Pit craigslist rant,,,after seeing 100 rants against them

[bullmaster74]

i have worked at an animal shelter in jamaica plain when i was younger. i exercised the dogs, feeding, cleaning ect. at that time i had never seen a pitbull and was wondering what made them so different from other dogs. one morning when i was cleaning cages i came across my first pit and didnt actually know it was one. i put her on a leash and brought her into the enclosure and played fetch and tug of war. the dog was 50lbs at best but could almost pull me down with the rope. when i walked her through the waiting room, people moved out of the way like this smiling little dog was a killer.

turns out she was a pitbull/chinese shar pei mix…which is the chinese pitbull. she seemed scared but was confrontational with other dogs when cornered mostly.

she was covered in cigar burns, her white fur was gray, 15lbs underweight and turns out she bit her owner when he went into the basement to feed her after taking her pups she had just weened. the next day i went to feed a dog with a red flag that looked totally normal. it was a golden retriever so it caught me off guard when he put his nose through the bars and ripped my pant leg trying to pull me in… the same day a black lab who lived with a family for 6 years came in after biting its child owner in the face…which i might add never got in the news,,,50 something stitches later.
long story short, all 3 dogs were to be put down the same week and i would walk them to the “Back Door” where there were animal bodies in trash barrels waiting to be burned,,,i took the lab, the retriever and walked them back on a pole. when i went back for the pit with sadness in my eyes and a little scared after learning more about her,,once i got the nerve up to open the cage i realized i wouldnt need the pole..she could not stop licking me and licking and licking but i knew she had bitten,,,just couldnt see it,,,i took her in the yard again and played with her rough, rolled her around on the ground, smacked her butt,,,and then the vet asked me to bring her in and that no one could handle the help she needed because of living her 2 years of life abused in a basement. being 19 yrs old, i ran to my truck with her and drove home shitting my pants that i had one of those dogs that turn on you 1 foot away from me…she had issues,,,most dogs in shelters do or they wouldnt be there. 90% of the time the owners got a dog they were not equipped to train and figured it would teach itself whos in charge….ok dumb but common.

i brought the dog home to my senior parents who never owned a dog and i read animal training books all day and night. animal control caught up with me a month later to take the dog back but she was in perfect health by now and the guy said he would say he never found us. i never got her great with other dogs but all dogs need socialized as pups or it always happens with any breed…. she was a good guard dog, loved our family and was sweet to all humans who were welcome in our home. my parents both died of cancer 4 years later and out of missing them the dog died a few weeks later and would not get off their bed long enough to eat. that is a resilient dog that was kicked around and found it in herself to forgive and love….

as i said she was aggressive toward other dogs so i kept her away from them and kids just in case. i was responsible but i have seen many pit owners love the fact their dog is crazy and praise them for it.

in england the american staffordshire is called the Nanny Dog and considered the best with children? yes that is true. makes u wonder if there are 2 kinds of pits? or 2 kinds of pit owners?
since those days i have had 4 more pits, all pure bred all perfect animals when socialized with other dogs, cats, birds and even a pot bellied piglet that one of my adult females raised and let pretend to nurse from her for comfort. my neighbor is an established dog trainer in Reading MA and combined we have 5 pits that live in this house who play all day, friendly to all people and love children and cry when kids walk by…its not a coincidence that all these have been great dogs. it takes work, praise toward being gentle mini giants and no hitting or intimidation. pit owners should have to take a test on #1 their ability to train a dog (that rules out 40percent of owners) criminal background of violence and an evaluation of the dog 6 weeks later to see if they are making a monster or a good K9 citizen.

I am a pit owner but i am not all for anyone having a pit bull and really any dog if they cant keep the dog safe as well as all in contact with the animal.

u dont hate a kid when they act like little jerks and flip out, small dogs its ok, u can just kick them aside but when that dog runs up and bites a pit in the nose and gets hurt,,,its news worthy,,,bite a person,,,1 news worthy dog bite out of 100 in a day across the country….pit bull
ive been to lynn and boston,,,i see what u see,,big dummy walking a mean looking dog with a spiked collar feeding off his owners negativity towards everyone going by… thats the cancer of the breed. all dogs start out as sweet pups, fighting dogs from a million years ago need to get their energy out by doing creative things that work them out,,,fetch is boring, they are one of the most intelligent breeds who by the way were not just fighters….they were herders and cart pullers…they were easy to train and eager to please,,,making them doomed in the hands of the gangster mentality.

digs who love to bite,,,google it,,,my neighbor had a shepard that bit 3 people, and my masonry customer has a black lab that bit 2 people and even me!

surrounded by pits and i get bit by retrievers…go figure.
i wont say all pits are great,,,,people are naturally ignorant when it comes to things they have not taken the time to learn fully…. for those people and for a first dog a pit bull is not for you and u will be another person bringing their overly dominant dog to the shelter with a dumb look on your face….

