conuly | An article taken from moggymania

As someone who owns a government-labeled "pit bull" (i.e. a purebred, 40lb. Staffordshire Bull Terrier: a breed that has never been implicated in a fatal attack upon a person in this country unlike, oh, say, Golden Retrievers and Dachshunds), I'm firmly in the "its the owner, not the dog" camp for the most part.

And this woman is clearly a bad dog owner. Why does she have an intact male and a breeding female? Twits like this who breed unregistered dogs without genetic screening (to reduce inherited disease or other bloodline problems) are the vast part of our problem with dog attacks. (Add to that the large number of people who refuse to get their dogs neutered or spayed because they sexually identify with their pet's intact state. Excuse me, but can't you be man or woman enough to realize that you are not your dog?) Who doesn't restrain and separate two breeding dogs (crates? kennels? anything?) or at least take underage children with them when they leave the house where said dogs are?

This woman has demonstrated that she is responsible enough to be neither a petowner nor a parent. She ought to be prosecuted for criminal neglect, IMHO.

You know, I was gonna comment, but you said just about everything I wanted to say.

Pit bulls get a bad rap. They're loving, sweet, intelligent, affectionate dogs. AND CUDDLY TOO, their fur is really soft. ;)

And no, I don't think the woman is acting "normally", but she doesn't seem to act that way *ever*, so...

Hell, I've seen people say that it's wrong and cruel to neuter-- that it's like declawing, ear cropping and debarking! "You should never alter your pet from their natural state, and if you can't deal with an animal as it was meant to be, you shouldn't have it."

There's some people out there I just don't understand.

Those are the kinds of people I want to ask "Then why do you bathe and wear clothes? That's not natural..."

You said everything I just said.

Add on that my own pitbull is a WUSS. a weenie, even.

also: WTF. Identify with thier dog's intact state? o_O messed up.

And who trains a dog to lick off their make-up? That doesn't sound good for the dog at all... and ewww, gross.

The only pitbull I knew was sweet, but she would sometimes lash out. She was found, abandoned, and we think she was abused. It was alright, she never attacked anyone dangerously - she just would sometimes react badly when startled or perhaps when something triggered a bad memory, then she'd feel very bad about it. Mainly, she'd just sometimes freak out and scare people. We kept her, but we never let her around children. There's no reason to confiscate a dog unless the owner is being irresponsible. And every adult who was near the dog was able to give informed consent.

Two of my best friends from college have a pair of Rottweiler/German Shepherd crosses (who look just like rotties, only bigger). Sweetest, best-trained dogs you'll ever meet. They were in obedience classes from the age of three months. The people downstairs have what we think is a pit bull/labrador cross (looks just like a pit bull, only bigger), and he also seems quite friendly and well-trained, if a bit lonely (he barks when we come home; G. keeps saying he's going to ask the people downstairs for a key so he can let the dog out to play—then again G's best friend in Scotland had a wolf/malamute cross).

In any case, I'd never want a pit bull or Rottweiler, because I don't think they're laid-back enough, just like I'd never want a Dalmatian or a husky or a Bernese Mountain Dog because they need so much exercise, and I'd never want a Chihuahua because they're so high-strung and hyperactive. But that's certainly not the dog's fault—it's that I don't have the time or the energy to devote to training/exercising such a dog.

In any case, my point is that I think it's both the dog and the owner. It's not the dog's fault, but the dog is certainly a contributing factor. Any dog can be well-trained and well-behaved given an owner willing to put in the effort, but then again some dogs need more or less training than others (which of course varies within a breed, but also from breed to breed). This woman should never have been allowed to have a pit bull, but if she'd had a standard poodle or a labrador or something, and raised it in the exact same (obviously less-than-ideal) way, the outcome probably would have been different. (On average. I'm sure some labs/poodles would turn violent given the same circumstances, and some pit bulls wouldn't, but on average.)

Wow every pitbull I know is the most laid back dog around. Barely bark. Not particularly playful. Kind of couch potatoes. Know about 20 of them, for whatever that is worth.

The paper was wrong too, about the 'mixed feelings of pitbull owners'. I say bullshit. They're a breed, that's all.

I wouldn't mind having one, other than honestly I don't think they're all that cute.

Why couldn't the kid play outside? WHY DIDNT SHE SPAY/NEUTER HER DOGS? If they were in heat and that was a problem, why weren't they crated?

I've known only a handful of pit bulls (maybe 4-5?), but in general I'd say the one whose owners put in the time and energy to train them well are pretty laid-back, but the ones whose owners just don't have that much time are a bit high-strung, although I've never personally known any who were outright aggressive (though I've certainly walked past them in their yards, etc.). I do think they need a bit more time and energy and training than some other dogs—which is true of a lot of breeds.

If I had the time to put into training and obedience classes, I wouldn't mind having one, though I don't find them that cute either and honestly I prefer big dogs.

I hope my comments weren't misconstrued as blaming the dogs, because I certainly don't.

Na, was just stating what I noticed. I think just that the owners are laid back, these dogs arent the least bit trained (its just not what people do round here, you get a dog, feed and walk it and take it to the vet when needed). But maybe people arent all GRRR EBIL PIT BULL but hey, great, a dog, and that shows in how they treat them.

Bah, who knows.

WHY DIDNT SHE SPAY/NEUTER HER DOGS?

As they say in the article, she wanted puppies. So on top of being an irresponsible parent, and an irresponsible dog owner, she wanted to be an irresponsible breeder. You want fucking puppies, go out to the shelter and adopt some puppies.

More to it than that -- the family wanted to be professional breeders, according to earlier articles. They were trying to breed the dogs because they wanted product, simply enough.

mine's a bit more active, but that's because she thinks she's a Beagle.

I KNOW! WAUGH.

Um, breeding a little of pit bulls? In an apartment? WTF???

But she insists, "I have no regrets about that day,"
That makes no sense at all, when my sister died my Mum beat herself up about it. In fact 'that day' would be the one day you regret the most. People grieve in different ways but I don't think it's possible to not regret the day your child died. Sorry. She's either putting on a brave face, or is an idiot.