To change the image the public and media have of Pit Bulls we must promote current and future Pit Bull owners to educate themselves on the breed and educate their dog through continuous training. By doing this, when Pit Bulls are walking the streets with responsible owners and showing excellent behavior, the image of a vicious and aggressive breed will begin to fade away.
It all starts with education. Time magazine published an article about how all dogs need to be subject to balanced training, should be well socialized and taught proper human/dog social behavior maintained from a health perspective, and treated with compassion (Enos, 2014). Meaning that no matter the breed, all dogs need proper training. It also comes with responsibility
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of the owners to educate themselves on the breeds history and tendency before adopting a Pit Bull. They can be loving family pets but their active lifestyle must be a fit for the owner and the family. Other things that can play a factor are if you are a homeowner or a renter, you must check with your insurance agencies because some insurance companies have policies that exclude coverage based on the breed or the landlord won’t allow to have them on their property due to them being a “liability” (Pit Bull Rescue Central). Owning a Pit Bull come with a lot of responsibility and dealing with the back lash and frightened looks towards you and your Pit Bull. This being said, to show others that Pit Bulls are not these dangerous animals, one must be an advocate that means training as a family and avoiding behaviors that are known to lead to aggressive tendencies such as: leaving your dog chained up and unattended or training with an aggressive correction. Don’t allow your dog to roam the neighborhood or escape the backyard, it will only increase the risk of aggressiveness and chances of your dog biting someone or something else (Enos, 2014). There are many things that Pit Bull owners should know before adopting a Pit Bull such as the fact that most Pit Bulls are not good guard dogs. Without proper guard training a Pit Bull is more likely to lick an intruder than attack them, this is because Pit Bulls are not naturally aggressive towards people (Max 2015). Along with education comes the actual training of your Pit Bull.
There are many different resources one can look for tips and good places to start your training. A big tip is to start socialization at an early age. Meaning, once you adopt or rescue your Pit Bull, begin to slowly introduce it to other people and animals at a young age with slow introductions. This will help your dog be more comfortable around other people and animals its whole life and decrease its chances of having people or animal aggression (Bender, 2017). Another training technique that is beneficial to Pit Bulls is positive reinforcement. Because of their size, training that requires leash corrections or other punishment is not always effective and will have better luck with positive training with a clicker or treats. Pit Bulls are eager learners, and will be happy to work for the rewards (Bender, 2017). But one must also be teaching their dog respect. If your dog doesn’t have respect for you than it can lead to a whole new set of problems. Dogs are sociable animals who like to live in a group or pack. It is their instinct to seek out the packs structure and who ever can set the rules and make the decisions, they are the leaders. If you and your family don’t establish yourselves as leaders above your dog, then your dog may assume that role themselves. Now if this happens you will see your dog being rude or disrespectful towards you because it believes it is the leader since you have not assumed the …show more content…
role (Welton, 2016). Overall, training is the most important thing a Pit Bull owner can do, or any dog owner for that matter. By training Pit Bulls properly, they can be excellent family pets and are always willing to learn to make their owners happy. If a Pit Bull is not properly trained or trained to fight, they will do whatever pleases their owner no matter the pain or danger it puts themselves in (Dog Training Central). In order to change the public’s view on Pit Bulls, we need to have responsible owners that care about their dog being an advocate for the breed in hopes of changing the negative status surrounding their breed. In the hands of a responsible owner, all breeds including Pit Bulls should have the right to a healthy and safe life. Pit Bulls are incredibly loyal, which is the trait most commonly abused or neglected by irresponsible Pit Bull owners can channel into aggression. But, when fostered and encourages, this loyalty can make the Pit Bull breed one of the best and most patient breeds when working with children, elderly, working as service and therapy dogs or even a police K9. (Hobbs, 2017). The true responsible Pit Bull owner and advocate acknowledges their loyalty and commits to a lifetime of care and supervision of their dog, to proper diet and veterinary care, spay or neutering of their dogs, licensing and micro-chipping their dog, supplying positive and constructive exercise and socialization of their dog, applying rules and boundaries, and including their dog as part of their family or pack (TeamPitAFull). If all Pit Bull owners were responsible with their dogs and were properly educated on the breed and went through proper training with their dog, then over time the aggressive and dangerous image that is a Pit Bull will begin to disappear.
If all Pit Bull owners strived to be advocates for the breed, more and more people would begin to realize that we can’t blame the breed for the situations that irresponsible owners have put their dogs in. Then, because of this, there will be less stories on the news about Pit Bull attacks and the public image of the breed will begin to change for the better. Lowering the rates of Pit Bull bites, attacks, strays, and euthanasians in the shelters. Pit Bulls will again become a well known and loved family dog like they once
were.
Moore, Benjamin. “Here’s Why You See So Many Pit Bulls In Shelters.” Barkpost. Barkpost. 2016. Web. 12 May 2016.
Pit bulls, like any other dog, grow into their temperament. The way the dog is raised rounds out their character and general temperament. According to the “American Temperament Test Society: Pit bulls pass temperament tests 84.1% of the time, which ranks them slightly better than golden retrievers (83.8%) and cocker spaniels (81.7%), and well above miniature schnauzers (78.6%),” (The Biting Truth). Myths have generated atrocious attitudes towards this breed for years. The nature of the dog to be a protector to children and the bulky build of pit bulls makes them a very easy breed to target. These opinions ...
