Pit Bulls: What's the appeal?

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Yes, but it would have been easier to kill him as a baby.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Monday, 19 September 2005 23:25 (eighteen years ago) link

(using your logic)

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Monday, 19 September 2005 23:25 (eighteen years ago) link

TO THE DELOREAN

― oops (Oops), Monday, 19 September 2005 23:26 (eighteen years ago) link

Fine.

http://atts.org/

83.3% of pit bulls tested out as non-aggressive in this sampling. A large sampling, too - 469 American Pit Bull Terriers. That's a better rate than preferred 'family dogs' like Cocker Spaniels (81.5%), Collies (79.0%) or even the famous rescue breed of St. Bernards (82.9%).

So, we can conclude that when raised properly to be good dogs, they're very good dogs indeed. Maybe it's worth looking into facts rather than relying on stereotypes and rumors.

Of course, upthread someone said "I don't care about your stupid facts." Well, okay. Nice work, George W. Bush.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Monday, 19 September 2005 23:33 (eighteen years ago) link

I will say this for the anti-Pit argument... Pit Bulls are incredibly stocky and muscular, much more so than other mid-sized dogs, so when they're aggressive (even if it's less common than more "trustworthy" breeds), they are much more dangerous when they go off than a collie or a st. bernard. Someone please prove me wrong on this one.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Tuesday, 20 September 2005 00:47 (eighteen years ago) link

Because I do care about the stupid facts, I cannot deny that a strong, persistent animal like an APBT is potentially very dangerous if it turns vicious.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Tuesday, 20 September 2005 00:53 (eighteen years ago) link

This was on Chicago craigslist today:

Anyway, I told my thug-dog about your rapping pitty bull, and he laughed, dog.

He rhymed out this:

Yo, you northside pittys try to be all westside
when I put my jaw on your ass you will not abide
you will feel it slide all on your hide
and the blood will flow this is not a lie.

Southside rotty will rip you up,
make you scream like a bad dream like a dying pup,
rip your ass so bad youre gonna need a pre-nup.

Southside rotty gonna eat your eyes
gonna digest like the marrow all your lies
youre the kind of northside dog that I despise
now I must say to the pitty goodbye.

ihttp://chicago.craigslist.org/rnr/99058782.html

― kidnapping and blackmail (dymaxia), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 19:16 (eighteen years ago) link

Ridiculous. Completely ridiculous. There is only one kind of dog for people who take dogs seriously.

We have french bassets. Actually just one now, a bitch. The other died two yrs ago. :-((((

This is Lucy.

http://static.flickr.com/22/33193010_ea7ca5ac14.jpg

― nathalie, a bum like you (stevie nixed), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 19:26 (eighteen years ago) link

(Also, I recently heard a woman say on television that the breed has little to do with the personality. What matters most is training. This was said after a Golden Retriever had bitten off a boy's ear. People - including I - were surprised that breed could be aggressive.)

― nathalie, a bum like you (stevie nixed), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 19:28 (eighteen years ago) link

I hear that Afghans are bad drivers.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 19:31 (eighteen years ago) link

their short game is tremendous though

― Porkpie (porkpie), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 19:40 (eighteen years ago) link

I hate how people go against pitbulls...the where bread to be mean and fight but if you get a puppy and train it to be nice and not to bit you can have the best dog ever not every single pitbull is mean people just judge them cuz people bring them up like that same with other large dogs its like judging people we are told now a days to not judge people so it should be the same for dog they cant fight for them selves saying there not mean and people should be able to have them so someone has to i say the the dog is just as good as its owner wether its a pitbull or a lab.

― Shelllbs, Sunday, 2 October 2005 15:47 (eighteen years ago) link

why white trash shouldn't breed....or breed dogs

― kingfish superman ice cream (kingfish 2.0), Monday, 3 October 2005 05:41 (eighteen years ago) link

one year passes...

such utter, utter viciousness:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2OC5Z1Fii8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7m4GVqwqOc&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl93Hc1uH2w

― kingfish, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 06:28 (seventeen years ago) link

I'm thinking there are other kinds of pitbull videos on youtube...

― Spencer Chow, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 07:05 (seventeen years ago) link

But that is pretty cute. However, I am thinking the whole time that it will eat on of the birds. I probably wouldn't think that with a golden retriever though.

― Spencer Chow, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 07:05 (seventeen years ago) link

Also, I should note that my "Afghans" comment above is obviously about the dog breed.

― Spencer Chow, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 07:06 (seventeen years ago) link

It's not the dogs, it's the assholes who mistreat them.

That's a wrong assumption to make (at times). It is as if to say that the parents of Hitler (or any sociopath/killer/whatever) are to blame. That's a gross simplification, but it's just as wrong to say that it's the "assholes who mistreat them." Sometimes dogs just turn aggressive, have a dangerous attitude.

i like cavalier king charles...

Seconded. Those are the cutest dogs EVAH.

