Kill more American Pit Bull Terriers.
Its been a while since I've written a blog on here and I've been juggling a topic or two around in my head for what I wanted to discuss in my newest work....I want to preface this blog with the disclaimer that this blog is not directed at any member of this forum..
.And so I've decided that I'll discuss my opinion on why more American Pit Bull Terriers should be killed instead of being adopted out. I hope readers of this blog will read this with an open mind and see that I write desiring to see the death of more of these dogs simply because I love the breed and want to see it succeed.
I hope that we can start this with a total agreement.... this breed is most certainly not for everyone.As well as that the average person has no idea what handling this breed properly means. I mean how many stories have we all read on this very forum about people that had dogs for several years together and never took measures early on to avoid accidents later in life? Refusing to separate dogs... not crate training, refusing to tether dogs... and allowing them unsupervised time in the house together. How many stories have we read about the dog that kills a beloved family cat, rabbit, or other breed of dog? They never saw it coming... they don't understand why it just snapped.... Why did it happen?
It has been my understanding in these stories that the majority of dogs in question have been rescue dogs.. and more so that they are often the first "pit bull" a person has owned. Many times I've seen the post of a person I just rescued a pit bull.... now what? They have read nothing on the breed, nothing on the history of the breed natural GENETIC tendencies of the breed. Bascially they know nothing beyond maybe a few episodes of The Dog Whisperer... or maybe they've looked at Bad Rap's website and seen all the "good fortune" they've had with the rescued Vick dogs.. and so they have all the good intentions of these people and groups and they want to make help this noble breed....
But what is it they've said of the road to hell and good intentions?......
Sadly good intentions can not help the majority of these cases..... these dogs need a special kind of person. They need to someone that understands that this breed is a warrior breed and NOTHING more. Yes they make excellent pets, yes they are very lovable creatures and make wonderful couch potatoes.. but they are warriors and I believe truly happy in combat.. yes they can be happy doing other things but their true calling is combat.
With dogs that tend to be this highly geared toward a natural aggression and desire for combat so deep in their genes we must look beyond trying to love and teach this desire out of them. They need someone to respect this desire and manage it.. not do away with it. And I just don't believe that many rescue people have the ability to do this.... and by rescuing a dog of this caliber giving it a place in your life and not being capable of understanding this you do a disservice to your dog.
By placing a dog like this is a home that isn't able to handle their special needs...because believe me they do have different needs than your average breed.. you set them up for failure. And I fully and completely believe that each time one of these dogs fail in the eyes of the public the entire breed fails. And in this day and age with the rabid monster of Breed Specific Legislation running wild one failure is too many,
So I do believe an overhaul is needed on the policies of the adoption of this breed..... if we truly wish to see it carry on. The more and more of these dogs that are adopted out just willy nilly to anyone with good intentions the more stories of failure we will see. I see no other realistic way of combating this issue other than to promote a higher number of APBTs in shelters to be euthanized. Because I do not see a way shelters across the country can afford to implement a good enough adoption process to assure that APBTs are placed in capable understanding homes.
SO yes... I love this breed... I want this breed to succeed more than anything.. and I want the witch hunt against this breed to stop. I wish for a day when responsible American Pit Bull Terrier owners can proudly and without fear claim the love for their animals... when they can have breaksticks, treadmills, flirtpoles, spingpoles, and other tools that every responsible owner should have without fear of being accused of engaging in illegal activities.
And one of the ways I see this being able to happen is by having less and less of these animals failing because of owners that simply just don't know better or are too ignorant to see beyond what they want these dogs to be and see what these dogs ARE... and the most effective way I see of achieving this is to simply to make it harder for people with good intentions and no real knowledge of the breed to be able to adopt them.
Currently there are shelters nationwide overpopulated with pit bulls...and last time I checked at my local shelter it was about $75 to adopt a dog from them. So anybody with $75 can adopt a dog... 75 dollars could put your ability to own an American Pit Bull Terrier... your breed of choice at risk... simply because someone with all the good intentions in the world but without the ability to contain what their $75 just got them as it kills the neighbors Labrador, or gets loose and kills a few cats.
