tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4639014839385183055.post1155748466685690732..comments2024-01-17T22:08:07.029-05:00Comments on The Truth About Pit Bulls: Pit Bulls: It's Not All in How They're RaisedBethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01816573892589110955noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4639014839385183055.post-86070547585360421822011-11-23T18:43:13.699-05:002011-11-23T18:43:13.699-05:00All Pit Bull Owners should understand that the mos...All Pit Bull Owners should understand that the most powerful tool to change Pit Bulls reputation is in our hands, becoming the best owners we can be for our dogs, raising awareness and showing the world how wonderful Pit bulls can be by making our own dogs become the best ambassadors of their breed and allow those who discriminate the breed to see and experience how wonderful our dogs can be in the hands of caring owners, no matter what happened to our dogs in the past , they all have the ability to change their behavior and become great member of our families and communities.Social Caninehttp://www.dog-obedience-and-behavior-support.com/index.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4639014839385183055.post-33597787267232976212011-11-22T09:32:33.903-05:002011-11-22T09:32:33.903-05:00I have beautiful AmStaff (pitbull) that was a stra...I have beautiful AmStaff (pitbull) that was a stray. She showed up at our house almost 8yrs ago and has been a part of our family ever since. Even though I was leery of this dog when I first saw it (because of the negative information I had heard for years through the media) there was no way I could turn this sad, thin dog over to the animal shelter...we lived in Spotsylvania, VA where the local government was working to outlaw owning these animals and she would have surely been killed. So we welcomed her into our family. We are not positive of her history, but we are fairly certain she has been abused, possibly in a fighting situation. She had an "old injury" when she showed up...after a trip to the vet, we were told it was a shattered knee...a blunt force injury that had healed. Probably from being kicked or, well you get the idea. But onto my point here...she was obviously abused. But despite this fact, she has been the most gentle and loving dog! She has NEVER shown any signs of human or dog aggression! She is always happy (tail wagging and wiggling) to meet new people and loves to romp and play with her sister, a black lab! She loves to run with other dogs at the river but is most happy curled up next to me on the couch, because she's just too big to sit on my lap where she would prefer to be! She still cowers at loud noises (like gun shots or screaming in anger) and she trembles like a leaf during thunderstorms. She has transformed our family, especially our daughter who is a lover of ALL dogs, into very vocal advocates of pitbulls and other bully breeds. Your are right, bad people make bad dogs!MustangGirl91https://www.blogger.com/profile/02097839568449480670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4639014839385183055.post-21588025112509023992011-11-22T08:41:28.794-05:002011-11-22T08:41:28.794-05:00I too am a pit bull "advocate" and dog l...I too am a pit bull "advocate" and dog lover. If you would like to follow me, I am moondogmama on wordpress. I look forward to reading more from you!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4639014839385183055.post-25170642979738301902011-11-22T02:48:22.683-05:002011-11-22T02:48:22.683-05:00My husband and I run a rescue for neglected and ab...My husband and I run a rescue for neglected and abused pit bulls. We also take in former fighting dogs. I have found the dogs who come out of these situations are the best companions. They are loyal and loving and would die for the adoptive families. It is much easier to train a dog who has been abused because once they have experience unconditional love they will do anything you ask. We have had dogs in our rescue that came to us walking skeletons and once they have physically recovered from their abuse they are loving dogs who listen well and try so hard to please because they thrive on the love and affection they receive for doing something right. Pit Bulls are the easiest type of dog I have worked with and I have worked with a lot of different breeds, I trained Labs for service animals to assist physically challenged individuals. I have trained pocket dogs not to bite or be aggressive towards their own humans. I have also trained retrievers to retrieve. But the pit bulls we work with now are by far the smartest of all the dogs I have worked with. The worse the life they come from the quicker they learn and the quicker they forgive. I am not promoting abusing a dog by any stretch of the imagination. But I also don't discourage people from adopting a dog from shelters. I tell them it isn't the dog its the handler. Most dogs respond to love and respect. They need clear cut boundaries and positive reinforcement when they do what is asked. We reward positive behavior with love and affection, and toys and treats. We distract bad behavior. If a dog is doing something that is inappropriate we remove them from the stimuli and encourage positive reactions until it becomes second nature for them. This could be feline aggression or digging in the garbage. Any dog can be a great dog with the right encouragement, training, and patience.Jennifer Akeshttp://newliferescue.us/index.htmlnoreply@blogger.com