alieliza
Posted : 3/11/2007 8:32:16 AM
Pit Bulls are great great dogs. I own one myself, and he is the love of our lives. They are wonderful with humans, but again, I would ask if the dog has been temperament tested as over breeding and breed mixing has resulted in some unstable dogs (then again, there are unstable dogs of any breed.)
My dog is such a goof, hes so funny, affectionate, by-your-side-like-velcro-loyal, fun, and the list goes on and on. Hes great with children, only he loves them a little too much and has a tendency to knock them over... did I mention that he was playful and FULL of energy? (he's 17 months old).
Owning a pit bull though is a huge responsibility. It is important that you do your best to raise a dog that is an ambassador of the breed. How your dog behaves is going to be a reflection on everyone's dog, and they really need to reverse the negative hype and press. This, of course, is not to say you won't do a good job... I always give this disclaimer to people.
The points people brought up were great,
BSL. I live in New York City and there is a lot of Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) buzz, and this really scares me. Click [link
http://forum.dog.com/asp/tm.asp?m=95573&mpage=2&key=BSL??]here[/link] to see a thread where we talked a lot about BSL, and I "defined" it in there if you're not sure.
The view of the general public towards pit bulls is not great, when I walk down the street with Tyson people sometimes pull their children near, or cross the street. It is
almost funny to me, because I know all he would do is lick them, but not at all funny at the same time.
The other thing to consider is that if your dog turns out to be dog aggressive, you may be commiting to being a one dog home. I have gone through a battle with myself over getting a second dog, and deciding to wait until I can see how Tyson is in his older years. Even if your dog is not DA, a pit bull can do damage to another dog if provoked. That said, no dog should ever be left alone with anyone or any animal unsupervised.
Now, all those things said, I love pits, and would never want my home to be without one. They bring such joy to my life, I am an advocate for the breed, and I would love for one to be adopted from a shelter by a loving family.
Another great suggestion mentioned above would be to adopt from a rescue group. Saving from a shelter is great, but opeining up a spot in a rescue leaves room for the pros to pick a great dog from the shelter. Rescues temperament test, foster dog, and screen adopters very carefully. They can match you with a dog that is right for you.
I don't know where you are located, but check out [link
http://www.badrap.org]Bad Rap[/link] a rescue organization that has a ton of resources and information about owning/adopting a pit. Some other rescue resources:
[link
http://www.animalfarmfoundation.org/]Animal Farm Foundation[/link]
[link
http://www.pbrc.net]Pit Bull Rescue Central[/link]
[link
http://www.bulliesinneed.ca]Bullies in Need[/link]
Also, check out [link
http://www.dogwatch.net]Dog Watch[/link] to research potential BSL in your area.