― nathalie, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 07:40 (seventeen years ago) link

On the wider question of bull terriers, I just love Staffies. I met the cutest one yesterday at Dunster Mill. He was called Gus and he was the waggiest dog and just wanted me to stand there and scratch him.

I love how they lean on you when they want you to pet them.

― accentmonkey, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 09:14 (seventeen years ago) link

Have other Londoners noticed how seemingly just in the past, like four months, there are a million young dudes wandering around now with a DOG on a CHAIN? I guess some of these are pit bulls. Most of them look muscular. It's crazy. I was in Brixton the other day and it's like a damn dog show. Every block has at least two guys being dragged purposefully along by a little short, squat, muscular dog. You hear em talkin to each other too (the guys, not the dogs) about breeds, etc. WTF!

― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 09:23 (seventeen years ago) link

someday, they will come for you and your potato chips

― kingfish, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 15:13 (seventeen years ago) link

pit bulls have cute little faces.

― Ms Misery, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 15:14 (seventeen years ago) link

Indeed they do, plus they are the smilingest dogs EVER!

http://www.badrap.org/rescue/img2/jolee_nose.jpg

PINKNOSE!

― Oilyrags, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 15:17 (seventeen years ago) link

This is my grand-dog:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/157/343575416_675cee4c85_o.jpg
She's one of the wussiest dogs I've ever met. She has absolutely the best smile though and is so well behaved.

― Jaq, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 15:21 (seventeen years ago) link

I was walking my pit bull the other day and this giant red Escalade all rimmed out and tinted up comes screaming to a halt in the middle of very busy and narrow Magazine St right next to me. The window rolls down and the driver yells "CHECK THIS SHIT OUT!" I look inside and on the passenger seat is a cardboard box full of newborn pit puppies. Easily in the top five cutest fucking things I've ever seen. Then the dude just tears off down the street.

Moral: Pit bulls bring people closer together. Only connect, etc.

― adam, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 15:25 (seventeen years ago) link

dammit, they've started blocking flickr at work.

― kingfish, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 15:25 (seventeen years ago) link

quit!

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 15:29 (seventeen years ago) link

can't. too much stuff to fix.

― kingfish, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 15:30 (seventeen years ago) link

if anyone in chicago wants a pitbull i met someone selling puppies a few weeks back at a diner.

― deej, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 15:36 (seventeen years ago) link

burn yr desk.

xpost

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 15:36 (seventeen years ago) link

Can't do that. It'd burn my new die-cast Mazinger Z, the one with rocket punch and detachable scrander!

― kingfish, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 15:42 (seventeen years ago) link

"eat my assleavings"

!

― onimo, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 15:52 (seventeen years ago) link

It's not the dogs, it's the assholes who mistreat them.

That's a wrong assumption to make (at times). It is as if to say that the parents of Hitler (or any sociopath/killer/whatever) are to blame. That's a gross simplification, but it's just as wrong to say that it's the "assholes who mistreat them." Sometimes dogs just turn aggressive, have a dangerous attitude.

unfortunately it's very true in the case of pit bulls. there's a whole subculture dedicated to turning them into attack dogs, which is difficult to do given their naturally gentle demeanor. it's sickening. they are a very strong + tenacious breed, which makes them attractive to assholes looking for a symbol of power.

my own personal anecdote: I'm not a dog person (you can read about my own childhood dog attack story on the scars thread if you dare), but my wife is. she convinced me to take in a pit bull saved from a fighting ring back when we lived in nashville.

in tennessee pit bulls are euthanised automatically when they end up in shelters. they can't find them homes because the dog-fighting rings will just scoop them back up again. but this dog was not one of the fighters, she was a "warmup" dog, the one the other dogs would attack to get ready for a fight. she was the sweetest dog ever, and one of the shelter workers couldn't stand to see her put down. so she was smuggled out on the doggie underground railroad.

we had her for years, and she was an angel. it always surprised people unfamiliar with the breed that she was a pit bull. but it was literally like living with a hunted animal - we constantly had to lie about her breed to acquaintances, neighbors, and landlords because YES THE MEDIA AND THE DOGFIGHT SUBCULTURE have turned the pit bull into a symbol of fear and violence. it's such a shame.

I'm not a dog breeder, but I believe part of the reason the american staffordshire terrier name came about was to avoid the "pit bull" term, but essentially they're the same breed.

― Edward III, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 16:47 (seventeen years ago) link

needless to say I was OTMing kerry through this whole thread.

― Edward III, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 16:50 (seventeen years ago) link

Even when she thought "eat my assleavings" was a death threat?

― onimo, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 16:52 (seventeen years ago) link

I'll give the benefit of the doubt on that one. maybe she thought it was one of those newfangled rap terms for a gat.

― Edward III, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 16:56 (seventeen years ago) link

doggie underground railroad

awesome

― kingfish, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 16:57 (seventeen years ago) link

still hate 'em. Rex The Dog is cute tho.