Is that a chance you'd really be willing to take? Would you be willing to lay your dogs on the line so that someone that has a full season of The Dog Whisperer on DVD and has read pit bulls for dummies can spend $75 and feel like they are making a difference in the dog world?
Me.... I'd rather see more dogs killed than adopted out simply to keep these dogs away from those people that I described. Now I realize that not everyone that adopts is incapable of properly caring for, understanding, and containing this breed... and those of you out there that do rescue and adopt and properly care for your animals you do a wonderful thing or this breed and I do thank you for what you do for this breed and the dogs you save from the gas chamber.
Kill More... Rescue Less... Save the breed...
.And so I've decided that I'll discuss my opinion on why more American Pit Bull Terriers should be killed instead of being adopted out. I hope readers of this blog will read this with an open mind and see that I write desiring to see the death of more of these dogs simply because I love the breed and want to see it succeed.
I hope that we can start this with a total agreement.... this breed is most certainly not for everyone.As well as that the average person has no idea what handling this breed properly means. I mean how many stories have we all read on this very forum about people that had dogs for several years together and never took measures early on to avoid accidents later in life? Refusing to separate dogs... not crate training, refusing to tether dogs... and allowing them unsupervised time in the house together. How many stories have we read about the dog that kills a beloved family cat, rabbit, or other breed of dog? They never saw it coming... they don't understand why it just snapped.... Why did it happen?
It has been my understanding in these stories that the majority of dogs in question have been rescue dogs.. and more so that they are often the first "pit bull" a person has owned. Many times I've seen the post of a person I just rescued a pit bull.... now what? They have read nothing on the breed, nothing on the history of the breed natural GENETIC tendencies of the breed. Bascially they know nothing beyond maybe a few episodes of The Dog Whisperer... or maybe they've looked at Bad Rap's website and seen all the "good fortune" they've had with the rescued Vick dogs.. and so they have all the good intentions of these people and groups and they want to make help this noble breed....
But what is it they've said of the road to hell and good intentions?......
Sadly good intentions can not help the majority of these cases..... these dogs need a special kind of person. They need to someone that understands that this breed is a warrior breed and NOTHING more. Yes they make excellent pets, yes they are very lovable creatures and make wonderful couch potatoes.. but they are warriors and I believe truly happy in combat.. yes they can be happy doing other things but their true calling is combat.
With dogs that tend to be this highly geared toward a natural aggression and desire for combat so deep in their genes we must look beyond trying to love and teach this desire out of them. They need someone to respect this desire and manage it.. not do away with it. And I just don't believe that many rescue people have the ability to do this.... and by rescuing a dog of this caliber giving it a place in your life and not being capable of understanding this you do a disservice to your dog.
By placing a dog like this is a home that isn't able to handle their special needs...because believe me they do have different needs than your average breed.. you set them up for failure. And I fully and completely believe that each time one of these dogs fail in the eyes of the public the entire breed fails. And in this day and age with the rabid monster of Breed Specific Legislation running wild one failure is too many,
So I do believe an overhaul is needed on the policies of the adoption of this breed..... if we truly wish to see it carry on. The more and more of these dogs that are adopted out just willy nilly to anyone with good intentions the more stories of failure we will see. I see no other realistic way of combating this issue other than to promote a higher number of APBTs in shelters to be euthanized. Because I do not see a way shelters across the country can afford to implement a good enough adoption process to assure that APBTs are placed in capable understanding homes.
SO yes... I love this breed... I want this breed to succeed more than anything.. and I want the witch hunt against this breed to stop. I wish for a day when responsible American Pit Bull Terrier owners can proudly and without fear claim the love for their animals... when they can have breaksticks, treadmills, flirtpoles, spingpoles, and other tools that every responsible owner should have without fear of being accused of engaging in illegal activities.
And one of the ways I see this being able to happen is by having less and less of these animals failing because of owners that simply just don't know better or are too ignorant to see beyond what they want these dogs to be and see what these dogs ARE... and the most effective way I see of achieving this is to simply to make it harder for people with good intentions and no real knowledge of the breed to be able to adopt them.
