Pit Bulls: What's the appeal?

http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/4904/pitbull.jpg

Here's a lovely little story...

http://gothamist.com/2010/04/28/dog_bite_victims_get_their_own_lawy.php#comments

Feel like we've had this discussion already, but I'm in favor of putting down any animal that savages a human.

My mom-in-law got a little pitbull puppy when he was probably way too young to be gotten. Anyway, as a v wee tiny pup he was way into nibbling, chewing and nipping at people. Not cute! But she thought it was very very cute and encouraged it to nibble on her lips. I said, "You're gonna regret that when he gets to be big." And yet she still kept letting him do it & sometimes even encouraging it. Anyway, this dog got big. He got really big. So big she & her vet figured it was probably a pitbull/great dane mix. The behavior she encouraged in his puppyhood never went away. I'd go to visit and he'd greet me by nipping at my hands, which drove me fucking nuts (plus it hurt). "Don't get mad at him," she'd say, "they're love bites!" wtf???

When he was a little over a year old, she had him on a walk (off-leash I think bcz she is crazy) and the dumb fucking dog tried to eat a baby. He didn't actually bite the baby, but it was close. Close enough that they called the cops, and they made her put the dog down.

Now whose fault is it that this dog died? The dog was fucking dumb (seriously the stupidest dog I've ever met), but if she hadn't actively trained it and rewarded it for chewing on human skin, would this have happened? I'm guessing no. Moral: people are dumb.

Yeah and it's a goddamn shame so many stupid people get pits. When I see people dragging dogs by the neck and swatting at them and cutting ears and all that shit it genuinely hurts my soul.

Her last pit was one of my top five all time dogs, pretty quality...I think bcz she got him when he was two years old. <3 pitublls so much, they are really sweet and rad when people don't go out of their way to fuck them up.

awesome, smart, cute

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ficwZQYmRLE

you win. that is retardedly cute.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcAFLtTNyCY

love the fact that alex threw in "they smell bad"

"probably"

my sister's dog is a pit bull mix (not sure what the other half of the mix is, but the pit bull side is pretty dominant). sweetest thing ever.

however, she's very powerful and plays very hard, so i can see where even a well-treated pit not used to playing with children might hurt them inadvertantly.

fuck anyone who hates pits. look at this sweetheart i used to live with:

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs471.ash1/25830_114826851878973_100000549777915_183119_540477_n.jpg

seriously the nicest dog ever.

That dog actually looks kind of irritable like "why are you taking that picture now?!"

pit bulls and rottys scare me. dont trust them.

alex, that's her noble face. trust me, her irritable face is a lot less regally disdainful.

i just love dogs, especially big ones. the only dog that ever bit me was a fucking shih tzu. hate small dogs, they fucking suck. (except pugs, whose ugliness is part of their appeal to me)

I was once attacked by a german shepherd, but I still think they're beautiful dogs. The owner was just an insane asshole who kept like 6 of them in tiny pens.

i want a newfie

I love dogs regardless of size or shape, but I have no patience for poorly trained mouthy (or worse bitey) dogs big or small (and there are a lot fewer of the former than the latter because the former can cause more damage.)

This is my pit/cattle dog/lab/something else??? mix "watching" the Iron Bowl:

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1124.snc4/148627_460347831166_577656166_6113465_5160279_n.jpg

My office ("boutique" law firm) has an office dog, pit bull mix, pictured below. She is my boss' dog. She is an incredible dog, so amazingly sweet and gentle. The lawyer next door told us to please be aware that most of his clients are African-American (he's an ambulance chaser and most of his clients are poor black people), and so are therefore afraid of dogs. It turns out that so far from my experience, his clients have been absolutely gaga over her.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs375.snc4/45794_1588622758041_1309983927_31585974_6621486_n.jpg

Her name is Molly. She makes snoring noises when she is happy or excited. <3

Alex, your dog is adorbs.

all dogs itt are adorbs

A lot of low-income black people live in dense urban environments where there isn't as much stability so having a big strange dog running around would be scary. Also low-income people often can't own dogs so are less familiar with them.

^this is kinda true. Having a dog in an urban center has alerted me to a bunch of odd signifiers and stigma attached to pit bull ownership.

