[iwantmypup]

Originally Posted by German Shepherd Lover

Personally I see absolutely nothing appealing about the PB's. They appear to me as a well below average looking dog that is made of pure muscle and is a perfect fighting machine.

I personally just don't see any reason for having one unless you are tryng to protect yourself from other dogs.

Don't be too fast to think I single out PB's because I also find very few dogs as beautiful as the German Shepherds that I have had.

Any dog can be made mean and the people that train and raise them certainly are important but it is my opinion that the PB is the perfect terminator and I wouldn't want my child alone with one. I have friends that have many PB's and they love them and I can tolerate them when visiting but I never feel comfortable. I can handle any German Shepherd but the PB is one strong muscle with vice-grip jaws without a tail to alert you to it's moods.

Why dont you feel comfortable with one? did you personally get bit by one or are you just thinking about whats on the news?

[DogAdvocat]

Originally Posted by German Shepherd Lover

Don't be too fast to think I single out PB's because I also find very few dogs as beautiful as the German Shepherds that I have had.

As a counter-point, the first dog I was ever attacked by was a German Shepherd. The only dog that ever put me in the emergency room for stitches was a German Shepherd (different one). I won't compare GSDs to pitbulls, but I've found GSDs to be a bit unpredictable and the one's I've dealt with have given very few indications that they were about to attack. This is only my experience, and has nothing to do with the breed as a whole.

[German Shepherd Lover]

Good question Iwantapup,

My answer is simply:

They are bred for fighting!
They are all muscle and jaws.
They don't have a tail to wag!

I am very strong and can pick most dogs up by their necks if needed! My son has picked up a 150lb Burmise Mountain Dog that was attaching my German Shepherd and gotten him under control in seconds. I doubt that would have been as easy had it been a PB. A pit bull has very little area to get ahold of them if needed because they are so bulky.

I just plain don't like them and prefer dogs bred to protect and guard people and breeds that get along with other dogs.

If you ever had a good German Shepherd you would completely understand. They come with brains, loyalty, protect you family from babies on up without fear of them attaching them. They get along well with other dogs and in my experience only need to be watched when strangers are approaching because they are very protective to their complete family, including other animals.

[workingdog]

Originally Posted by German Shepherd Lover

Good question Iwantapup,

My answer is simply:

They are bred for fighting!
They are all muscle and jaws.
They don't have a tail to wag!

I am very strong and can pick most dogs up by their necks if needed! My son has picked up a 150lb Burmise Mountain Dog that was attaching my German Shepherd and gotten him under control in seconds. I doubt that would have been as easy had it been a PB. A pit bull has very little area to get ahold of them if needed because they are so bulky.

I just plain don't like them and prefer dogs bred to protect and guard people and breeds that get along with other dogs.

If you ever had a good German Shepherd you would completely understand. They come with brains, loyalty, protect you family from babies on up without fear of them attaching them. They get along well with other dogs and in my experience only need to be watched when strangers are approaching because they are very protective to their complete family, including other animals.

Most the GSD's i have met have been highly dog agressive. I think that it depends on the dog. Iv'e seen some shepherds that were more dog agressive than any pit.

[Curbside Prophet]

Let's please not make this a "my dog is better than your dog thread". That will only cause people to be offended, and frankly I was done with that kind of stuff in middle school. Thank you.

[DogAdvocat]

Originally Posted by German Shepherd Lover

If you ever had a good German Shepherd you would completely understand. They come with brains, loyalty, protect you family from babies on up without fear of them attaching them. They get along well with other dogs and in my experience only need to be watched when strangers are approaching because they are very protective to their complete family, including other animals.

But that's the whole point with any breed. "If you ever had a good" one. The problem is, there are far too many, of all breeds, that aren't good because they've been badly bred and badly managed. If you compare a well bred and well trained dog of any breed with any other breed, it would simply come down to personal preference, with no breed being better than another.

Originally Posted by Curbside Prophet

Let's please not make this a "my dog is better than your dog thread". That will only cause people to be offended, and frankly I was done with that kind of stuff in middle school. Thank you.

OK But MY dog is the best !!!!

[Six]

Speaking from experience. I thought that I had the perfect bully breed. Sugar was not dog aggressive nor was she ever aggressive to anyone she ever encountered. But one day she just snapped and growled at my baby girl while she was climbing on the couch. She did it several times after that one incident and well, she had to go. I think that there are very few quality bully breeders left in the world which really scares me.

[GitSol]

Interesting thread...

I really can't comment on personal experience seeing as I have never met a Pitbull (Banned under the DDA in the UK).

From what I've read and heard about them they sound like lovely people dogs. I do, however, think that Pitbulls can be ruined by bad breeding, lack of socialisation and poor handling.

One of the major problems we have with Pits in the UK is that they are banned. I think that breed specific legislation causes all sorts of problems - it drives breeding underground so that the few responsible breeders stop breeding and the backyard breeders and illegal fighting breeders take over making the situation a whole lot worse. But that's another dicussion all together...

