Please Rescue an American Pit Bull Terrier Today

I have very little knowledge of the pit bull breeding scene and I am sure that it is great. I do know however that you can get a pit bull from just about any rescue center in the country. If someone wants a pit bull then they should rescue one.

We rescued our dog from the Kalamazoo Animal Rescue program. We were not looking for any particular dog that day we just went to the pet store looking for information on finding a dog. It just so happened that on that day they were showing rescued dogs out in the front of the pet store. There were three pitbull puppies. We picked one, filled out some forms, and met with the dogs at our home a few days later. We shelled out a measly $150 and we had Sierra.

She lives with Parker a 10 year old and Gracie a 6 year old. Sierra loves all of us and vice versa. We socialize her with people and other animals as much as possible. She has not had any sign of aggression except towards squirrels. Luckily no one likes squirrels.

No squirrel was injured in the making of this picture. Except the dead one I guess.

Check my rescue page for information regarding pet adoption. I have included the Kalamazoo Animal Rescue that we acquired our dog from. They worked really well for us.

Owning an American Pit Bull Terrier

In this day and age there is no more controversial dog to own than a pit bull.There is a huge commitment that you must make if you are going to become a Pit Bull owner. This is in no way the breeds fault. This situation comes from the mistreatment of Pit bulls, dog fighting, and medias demagoguery. However an owner must deal with mass society’s opinions about the bread.

There is always a risk  of involving our dog in some unforeseen conflict where we (regardless of the circumstances) will be held responsible. If an untrained and mistreated Golden Retriever would attack my Pit bull I have to be prepared to be looked at as the guilty party. And that is not only because my dog would kick that dog’s ass (sorry). We have to train our dogs to behave better than the average dog breed’s owner. We have to have our dog’s leashed in public places regardless of the little snotty unleashed pug that would not stop running up to my dog and  licking  her in an uncouth fashion.

If you think, like I did, that you can just get a pit bull terrier without people judging you, then you will find, like I did, that people really come out of the woodwork to express their opinions about the breed. I had a lady with a huge black lab with a broken leg stop dead in her tracks as I walked my 5 month old Sierra towards her. “We don’t like pit bulls” she said and walked the other way. I held back our opinion that we did not like handicapped dogs.

Pit bull knowledge is certainly not all bad. A lot of people love pit bulls and rightly so. They are ridiculously loving and smart and anyone that I know that  has owned a pit bull loves the breed. The stigma around pit bulls makes me feel safe letting my girl take walks withthe dog after dark. Another plus is that thugs talk to me when I pass them in a  dimly lit park.

You really have to take responsibility for a powerful breed that can have devastating affects on people and animals. Pit bulls must have proper socialization. The more your pit bull encounters strange people and animals the more comfortable they will be around them. A self confident dog is much safer than a fearful dog. We try to let Sierra introduce herself to any willing person or other dog whenever possible. There is a tendency towards dog aggression with these breeds and awareness of this is crucial.

Supervision is also advised emphatically by pit bull experts. It is advised to never leave your APBT alone with small children no matter how confident you are with their personality. All precautions should also be taken when your dog is outside unleashed regardless if they are in an enclosed area. They are persistent escape artists and when they get it in their mind to accomplish something they can go through great measures to do so.

Dog Walk ’09

The Kalamazoo Humane Society is having their 25th anniversary Dog Walk at Prairie View Park in Vicksburg. The event is put together to raise money for the humane society by pledging money for participants in the dog walk. There are a lot of cool activities at the park to enjoy also including the Skyhoundz Hyperflite Disc Competition and a classic K9 show.

The event is at Prairie View Park on May 2. Click here for directions. Participants may walk the course anytime between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. If you have not signed a waiver or are a non-registered guest, you must check in at the registration tent.

Join me and everyone else that loves dogs at the event. Responsible Pit Bull owners especially should make an appearance to combat the bad reputation of the breed that we have to listen to just about every time we walk our dogs in public.

