Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
How has nobody called animal control on this nuisance yet?
A pit bull is not an inherently dangerous dog, they can be very sweet.
Pits do get a bad rap as there are so many falsehoods floating around about them, such as the lie that it can lock its jaws (a pits mandible is the same as every other dogs is, so the notion it can lock its jaw is ridiculous).
However, as they say, there are no bad dogs, only bad owners... and your friend is a VERY bad owner.
One of the key responsibilities of being a good, responsible dog owner, is socialization and obedience training when the dog is very young... the fact that this dog failed socialization training and she sort of just gave up on it after that, is terribly irresponsible.
She should have went to another, better equipped trainer, specifically for her dogs temperament.
You don't go to one and say "oh well" if they fail, you find another, and then another, or you surrender your dog if you cannot control it. THAT is being a responsible dog owner. Your vet can usually recommend a trainer barf on your dog's needs.
Speaking of which, what does their vet say?
I imagine the dig definitely has to be muzzled when at the vet? That's a huge red flag if it does.
As I said, the pit breed can be very sweet, but there are plenty of pits that are not sweet at all.
The aggressive tendencies of the pit bull are due to breeding and genetics. They have a natural tendency to protective and aggressive towards other dogs. In some cases, due to lack of proper behavioral training or socialization, this behavior can actually progress to aggressiveness towards people. This behavior has nothing to do with the size of the brain or going crazy (another common fallacy).
They can be very unpredictable and snap at a moments notice from either being inbred incestuously, over and over again for generations (this is a twofer, it's bad breeding AND genetics) or they were abused as puppies, so they have PTSD and then they are taken in by rescue groups and adopted out. That leaves emotional scars, which can lead to physically acting out if they feel threatened, scared or anxious.
Combine that with this breed having a super high prey drive, and it's the perfect storm.
Pits are very strong dogs, so an attack from a pit has a much higher chance of becoming fatal, as comparing it with another popular breed of dog, such as a lab or retriever.
Didn't the two puppies owners call animal control when the attacks occurred??
If they both had called after their puppies were attacked, she would've either been FORCED by law to get her dog additional training, or she would have been forced to surrender it.
The best thing you can honestly do, is call animal control yourself -- they may need your name and number in case they have to contact you, but you can request to remain anonymous on the report (and they're super diligent about keeping that information anonymous, as they know that nobody would call in if they couldn't trust that their identity would remain safe, because most anonymous calls come from those with close relationships to the owner, such as family members and neighbors).
Inform animal control of the dogs exact history and anything that's occurred in the past.... even if you think it may not be relevant (you're not a trained professional, you don't know what may be relevant).
Calling animal control truly is the best thing for this dog and for your friend. Although she may not believe this right now, it absolutely is, because I guarantee that both your friend and this dog don't have the quality of life that they should.
Btw, calling animal control has NOTHING to do with your holiday party - it has EVERYTHING to do with keeping your friend and anyone else exposed to that dog alive.
I'll give you one last tip... if ANY dog goes into attack mode and attacks another dog, it goes into a frenzy and it's like humans when they say they see red and have no control over themselves -- nor will they remember it afterward (which is why you see so many dogs go right back into normal or playful behavior once they're pulled from the fray and snap out of the frenzy).
To safely pull a fighting dog away from the fray, simply grab it by its hind legs and pull backward, like a wheelbarrow. This is called the wheelbarrow position.
The physiology of a dogs neck (I'm talking about every breed of dog) is not long enough that it will allow them to whip around and bite you, so you are completely safe pulling back like this. Once you've pulled them back at least 8 - 10 feet away from the fray, the dog will almost always snap out of the frenzy.
ALWAYS use the wheelbarrow either to pull your dog off of another dog, human, etc OR to pull another dog off of yours. Only use the wheelbarrow on the aggressor of the two. If the dog won't calm down, simply continue to pull it back further or hold it in the wheelbarrow position and have someone call 911.
Never, ever, ever attempt to get in between two fighting dogs -- as they will not know what they're doing in the moment and will attack you, as well.
We have a dog who's half German Shepherd and half Rottweiler (the breed is called a Shottie) and he is THE sweetest dog to everyone -- adults, children, babies, other dogs, cats, birds... you name it, and he's sweet and gentle toward it. He started socialization and obedience training at 8 weeks old, and we exposed him to all ages of humans and all manner of animal life.
We knew that it was our responsibility as owners of two very large dog breeds combined together, to have him safe around anyone and everyone he encounters, no matter who it is (with the exception of someone breaking in or looking to do us harm, of course, but that's training for another post).
-- Former dog trainer of 10 years.
As a half pit/half husky owner, I thank you for your fair and balanced post.
This was very informative, as I'd never heard of the wheelbarrow maneuver before (and truth be told I always thought it was spelled wheel barrel, lol!) but I really do appreciate you making the distinction that while pitbulls
can be dangerous animals and do have aggressive tendencies (listen, we pit owners are very realistic, none of us have ever claimed that a pit was like a big, harmless labradoodle) you also graciously pointed out that there are plenty of pitbulls who are sweet, loving and even tempered.
We may be few and far between, but we do exist.
At the end of the day, every single dogs temperament is directly affected by a few distinct forces, such as the surroundings they live in, whether they were a product of ethical breeding, rather than inbreeding, if they've been responsibly trained, what the overall feeling of the household they've been raised in is (is there feelings of tension, anger, anxiety in the house?) what is their owners temperament (are they mean, toxic, abusive?).
Dogs will always feed off of the energy in the home and react or respond in kind.
As a pit owner, I would never be so bold as to claim that pit bulls aren't scary, intimidating dogs, because they are.
They
are a dangerous breed.
They
are an aggressive breed.
They
do have a high prey drive.
Their reputation
is well deserved.
However, none of that is the dogs fault, it's the fault of the irresponsible breeders and owners.
As with children, if an owner doesn't set clear boundaries and rules for their dog, and stick to them, the dog will become unruly and walk all over the owner, just like children do. However, it's much more dangerous with a dog, because they'll begin to think that they're the alpha of the home and you should listen to them.
I was obviously aware of the pit reputation before adopting my pup, but I also knew that I'd responsibly raise her,
because I knew what that reputation entailed, and I for sure knew how she would be perceived just by appearances only.
That's why I started intensive obedience/socialization training at 12 weeks old and continued until she was a year. She is 3 years old now, and she is one of the most chill, even keeled dog you'll ever meet. She'll never leave my side unless she's commanded to. She'll never run up to or jump on anyone. She can be unleashed in my driveway, and she'll never chase an animal or person - even if a squirrel were to walk by, she would stay in her spot, because she's been trained to do so.
She's has a goofy, loving, lighthearted, affectionate demeanor.
Dare I say if she were human, she'd be a people pleaser. 😁
Yes, pit bulls have a bad reputation, and deservedly so in most cases. However, all pits shouldn't be judged by the bad ones you hear about on the news (and yes, there are plenty of horror stories about them on the news). Rarely, do you hear about pits like mine who work at children's hospital twice a month to provide stroke therapy to children who have to relive their trauma in court or in therapy. You don't hear about the pit who saved their family from a house fire. You don't hear about the pit who protected their owners from a coyote.
As with people, there are good dogs and there are bad dogs.
I'm certainly not telling anyone that they should stop being cautious of pits. God no, I'd never say that, because I'm certainly cautious when meeting a new pit.
However, I do hope that folks can understand that there are always exceptions to the rule, and also, that behind every bad dog (no matter what the breed is) there is *always* an irresponsible dog owner, whose dog is the way they are because their owner has failed them.
Exactly like with OP's friend's dog.
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