed. Which as someone said is further hurting the breed because of the 'bad boy' status. If the press didn't popularize them so much , the thugs , and etc wouldn't be as interested in owning them, but they do and we end up with god-awful bred dogs, lots of agression problems, etc... unless something changes, or some other hot button takes the eye away, it looks like the breed is doomed.
I can't remember where I read the story, but in California, was it a Presa Canario that attacked and killed a woman? And everyone thought that nobody would want want anymore, but actually breeders started getting more and more requests for them because people wanted them to be aggressive. So basically...yo u're right, the fact that the media shows the pits to be aggressive only makes more "certain people" want the breed and make them aggressive.
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Diane Whipple... that was a messed up story, they adopted a prisoner who was breeding the dogs and sent him naked pictures of the wife uhm.. "with" the dogs.
I think the wife blamed diane whipple for smelling vulnerable or something silly like that, because she was gay.. they were messed up.
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I would like to comment on this, being a Bully breed owner, not pitty owner, and living in Ontario, where pits are banned...
I get alot of negative feedback owning Zero, people saying hes a pitbull. i've even had someone ask me if he was a rottweiler.... YES my little brindle and white bull terrier, a rotty?? haha. Anyway- ive never had a complaint about him, but alot of questions... and i AM very worried about something getting out, and that they will lable him as pit...esp. because he IS intact. and i dont muzzle him... BUT, hes registered so i got my proof ;)
anyways... A friend of mine has a white with red eye mark boxer, and she says she has had MANY complaints about her "Pitbull". and that animal control asks to see her papers for her pit... like come on. meanwhile- her neighbour has TWO pitbulls, neither are spayed, nor muzzled... AND apparently, they let those two pits scrap eachother til they lay in thier own blood... now- im no animal control, but i would be taking those dogs away. they are beautiful... and still so young, but to fight like that? but the people who own them are my age, so about 22 - 25 i will say... but they dont have a clue...
There are MANY MANY MANY pits in our town, and there is NO legal action being taken... honestly. i dont care, as long as they are leashed... i am a pitbull lover, and would own one if i could- maybe one day!
BUT there are two dogs, Aussie shepards, and i am VERY terrified of them. they both are tri-pod dogs, three leggers... the owner ran them over "accidently"... anyways, they are NEVER leashed, and whether i have a dog or not, they always run towards me. it scares the he** out of me...
AND they sleep in the window cill of their appartment, which is right at the sidewalk and they have torn thru the screen. now this is something im worried about, more than pit attacks...
haha thats all for now
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Heh...when I lived in Kansas, we were trying to find an apartment, and the landlords would always ask if we had a breed on the vicious dog list, and of course we always said no, since we didn't. Then one day we went to look at a house, and the owner started asking me about our dogs. I told him we had a neapolitan mastiff, and he freaked. Apparently somehow MASTIFF had gotten onto the vicious breed list, and so he just decided that it must mean all types of mastiffs. I was bummed, because it was an awesome house, but even more bummed that it's come down to even general mastiffs getting onto the vicious breed list.
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I'm guessing B was big news.
Also...this website is really bothering me. Makes me wish that pit sympathizers were sent to every pit attack story to see what was really going on.
http://www.understand-a-bull.com/BSL/MistakenIdentity/WrongId.htm
Thanks ?Brandon? for posting that website.
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I think we can all agree that the press has a h#%d on for Pits, it's too bad that positive stories don't end up in the news . Like lives they have saved, or therapy visits they have made (I know for a fact they make wonderful therapy dogs) etc.....
I do think that the press will always picksome breed to be the bad guy.
They have nothing to do with wether or not it is true or not.It just makes a story that gets people's attention and sells.
I wonder what the next breed will be????Because you all know there will be a next one.
Tricia and the fur kids
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I'm guessing A was big news b/c it was a person that was attacked, and by 2 dogs.
That website listed saddens me. All these dogs misidentified as being pit bulls, when from the photos one can tell they are obviously not. But the media portrays them that way b/c pit bulls make news, not golden retrievers or labs.
