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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]NP here.  Can someone explain to me why there seems to be a lobby behind this breed to encourage people to give them a chance and adopt them from shelters?  Is it the shelters wanting to home dogs regardless of whether they're appropriate for the people or not?  I'm so sick of people acting like there's no risk associated with owning this breed.  [/quote]

Have you ever known a pittie? They are incredibly loyal, gentle, goofy dogs. That a few of them are bred and trained to violence doesn't negate the fact that the overwhelming majority of them make great pets. Like any breed, ANY BREED, they must be properly trained and socialized. I'm sick of people acting like they don't have to train their dogs, taking them everywhere like fscking accessories, and then blaming the breed when there are problems. There are no bad dogs. There are irresponsible owners (ignorantly or intentionally).

Another point: for those who are new to dogs, the "scary dogs" right now are "pit bulls" (which are not a breed; it's an umbrella label applied to 5 distinct breeds, and knowing the difference explains a lot about why shelters adopt out "pit bulls", most of which are staffies or apbts, and not XL bully type dogs like the ones usually found in hysteria clickbait not-news). A decade or so ago, it was Rottweilers, which are capable of just as much damage as pit bulls, especially when similarly trained for violence and poorly handled. Before that, Dobermans. Before that, GSDs. Probably something else before that; I'm not old enough to remember. The hysteria comes in waves, and when you recognize that pattern, you become better at sorting the stupidity from any actual facts.

[b]There are too many dogs in general, but most importantly: there are too many stupid people irresponsibly owning and breeding dogs. There's the risk: humans. Smarter people can be educated. Stupid people make threads like this one, dumping their blanket judgments and regurgitated fearmongering out into the world, helping no one (and looking idiotic in the process).[/b][/quote]

I don't actually agree with the rest of your post because you are ignoring how prevalent pits and pit mixes are in shelters, specifically because pits have been the dog of choice for people who breed "security" dogs or run dog fighting rings -- they don't get the dogs fixed and there is a lot of "backyard breeding" of these dogs as a result. People who adopt other less aggressive breeds get them fixed because they are adopting dogs for companionship. People who adopt pits on purpose don't get them fixed because the aggression is the point and failing to get them fixed will enhance the aggression. So the reason there is a prejudice against pits is the same reason as why there are so many pits in shelters -- pits are aggressive dogs, they have been adopted for their aggression, and they have been left un-altered to enhance their aggression, thus resulting in more pits and pit mixes in the dog population.

But I also strongly agree with your last paragraph. There are a ton of terrible dog owners out there that don't train their dogs and blame problematic behavior on breed or general disposition. And there are too many dogs in general, resulting in too many dogs in shelters and without homes, or in bad homes, because too few owners get their dogs fixed and do their part to prevent overpopulation (see my last paragraph as to how this interacts with the problem with pit bulls).

However the problem you are identifying (bad dog owners who don't train their dogs) and the problem I am identifying (overpopulation of pits and pit mixes which have historically been bred for aggressive behavior) is a problem. Because if someone fails to properly train their schnauzer (a la my MIL) it's annoying but not scary. My MIL's dog is loud and obnoxious and also miserable because she has not been properly trained in a way that would reduce her anxiety. But she's not going to kill anyone -- she weighs 6 lbs and while she bare her teeth constantly, she's never bit anyone and even if she did, she couldn't do much harm.

But if someone fails to properly train a pit they've adopted from a shelter not understanding the history of this breed and not knowing if this particular dog may be the offspring of a security dog or fighting dog who was bred specifically for extreme aggression, it's a threat to every person that dog interacts with. EVEN IF that dog is trained, it can snap and do damage. But it's worse if the dog is untrained, and even worse if the owner is one of these jacka**es who takes their untrained dog to the grocery store or lets them off leash at playgrounds, which has become more and more common in recent years.

Are pits the whole problem? No. Are they part of the problem? Absolutely 100% yes. It is irresponsible to say otherwise.

Oh and I don't want my neighbors getting Dobermans or Rotts either! Aggressive dogs do not belong in residential settings or around children. They can be working dogs and used in security but they are not family dogs.[/quote]

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