Currently there are shelters nationwide overpopulated with pit bulls...and last time I checked at my local shelter it was about $75 to adopt a dog from them. So anybody with $75 can adopt a dog... 75 dollars could put your ability to own an American Pit Bull Terrier... your breed of choice at risk... simply because someone with all the good intentions in the world but without the ability to contain what their $75 just got them as it kills the neighbors Labrador, or gets loose and kills a few cats.
Is that a chance you'd really be willing to take? Would you be willing to lay your dogs on the line so that someone that has a full season of The Dog Whisperer on DVD and has read pit bulls for dummies can spend $75 and feel like they are making a difference in the dog world?
Me.... I'd rather see more dogs killed than adopted out simply to keep these dogs away from those people that I described. Now I realize that not everyone that adopts is incapable of properly caring for, understanding, and containing this breed... and those of you out there that do rescue and adopt and properly care for your animals you do a wonderful thing or this breed and I do thank you for what you do for this breed and the dogs you save from the gas chamber.
Kill More... Rescue Less... Save the breed...
Total Comments 130
Comments
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I am not sure who you are talking to. In scientific terms, yes, humans are animals. However, not all animals are equal. There are hierarchies. A human isn't equal to a dog. A lion isn't equal to a wildebeest.Posted 10-29-2009 at 01:14 PM by CoolHandJean 
Updated 10-29-2009 at 02:16 PM by CoolHandJean (Fixing Spelling.) -
Exactly Jean... Frank everything I have seen you post on here as been said by PETA almost word for word.... I ask this not in a slanderous way... but in honest curiosity are you a PETA/HSUS supporter?
If so.,.. fine just want to see who I am dealing with.Posted 10-29-2009 at 09:06 PM by NcPrisonGuard - No. I have never been associated with PETA or any other organization. I speak for myself on anything I post. I don't see why you complain so much about people who are in support of organizations such as PETA though. They have their own beliefs which are pretty wide shared by millions of people. If you don't agree with them then don't. Just stop bitching about it cuz it's getting tiring having to ready the same lame ass response over and over again. "cesar melan follow" "You got that off the PETA website". PETA is against alot of my training methods such as "prong" collars and "shock collars" for agression and hunting dogs. I do share common things with both sides though. I do believe in sticking with breed standerds but, I also believe that if someone wants a dog that maybe doesnt have the drive but has the looks for show or just as a house dog then let them have their dog. It's not effecting where you get your fighting lines from. Like I've said before, my male fits both sides, he's never backed out of a fight but he also fits breed standards to a T. The only difference is I have my dog well trained enough that I can bring him out in public, to a dog park and not worry about having him bite someone or someones dog.
Posted 10-30-2009 at 11:45 AM by franksdogtraining - PETA is for the totally destruction of domestic animals, and they lie to the people that blindly follow them and those people send PETA money thinking they are saving animals. PETA kills more animals than save. So, that is why many of us are against organizations like PETA.
If you are tired of these responses, then why do you keep coming to these blogs and writing in them? Why not just stick to the main forum?
I don't think anyone said you can't have the dog you want, nor did anyone say, "You can only have dogs from fighting line". Heck, most people should not have dogs from fighting lines, because most people can't handle them. I am not even sure where you came up with that assessment.
We are just saying if you treat a dog like a baby, you are in for some trouble.Posted 10-30-2009 at 02:20 PM by CoolHandJean
Updated 10-30-2009 at 02:23 PM by CoolHandJean - Who here said you should baby your dog?
Posted 10-30-2009 at 04:24 PM by franksdogtraining - Asiasmommy and some other were saying they treat their dog like their child, we mentioned that we treat our dogs like dogs, and suddenly it just went downhill from there. In a big stink of off topic-ness. lol.
The "you" was a general you.Posted 10-30-2009 at 04:25 PM by CoolHandJean
Updated 10-30-2009 at 05:04 PM by CoolHandJean - I just remember that she said she treats her dogs like dogs.
