Comments on: Ban Bathtubs, Not Pit Bulls – A Letter to StopPitBullAttacks.Com

By: Doc Norman

Doc Norman — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:53:29 +0000

To Loree: Let me see if I can clear up some misunderstandings for you. Dogs aren’t bred for specific behaviors. I can no more breed a dog and have it exit the womb a fighter than I can breed a monkey to teach English Literature. Over time, dogs have been bred to enhance natural traits. For example, most terrier breeds have, as a trait, courage and fearlessness, and were once bred to be trained as “ratters” (dogs that would pursue vermin into their holes and kill them) for use on farms. (And if you don’t think it takes courage to trap, corner and kill a rat, you try it!) So a breed may have certain expressed characteristics that are easily shaped into a certain behavior, but this does not mean that behavior will necessarily express itself naturally without that training. Just as you, for example, may have a build and a brain hard-wired for balance and orientation in space that would be easily shaped into championship gymnastic ability. But if your parents don’t start you out in the gym at an early age and diligently encourage your talents, there’s no gold medal in your future.
Conversely, a breed trait can be discoraged or even extinguished entirely through application of behavior modification and shaping. You can train an animal to do ANYTHING. B. F. Skinner trained squirrels to water ski. And I assure you those squirrels weren’t born saying, “Which way to the beach, dude?” So you can train a pit bull to fight… or NOT to fight. You can train a human to be an assassin or a pacifist. You can train George W. Bush to… OK, you can’t train Bush. Let’s just say he’s the exception to the rule.

By: Doc Norman

Doc Norman — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:08:24 +0000

I had my pit bull, Cooter, for seven years before he had to be euthanized (inoperable heart tumor). My wife was afraid of pit bull terriers before we got him. She was furious when I brought him home as a pup! However, over time, she came to know and love the breed. Most folks don’t know the history of this breed in America. Many are surprised to learn, for instance, that they were used as “nanny dogs” in the late 19th & early 20th centuries. Now, if you believe the press, pit bulls eat children. Like all responsible owners, I could tell many positive stories about Cooter. My favorite, however, is Cooter the Dog Park Cop. Cooter was trained not to fight. I confess we amended this policy after a third $181.00 trip to the vet incurred by yet another dog owner who could not control his (non-pit bull) dog off-leash or get it to break an attack. I then did permit Cooter to defend himself, but for some reason, this almost never happened afterward. Anyway, when Cooter was at the dog park, if one dog was hassling another dog and the situation was building to a fight, Cooter would charge in, position himself between the larger/ aggressive dog and the smaller/meeker dog and “bow up,” as if to say, “OK, you want this little guy, you gotta go through me.” Cooter was a respectable 86 lbs. and the aggressor dog would invariably respond as if to say, “Nah, I’m good,” and wander off. Cooter had a lot of little dog buddies.
I scattered Cooter’s ashes on the lake at the dog park as the bagpipes played in the background (although he preferred Techno/Trance). Many of the regulars wept.
We are almost ready to get another dog. My wife, however, does not want another pit, simply because she doesn’t want another dog people are afraid of. How sad!
And how many of you have already guessed she’s going to be furious with me again…?

By: Emily

Emily — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 02:51:03 +0000

I was bitten in the face by a cocker spaniel as a toddler. As a teenager I was attacked by a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, and it was one of the most vicious dogs I’ve ever encountered. Of all the dogs my family had growing up, the only one that EVER bit a human was our little Bichon. It’s about the individual dog and the dog owner, not the breed in general. My pit bull loves people. I’m so tired of this argument.

By: kristen

kristen — Thu, 21 May 2009 23:06:55 +0000

I currently own three beautiful blue APBT (american pitbull terriers for those who are just as ignorant to the name as they are to the breed). Two males and one female. My 18 month old daughter plays with all three, gives them treats and even falls asleep with them. She has grown up around them as well as I have. Never in the ten years that I have owned APBT have I ever been growled at, snapped at, or bitten. My daughter has never been growled at, snapped at, or bitten. An AMAZINGLY, believe it or not, neither have any of my friends or family!! WOW!! Hhmm…if they were all bred to attack humans I wonder what happened to mine?? I guess I got all the dummies out of the litters who didn’t know what they were supposed to do!! However they all know how to sit, lay down, fetch, roll over, even play dead. So maybe just maybe…they do know what they are supposed to do, because they are not bred to attack humans. They are bred to be loyal, loving, intelligent dogs. And that is exactly what they are. So I am sorry for all of you out there that are incapable of reading and comprehending to know that not only a Collie but also a standard size poodle both score lowewr on the temperment tests. Not an APBT… funny huh?? you would think that since they are bred to kill humans they would fail. Im a proud pitbull mommy. I love my babies no matter what you say. But just remember that the stupid things that come out of your mouth only make you sound that much more ignorant yourself. If we believed everything in the media we would live in a crazy world…Elvis would still be alive..aliens would really be living here..and Oprah would really only have two more years to live. The media is full of lies..it was designed to deliver news..now it is up to the intelligent to decifer the difference between fact and fiction. Can you??

By: Abbie

Abbie — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 03:10:08 +0000

I think that Loree should be informed that pitbulls were originally bred to be bull baiting dogs. (hence the name) And actually were initially considered “America’s Dog”. The dog from the Little Rascals is actually a pitbull. And although there are some ignorant irresponsible people who are breeding pitbulls for fighting, they are bred for fighting other dogs. Never are they bred for human aggression, otherwise these people wouldn’t be able to handle their own prize fighting dogs. I’d also like to inform her that my pitbull also likes to play fetch to the point of obsession, and guess what… she wasn’t bred to be a retriever.

By: Loree

Loree — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 21:35:08 +0000

i know a couple of pit bulls, and they are nice, smart dogs. My only questions is this: It is true, isn’t it, that pit bulls were bred for fighting, (back in the day?), well, if you can make my lab. (who was bred to be a retriever), stop fetching, i will believe you can take the breeding out of your pit bull, too. and i’m not trying to “diss” your dog breed, but I just don’t believe you can take the breeding characteristics out of any animal.