They wouldn't be my choice of breed but neither would a border collie or a Maltese . That's just my personal preference - for example; my favourite breed is the Newfoundland whereas for many people they are nightmare dogs because of the hair and drool. With responsible breeding and the right owner I'm sure they make wonderful pets.

[Tamara]

Originally Posted by GitSol

Interesting thread...


One of the major problems we have with Pits in the UK is that they are banned. I think that breed specific legislation causes all sorts of problems - it drives breeding underground so that the few responsible breeders stop breeding and the backyard breeders and illegal fighting breeders take over making the situation a whole lot worse. But that's another dicussion all together...
.

That is so very true. The ban has attracted all the wrong people. People that shouldn't have ANY dogs.

[iwantmypup]

Originally Posted by DogAdvocat

OK But MY dog is the best !!!!

LOL We will see aboutthat..when i get my pup he will be the king of the forums..hehe Just Kidding!

[iwantmypup]

Originally Posted by German Shepherd Lover

Good question Iwantapup,

My answer is simply:

They are bred for fighting!
They are all muscle and jaws.
They don't have a tail to wag!

I am very strong and can pick most dogs up by their necks if needed! My son has picked up a 150lb Burmise Mountain Dog that was attaching my German Shepherd and gotten him under control in seconds. I doubt that would have been as easy had it been a PB. A pit bull has very little area to get ahold of them if needed because they are so bulky.

I just plain don't like them and prefer dogs bred to protect and guard people and breeds that get along with other dogs.

If you ever had a good German Shepherd you would completely understand. They come with brains, loyalty, protect you family from babies on up without fear of them attaching them. They get along well with other dogs and in my experience only need to be watched when strangers are approaching because they are very protective to their complete family, including other animals.

Oh okies.... Yess If i had one..i would like a good trained one...but one wouldnt fit in my apartment hhehe.. But i heard they are very agrresive..im sure a trained good one wouldnt be thougha

[cdubb68]

Good article here:
http://www.newyorker.com/fact/conten.../060206fa_fact

To paraphrase, it basically says that people can learn a lot about stereotyping via the way we do it to dogs. Our quick judgement of similar groups of people/dogs ends up biting us in the a**, no pun intended.

I have a full grown pit and a 3 month old. Both are properly socialized, which is EXTREMELY important with pits especially. However, I would be f*ing crazy to trust ANY dog around kids unsupervised. Some say GSDs would never attack a child...to that I say "do more research." As soon as the media and irresponsible owners/breeders are done exploiting the pit bull there will be another icon of carnage. It used to be dobes, then rotts...right now it is the pit so don't fall for the hype. I think all the hysteria would be a GOOD thing if people would think for themselves and not allow the media to do it for them. It would be good because pit bulls right now are a wake up call to dog owners that dogs are just that--dogs! Because we are people, we cannot understand their needs exactly and thus should not be so exclusively trusting or distrusting of ANY breed...you just have to be responsible. On a final note BSL is terrible. Stats have already shown that when you try to ban one breed, their breeding goes underground and bite statistics for another breed immediately take the place of the banned ones.

[Curbside Prophet]

Originally Posted by DogAdvocat

OK But MY dog is the best !!!!

LOL. Fair enough.

[Angel69nznz]

I have personally never had an issue with Pit Bulls, the ones I've met have been beautiful friendly dogs. However, I spoke to a Dog Psychologist who has been studying dog behavior for over 25 years about the breed and he gave me the so called psychology behind the breed, here's what he said: Because Pit Bulls were originally bred for fighting they have a behaviour pattern unlike any other dog, when we introduce a dog into our home one of the first things we do (or are supposed to do) is assert dominance over it, to gain respect, and this is a relatively easy thing to do, unfortunately Pit Bulls can not traditionally be dominated, owners think they have the dog dominated and they argue the point till they are blue in the face, or they think they are "Alpha" but in Pits this is damn near genetically impossible, what can then happen is when the dog feels its dominance threatened by anyone, whether the owner or someone else, they turn, this can happen at any time, for any reason, or may never happen at all, MAY being the operative word. He cringes every time he hears someone say "My pitbull is great with my kids" because whilst they are great with very small children, this is because the little ones pose absolutely no threat at all to them, unfortunately children grow up, and this is where Pit Bull attacks on children happen, all of a sudden the child gets bigger and starts trying to tell the dog what to do and all hell breaks loose. Pit Bulls are a banned breed in my country for this reason, doesn't stop anyone getting their hands on them, my town alone is rife with them. This is not a post to down the breed, I personally love all dogs, the point that the Psychologist was trying to make with me is that they absolutely cannot be trusted, many live and die without attacking, but unfortunately it can be the smallest trigger that can make them feel their dominance is threatened and they attack, and it doesn't matter how long they have been in a family and how "well" they have been trained and treated, its simply their makeup, they don't do it on purpose, its an instinct. Hope this helps, and again, I'm quoting what this Dog Phychologist told me, take what you want from it.