Posted 10-30-2009 at 11:43 PM by franksdogtraining - She kept quoting NC. She was saying that since he said he treats his dogs like dogs, he is a neglectful owner. Her reasoning was because he chains his dogs, and because of his quote where he said, "I don't believe in treating dogs like little four legged furry babies... my dogs are dogs and nothing more. They aren't members of my family they are my property.... they are loved and well cared for but that is as far as it goes."
Posted 10-30-2009 at 11:52 PM by CoolHandJean - Well there is one thing I strongly disagree with in that quote. A dog should be a member of the family. They are pack animals and a pack is a family for the dog. They follow their leader without question. I do not have a problem chaining dogs if the chain is connected to a collar. I do not approve of the chain itself being wrapped around a dogs neck. I've seen too many cases where the owner neglects the dog and the chain ends up being embeded in the dogs neck. Also many people do not set up proper water for their dog. They put the water in a place were it can easily get knocked over. I do disagree with people who baby their dogs. Dogs are just that they are dogs and need to be treated as such. You have to be dominant over them otherrwise the WILL challange you for power. Thats when you hear about people saying that "the dog turned on the owner".
Posted 10-31-2009 at 11:19 AM by franksdogtraining - I think we all disagree with Irresponsible Chaining.
Posted 10-31-2009 at 11:26 AM by CoolHandJean - Frank I don't believe in a "pack" of APBTs... sorry they aren't pack animals... the average dog might be a pack animal but the average gamebred APBT wants to fight other dogs not live happily with them in a little dog community.
Now that being said I believe these dogs can form a "pack" of sorts while seperated on chains... I have them placed in the yard and they each get one on one time with me their "pack leader"..although I don't use that term... they get fed in a certain order everyday... Boomer, Angel, Folsom, Missy, Achilles.... (Slick is the housedog so he's not included) They are fed that way Boomer is the oldest male, Angel the oldest female... Folsom the second male, Missy the second female.. and lastly Achilles because he's not my dog... he's a visitor on the yard.
But I refuse to think of them as my family... because my family is more important to me. I'd butcher every one of my dogs with a spoon if it would save my wife's life.... these dogs are not my family.
As Jean said... they are property but well cared for and well loved property... like a Ferarri. Yes you own the car.. yes you treat it well and keep it garaged and clean... but at the end of the day its just a car.
Yes I love my dogs... I'd kill someone over my dogs... of this I have no doubt... but at the end of the day, they are not family, they are not fur babies, they aren't my chidren, they are not my equals........
they are just dogs.Posted 11-01-2009 at 08:37 PM by NcPrisonGuard - Your wrong about the pack. A dogs most basic instinct is survival. Their most common relative is the wolf and the wolf is a pack animal. Yes they will fight and sometimes kill another but they will establish a ranking. Take a few males and a few females all of different ages and from puppy to adult and put them on a couple acre farm so they can't leave but have plenty of room. Youll see the dogs go back to their most basic instincts. There WILL be fights for power but there will be a winner and that winner will be the alpha and take breeding rights to the bitches. You can do this with puppies if you want to see it done quickly and in a safer environment. Take a litter of puppies, "any type" lets say 7 puppies. Dont feed them for a the day, and seperate them. Put 3 of them in a room then toss a raw bone with meat on it in the room. Youll see the dominant puppy fight for the bone. Keep an eye on that puppy, then add the other 4 puppies and watch as another alpha challanges the first alpha out of the original 3 puppies. That will be the first puppy to eat, then the previous alpha and it will continue down the line. The point of doing this is to show how dogs quickly establlish a ranking in their pack. As the dogs got older, a young male will challange the old alpha and it will continue as such for breeding rights etc. I dont care what you think about PITBULLS and packs and whatever else. The FACTS are that these animals will do whatever it takes to survive and hense reproduce.
Posted 11-02-2009 at 10:38 AM by franksdogtraining - I agree despite what people may say or think. The fact is that these dogs are not for everyone like it has been said and before they land on the wrong hands and make the the name any more degrading that where it is at i rather prevented and put a stop so it does not happen any more. Because at the end of the day the one's hurting are the responsible American Pitbull owners and there beloved pets. For whom they devote time and effort to try to keep the breed in good standings. I AGREE DESPITE WHAT SOME IGNORANT PPL MAY THINK.
