meehs

I don't like posts like that because it's too confusing and you end up rereading a lot of what has already been read. So I won't do it. I just have to point out that the question that was asked: [quote]Why is it every good pit owner has never met a bad pit owner but the rest of us meet bad pit owners everywhere we go? [/quote] is 100% completely ridiculous! Where'd you come up with that??? I've owned pit bulls and other bully breeds my whole life and I've met [b]PLENTY[/b] of bad pitbull owners! Unfotunately our breeds are the breed of choice for gang members, drug dealers and other assorted punks of all kinds! I can't even beleive someone would make that statement! Absurd! I'd like to point out that it's also true that there are irresponsible owners of ALL breeds of dogs. I notice that there are a lot of instnaces here where people make broad sweeping statements without any facts to back them up here. I bet if you went and talked to ten "good" pitbull owners, at least nine of them would tell you that they've met [i]way too many[/i] "bad" pitbull owners. C'mon!!!

Just like everyone else here already said, you need to inform the local Humane Society and SPCA. Even if they take the dog out of there and decide that there's no alternative but to euthanize it, it's better than the dog staying there and starving to death! Don't get me worng, I'd hate to see that heppen. Anyway, maybe there's a chance they can save the dog. I think it's strage that a vet would make the determination over the phone from a verbal description that the dog most likely couldn't be saved! You have to make the call and help this dog! [b]PLEASE![/b]

After reading your last post I have to admit that I do see your point Bullygirl. Slim may have been overreacting and placing an undue amount of emphasis on the fact that two of the dogs were APBTs. Especially considering the fact that the boxer seems to have been the instigator! I also [i]definitely[/i] agree that an owner shouldn't keep their bully breed at home under the assumption that it "might" be aggressive towards other dogs "someday". There are dogs of all breeds that have the potential to be aggressive. It's just that our bully breeds have the potential to do a lot more damage. As owners of these breeds I think we just have to be extra vigilant. Unforutnately our dogs are subject to enough bad press as it is without more irresponsible owners adding to the problem.

I haven't read all of the posts on this topic because there as so many of them but I wanted to put in my two cents worth based on the ones that I did read because I am an owner and afficianado of the bully breeds. I have a 50 pound male Staffy Bull, Max, and a 117 pound (he keeps getting bigger) male Olde English Bulldogge, Titan (pictured by my name). I used to take them both to the local dog park. I believe that with any of the bully breeds you have to be VERY vigilant when you take them into a park with other dogs off-leash. No, these dogs aren't monsters but they do have a greater inclination to fight than a lot of other dogs, simply because at one time, that's what they were bred to do. Combine that with the tremendous amount of damage they are capable of doing in a very short period of time and as an owner of these breeds you MUST pay close attention to your dogs at all times. Anyway, after a few intitial trips to the dog park that went very smoothly, Titan began to get into fights with other dogs. In each case (this happened three times on two separate visits to the park) I got Titan off the other dog immediately and apologized profusely to the other dog's owner. In one case Max, seeming to follow Titan's lead, jumped in and joined the fray. I don't take Titan to the dog park at all any more. I think it would be very irresponsible to do so. Max on the other hand has proven that he can do just fine there if Titan stays at home. Any owner that has a dog that has shown aggression towards other dogs and an inclination for fighting shouldn't even consider taking their dog to a public dog park. It's obviously very poor judgement and irresponsible ownership to think otherwise. That's not to say that ALL pitbulls (and the like) shouldn't be allowed in dog parks. Some of them, like Max, can do just fine there. I love the bully breeds and I'll always jump to their defense if it makes sense. I do however think that Slim is 100% right in his concern with the APBTs at his dog park. Those dogs simply should NOT be there! I would say the same thing if the dogs doing the attacking were Rotts, Dobermans, Mastiffs or Chihuahuas or Dachshunds!!! The fact of the matter is that they were pitbulls and yes, they do tend to display these behaviors more often than most other breeds. I know this from being around a LOT of bully breeds throughout my life. I just can't believe that anyone would jump to the defense of these dogs and call Slim a "breed racist" or whatever just because APBTs are their breed of choice! No it's not the dog's fault, the owner shouldn't have them there but to point fingers at Slim and accuse him of pandering to the media's protrait of what a pitbull is etc, etc? PUH-LEEZE!!!

I'm very sorry to hear about Abbie. It's terrible. You have to understand that it's not your fault and you can't blame yourself for what happened. I have to comment on something else you said though: [quote] How in the world are you supposed to pick out good owners from a 20 minute interview in a Pet Smart![/quote] I was at a PetSmart adoption with my sister where she wanted to adopt a female American Bulldog. The brilliant folks that were running the adoption decided to adopt the dog to another family that was there. The family was made-up of a mother and her two young daughters. The girls were very young and if you combined their weight the dog would have out-weighed them both by at least twenty pounds. This in itself is not a big deal but when the family was interacting with the dog it was clear that the girls were TERRIFIED of the dog. One of them was crying when the dog would approach her! This was a young and rambunctious bulldog and (speaking as someone experienced with these dogs) it was clear that this was NOT the right home for the dog. My sister is also experienced with these types of dogs and could have provided a good home for the dog along with proper training. Needless to say we left without the dog that we went specifically to adopt. I sincerely hope the adoption worked out but I'd almost be willing to bet that it didn't! I think that the folks that run these adoptions need to be more selective when choosing homes for these dogs! It shouldn't be run on a first-come, first-serve basis! As always, just my opinion.