― blueski, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 16:57 (seventeen years ago) link

Edwurd, you're right, and your point applies to a lot of other breeds as well. Dogs aren't human, Nathalie, it's not like they decide that the world has wronged them due to their unpriviliged upbringing and therefore successful people/children/the neighbors deserve to have their faces savaged off. They react to environment, and people in their environment, and if we want to force dogs to accommodate our lifestyles and live indoors, be people-friendly, communicate in ways that people respond to, we have to communicate in THEIR language as well.

Yes, absolutely, some dogs are better suited for non-child-having families, or will never adjust well to other dogs or other animals, etc etc -- many discipline and personality conditions come from levels of damage, hurt, or mistrust that can build up over a life of abuse, starvation, bad handling, and all the shitty things that people do to animals! And some dogs & breeds are stronger-willed or pushier than others and need a stronger personality in their owners to enforce human commands and understand the ins and outs of the pack mentality. This is not the dogs' fault any more than one of your children being precocious and strong-willed is that child's fault.

All of which puts the burden even more on the OWNER to make thoughtful pet choices in the first place, and then find a mutually beneficial solution if those choices don't work out. Seeing as how the dog doesn't have a choice about who adopts her!

― Laurel, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 17:01 (seventeen years ago) link

we have to communicate in THEIR language as well.

rello, rease don't raul re.

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 17:42 (seventeen years ago) link

ARROOOO?

― Laurel, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 17:43 (seventeen years ago) link

Pits are the biggest sweetie softies ever! They are friendly and loving and very easy to train---quite eager to please.

My mum-in-law who lives next door has a pit named Biff that's going on 12---really old for the breed. He's starting to get degenerative dementia and climb through kitchen windows, sit in the shower and moan, and he'll only sleep with me. It's breaking all of our hearts, but especially hers. She's had him the whole time through a divorce, moving, all kinds of hardships, and he's always been the most loyal, comforting & sweet dog. Poor Biffy, it's really making us all very sad.

She's getting a new pit in a few weeks, though, a rompy frisky little blue with blue eyes! She's not going to cut his balls so he'll stay huge and so she can farm him out for a stud fee. He's UKC purple ribbon & all this stuff, just a wonderful strong handsome lineage with a delightful temperament.

Pits are nice if you're a lady bcz they're a lot more intimidating to walk around with than, say, a chinese crested.

― Abbott, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 23:58 (seventeen years ago) link

Biffy being chill as per:

http://a694.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/01305/39/63/1305103693_l.jpg

Before he went nuts, he always slept cuddled in bed on his back, just like a human:

http://a25.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/01305/42/05/1305105024_l.jpg

― Abbott, Thursday, 3 May 2007 00:01 (seventeen years ago) link

I'm sure these are sweet dogs and would never hurt a fly, but aren't there like a million other breeds you could choose from that won't scare people?

― Spencer Chow, Thursday, 3 May 2007 00:20 (seventeen years ago) link

Sure, I could drive a tank down the street that has no working gun, but you know something that is big and tracked and olive green is bound to upset people - so why not just get a pick-up truck?

― Spencer Chow, Thursday, 3 May 2007 00:22 (seventeen years ago) link

those delicate sorts of people can fuck right off to their poodles or their pussy cats

― félix pié, Thursday, 3 May 2007 00:38 (seventeen years ago) link

The same arguments were made about dobermans back when they were the big mean-looking dog of choice, german shepherds before that.

― Jaq, Thursday, 3 May 2007 00:40 (seventeen years ago) link

I think those are breeds which still signify a threat to most people.

― Spencer Chow, Thursday, 3 May 2007 00:44 (seventeen years ago) link

I mean do you guys really not understand that many normal and nice people are scared when certain types of dogs are around?

― Spencer Chow, Thursday, 3 May 2007 00:44 (seventeen years ago) link

There's been general hysteria about different breeds at different times depending on cultural trends, items in the news, lots of things. I seem to remember that German Shepherds used to be the Big Bad, but now they're recognized & respected for their police and rescue work, for their devotion to duty as guide dogs, companion dogs, etc. Pits are just in one of those cycles, and the drug dealer/attack dog culture is a big culprit in the continuing fracas.

Puppy mills that breed & sell large numbers of "in" dogs, whether for fashionable accessories or for trained aggression, are to be avoided at all costs; those kinds of breeders don't monitor their breeding lines for even temperment, healthy physique, known genetic afflictions, or anything else (unless they're so unsavory that they're actually breeding for aggression or something, in which case obv their households should only meet disease and tragedy, to paraphrase a Yiddish curse). But there's nothing wrong with the responsible breeding & ownership of ANY dog breed for its own sake -- all of them have important and lovable qualities and as much of a right to exist as anyone.

Hahah xp

― Laurel, Thursday, 3 May 2007 00:48 (seventeen years ago) link

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