Some pics from my trip to Matt's Zoo

[djc3674]

Correct...any breed can snap, bite etc. However, I do not agree that it is always the owner's fault. That sounds ignorant. How can you not hold the animal accountable, if it just plain ole snapped one day for no apparent reason You cannot put all of the blame on the owner. Maybe in some cases yes. But, pitbulls have a reputation of snapping and attacking alot more often than other breeds, and I don't wanna hear that it's just because pitbulls are signled out...that is BS.
Let's not start some long drawn out debate. This has already been discussed. My only point to posting this was that with any large breed dog that is prone to a more aggressive behaviour you definately have to take precautions. Myself, having a 6 yr old, I would never get a pitbull, rotweiller (sp) etc...until he is older...that is my precaution. Granted, Matt's dog looks like a sweetheart, hopefully she stays that way.

[Matt_K]

It's unfortunate you feel that way.. And yes, i do think that it's on the owner.. Yes, Pit bulls have a bad rep.. But why?? Cause at one point in time, people used them for fighting, and yes, this still happens today..

It's a shame that you wouldn't purchase or adopt/rescue a dog JUST because of the name of it's breed.. Im sorry, but there are JUST as many attacks and bites from those 'friendly' breeds as there is from Pits.. But the media and viewers don't care if a Lhasa Apso or a Poodle bite the neighbours 4 year old.. Only when the Mastiff, Pit Bull or Rottwieiller do.. It's a shame really..

I figured you would find this interesting..

Aren't Pit Bulls MEAN and VICIOUS?

No more vicious than golden retrievers, beagles or other popular dogs! In a recent study of 122 dog breeds by the American Temperament Testing Society (ATT), pit bulls achieved a passing rate of 83.9%. That's as good or better than beagles ... 78.2%, and golden retrievers ... 83.2%.

This info was taken from this site.. http://www.badrap.org/rescue/myths.cfm a must read for anyone with a fear of Pits..

[reptilesalonica]

Thanks a lot for the photo Matt. OMG that black blood is doing bodybuilding!

[capsicum]

Originally posted by Matt_K
I figured you would find this interesting..

Aren't Pit Bulls MEAN and VICIOUS?

No more vicious than golden retrievers, beagles or other popular dogs! In a recent study of 122 dog breeds by the American Temperament Testing Society (ATT), pit bulls achieved a passing rate of 83.9%. That's as good or better than beagles ... 78.2%, and golden retrievers ... 83.2%.

This info was taken from this site.. http://www.badrap.org/rescue/myths.cfm a must read for anyone with a fear of Pits..

You have one awesome dog Matt I absolutely LOVE pits and ANY bully breed. I have worked in dog training for a few years, and honestly have never had a problem training them. The only dog that ever bit me was a smaller breed dog.

As for dogs being responsible for their actions, that is a little hard to swallow. Yes there are many aggressive dogs, and yes there are many documented cases of pits or rottis attacking. However, when it comes down to it, take a look at where these dogs came from: breeders. If you breed aggressive dogs for their aggression, or don't pay attention to any inapropriate behaviour in your breeding stock, it comes down to the owners who have screwed up the animal.

It's same for any animal that is being bred. You allow certain (mostly unwanted) genetics into a line that you are breeding, it is still the fault of the human. Animals can only react to their situation. I doubt pits sit there and think "Hmm, now there's an a$$ I'd love to chomp", just doesn't jive with me.

TK

PS Matt, your girl does look pretty close to pure, I have shown her pic to my hubby and he agrees that is exactly the kind of dog we are looking for


EDIT: Just wanted to point out that pit bulls and the likes (am staffs, staffies) are not large breed, they are actually medium breeds.

[djc3674]

Okay, let's clear something up. I did not say that I would NEVER own a Pitbull. What I said was, I would not own one until my son is older. If our pug bites my son, he will be okay. If a pitbull were to tear into him, it would be a whole different story. Also, yes you are right in the fact that it is on the owner to properly raise and train the dog. However, how is it the owner's fault if he/she does everything properly, but the dog just snaps one day (which they are known to do) and seriously hurts someone?

Obviously you can make any dog mean, I am talking about the cases when the dog out of jealousy or whatever, just turns and lets loose a fury on someone (most of the time a child). How can that be the owner's fault if the dog never showed aggression or anything, it just one day snapped. Unless your a psychic, it's hard to prevent that. That is a risk I am not willing to take while I have a small child in the house. Sorry those are my feelings. Another friend of mine had a full breed pit, really awesome dog, but only with adults. This dog HATED children. He would literally tried to break through the window to chew up any child he saw outside. This was not due to a bad experience with a child, the dog was just not raised around them. If it were, it may be a different story.

[Matt_K]

PS Matt, your girl does look pretty close to pure, I have shown her pic to my hubby and he agrees that is exactly the kind of dog we are looking for

There are a couple more that look very similar to mine available right now on Petfinder.com..

She's a real sweety and I wouldn't trade her for the world..