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I'm guessing A was big news b/c it was a person that was attacked, and by 2 dogs.
A is the obvious answer, that's why I picked B. I think she's being sneaky ;)
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I'm guessing A was big news b/c it was a person that was attacked, and by 2 dogs.
A is the obvious answer, that's why I picked B. I think she's being sneaky
LOL.......you're probably right. ;)
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Unfortunetly, I can see why people are afraid of pit bulls. Anyone who has ever seen footage of a pit fight would be horrified by the savagery displayed. What people don't understand is that the breed involved is the least important, as any dog in a kill or be killed scenerio would be equally savage. And the fact that these poor animals are twisted and tortured into that mindset makes no difference to the general public. And BSL will not make any difference to the people that made the breed's reputation. This is Hooch, the pit pup that I fostered this spring. He was one of the most intelligent and loving dogs that it has ever been my pleasure to have in my house
(http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c384/gr8dame/2324164680032952361pdHyOX_ph.jpg)
Stella
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A would be my answer. Although you see a lot more dog agression from certain breeds, that doesn't make the news like an attack on an old lady walking her toy poodle.
Last year at a local dog park, a rottweiler bit the head off of a 16 year old pomeranian. It was covered on the news, but the pomeranian owner didn't blame the rottie owner or the dog, she just felt the small dogs should have an area of their own.
They have since segragated the park. I think the news would have covered it more if the pom owner had been more angry or especially if it had been a pit bull.
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"Why does the news media report more on attacks by certain breeds?"
Though we do not have much media attention here on the pitbull, we do get the American news so are familiar with the negative attention of the APBT.
IMO the pitbull just happens to be a great candidate for negative backlash from the media and the public. With its glorified history of bull baiting, bear baiting and dog fighting, which is documented long before they arrived in America, it was just a matter of time before someone got hurt and the bandwagon officially backed up to the media's front door. A large part of the pitbulls history is made up of fighting, although the breed has many other more important features, it is just near impossible to overlook the sensational aspects of the breeds history.
I mean, if a border collie went off on someone, where is the reference material to label it a vicious breed?? How about a Newf (one was involved in an attack on a lady here in Newfoundland), what traits in the history of the breed would lend itself to be labeled vicious - water rescue dog goes nuts just doesn't have the appeal of the pitbull gone bad.
We have a way of remembering the bad and forgetting the good. When there is a tragic event it sticks in our minds, lingering with us longer. Dog licks 4 year old and sits nicely after rounding up the sheep is not news to me!!
AC
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No one who has defended the Pit, owns one.
Sophie is most likely a pit mix and I will stand up for her. I wouldn't trade her for the world. She loves all people, including kids, and would never hurt someone intentionally. Now she is pretty picky about what dogs she likes and doesn't like but that is to be expected.
I really hate that the media focuses on pits. And that they are probably miss labeling the dog. People are to blame for bad dogs not the dogs breed. Any dog can be aggressive and bite with the wrong training. Just watch The Dog Whisperer. He works with all kinds of red zone dogs large and small that have not been trained properly and became aggressive.
I would just die if they ever brought BSL to my area. I don't know what I would do and don't even want to think about it. I have no proof that Sophie is not a pitbull and agree that she looks like one but supersized. She is way to big to be pure. The whole thing just makes me so mad sorry if I haven't made any sense... I try to stay out of these conversations.
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Last year at a local dog park, a rottweiler bit the head off of a 16 year old pomeranian. It was covered on the news, but the pomeranian owner didn't blame the rottie owner or the dog, she just felt the small dogs should have an area of their own.
They have since segragated the park. I think the news would have covered it more if the pom owner had been more angry or especially if it had been a pit bull.
At the dog park here in Fort Worth it's separated into two areas, one for <40 lb and one for >40 lbs. Unfortunately, hardly anybody follows that rule, and they always bring their small breed dogs and puppies into the >40 lbs area. There have been quite a few accidents, but nobody seems to get the point. So the rest of us just have to watch our dogs extra carefully and pray someone like my big clumsy Neo doesn't accidently step on a toy chihuahua.
