Question for Schwinn

[sammiec]

Anyone can answer this as well... but I was wondering has anyone here been given "advice" by their family/friends/neighbours about having a pit bull with children in your home or on the way? Do they think you're crazy and you HAVE to give the dog away??

I was thinking about this last night, just curious!

[DogueLover]

Before we got Angel we did some work with Rottweiller Rescue Groups in Alberta and also had rottweillers in our home. We were asked a LOT if we were nuts to have those "demon dogs" or "devil dogs" in our home and how can we trust them not to EAT our kids.
Now that we have Angel we get people asking a lot if we aren`t afraid of what she can do to the kids, I just laugh and say "not as much as I worry about what they can do to HER" That usually shuts em up.

I think people make misinformed comments about certain breeds just because of what they have read or heard secondhand....... they form an opinion and nothing you say or do will change their minds. I usually don`t waste too much time explaining the situation with my dog and kids to people like that................ kind of like banging your head against a wall or like my sister says, the only thing you are going to get from trying to explain it to people with their own opinion is a sore throat. LOL

As sad as it is she is so right.

[deerclan]

I have!... The advice i get from my brother is what you want with one of those killer dogs,Now i dont talk to my brothers at all,Thier loss not mine.

My friends advice is you have 7 kids why would you have a dog like that,My reply is Ya but my dogs are constantly socialized and are being obediance trained.Plus i don't let my kids play alone with my dogs.They reply by saying i would never have dog like that.

My advice to the people (family,friends) is get educated,dont sterotype my dogs and if you dont like it the door swings both ways Get Lost!

[sammiec]

We don't have children in our place. But I have been told by family that I should be VERY careful with my pit bull in the elevator around children. What if she "just snaps" and decided to bite someone... You're trapped in an elevator with a psycho dog!! Oh the horror! She'd like you to death or whip you with her tail, that's about it...

I've been told, for her own safety and the safety of the children that live in my building that I should muzzle her.

My grandmother told me that they are crazy dogs that are very unpredictable and you just can't trust them. Needless to say, Briggs is not welcome at their home.

[deerclan]

sammiec i muzzle Simon now just incase that becomes one of the stipulations in this new Bill they are trying to pass,Sort of getting him used to it.Now that Simon where's the muzzle they think he bites or is vicious,Inthis case i hand them Simons leash and pull his muzzle off 9 out 10 times they feel real stupid for making such an idiotic remark.

[Schwinn]

The only person who has really said anything is my dad, who asked me a couple of weeks ago if I would ever get another pit or pit cross. I said in a second, because I now know the dog. He told me that was nuts. I explained that people who own pits are some of the most educated people about dogs because of the stigma attached to them, they want to understand what they have. And that is why I know they are a great dog. But then, when my dad and I have conflicting opinions, he doesn't take my word unless it is verified by an "expert" (long story, and I'm a very crusty man today). He also told me that one day someone will corner her and she will snap, to which I just laughed. a)why is someone cornering her and b)no dog likes to be cornered. We've agreed to try to avoid the topic because we disagree, and it really cheeses me off that he just chalks it up to me saying that because I have one.

As for the other family members, most of them have become converts. My father-in-law used to say they should all be shot, now we can't get him to stop playing with her and getting her hyper (okay, my wife can't. Usually if it isn't him, it's me). Her mom keeps commenting how good she is, and my mom now watches every show about pits and defends them constantly. But to be honest, what I tell people is that no kids should be left alone with a dog, and that Daisy has been properly socialised. If they argue about not trusting them, I suggest they read something written by an expert, and not a newspaper headline. Sometimes I'll tell the story about her neice taking food out of Daisy's bowl (yes, the parents should have been watching her, long story). I've been bitten as a child doing that, and she was bitten twice. But Daisy just walked backwards and sat down and gave a head tilt. Then she thrust her little hand in Daisy's face with a piece of kibble, and Daisy stretched her neck out REEEAAL slow, and just sat and held it, and wouldn't move until she let go. We have no worries (oh, and that story's longer too, but I'm already being wordy). If someone wants to argue with me about it, I'll tell them not to be so damn ignorant, and to go learn about it before the go off saying something stupid. (Haven't gotten to that point yet, but that'd be my response to someone who wanted to push me instead of talk to me).

[bluntman]

I never had anyone give me advice, or warnings, about my dogs around kid's, but my ex was concerned about me haveing a pit and a rottieX when my daugter came over on weekends. So she decided she had to meet the dogs to see if they were O.K, It only took her 10 seconds to realize the dogs were no threat at all to people or kids, they were the freindlyest, goofballs she had ever met, that was 6 years ago, and they haven't changed a bit.