[matt]

Thanks for this story.

[bullmaster74]

thank u for reading…it was a bit long but they beat our dogs verbally to the point where,,,u’d want to snap! some days i just cant take the ignorance … glad to see others feel the same

[Coltdrey]

Hi,

You gave me some great advice about making eye contact when trying to teach stay, which is working well.

I was hoping you would have some ideas about how to keep my pit, Jeune from being so bored all day. I put her outside in the morning which I usually have to put her on a leash to do or I would be dragging her through the house and from under beds (she is a chewer so has to be outside.) What has worked for me is her puzzle ball which lets out food but it only lasts about 30min and her favourite is when I hide treats in the yard; when I do this she doesn’t even come to the fence to watch me leave. I have a flirt pole on order as I think she will enjoy that good work out in the morning but she doesn’t like to play with chew toys alone only with someone or another dog. Oh, she does love to knock over her water bowl EVERYDAY and move it from one side of the yard to the other. I have tried really heavy ceramic planters full of water etc but she just breaks them eventually and if they don’t break she chews them up; however she never does this in front of anyone. I just don’t know what to do. I want her to be okay with being outside, even when I am home (if I am home and put her out most of the time she sits at the door and waits for me to let her in.) She loves the dogs next door but I don’t know if it is safe for them to be left alone together unattended all day (they are a lap mix puppy and an english mastiff.)

Any help would be appreciated.

Colleen

[Taana]

Try getting her a “almost indestructable ball” You can purchase online if u don’t have a Petsmart in your area. $10.00 for a small one or $12.00 for the large, this might be an option since she rolls her water bowl around. My dog plays with it for hours. We have to place a box over it to get him to stop running around like a lunatic. We also have a tractor tire attached with a climbing rope to a tree. The extra part of the rope hangs down. I taught my dog to grab the rope and he will play with that also watching it swing back n forth. Also I freeze vanilla yogurt in a large kong when I leave him out( cool and refreshing treat or mix kibble or biscuits with peanut butter and place it in the kong for him to naw on. Your pup needs to be exercised daily with long walks. You want to wear him out n he’ll be happy and wont chew on things. Have you tried the crate n rotate method? Go to http://www.PBRC.net website and read up on NFL and crate n rotate. The site has great ideas. Good Luck

[Coltdrey]

Thanks,

I am not sure why she would need the crate and rotate method though, she loves the dog she lives with and in 2 years they have never had any trouble and spend a lot of time sleeping together. I walk her daily and have tried crating her with treats and it worked for getting her to use her dog house outside but she just doesn’t want anything to do with a crate, she bends the metal crates to breaking point and pulls anything she can into the crate to chew on despite the toys available in her crate. She doesn’t love balls unless they give out food (she is VERY food motivated) but I will try it because I am open to anything.

[bullmaster74]

Hey so happy to hear u and jeune are working better together with eye contact. girls are always most receptive to subtle things and she’ll always look in your eyes for the rest of her life the more u use it. ur girl feels u more than she hears you.
so far i see that her main cause for acting up is anxiety. not easily fixed by tossing her a new bone once in a while. chewing is the flower when anxiety is the root.
my dog jessie had little symptoms of this when she was a young BIG puppy.. she would bark when we left,,,i used a crate. not for punishment but actually for her to have a protected space for her to only lay down and chill. some dogs bark the whole time,,most just a few minutes… ur crate would have to be a big one,,, just one idea again helping a portion of the issue. as she got better and could leave her for limited times which increase, i would section her off to a safe room. mostly her stuff and a few things as bait that we didnt care about. her stuff meaning things to use her energy on,,like ur ball with food. TV on or radio helps always.. sounds funny but classical music is best….
she seems crazy when it is time for her to go out,,,, something is not right with her connection to going outside,,it makes her feel desperate. that is sad way to start the day.
she has abandonment issues of course, six months in a shelter is a long time. as for the dogs next door, she can hang with the through the fence safely as my dogs do. still stimulating for them.
the funny thing is most of the time we call it boredom but dogs naturally should just consider it downtime and go with it.
jeune bug just has u on the brain all day,,which is very sweet and loyal but its making her crazy poor thing. first off no guilt! she is a dog. her job is to hang home and guard the house. every dog needs a job. focusing on the moment is healthy… she is focused soley on what time u get home…
i think she needs a helping of tough love and finding a purpose for her day…dogs love and depend on structure and routine.
treats hidden in the yard,,awesome idea…it works, lets build on that. how about hiding her whole meal throughout the yard for a while. im sure u can figure a way to break up her food into little areas and have her search…so far she is a search dog.. naturally ..
search dogs are hunters,,bull breeds have unreal sense of smell and the mental stimulation only lets her be in the moment = perfect.
i owned a southern bred dog that was a male but was her clone…i see her not to be a fighting dog but really a hunting/guard dog… let her know it and own it so she can be herself,,,which she lost along the way. at 2 dogs shouldnt chew of course she is signalling u as well how severe she feels when ur gone so long.
in the first stages, leave for a few minutes,,come back sit her,,good girl ect. if she doesnt chew pop her a treat. move up her alone time to whatever u feel is within reason maybe 5 mins, then 7 then 10..if she sees that mom is going to be back at any moment,,,she will choose not to get caught and find something else to do and think about,,,dogs are kids that cant talk,,,they act we respond
do that on the weekend and she will start saying well..mom goes and leaves me and sometimes comes back quick,,,easier to get through the time if u are probably coming sooner than later,,,but shell start loosing track of time and the whole deal will be gone someday. start slow and let me know what u get to on that.
some dogs dont like being outside for too long… flipping the water in private is her saying let me in im done out here… shes not there yet… tough love time with the water bowl…
my florida dogs did that.. i tried lots of things but 1 sure method to start with is outside, take a 4 foot by 4 foot sheet of plywood, glue a metal bowl (crazy glue) to it in the center. when her paws are on the wood she cant tip the bowl..lol man vs dog if she gets to flip the wood at the edges (most dont) dig the plywood a couple inches in the ground or something heavy on it ,,,she’ll get the hint.
keeping her happy out side is one thing,,the goal is to get her to be good inside with her free time. the flirt pole is going to help her so much and her shape will be perfect…60 mins of walking or 15 on the flirt pole.. best investment ever! use it like in yummymommy79’s vid,,she gets the dogs crazy
also make her sit and praise when she gets it.. make her drop,,stay and get it when u say its time to go again,,structure ,,,
its a start,,let me know how she does in the house trials … i want her to be able to balance in and out some first, ok?
glad to hear from u and asking questions is helping the breed.

