Good reasons. My response is simply that based on reasonable evidence by qualified experts, all those things can be done by dogs not identified as ‘pit bulls and their ilk’., the ones responsible for most of the negative reaction to large dogs. I say, protect the reputation of all dogs by taking pit bulls out of the mix.
Don’t even THINK about coming near my babies or I will hurt you.
They, on the other hand, will likely lick you to death.
Bolding mine:
Great, now the “those are’t your babies!” crowd will show up. 
LOL! I was just thinking the same thing!
Duke is no way a pure-breed pit bull. If you saw him IRL you might even mistake him for a yellow lab for a moment. His snout is almost pointy; not at all as square as pits’ usually are. Even the vet said he’s totally a mixed breed mutt. It’s Lola who has more of the pit bull characteristics … including being a snugglebunny.
Your dog is gorgeous, by the way!
Awww, I hope it’s nothing serious. Please let us know what it is and update us on how he’s doing?
It’s not a rational point of view, it’s an emotional point of view.
My significantly smaller dachshund that I had for 15 years growing up, could not come close to showing the kind of affection my pits do. And he was a vicious sucker - bit numerous people, one in the face. My pits wouldn’t bite you even if I yelled, “SIC!” or “ATTACK!” They are all about the kisses. I’ve never, ever known a dog that gave as many kisses as these guys do. That’s all they want to do is kiss and lick you. I would no more have put my face anywhere near my dachshund’s face than put it in the face of a cobra. But I think nothing of nuzzling my pit bulls. Honest to Og, you would too if you met them.
LOL! My husband isn’t a prince, either, but I call him that all the time.
:rolleyes:
I can’t believe you really need this spelled out, but since you are displaying every sign of being dumber than a box of rocks: No, there’s no defined ‘distance’ between dog and child that can be considered ‘safe’ or ‘dangerous’. In both videos, the dogs are in a clearly passive state. The first one, there *might be one or two very mild warning signs - it’s believed that a dog placing his paws on you in that manner -might- be trying to assert dominance. But for almost the entire video he’s down on his stomach, approaching from a prone position on the floor, so he could just be trying to instigate play. The second video, same thing - the dog is playing, there’s no sign of dominance or aggression.
Contrast that with the first pictures you posted - the dog approaches standing up, then lies on *top *of the baby. He’s very likely displaying dominant behavior - if I’m the parents I’m definitely not *rewarding *that behavior.
In any event, pls do let me know when Newfoundlands or Labs are responsible for 60%+ of dog bite deaths despite making up only 4-5% of the doggie population.
- And if you try to give me the standard ‘ah ha! My pits never show signs of aggression or dominance!’, I’ll tell you right now that I *don’t fucking believe you, *because pits are by nature dominant, strong, determined dogs. Even the biggest pit advocates wouldn’t try to argue otherwise (they will argue whether that means pits are inherently *dangerous *or not).
True dat, Especially since my girl has a very rough face… She has whiskers in her lips that are kind of like a shaved beard, very stubbly… And her tnogue is scratchy like a cats… But I still love her kisses.
Well. There’s no question that announcing that your opponents are lying to you when they tell you something other than what you believe is a very effective way to end the discussion. Because obviously it’s pointless… You have determined reality, and anything that does not agree with what you have decided reality is simply does not exist. Got it.
I would imagine the closing your eyes and sticking your fingers in your ears results in you falling down and hurting yourself quite a bit, making the strategy less than optimal. But, to each his own.
Thanks! He just had a growth on his arm. He’s recovering okay…we’ll find out in a couple days if it’s anything serious.
See, from that picture, to me Duke looks more like pit than anything else. My guy looks quite similar to that when he’s laying down and his muzzle is against the ground. Put it this way, if I saw that picture and you asked me to guess the breed, pit bull or pit bull mix would be my first guess. No, probably not pure bred, but how many are? I doubt mine is pure bred pit, either. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out he wasn’t a pit bull at all. He definitely has retriever qualities to his personality, and a lot of people think he’s a boxer. Who knows. One thing I found out from volunteering at the shelter was just how wide a net “pit bull mix” covers. I saw dogs that I would’ve sworn were mostly shepherds labeled as “pit mixes,” and from your picture, that dog would certainly be labeled “pit mix” at our shelter.
Actually, I just saw another picture on your photo pages of Duke where he does not look as much as a pit bull (this photo). That’s a side view of him where he looks much more lab-like, but still with pit bull characteristics. But from that photo you first posted, to me, it’s hard to tell with the angle and the foreshortening of his muzzle. I woulda totally guessed pit.
It’s interesting, as I checked out the other photos, and I’d say in about 80% he clearly looks like a pit to me, and 20%, he doesn’t. Duke is a chameleon. Perhaps this speaks a little to the difficulty of identification.
I’m glad to hear he’s recovering well and I hope it turns out to be nothing.
Oh there’s no mistaking he’s a pit if you know what a pit looks like, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t realize that’s what he is. He has the telltale chest marking which is a dead giveaway. You would know he’s mostly pit right away. But it’s also pretty clear he’s mixed with something else, though what that something is is a mystery.
Lola is all pit all the time. She’s shorter and stockier and has that more mooshed face compared to Duke’s longer one. Plus, his ears are longer and floppier, whereas hers are shorter and she holds them more on top of her head. Side-by-side comparison here.
Do you believe or not believe that pits are by nature dominant, strong, determined dogs?
Pits are by nature strong, that follows from their physicality.
Dominance and determination are traits that can show up in any dog. It has not been my observation or experience that pits are these things at a rate exceeding the dog population generally. In fact, the only personality trait that I have heard of and seen for myself is their tendency to be kissers, and to desire physical contact in ways other than petting. They like to lean on you and lay on you and sleep right next to you in ways I have not observed in other dogs.
The most dominant and stubborn dog I ever knew was a female miniature dachshund, much like Shayna’s. dreadful little biting bitch.
Replace “pits” with “{race or ethnicity of your choice}” and things get interesting.
Excellent point! Dog breeds are different from one another in the same way that human races are different from one another… All the same species, just some superficial differences. Same core set of emotional and bahavioral responses across the entire species.
The ASPCA disagrees with you:
And that’s from a site that is bending over backwards in its support for pits.
You clearly haven’t been around many dogs.
Bolding mine - those are signs of a dog trying to assert dominance over you. Not a good sign. Curling up or lying down beside you is harmless. Almost every dog we’ve ever had did that.
I didn’t know miniature dachshunds were killing dozens of kids each year.
so much of the pushback here seems to center on the owner’s personal relationship with their pit bulls (and similar mixed breed dogs). Yes, we form attachments to our animals – cats dogs horses rats spiders etc. – and to us, the animal seems idealized. Our animal could never be responsible for attacking a human being…or another dog…or cat…etc. They are just too lovable, I just want to bury my face in their fur…
So, you love your animals. That should not prevent you from considering the rational proposition that since pit bull type dogs have recognized traits and have the ability to kill humans…we should phase them out. They can be replaced in our hearts, over time, by less dangerous dogs. I’m not saying that other dog species are less inclined to bite (though that might well be) but that when they do bite, they aren’t as likely to maim or kill.
It really does boil down to recognized negatives for the kind of dog you love. Even if only a few out of a thousand pit bulls attack during their lifetime, when they do, they do tremendous harm. That is an unacceptable risk when you can’t find one single thing a pit bull does that isn’t available to you with a less dangerous companion.
I don’t consider anyone a fool for having a dog they love. I do think, though, that you have to be smart about what you chose to love, and, of course, be very very very careful not to give that big old lovable pooch a chance to turn aggressive, to learn that attacking is fun.