Cesar Milan Pros and Cons

Cesar Millan is the most well known dog behaviourist in the country today. He is beloved by millions and revered as the Dr. Phil of the dog world. There is however a large amount of dog enthusiasts and experts that believe that Cesar’s dog training techniques are out of date and inhumane. I really enjoy Cesar’s show “The Dog Whisperer” and have seen him do amazing things with dogs time and time again. I have also came across a lot of people and articles that slam the dog whisperer and believe he is hurting the progress that dog behavior has made over the last fifty years.

Pros

• Cesar is great with dogs. He has a natural ability that he established watching dogs work for his grandfather at their farm in Mexico.
• The techniques used by Millan quickly establish behavior needed from problem dogs.
• Millions of people are more attuned to the relationship between dog and owner because of Cesar’s television show The Dog Whisperer.
• Exercise is always one of the first aspects of the owner/pet relationship that is examined. Under exercised pets is a surefire way to create problem behaviors.
• Cesar helps give the pit bull much needed positive exposure to the public.

Cons

• Dog experts and studies have discovered that positive-based training is a more reliable and humane way to train dogs
• Training a dog as a pack leader will only create the desired effects when you are with your dog. The possibility of unwanted behaviors occurring when the dogs are without you is higher.
• A lot of the training techniques used on the show can be dangerous for amateurs let alone professionals

Cesar Millan Critics

Cesar Millan is the most widely known dog trainer right now. His show on the National Geographic channel has given him the center stage in the public opinion of dog training and obedience.

Cesar Millan with his pit bull Baby on the right

 

Now don’t get mad at me but their are a lot of professional dog training experts that are not Cesar Millan fans. “Some of the (Dog Whisperer) tactics are, quite frankly, inhumane and inappropriate,” says Marie Belew Wheatley the president of the American Humane Association. She also requested that the National Geographic Channel should replace The Dog Whisperer with programming that presents more current positive techniques.

Hiking with your dog

A great way to enjoy the outdoors as well as get your dog some of their required exercise is to go hiking with your dog. I discovered a good place to check out the basics of hiking with your dog is k9trailblazers.org. There are  lots of trails that you can access easily in your area by going to hikewithyourdog.com.

There is a lot of great gear for taking your dog on natural excursions. Some really good dog packs can be found on the Wolf Packs website. A quality pack will be worth the cost when you are out in the woods.

Media Slams the American Pit Bull Terrier

The media continues to attack the American Pit Bull Terrier with misleading stories and profiling that should ensure their chances for upcoming affirmative action type retributions.

The biggest falsity in the media’s portrayal of the APBT is the generalization of the term Pit Bull. A vast amount of stories involving dog attacks are incorrectly called Pit Bulls. There has been stories that were discovered to have been reported falsely yet there was no retribution for the misleading newscast.

Training American Pit Bull Terriers

Training dogs can be a difficult task for many people. There are a lot of different ways to teach a dog to respect you and obey you and the task can be confusing. Searching the web will result in various “proper” ways to train a dog. I believe that common sense can go a long way for an intelligent dog owner. There are however disruptive training techniques that can harm a dogs training. These I believe are the most important things to consider when training your dog whether it is an  APBT or any other breed.

Walking your dog is one of the most common activities most dog owner’s engage in with their pet. This can be an enjoyable, relaxing and healthy part of your everyday life. However if your dog is not trained properly this can quickly become a bothersome, hectic, and stressful event. 

A common misconception is that a normal dag walk consists of the dog ahead of the owner. The problem with this positioning is the fact that the person is supposed to be in control of the pace and direction of the walk. If your dog is in front of you they cannot be guided by you. The best way to walk your dog is to have them positioned directly by your side. This allows the dog to monitor your pace and direction so that you can become the leader.

Of course this can be much easier understood than accomplished. A dog’s excitement with unusual surroundings can and usually creates an excitable state tha is hard to control. Using the lead as a tool quick jerks immediately following unwanted behaviors will produce the desired effect on a difficult to control dog. If you find that this is not affecting your dog’s behavior than you can employ a collar that is made to help persuade them to not pull back or ignore the collar.