I know that Paul Neuman has a couple of Catahoula Leoprad Dogs. I read an article on him and his dogs somewhere once. I also know that in the south they're breeding them to American Bulldogs to produce a line of dogs they're calling Catahoula Bulldogs. That's the extent of my knowledge.

Definitely some GSD and/or Belgian Malinois. Some of them do have whacko ears like that! :lol: Don't know what else though. I have to say that I find some of the guesses on here really amusing because of the rarity of the breeds involved! I don't mean that in a bad way, please don't be offended. It's just that there aren't a whole lot of those rare breeds out there, running around propigating uncontrolably! Most breeders of those rare breeds are very careful, reputable breeders.

You can look at any mixed breed and find a resemlence to some purebred dog. Since the Hovawart is a pretty uncommon breed I'd say it's highly unlikely that your dog is of Hovawart lineage even though he does look like one. I'd be inclined to think that he's a mixed breed that just happens to look like a Hovawart. Just my opinion. He's a great looking dog. Good luck with him!

Excellent! :lol:

I've thought about this before too. It's really sad but the bottom line is that we just [b]CANNOT[/b] purchase puppies from pet stores because these animals most likely came from a puppy-mill environment. We simply can't support this practice! It's becoming very difficult to even find a puppy in a pet store around the area that I live in, which is great! Hopefully as more people become eductated about purchasing thier puppy from a reputable breeder and [b]ONLY[/b] from a reputable breeder, pet store puppies will become a thing of the past and we won't even see puppipes in pet stores anymore! We can only hope!

They actually had a purpose to start out with! When people initially started using spiked collars it was to protect their dogs. Back when they actually used dogs for hunting wild game and (unfortunately) fighting wild aimals and other dogs for entertainment, the spiked collar actually prevented the other animals from biting the dog's neck! At that time the spikes were sharp and there were more of them. Now they have become a fashion statement. I think they look kind of cool on bully breed dogs. I've been thinking of getting them for my Staffy Bull and my Olde English Bulldogge. To some extent I agree with one of the other responses here though. Having the dogs wear those collars might just add to people's fear of the dogs and perpetuate their bad reputation. I don't know.

Don't worry folks. I [b]completely[/b] disagree with Johnny and my dog will [b]NOT[/b] be put down. I [b]will[/b] be working diligently with my dog however, and taking every precaution to ensure this does not happen again. I am also working with my obedience instructor to learn how to curb this behavior. This was [b]NOT[/b] a savage attack and I think the idea of putting the dog down is completely ludicrous! By the way, I called and talked to the police officer that responded to the call. She told me that the pizza guy did not quit his job as he said he was going to do. He was back at work the next day. He went to the hospital like he said he was going to. They gave him a tetanus shot only because he demanded one. The doctor said that he didn't really need one. After the shot they sent him on his way. They didn't even put a bandage on the "wound"! They said it would heal faster if he left it open to the air. I haven't heard anything from Dominos, the insurance company or anyone yet. I'll keep you posted. I was thinking about this the day after the incedent. The delivery guy had a heavy winter jacket on and two long-sleeved white shirts (I live in Minnesota and it was below zero). The jacket was completely undamaged as were the shirts and there wasn't a trace of blood on either of the white shirts. Hmmmm! When I called the police officer, she said that she had noticed that too and had made a note of it in her report. Thanks everyone for your responses. I appreciate the support that most of you have given me. I actually appreciate all of the opinions that I've received.

Oops! The previous post was from me, I just forgot to log-on.

My sister adopted a Coonhound/Lab mix that turned out to have severe separation anxiety. It's definitely not an easy thing to deal with. There are a few things that she tried: 1. There is a new medication on the market that your vet can prescribe to help curb this behavior. Some people don't like to resort to medication for behavioral problems but this can be such a difficult problem to overcome that you may want to consider it. 2. Leaving your t-shirt (or something) with your scent on it in the dog's crate with them might help them feel more secure when you're not there. 3. Leaving a radio on playing CLASSICAL MUSIC has been proven to have a calming effect on dogs! It sounds weird but I just read an articla on this in a magazine. Ultimately what my sister ended up doing is getting a second dog to keep Augie company. This had the most positive effect on his separation behavior. Now he has a friend to keep him company. I'm not really recommending that you get a second dog because I can't guarantee that it would work with your dog and obviously it's a big responsibilty that shouldn't be done on a whim. Just sharing what worked for her. Good luck with your dog! Oh yeah and I agree with many of the others that responded. Taking him back to the shelter would be awful for him!

Ever since the incedent happened I've been asking myself "[b]WHY[/b] didn't I secure the dog before the delivery man came to the door?!?" I've been just kicking myself! Hind site is 20-20 and like I said, I had no idea my dog would react this way. For anyone else reading this, better safe than sorry! [b]Keep your dogs secured when strangers come to the door![/b] Thanks everyone for your responses. I'll let you know how things pan-out.