[djc3674]

One more thing....if you fully read the article, even the neighbors stated that those dogs were never a problem and were surprised that it attacked the baby. I know it's hard to swallow as pit lovers, but the fact is, that dog attacked that baby while he was in that adults arms. Then the other pitbull attacked the adult as well (jumping on his back). The baby is 3 months old, there is no way the baby provoked that pitbull. It was probably jealous. People need to take their blinders off and realize that these dogs do attack people, and it is NOT always the owner's fault. On the other hand, I'm glad Matt that you have a friendly loving pitbull. I have known other pitbulls to be this way as well, so I am not trying to bash all pitbulls. I know people have friendly pits and they are very beautiful dogs.

[crucified]

yes pit bulls are capable of attacking people.. as are all other dogs.. you just never hear about the golden retriever down the road nearly killing someone... . 2 years ago a golden retriever nearly killed a child... it has been with the family for 6 years.. no trouble.. no aggression at all... it just attacked this kid one day.. never heard about it.. because its a golden retriever.. i know this cuz it was a friends cousins dog.. great owners.. so its just not pits that do attack humans... and i wont deny pits attack ppl.. the director of bylaws admitted to me last week the highest dog attacks in my area are golden retrievers AND labs... also.. most cases when a dog attacks a person and it does make news... the media instantly says its a pit bull.. most of the time its a boxer.. rottweiler.. lab.. anything "vicious" and resembling a pit bull...

[crucified]

i forgot to add... i do have a pit bull.. i know how they are looked upon... ppl cross the road when i walk my dog.. and my neighbour is trying to get my dog banned cuz hes a pit bull.. before he even met the dog he plotted this.. its rather annoying... AND my previous dog.. a retriever.. taken care of well... was in fact more "vicious" than my pit bull.. so dont just pick on one breed because the media tells you too.. unless you have experiences... but yes there is no excuse for ANY dog to attack a person...

some good pit sites... www.badrap.org www.understand-a-bull.com i cant think of others right now.. im tired.. plus i should probably read this whole thread.. haha..

[capsicum]

Originally posted by Matt_K
There are a couple more that look very similar to mine available right now on Petfinder.com..

She's a real sweety and I wouldn't trade her for the world..

She is awesome, I once had a pit/dobe cross (Raven). She was just the sweetest thing in the world, but unfortunately she had suffered brain damage from abusive owners (she was only 3 months old when beaten with a base ball bat). She had difficulties doing anything, and started having troubles with a lot of simple things (like standing up, peeing without falling, etc). After a lot of research and consulting vets, I had to have her PTS.

We are greatly looking forward to adopting a new pupper soon Thanks for the tip about petfinder!

TK

[capsicum]

Crucified, is that your pit in your avatar? It's a sweetie

TK

[djc3674]

ppl cross the road when i walk my dog.. and my neighbour is trying to get my dog banned cuz hes a pit bull.. before he even met the dog he plotted this

Well that is just an ignorant person. I personally wouldn't try to have someone's dog taken away merely because of the breed. There would need to be a substantial reason before taking those measures. Unfortunately, pitbulls do have a bad rep, when they are not all viscious people killing animals. I'm still sticking with the fact that you cannot put all the blame on the owners/breeders in every bad case that you hear about.
The people that breed these dogs to fight and the owners that make the dog fight against it's will should be PTS, not the dog itself!!!

[capsicum]

djc3674, I completely understand that you are being cautious about what breed of dog you have around your son, and I feel that it is a very responsible decision.

However I hope people don't feel that any breed of dog is perfectly fine with a child, as indivdual dogs have their own breaking points, and that friendly golden is just as likely to bite when it's ear is pulled as any other breed.

TK

PS The last part isn't directed personally at you, but at whoever reads these posts. I would hate for anyone to expect a perfectly behaved animal and end up having a friend or family member, or even a perfect stranger to be bitten or mauled when the dog is aggrivated or hurt in some way

[TexasAggie04]

When people find out I have snakes, they always ask "do they bite?", or "does it hurt when they bite you?", or "how often do you get bitten?". I tell them I have taken more damage from my girfriend's cat in the amount of time I have had snakes, because it is true.

[Shane Tesser]

Love the doggie debate but ill sit on the fence a bit here...i believe its partially the breeds fault and partially the owners...its 50/50. If you look at other feared breeds of the past such as dobermins or german shepperds you'll recall both breeds were all over the papers in the early 80's....why, cause they were popular. With popularity comes some terrible breeding practices. So what happened, the breeders (the good ones) basically started taking the breed back, they started to control and breed quality docile animals. Not to say that you never see either of these breeds with a vicious streak anymore, but there has been a considerable decrease in the amount of attacks, or perhaps mention on these breeds. The same goes for Rott's about 10 years ago. Eventually pitty's will have the same fortunes and the breed will be corrected once again. Remember when 101 dalmations came out again, and every kid had to have one???? What happened, unquality dogs being bred and put in the wrong hands of ppl with no experience, again a great dog that got a totally bad rap, now the movie craze has subsided and you rarely see them in the droves you did earlier....just my .02 cents worth.

Getting back to the pics, they are great Marisa, ive known Matt longer then you and ive yet to be invited over....i think he just pretends to like me lol. But serious, im glad to see your pup matt and i know she is in great hands....congrats again.

Marisa, your matt looks funny with the shaved head, i just can't picture him like that....too funny, i laughted when i saw the pic! But i see you've managed to get him somewhat clean shaven....good for you..its about time!!!