What Would You Say About This to the Management?

Yeah, and another negative affect of selling these type of dogs is people who will only use them for fighting. Its so sad to see the bully breeds used that way.
 But if someone were to raise them correctly, I know they make great pets.

Well fortunatly English mastiff's are wonderful family pets, as are pit bulls so I'm not sure where your facts are coming from. I agree that they are more high maintnance then some other breeds but a mastiff and a pit bull have hardly any similarities at all so WHY would they put pit bull on the label? How do you know its not really a bull terrier? They are completley different from a pit bull OR a mastiff. Its just as easy for a potential pet owner to get a dog of that breed from anywhere else and I think that if you were trying to pick a battle on this one your safest bet would be where the puppies originated from. I totally understand your worries about the breed wehter they are educated opnions or not but it seems as if your prefference of a dog breed is getting in the way with reality

ORIGINAL: jettasmomma

Yeah, and another negative affect of selling these type of dogs is people who will only use them for fighting. Its so sad to see the bully breeds used that way.
But if someone were to raise them correctly, I know they make great pets.

 
WHAT?? If it is indeed a mastiff as the OP suggests it is NOT a bully breed.

I hate to burst your bubble but there is a breed called a Bull Terrier (no pit attached). Spuds McKenzie was a bull terrier.

[linkhttp://www.akc.org/breeds/bull_terrier/index.cfm]http://www.akc.org/breeds/bull_terrier/index.cfm[/link]

Pit bulls make excellent pets and unless someone buys it to be a "guard dog" it will make a wonderful companion. They should have no problem at all. I dont know much about bull terriers though. Any breed can be "vicous" or "dangerous" and to tell you the truth I have met a lot more aggressive small breed dogs than larger breed dogs.
 
Pet stores dont care if the customer is educated no matter what breed. The only way to solve the problem is to encourage people to adopt from shelters or buy from responsible breeders.

Any dog can become dangerous. A bully or not.
 
With that said, no petstore should sell puppies. They NEVER give out good information about the dogs. They do just sell them for money, period. There is no love for the animal. When you adopt from a shelter, they research the buyer quite a bit before handing the dog over. Same with breeders. The good ones do an extensive reference check, etc etc.
 
It shouldn't matter the breed they're selling, it should matter what people they choose to sell them to. But again, they don't care. And it's the dog that gets the crappy end of the stick.
 
 

ORIGINAL: peter_89

 isn't it simply insane to be selling these potentially extremely dangerous breeds to the typical novices walking through a modern pet store?

 
All dogs are a "potentially extremely dangerous breeds" when not treated correctly. You should meet some mini foxey I've come across. The breed is not dangerous, the owners are, that goes for all dogs and all owners.

I thought the OP was referring to pit bulls being sold at the petstore. My mistake[&:]. Guess I should read more carefully.
Any dog can be dangerous, and people who purchase those dogs often use them for horrible things (like dog fighting). But ANY dog can make a great family pet if trained properly.

What I got from the post... there were two pups. An English mastiff, and a "bull terrier".

What I got from the post... there were two pups. An English mastiff, and a "bull terrier".

 
That's what I thought too.
 
Regardless, I agree with everyone who said that these dogs are not inherently dangerous - they are dangerous in the hands of the wrong people.  The wrong people shouldn't own dogs anyway, but they ARE the people who are likely to buy from pet stores.
 
Kate

dammit.

When are people going to learn that pitbulls are no more dangerous to people than ANY other dog out there??

crap. Like, 10 people already said what I just said. heh, oh well.

Come back pete! Let's talk.

isn't it simply insane to be selling these potentially extremely dangerous breeds to the typical novices walking through a modern pet store? It's feels as though they do not even care about the welfare of them and are simply selling them for money. I hate to think of what kind of unprepared homes these dogs are going into.

 
I totally AGREE, if in fact this is an APBT and not a Bull Terrier(which it might be considering the Westminster crazies) this breed of dog should be totally explained to the new owner who should be interviewed on the responsibility of owning this breed as well as the training that should also be implimented...not just sold in a pets store for the first person who comes along with the hand full of cash

Maybe it's because I haven't been in a pet store that sells puppies in ages, simply because I refuse to spend a dime in places that sell puppies, but I have never seen one that sold Pit Bulls. I would think that the dog in question was actually a Bull Terrier simply because the price of a Bull Terrier is way more than a Pit Bull therefore it would be of more profit to the pet store.

Anyhoo, any breed can be dangerous in the wrong hands. I would say that the majority of people who buy from pet stores did not do any research whatsoever because they wouldn't have bought a dog from a pet store in the first place. I'm quite sure the majority did not do research on the breeds because it's not uncommon to hear someone turning a St. Bernard into a shelter claiming it "got too big" or turning a JRT(or ParsonsRT as they're also called) into rescue because it's "too hyper". It also doesn't help that pet store staff tend to be misinformed about breed traits or give out wrong information to make a sale. To make a long story short, am I afraid that someone will buy a "potentially dangerous" dog out of ignorance? Answer: No more afraid than someone buying a Chihuahua to be a "playmate" for a 2 year old out of ignorance.
 
Edited to add...
 
To answer your question about what I would say to management? You don't want to know what I'd say to management because I'd get arrested for telling how I really feel about places that sell irresponsibly bred puppies, regardless of breed, to line their greedy pockets. []

   Gosh, I'm not used to using a forum this active...
   The point I was making is that the typical person walking through a pet store will buy based on who the cutest puppy is. If they just purchase the Bullterrier (and yes, it was a pittie -- I do know my pits, the official name being the American Staffordshire Pit Bullterrier) with another pet in the house it could be a nightmare. I am fully aware that they are not human aggressive but even the rescue organizations warn you against placing a pittie with another animal in the house. If they don't bother to socialize it properly because they don't know to then it could be even worse. If an English Mastiff is not socialized enough then they can be a nightmare if placed in the wrong situation.
   Please people, I do, and I believe I am likely not alone, become tired of the crowd stating that Pit Bulls are absolutely perfectly big sweethearts to every creature they come across when even the pittie rescue orgs warn people never to trust one not to fight. I do not believe the media myths either, locking jaws et cetera, I know it is all garbage, but like every other issue out there both sides are speaking in generalizations. I would happily adopt a pittie myself, keeping in mind, however, that they mustn't be in dog parks or live with other animals in your home.