Poor puppies
At the Richmond Fall Festival today, which was awesome, I saw a couple walking two adorable pit bull puppies and couldn’t resist going over to say hello. I know you shouldn’t just walk up to strange dogs and start petting them so I asked the owners if it was okay and was met with a response that nearly sent me through the roof. The couple informed me that they did not want many people petting or touching the dogs because they were training them to be their guard dogs when they got older.
As a pit bull owner and dog lover myself, I was devastated to hear this. These two sweet adorable puppies are doomed to life of fear, distrust, and aggression, which they have no control over. It is both reckless and plain stupid, in my opinion, to train ANY breed of dog to be a guard dog or an aggressive dog. But, to take a breed of dog already getting a bad rap and further that by training it to be aggressive towards humans is reprehensible.
These people should have their dogs and possibly any children they have removed from their care!
It is irresponsible ownership such as this that has lead to the rise in dog attacks in recent years and caused pit bulls and other “vicious” breeds to be banned from some cities. Pit bulls by their very nature are not aggressive towards humans and many years ago were called nanny dogs for their love of, protection of, and loyalty to their owners children. The aggression that is sometimes seen in the breed these days has been trained there by misguided and careless owners like the two people I came across today.
If properly socialized, well trained, and loved like any other dog, pit bulls are amazing family dogs and are safe with children and adults alike. However, when people teach their dogs aggressive behavior either for the purpose of fighting or under the guise of protection, this leads to dangerous situations where a very strong animal can hurt people or other animals.
I am deeply saddened by the fact that there are two more dogs destined for a life of fear and anger. Dogs of all types are amazingly caring and loving animals who want nothing more than to please their owners. It is our job as owners to provide them with a safe and loving environment, and those who would train their dogs to be vicious should no longer be allowed the privialge of owning a pet.
September 12th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
I think it’s interesting you didn’t see the owner’s stance. They’re not training them to be monsters… they’re being trained to fill a specific role in their pack. They are fostering a true loyalty to their family. Distrust of STRANGERS is being fostered… not distrust of PEOPLE. Clearly, they cared enough about hte dogs to take them for a walk and expose them to the world.
I think your call to remove the animals from the hone is a knee-jerk reaction that is based on a misunderstanding and general false assumptions… and the call for the removal of children absolutely uncallsed for.
I think that recent media has gotten to you. I love pits, i’ve been around and am very comfortable with them. I know they are sensitive and caring and sweet dogs. HOWEVER, they are a WORKING breed. I’ve seen very loving and sweet GUARD DOGS that are very social and very gentile with children, newborns and all other ages that have been introduced to their “pack”
Calm down. Not every one wants a lap dog.
September 13th, 2009 at 8:48 am
Abby,
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and responding! While you are correct that I am very upset about this and probably need to take a couple breaths to calm down, I still feel very strongly that training dogs to be guard dogs, especially dogs with the power and strength that pit bulls have, is very dangerous.
I can honestly say I DO sympathize with the owners’ fear and need for some form of protection. Just last October four men broke into my garage and stole $1,400 worth of stuff and then proceeded to take a crowbar to my back door. It was one of the scariest experiences of my life, and I very much understand the desire to protect yourself, your family, and your home. However, I do not feel that training a pit bull to “protect” your family is the answer.
What is to stop those dogs who have been taught to distrust and possibly act aggressively towards strangers from attacking when a neighbor’s child they are unfamiliar with wanders into their yard when the dogs are unsupervised? While I realize a good bit of the responsibility lies in the hands of the parent who lets their child wander off, it is still dangerous to train a dog to be aggressive towards people unless you yourself are specially trained to handle those dogs, such as police officers and police dogs. While I am sure there are cases where both dog and owner are trained, so many times scared people buy “vicious” breeds and train them to be aggressive without ever fully understanding what that means. Eventually some of those dogs who are not properly supervised take out their new found aggression on the neighbor’s cat or worse a child.
My call to have children removed from the parents was, I will admit, a wee bit over the top. For what it is worth, my thought process was that if the owners were training their pit bulls to be aggressive, it was not a safe environment for children. I understand that the dogs are only supposed to be aggressive towards strangers, but these are the same animals that aren’t supposed to do things like eat your shoes, pee on your carpet, or steal something off the dining room table and still seem to find a way to accomplish all those things from time to time. They are not capable of always making the right decision and are often motivated by strong emotions.
I am not abdicating every owner have a lap dog, I am simply asking owners not to teach their pets to be aggressive towards people.
September 14th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Thanks for these excellent remarks, Becky–both well-written and, importantly, well-reasoned. I do not think you are overreacting at all.
At first, I thought I understood the first poster’s “logic” about the difference between “strangers” and “people”. But after thinking about it for a few minutes, I’ve come to the conclusion that trying to make a distinction is too much of a stretch. “Training” to get a dog to be comfortable with an extremely limited number of people means just that–the dog will be comfortable with an extremely limited number of people!! So what happens when the mailman, or your parents who live out-of-state, or your six-year-old niece, or a neighbor walks by while your dog is in the yard? The conclusion is obvious: so long as it’s not YOU, it’s a problem for the dog. And you have to be *EXTREMELY* careful.
I think you put it most heart-breakingly when you remarked that, ill-intended or not, when dogs are raised in this manner they “are doomed to life of fear, distrust, and aggression, which they have no control over.” The dogs don’t want to be vicious security guards–they want to love, protect, nuzzle. So I (a victim of a home invasion & a gun to the chest) conclude–if you want a security system, call Brinks–don’t destroy an animal.
In a related note and more Adrienne vernacular, I also think those people were enormous Bs–because if they don’t want their dog to be touched or socialized in any way, they shouldn’t have ‘em out at a freaking fair where there will be lots of kids and happy folks like Becky tempted to pet them!! Good heavens folks.
Thanks again for your remarks.
March 15th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
I, as well, possess a pit-bull who stands out as the most adoring animal I’ve ever owned. Soon, a new dog breed will come along to the media to blast, because they have performed rotties and dobies in prior many years. Unfortunate that media sensationalism breeds so much inaccurate information.