He said that his son just adopted a pit bull. At first, he shared, he was apprehensive about bringing the bully dog into the family. He called his insurance company to make sure that they were not held liable in a court of law if the dog suddenly went psycho and killed everyone in town.
To his surprise, the dog was not only smart, but affectionate. He is well behaved. The only time the dog is a bit wary is when someone comes near him that clearly is not keen on seeing a pit bull. With this type of person, the dog smartly stays away from them instead of greeting them, gives them their space.
I was glad to hear of this man's positive experience. With the media coverage on pit bull attacks and even laws against owning this breed, it's hard to get a word in edgewise.
So why do these dogs have such a bad rap?
In the olden days, dogs were used to tenderize live meat. Enter 1800s, it becomes sport. As the larger animals used in dog fighting were harder to get a hold of (bovine, bears, etc), people put dog against dog in the ring. By the mid 1800s, this "sport" was unlawful in most states, although it continued with an underground following which is still illegally active to this day.
Breeders dish out liters of pups to train as fighting and "bait" dogs (just used to egg the dogs on, usually the dogs who refuse to fight another dog in the ring. The equivalent to a punching bag). These dogs are trained from a young age to go off on another dog, but to be compliant with their human trainers. The trainers use different tools to build the dog's muscles up, keep them strong, along with a specialized diet. Dogs who show any sign of aggression towards humans during or before their career are usually euthanized (inhumanely is more cost efficient), as the spectators watching the dogs must be kept safe. The dogs are set against each other, and then they fight until one dog cannot continue to fight.
They draw crowds. Money all around, people will and have placed some coin on which dog will destroy the other.
Before they were used in dog fights, pit bulls were known as "the nanny dog". They have a strong sense of family, and are known to be naturally gentle with children. People used them as babysitters in America hundreds of years ago.
Imagine a dog with a normally sweet disposition, shoved into the ring with another dog, prodded until provoked over and over again. Aggitated, the dogs lash out at their "opponent", the first thing in site that they are allowed and encouraged to go after.
Not all "pit bulls" come from dog fighting arenas. Some are bred by private breeders to be pets or show dogs. A certain kind of person is attracted to the tough-guy image that is associated with owning a big, strong dog, usually the type that aren't looking for a family pet, but instead a status symbol or a guard dog. Maybe they don't socialize the dog as a puppy. The dog gets loose by accident, and you have the next eight o clock news story.
The media has eaten up stories on pit bull attacks like they were gossip on the latest and greatest in Hollywood, and left out just the right amount of information to make the breed seem dangerous, even evil. Headlines of dogs attacking women, children, other dogs, cats, your left shoe, all over the newspapers (online and printed).
This is all that some people cared to know about the breed- that some of them can be violent, and that much suffering is caused on account of pit bull attacks.
What everyone forgets to take into account is that the media feeds on misery, gossip, death and drugs. You don't hear a news story about dogs with sweet dispositions, or people of the same caliber for that matter. All ya need to do is record the right where and when, no one cares to know about the why or the how.
There are rescue groups and organizations, as well as some proud pit owners, who are now reshaping the public opinion on pit bulls. Filling most city shelters due to excessive and irresponsible breeding, they could really use a little positive publicity these days.
-iNTune
