Great Article, NA!
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Originally Posted by Strangler Lewis
but the fact remains that these things exist because of their appeal to a certain type of irresponsible, violence loving person.
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I agree with you 100%. However...that is hardly the breed's fault. Pitbulls have been around since the 19th century and usually refer to either purebred Staffordshire Bull Terriers/American Staffordshire Terriers or a dog that is mixed with one of these breeds. From early on, the breeds were well known to be very people friendly:
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Dog fighting, which could be carried out under clandestine measures, blossomed. Since Bulldogs proved too ponderous and uninterested in dog fighting, the Bulldogs were crossed with English White and Black and Tan Terriers. They were also bred to be intelligent and level-headed during fights and remain non-aggressive toward their handlers. Part of the standard for organized dog-fighting required that the match referee who is unacquainted with the dog be able to enter the ring, pick up a dog while it was engaged in a fight, and get the respective owner to carry it out of the ring without being bitten. Dogs that bit the referee were culled.
As a result, Victorian fighting dogs (Staffordshire Bull Terriers and, though less commonly used as fighters, English Bull Terriers) generally had stable temperaments and were commonly kept in the home by the gambling men who owned them.
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What I agree with is it is many of the
people own these dogs and breed them with no regard to temperament (they just want a "cool" or "badass" dog)
are irresponsible and often drawn to violence. They revel in their dog's ability to be vicious and often foster that ability.
I would (even with an 8yo child) own a "pitbull" that I knew to be well bred, by people who care about the breeds and know what they are doing with not an ounce of trepidation. On the other hand, Staffies are "advanced" dogs and I am what I would call a very experienced dog person...there are many breeds, no matter how well bred that someone who is inexperienced with dogs and/or has a submissive personality has no business owning. It is not the pitbull as a breed that concerns me, it is the individual pitbulls that come (at some point in their lives) from irresponsible fvcktards who have no business being near these animals.
In short, there are, unfortunately, some "bad" dogs (of all breeds) out there, but generally it's what dog people say all of the time about all "bad" dogs (because it's true), it is rarely the dog that is the problem (although that is the unfortunate, and eventual, outcome), it's the owners who are the problem.