Famous Pit Bulls

Many Famous people have pit bulls and in turn there are many famous Pit Bulls. They breed is beloved by people all over the world and seem to be especially popular in the Hollywood scene right now.

One of the most famous pit bull is Petey the Pit bull from the black and white TV show “Our Gang” in the 1920’s. This was before the current hatred towards Pit bulls existed. Back in the days when the Pit bull was known an “All American Dog”.

Petey the Pup from the T.V. show "Our Gang"

The great and controversial ( if you read my silly blog) Cesar Milan has many pit bulls in his pack including his his most often used Pit “Daddy” who Cesar acquired from the rapper “RedMan”.

Cesar Milan and his baby "Daddy"

Rachel Ray owns a pit bull named Isaboo named after the Pit she owned before she became famous named Boo. Isaboo can be found on her dog food line called Nutrish.

Oh no.... NOT HELEN KELLER! They are man eaters.

He may not be famous but my friend Tobe has a Pit Bull. Her name is Nala (sp?).

Lindsey's Marley

Sierra on Couch

My Dad's dog Joe

An American Pit Bull Terrier Lover’s summary on the breed

The American Pit Bull Terrier is an incredible breed that is loved by many despite a ridiculous media onslaught of undeserved negative attention. How the Pit Bull came from the beloved “Pete the Pup” from “Our Gang” to the relentless persecution by today’s media is a sad story.

Pit bulls originated from a “bully” breed and terrier mix used to assist farmers and butchers to suppress out of control bulls. This ability to deal with bulls led to there prevalence in the bloodsport “bull baiting”. After bull baiting was outlawed in 1835 these dogs were used in the new bloodsport dogfighting. These games were held in a “pit” or ring and it is commonly believed that the name Pit Bull came from this part of their dark history.

Many people judge the Pit bull in this light and label it as an aggressive and dangerous breed because of this history.The pit bull was not used in these sports in any way because of any aggression common in the breed towards humans. In fact it was quite the contrary. These dogs were often killed if they ever showed aggression towards people especially in the ring where they were in the midst of life and death combat. I believe that the systematic killing of this breed that showed any aggression towards people while they were in the most likely state of biting a human is possibly the quickest way to insure a breed of dog will be the least likely to attack a human.

That being said, there are very real dangers in owning any dog especially a dog as powerful, resistant to pain, and bred to persevere at all costs including death. The arguments about the danger of pit bulls is filled with incredible emotion from both sides as well as misleading statistics fed by a fear feeding frenzy of a media. Most pit bull advocates fight for the loving nature of the pit bull and the ridiculous media onslaught calling any dog above 15 pounds a pit bull. The most radical anti-pit bull society are linked with real pit bull attacks and have a legitimate fear of the breed. The biggest problem of this controversy is the lack of any ability for either side to give in any way. Pit bull lover’s will not concede the danger of a breed bred for controlling a mad bull weighing more than a ton and then for fighting to the death against other powerful dogs. Pit bull haters are unwilling to see the lovable, gentle, normal non-aggression towards people breed beloved by millions of owners today.

Statistics are warped beyond belief on either side of the quite possibly way blown out of proportion controversy about American Pit Bull Terriers. Oh, did I use the official name for the first time. Well I am craftily using it to segue into the fact that most statistics consider a wide range of dog breeds that are not actually the American Pit Bull Terrier breed.  Pit Bull mixes as well as completely unrelated breeds are often tagged with the title Pit Bull. These blurred lines are also part of the confusion of statistics used in arguments for and against the breed. Many people dispute what is actually an American Pit Bull Terrier and statistics vary because of these discrepancies.

Any dog above 60 pounds is assuradly a mix of some sort (most likely a Mastiff) or a case of severe inbreeding. The media has mis-reported dog attacks from non APBT breeds as Pit Bulls for years. The name Pit Bull is what gets an audience so that is the name most often used for the ratings. Sixty years ago the APBT and the Staffordshire Terrier were physically identical to each other. The same dog. There was simply a stigma related to the APBT so the AKC  gave the name American Staffordshire Terrier to the exact same dog as the American Pit Bull Terrier. Pretty tricky eh?