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This was last weekend at that same park... notice the tiny toy poodle running around. His name was george, and he was a hoot, there weren't any dog agressive dogs there, but you're right he could have gotten stepped on. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrN-bROFKsk
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Yeah, it doesn't matter if there aren't any aggressive dogs around, accidents happen. Especially when a little tiny dog goes running across the field, dogs' (like Kingsley) herding instinct kicks in or something and they all start chasing this little tiny dog. I always get soooo scared because when Kingsley's mind is focused on running, I can NOT get his attention to make him stop chasing, and I trust him, but when seven or eight dogs get together to chase one little dog, the pack instinct kinda kicks in I guess because there have been a few times when the other dogs (thank goodness not Kingsley) have growled and barked at the little dog once they catch up to it.
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Last year at a local dog park, a rottweiler bit the head off of a 16 year old pomeranian. It was covered on the news, but the pomeranian owner didn't blame the rottie owner or the dog, she just felt the small dogs should have an area of their own.Â
They have since segragated the park. I think the news would have covered it more if the pom owner had been more angry or especially if it had been a pit bull.
At the dog park here in Fort Worth it's separated into two areas, one for <40 lb and one for >40 lbs. Unfortunately, hardly anybody follows that rule, and they always bring their small breed dogs and puppies into the >40 lbs area. There have been quite a few accidents, but nobody seems to get the point. So the rest of us just have to watch our dogs extra carefully and pray someone like my big clumsy Neo doesn't accidently step on a toy chihuahua.
Our dog park has the same segregation but people ignore it...Once I took Sam & Pippin & we were the only ones there on the big dog side...A man brought his Boston Terrier over from the samll dog side & let him loose...This dog continuously tried to mount Pippin & was jumping up & biting on his ears & face...The guy thought it was a hoot...I told the guy that Pippin was reaching the end of his patience & was going to take the little dog down & the guy ignored it...Right after this pic was taken Pippin slammed the Boston to the ground (did't hurt him but let him know he'd had enough) & the guy got a look of horror on his face, shot ME a dirty look & snatched his dog up...This is the pic that ran in the newspaper...I know it looks photoshopped because the Boston looks huge but the photo editor very snippily told me it was just because of the camera lens & angle.
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Yeah, a couple weeks ago a lady brought a Boston terrier puppy into our area, and the thing kept attacking Laika, and she has a very short temper. She barked at it a few times, but the owner just laughed. Then the puppy started running and a whole group of dogs chased it. I managed to grab Kingsley and Laika but the woman was obviously freaked out. So does she leave? No. She comes over to the area where I have ahold of Kingsley and Laika and puts the puppy back down on the ground, where it starts jumping up and biting Kingsley and Laika's face. The whole time it was doing that the lady was glaring at ME. I finally said to h*ll with it and went home. I didn't want to to see my dogs lose their temper on this little thing and kill it because its owner is too stupid to obey rules.
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That is too wild. The other week there was an unneutered boston terrier who kept chasing Sophie around trying to hump her, and she was running from him. That is very uncharacterist ic of Sophie, she doesn't back down from Anything normally. I told the guy, you're dog is going to be bitten very soon. She was being soo good though and was trying to get out of a bad situation. I know this is bad, but I think I was secretly hoping she would take him down a notch, he is just the most obnoxious little thing.
I think the weekend before that when Melissa took her a Pit female got in her face and Sophie barked and barked at her, and those two ended up being best buddies. The guy said he had been bringing his dog a long time to the park and she has never really been able to play with anyone until she met sophie.
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We had a 9 month old boxer pup at our house for a couple of hours on Sunday as a waystation to a rescue turnover. All of them seemed to be getting along ok, Merlin essentially ignored the little pest. The boxer was semi-trained, but uncut, so he tried to mount Raven. She came unglued, and Merlin came to her defense. We were able to intervene before it proceeded beyond posturing, but it was a potentially ugly situation. I would hate to see the damage that a 145 LB dane could do if he were really serious.