[iwantmypup]

Originally Posted by Angel69nznz

I have personally never had an issue with Pit Bulls, the ones I've met have been beautiful friendly dogs. However, I spoke to a Dog Psychologist who has been studying dog behavior for over 25 years about the breed and he gave me the so called psychology behind the breed, here's what he said: Because Pit Bulls were originally bred for fighting they have a behaviour pattern unlike any other dog, when we introduce a dog into our home one of the first things we do (or are supposed to do) is assert dominance over it, to gain respect, and this is a relatively easy thing to do, unfortunately Pit Bulls can not traditionally be dominated, owners think they have the dog dominated and they argue the point till they are blue in the face, or they think they are "Alpha" but in Pits this is damn near genetically impossible, what can then happen is when the dog feels its dominance threatened by anyone, whether the owner or someone else, they turn, this can happen at any time, for any reason, or may never happen at all, MAY being the operative word. He cringes every time he hears someone say "My pitbull is great with my kids" because whilst they are great with very small children, this is because the little ones pose absolutely no threat at all to them, unfortunately children grow up, and this is where Pit Bull attacks on children happen, all of a sudden the child gets bigger and starts trying to tell the dog what to do and all hell breaks loose. Pit Bulls are a banned breed in my country for this reason, doesn't stop anyone getting their hands on them, my town alone is rife with them. This is not a post to down the breed, I personally love all dogs, the point that the Psychologist was trying to make with me is that they absolutely cannot be trusted, many live and die without attacking, but unfortunately it can be the smallest trigger that can make them feel their dominance is threatened and they attack, and it doesn't matter how long they have been in a family and how "well" they have been trained and treated, its simply their makeup, they don't do it on purpose, its an instinct. Hope this helps, and again, I'm quoting what this Dog Phychologist told me, take what you want from it.

Ahh i sees tyty thanks yousa!!thanksz!

[German Shepherd Lover]

Oh isn't that nice... Two pit bulls attached a man and his Jack Russel today in Ohio.. Really nice dogs... everyone should have one. We could cut down the population problems, no need to neuter, just let those pits run and attack.. Great dogs!!!!!!!!!!! Have terror will travel... Have a Pit Bull...

[iwantmypup]

Originally Posted by German Shepherd Lover

Oh isn't that nice... Two pit bulls attached a man and his Jack Russel today in Ohio.. Really nice dogs... everyone should have one. We could cut down the population problems, no need to neuter, just let those pits run and attack.. Great dogs!!!!!!!!!!! Have terror will travel... Have a Pit Bull...

OK number one we do not need your sarcasm because this is not a joke! this is a real issue so congrats for you and your shepherds . but no need to rain on Other peoples parade when the might have a great pit bull Not allll pitbulls attack!

[Curbside Prophet]

Originally Posted by German Shepherd Lover

Oh isn't that nice... Two pit bulls attached a man and his Jack Russel today in Ohio.. Really nice dogs... everyone should have one. We could cut down the population problems, no need to neuter, just let those pits run and attack.. Great dogs!!!!!!!!!!! Have terror will travel... Have a Pit Bull...

It's too bad the news media doesn't sensationalize irresponsible breeding like they do dog attacks. I'm no geneticist, but I would imagine if all pit bull breeders were forced to be responsible, in a matter of a decade the temperment of the pit bull could be altered enough to be even more favorable than your beloved GSD. Because no one seems to realize that's what a responsible pit bull breeder does. But I won't hold my breath for that story.

[DogAdvocat]

Originally Posted by German Shepherd Lover

Oh isn't that nice... Two pit bulls attached a man and his Jack Russel today in Ohio.. Really nice dogs... everyone should have one. We could cut down the population problems, no need to neuter, just let those pits run and attack.. Great dogs!!!!!!!!!!! Have terror will travel... Have a Pit Bull...

The problem with citing these stories, and condemning a whole breed because of a news report is the your own breed is subject to the same stories. Now if you are to be fair, you'll condemn all German Shepherds because of this news item:

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/new...9?OpenDocument

[workingdog]

The problem i have with this is, was it 2 pit bulls or a pit mix or was it pit at all. A lot of people can not pick a pit out of a bunch of dogs if their life's depended on it. If it's color looks pit or it's build looks pit, then it must be a pit. The media reports the news as it is told, so if some one say's they were pits(then i guess that must be true) NOT.......... They are great dogs if bred right and raised right. Yes they can be your worst nightmare if not. I would not stick up for them if i did not know the breed as well as i do. I have lived with them all my life. This breed is very close to my heart and it sicken's me to no end seeing what the BYB and stupid owners are doing to it. It is not the dog, i repeat it is not the dog.... It's bad breeders and stupid owner's that are taking a very loving breed and making it bad...