Great blog man!Posted 11-02-2009 at 01:41 PM by Bubbles-Chucky -
franksdogtraining - I would hope you never attempt the experiment you posted above with a gamebred APBT (or quite frankly most pit bull type dogs). Sticking a few male and a few female gamebred APBT's of different ages loose on a couple acre farm will NOT have the result you seem to think it would. IF one male and one female survive the experiment, then yes, I suppose those dogs will become the "alphas" and thus have the opportunity to reproduce.Posted 11-03-2009 at 01:28 PM by Victoria - If you honestly think there will be one final dog standing, that one dog will kill them all, then your completely ignorant to nature and natural selection.
Posted 11-04-2009 at 08:46 PM by franksdogtraining - This breed was not created through natural selection. It was created by humans, and certain traits were selected for a purpose. Your scenario gives approx 6 dogs on a couple of acres, not an iguana population on the galapagos.
I did not state there would be any dogs left standing, only IF. Nor did I state that one dog would kill them all.
Back on topic, if it is even possible at this point -
NC- why should a BYB be entitled to any more rights than a humane society or similar? I feel that entirely too often, humane societies and animal control facilities are left to blame for so many issues with pets and the population problem today, when we MUST look to the fact that it is the small time family BYB who is causing the most problems with the state of homeless pets at this time.
I am not saying to take away the rights of anyone to breed their dog if they see fit. However, I would like to see more opportunities for people to spay/neuter their family pets in hopes this would encourage them to do so.
I ALSO wish it would be easier for individuals to cull their pets. Vet offices want a reason before euthanasia, so do shelters. When you explain that cute little puppy does not have the proper temperament, often that is not enough and you are turned away, or the puppy is taken by the Vet or shelter and adopted out, against your wishes. I believe my own shepherd is a result of this - instead, he was dumped in the woods and we just happened to find him. I have no doubt that if he came from a good breeder, he would have been culled due to issues we could see even at the tender age of 9 weeks. (he of course has since turned out to be perfect for me, just has a low immune system and is different from the standard)Posted 11-05-2009 at 08:57 AM by Victoria - I doesnt matter if the breed came from humans. Natural selections takes effect in ALL living things. Heres an easier situation for you to understand. When a mother animal gives birth to multiple young, not all the young survive. Even if they survived the birthing process, the mother will abondone a few of them so that she will have enough milk to feed the rest.
Posted 11-05-2009 at 02:08 PM by franksdogtraining - The problem with your scenario Frank is this.....
The APBT is a fighting dog...there are dogs that are so fight crazy that they won't breed.. thus the use of breeding stands. In a "normal" breed the instinct to breed trumps all... but there are APBTs that are wired so tightly for combat they would rather fight than procreate.
The problem is these dogs do not fight for dominance like most breeds... they fight because they enjoy it.. they fight because instinct tells them to fight.... just like beagles don't track a scent for dominance... they track it because they enjoy it... they are doing their intended purpose.... So No i do not believe that you could invent a "pack" of gamebred APBTs and expect it to be viable.... the ,majority wuld want nothing to do with the other dogs other than kill them.
Victoria:
I don't believe infringing on anyone's right to breed their dogs for any reason.... that is why I believe more shelters should kill more and rescue less... people are going to breed no matter what... some good APBts will end up in shelters... alot of bad ones will... but I don't know of a way to police BYBs without infringing on their rights as property owners.Posted 11-05-2009 at 06:56 PM by NcPrisonGuard -
I understand the not wanting to infringe on the Irresponsible Idiots who are mostly Responsible (BYB) for the crisis we're facing today...however do the SPCA's, Humane Societies, Animal Sanctuaries, Shelters, Rescue groups, and the likes for whom a lot are not-for-profit organizations have similar rights? How can we pick and choose whose rights we infringe upon?Posted 11-05-2009 at 07:58 PM by pitbullhappenings - I don't think any shelters/rescues should be forced to put to sleep certain dogs.
I would hope they would put certain dogs down on their own to help out, which is something I wish bybers would do as well, but I wouldn't "force" either to do so.Posted 11-05-2009 at 09:55 PM by CoolHandJean