Stella
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Yeah, we have a huge problem with Laika clinging to Kingsley at the park. Kingsley will be playing with another dog, and if Laika thinks it's getting out of hand, she steps in between and barks and tries to chase the other dog away.
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I agree that most dog parks should have little and big dog areas for those dogs not able to play well with others of differing size. The one I am using currently does, but no one uses the little dog area, so it's not much fun for my two ratties. Also, I have 4 dogs of differing size and the large and small dog areas are not next to each other to where I could use both areas at once.
Now that I'm able to trust them a bit off leash, I let them in with the big guys. People get nervous when their much bigger dogs are playing with my two little ones. I always say it's okay, they have to learn to handle themselves (besides, they love every minute of it). Also, at this park there are several places for them to hide to get away if they need to. I haven't been going long there, but I've never seen a problem and there's been dogs of all sizes.
If I was concerned, I would certainly leave and head to the little dog area. I did get a few looks when I went there before I could let Nigel and Posey off leash b/c of course I have to take Keiko and Gunther with and they are obviously not small dogs.........l ol.
Sounds like alot of boston terriers are problem dogs........lo l. I will keep that in mind. :D
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Why do pitties get a bad rep from the media? It's simple, because they are the dog of choice right now for all of the thugs and losers out there who want to get a dog for a status symbol. Unfortunatley these people who are getting the dogs are irresponsible pet owners and they want their dogs to be mean and deadly. Of course this causes problems, and we all know how the media loves hysteria. All of the points I wanted to say have already been said, I think pitties are fantastic dogs and maybe one day I might invite one into our home again. BSL makes me so angry, and I think that anyone who has a fear of these dogs should find a responsible breeder and communicate with them and visit their dogs!! I think many minds would be changed. In given time the pits will be out of the spot light and their will be a new devil dog to replace them. I hope to God that new laws will be implemented against PEOPLE who want to be pet owners, only this way can we prevent the attacks! And it doesn't matter that I'm not a pit owner, because maybe when the thugs and losers decide that they want to demonize newfs (don't laugh, it could happen, they did it to Saints back in the 80's), I want as many people as possible against BSL.
Pitts are a powerful breed, and they have a heart that can love their family just as powerfully.
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Why do pitties get a bad rep from the media? It's simple, because they are the dog of choice right now for all of the thugs and losers out there who want to get a dog for a status symbol. Unfortunatley these people who are getting the dogs are irresponsible pet owners and they want their dogs to be mean and deadly. Of course this causes problems, and we all know how the media loves hysteria. All of the points I wanted to say have already been said, I think pitties are fantastic dogs and maybe one day I might invite one into our home again. BSL makes me so angry, and I think that anyone who has a fear of these dogs should find a responsible breeder and communicate with them and visit their dogs!! I think many minds would be changed. In given time the pits will be out of the spot light and their will be a new devil dog to replace them. I hope to God that new laws will be implemented against PEOPLE who want to be pet owners, only this way can we prevent the attacks! And it doesn't matter that I'm not a pit owner, because maybe when the thugs and losers decide that they want to demonize newfs (don't laugh, it could happen, they did it to Saints back in the 80's), I want as many people as possible against BSL.
Pitts are a powerful breed, and they have a heart that can love their family just as powerfully.
Well said!
I remember when my mom wanted to get a Saint Bernard in the early 90s everyone was appalled and couldn't believe she would want to put her children in danger like that.
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My brother is one of those people who has pits just because of their "status". However, he has been lucky so far, as his aren't from reputable breeders. His previous male was a sweetheart too me. I couldn't pet him enough, he would knock me down if I didn't give him the attention he wanted!! But he looked like the spawn of satan!! He was a sweety to me though. His female, however I wouldn't trust for anything. These can be sweet dogs, but they need the right owners just like any other strong personality breed.
I do agree that the criminal population has a lot to do with the media attention given to pits. Think about it, they've had the dobe's, the rottie's, etc. Unfortunately, their next dog of choice will be the next media favorite.