I love pits but I walk two giant dogs in a semi-urban area and feel afraid they might jump on someone just to be friendly. Pits are luvvers if trained right, they are full of cheer. But you know, in poor areas sometimes dogs are not treated right, no wonder they might scare people.

RIP Basil of Caninus
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.noisecreep.com/media/2011/01/caninus-456-010410.jpg
http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/01/04/caninus-release-final-record-basil-passing/

Non-romantic girlfriend of mine had a pit mix.... appropriately named "Bowser", the dog was fucking insane. It tore the sleeve off one of my hoodies while I was wearing it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeWQbFh5Obc

There's a crapload of "pittie and christmas present" vids

http://i.imgur.com/6U6nn.jpg

Office dog waking up from a snooze.

would work in that office

She's my direct supervisor.

the pitbull?

<3 brindle dogs
<3 brindle bosses

forks: yes

i imagine your salary reviews are plenty rugged.

On my 5th trip to the dog park yesterday an adult pit bull rescue attacked (pinned) my 6 month old puppy for getting too close to its family. My head was turned at the moment because a sweet Boxer insisted on having me throw its frisbee, till I heard a 4 seconds of squealing from my baby. 4 seconds is a long time. My puppy ran back tail tucked some 40 feet to me and I spent the next few minutes palpating him for any potential injuries. Fortunately Teufel is okay, but its the only non-play altercation my super-friendly Teufel has in his short life.

The pit's owners were clearly conscientious pet "parents" trying to resocialize their animal, but frankly any dog that can't read puppy body language (head bowed, tail-wagging) shouldn't be let off leash, or unmuzzled, in a dog park.

I stayed another 30 minutes at the pool on the other side of the park so Teufel could calm down and have some friendly experiences before coming home, but I hate to say it, if I see that pit at the park again we may make an early exit.

oh i'm so sorry. that is terrible.

right now, my best friend has gotten a dog. he's a blue heeler, and totally sweet around humans— probably one of the most friendly dogs i've ever encountered in this respect.

BUT...

he literally cannot be around other dogs, because he starts nipping. we're trying to socialize him, but it looks as though it's going to be an uphill battle.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/197308_210459502313431_100000481477441_820387_2315671_n.jpg

his name is Samedi.

people trying to learn to raise a pit rescue are likely going to make some mistakes; I'm sorry your pup caught the bad end of an unpleasant experience. I've been the guy on the other end of that exchange and I felt horrible.
i agree with you that a dog that's not properly socialized or that has other issues shouldn't be let off leash around other animals. avoiding a problem animal isn't a bad thing to do and your pet parents (if they really are conscientious) will either work through this or stop showing up at your open park space.

Oh for fucks sake. Some fuckheads put out a DOGFIGHTING game.

http://market.android.com/details?id=kagegames.apps.DWBeta&feature=search_result

Dog Wars:

Raise your Dog to Beat the Best!

A GAME THAT WILL NEVER BE IN THE iPHONE APP STORE!!!

Feed, water, train and FIGHT your virtual dog against other player's... action games, chatroom, many characters and dogs to choose from, virtual store, etc.

http://ssl.gstatic.com/android/market/kagegames.apps.DWBeta/ss-1-320-480-160-1-aa4f802648df764cf47817366ecdea612870c00c

I have....more than a little problem with this. Found the link thru the these guys' call-to-action page and Lizz Winstead posting about it on Twitter.

In happier news, here's a story and a vid about a rescue pittie named Kermit being happily readied for his new home:

http://oaklandanimalservices.org/2011/04/kermie-gets-a-life-makeover/

http://oaklandanimalservices.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/kermie21-300x225.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgPoxIAFLWM

awwwww KERMIE

wkiw Kermit even if it meant I had to listen to Toad The Wet Sprocket w/the lil wiggles bro.

i dont know whats with pitbulls but their so adorable yet ugly

stay classy, pit bull owner.

dog comes off as pretty smart in that article

ya. hopefully he gets a good new home.

Motherfucker. I'm afraid the dog won't find a new home because a dog that has bitten someone, esp a pit, will prob be court-ordered for euthanasia.