[abbraus]

Nice story and way to go with saving that pit bull!

And yeah tons of other dogs bite! Just last summer an Australlian sheperd bit my boyfriend. caught him right on the cheek. the doc said if that dog would have bit any harder he would have had to get reconstructive surgery on his face….he almost had holes through his face! not that I own a pit bull, I would love too, but with all the laws,its crazy! those BSL are ridiculous. Like everyone says its the owner(s). Instead of having the laws they should have requirements for any bully breed owner of what you said plus make sure that anyone who owns a bully breed HAS to go to basic training and have their dog tested for aggresion (if you dont already have to do that) and also make the dog go to a class for socialization. Seriously peeople freak out a dog tries to defend itself or freaks out and everyone assumes it needs to die. Its sad! They are animals. We (humans) are also animals, we have to defend ourselves too when we feel threatened. Doesn’t mean we should be put down. People and animals make mistakes. It’s life. I can see dogs that are a big threat to anyone and everything should be put down. Sorry for the long rant. But thats just wrong. I hate how media can take something and twist it so BAD! But thanks for the story hope you will have more

[MARY MARINEAU]

I ALSO AM AN OWNER OF 2 PITBULLS, 1IS 2YRS OLD BLUENOSE,THE OTHER IS HER PUP SOON TO BE 5MONTHS OLD. THE PUP GETS ALONG WITH ALL DOGS, BIG OR SMALL, BUT THE MOTHER, WELL SHE DON’T GET ALONG WITH FEMALE DOGS OF ANY BREED. YOU SEE SHE WAS ATTACKED TWICE AT DIFFERENT TIMES. BUT BOTH DOGS JUST HAPPEN TO BE PITS, IT WASN’T THE DOGS FAULT IT WAS THE OWNER, MY DOG HAD HER MUZZLE ON WHICH IS THE LAW HERE IN BOSTON MASS,WELL THE OWNER COULDN’T STOP HIS PIT FROM CHARGING MY DOG! MY PIT DIDN’T GET HURT I DID! SECOND TIME, THIS ONE ALSO A PIT, BUT THIS ONE WAS A FIGHTING DOG AND BY THIS TIME MY GIRL HAD,HAD ENOUGH EVEN WITH THE MUZZLE ON SHE DEFENDED HERSELF AND THE OTHER PIT GOT HURT! IF THE PERSONS WHO OWNED THESE DOGS HAVE DONE THERE JOB AT TAKING BETTER PRECAUTIONS WHEN GOING OUT TO A PARK WHERE EVERYONE TAKES THERE DOGS/DOG MAYBE JUST MAYBE SHE WOULDN’T WANT TO KILL EVERY FEMALE DOG THAT COMES NEAR HER. BUT SHE IS GREAT WITH OTHER DOGS JUST NOT FEMALE DOGS WHAT CAN I DO? I MAKE SURE SHE THAT I FOLLOW THE RULES WHEN AT THE PARK,MUZZLE AND LEASE!!!!!!!!!!!

[Author]

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