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Are Pit Bulls man's best friend or murderous beast?
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| Beast | 33% | 759 votes | Total: 2326 votes | |
| Friend | 67% | 1567 votes |
Beast
by Angela S. Young
Created on: July 28, 2007 Last Updated: February 19, 2011
While Pit Bulls certainly can be man's best friend, they can turn quickly into a murderous beast. Of course, this is true of other dog breeds as well. Those who own Pit Bulls swear that they are gentle creatures who would never hurt someone else. Then the dog gets out and kills another dog or even a child. Recently in the news, an elderly woman was killed by two dogs who got out of their fenced in yard. While I am sure there are many arguments on the con side of this debate, but this article will focus on the negative aspects of this breed.
All dogs will bite in the right circumstances, but some breeds are more likely to bite over territory issues, etc., and it's difficult to determine or prevent, because they may decide in a moment that this is the time to strike. A Toy Poodle or a Terrier will bite too, but they are too small to crush a bone or tear a child to pieces. Pitts have very powerful, massive bodies and very strong jaws. Good treatment by an owner will go a long way toward making a Pitt Bull less likely to turn on someone, but it is not a guarantee. The aforementioned elderly lady was killed by two dogs who had often got out, but never attacked before. There is speculation the cause was the time of year: Spring and female dogs in heat.
Your pet may live his entire life without biting anyone, but you have no guarantee, even with good breeding, training and care, that your Pitt Bull will not turn on someone with no notice. It happens all the time, and when a person is attacked by a Pitt Bull, there's a lot of damage. Pitt Bulls are not the only breeds in this category, but they are one of them, and as such, they are a menace to neighborhoods where small children may inadvertently set off an attack.
I do not advocate never owning a Pitt Bull, if you want to take your own life into your hands, that's your right, but I do advocate that they be forbidden in neighborhood areas where children could become victims. Then again, maybe forbidden is too strong a word. I believe dog owners should be held responsible for the acts of their dogs. If you own a Pitt Bull, and it has ever caused problems of any kind, the penalty for an attack should be severe because the person knowingly kept an animal that has been known to be aggressive, and they kept it despite problems.
Another factor in the keeping of Pitt Bulls and other powerful dogs, is owner responsibility. When a person owns a breed that could have problems, that person is responsible for making sure the animal remains contained within the house or the yard. If your Pitt gets out and you do nothing about it, you are responsible if the dog hurts or kills. While all dogs should be contained (or leashed) so that others do not have to deal with their dogs, the damage with a Pitt or other powerful breed is never minor. If you own and love a Pitt Bull, be responsible for making sure it never has access to others.
I know there are people out there who own and love Pitt Bulls, but ownership comes with responsibility. One wrong move, one attack, and a person's life can be over, or they can be scarred for life. The dog will be put down and it's owner may face charges as well. It is not worth the risk.
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Friend
by Jennifer Harker
Created on: July 25, 2009 Last Updated: July 26, 2009
Society, in general, has labeled the pit bull dog as dangerous, only in this case the word "dangerous" means "evil". It is a similar reaction as people had about sharks after the film "Jaws" came out. People were soon slaughtering sharks willy-nilly instead of trying to understand the beast. Let us kill the monster before it gets us!
Sharks are not evil monsters bent on eating us, though, and pit bulls are not evil killing machines. Both are animals that behave as natural instinct commands.
Pit bulls are a breed of dog specifically bred by humans to be powerful, tenacious, intelligent, but also intensely loyal to its owner and family. The breed also possesses a great sense of humor. A pit bull will happily die for its owner. If its owner commands it to fight another dog, the pit bull will do so because pleasing its owner is what the dog lives for.
The root of the pit bull problem is not the dog, but the irresponsible owners who use pit bulls as weapons or as bloody entertainment. These people use the dog's unselfish loyalty and courage for their own selfish gain.
Why is society striking blindly at the dogs, the victims in this matter, instead of at the owners?
Lawmakers do not want to spend the money or time needed to stiffen animal rights laws or educate the public on the proper care of powerful breed dogs. As a result countless pit bulls are condemned and put down each year, many simply because they belong to this outcast breed, and so the vicious cycle rolls on.
While I groomed dogs years ago, I was the only groomer in my town who would work with pit bulls and other powerful breeds. Every single pit bull that passed through my shop was an absolute joy. Each pit was happy to see me and never gave any trouble. A white pit bull named Lady would even grin from ear to ear as she came into the shop! The majority were family dogs with owners well aware their dog needed a firm hand. The owners held no illusions about their dogs' strength, and the dogs were happier for it.
Many of the small breed dogs I groomed, though, had little or no training, bullied their owners, and many left bite scars on my hands. The owners of the small breeds suffered from "little dog syndrome", meaning they thought their dog was too small and cute to need training or a pack leader. Fifi would never hurt anyone! She was too cute and fluffy. Yeah, tell that to the scar on my right thumb.
The owners' passive attitude caused their small dogs to become dominant because, as Cesar Millan always says, in a dog's natural world someone in the pack has to be pack leader.
The same thing happens to a pit bull when it finds itself without a pack leader. It takes command of the pack (the owner or owner's family), and that is when trouble starts. The family fails to understand their dog's dominant behavior. There is a lack of clear communication between the owner and the dog. The pit bull grows unhappier and more frustrated. It begins to lash out like the bullying little dogs in the paragraph above, often with more violent results. The family blames the dog's aggressive behavior on its breed instead of taking responsibility for their lack of leadership and/or knowledge.
The pit bull soon finds itself on the way to the pound, but the dog has no understanding of why its family has abandoned it or why it is going to die. It was simply trying to follow its natural instincts by being a strong pack leader! This is a perfect example of the lack of communication and basic knowledge of dog behavior that plagues countless dog owners.
Pit bulls, dogs willing to defend us and do anything we tell them, are being disposed of because to have put them down is cheaper and less trouble than cracking down on the irresponsible owners and backyard breeders or educating the ignorant public that feeds off fear-mongering media hype.
So, who exactly is the monster?
Learn more about this author, Jennifer Harker.
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