According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), there is a “great deal of confusion associated with the label ‘Pit Bull,’” as it does not refer to a single breed of dog, but rather to a group of breeds with similar characteristics1. These characteristics include short hair, a wide skull and shoulders, muscle definition, stocky build and a deep jawline, the combination of which create a dog that manages to strike fear into a perfect stranger. The term ‘Pit Bull’ is derived from the bulldog, which was originally bred as a hunting dog for large game, but has since developed into a “loyal companion rather than a working dog.”1 Their history as “gripping dogs” for hunters follows them into modern society, as many of these dogs have been inhumanely pitted against one another as well as other animals for sport and for human entertainment1. It is because of these illegal fighting rings that ‘Pit Bull’ type breeds have become the subje...
Many people associate a negative connotation with the dog breed “pit bull.” These dogs are thought to be dangerous and problematic. However, much of this can be attributed to the mass amounts of negative media attention that pit bull breeds receive as opposed to other breeds of dogs that can be just as dangerous. For example, The National Canine Research Council did a four-day study on dog-bite repo...
Perhaps the reason why pit bulls are feared by society is because we are afraid of what they are associated with. Pit bulls are often thought of as a gangster’s pet, a role in violent and illegal activities. People stereotype this breed because of the unfortunate acts of few. In contrast, society needs to understand that they are being racist towards a breed of dog. Denver’s systematic killing of pit bulls could be compared to the actions of the Nazis during the Holocaust.
An increasing number of pit bull attacks have occurred over past decade. People who are attacked by pit bulls always suffer serious injuries because of the pit bulls’ sharp teeth and strong muscles. In October 19, 2009, Dr Hugh Wirth who is the RSPCA’s Victorian president renewed calls for American pit bull terriers to be bred out of Australia. The current laws require owners of pit bulls to register their pit bull. While some people are satisfied with the laws because they think that they are safe, others disagree. From my own perspective, the laws should be improved. The government should ban these fierce dogs and wipe them out instead of just registering them. In my opinion, there are three reasons why I am in favour of Dr Wirth’s proposal.
When most people today see a pitbull they see it as a monster who could snap at any moment. Something that they should protect themselves and their family from; but that is not necessarily true. Is any one man or woman exactly like the last? A human being’s personality along with their capacity for violence is molded by their past and how they were treated growing up; pit bulls are no different. In today’s society pitbulls are unfairly discriminated against because they are favored among street gangs and dog fighting rings, leaving a staggering number of loyal and loving dogs homeless or mistreated.
Currently, pit bulls have been reported by the media with very horrific and disturbing news of having attacked a child or being shot by a police due to aggression while some are reported to have been abused or neglected by its owners (Forderer and Unkelbach 534). And because the reports keep coming with heated discussions, more and more people have forged a frightening image of pit bulls even to the extreme of refusing to take care of such breed. Pit bull advocates claim that the dogs get a bad reputation considering that people should learn the dogs are not inherently aggressive. What the pit bull advocates would like to point is that the owners of the pit bulls should be considered guilty for mishandling of their own dogs. There are owners of pit bulls that even encourage the dog to be aggressive in order to fight and protect them in a wrong manner and wrong degree of training (Forderer and Unkelbach 536). Pit bull advocates claimed that a well socialized and well trained pit bull would be very intelligent and could be one of the gentle dogs imaginable.
Just the sight of a pit bull instills apprehension and even fear in some people, who believe the dog may attack them for no reason and not let go. Many communities have placed this ostracized breed under severe restrictions; some municipalities have implemented bans outlawing ownership of the breed. Today’s society regards the pit bull as the most vicious and unpredictable of all dog breeds, whereas admirers of the pit bull believe this misconception stems from irresponsible owners and the inflammatory and negative publicity concerning this breed.
...ociated Press published an article “Pit Bulls are A Danger to Society,” yet this year, the same publisher issued an article “Attitudes and Laws Against the Pit Bull Soften – The Big Story” in which the Pit bull advocates hail the changes as recognition that breed-specific laws discriminate against dogs that are not inherently aggressive or dangerous should not be discriminated against or victimized. The debate puts millions of pit bull owners up against a relatively small group of activists against the breed and challenges the notion that Pit Bulls that are well-cared for had any history of aggressive behavior in the first place, closing the argument by again stating what the Canadian Encyclopedia explained, that their actions were just a park of the cycle of favorites and least favorites that has always been and always will be in the history of ownership of dogs.
Dogs should be trained to be around people and other pets at an early age. Training a dog to listen and obey is the most important factor (Marketwire). A dog can simply be bored and want to play aggressively. No matter the breed a dog can always be trained not to be violent (“CAUSES OF DOG”). An improperly trained dog can turn out to be mean and aggressive. Also allowing your dog to practice these behaviors will cause them to adapt to them. Exposing a dog to new things will help it become comfortable with them and recognize them. Dogs use their bark as an alarming system (Marketwire). Knowing when and why a dog is aggressive is a key factor for changing this
The pit bull is one of the most feared, misunderstood, and abused breed of dog. Some commonly known reasons that they are considered to be so dangerous is because of their tendency to "lock their jaws" and their underdevelopment of the skull. Due to how the brain grows, the skull will crush the brain and mess with its function. Although these are only two reasons giving detail as to why one may think pit bulls are dangerous, there are dozens to prove how they are just as friendly as any other breed. Contrary to people 's belief, pit bulls are not born, but raised to be dangerous.
Training your dog is the most important part of canine companionship. A happy dog is one who has structure and boundaries. Dogs are pack animals, and as such, they need guidance in the behavior that you expect from them. If you don't follow through in this leadership role, then the dog will naturally feel as if it is his place to do so. A dog that understands that you are the leader will naturally be easier to train.
The pit bull dog is a very loyal breed of dog. People say pit bulls are very emotionless dogs and will turn on you at any given second. A majority of people agree with that belief because pit bulls have been labeled as mean and aggressive dogs. Not all believe that to be true, some people think pit bulls are as loyal as any dog, or more. A lot of people believe this because even with owners who beat their dogs, pit bulls come back and apologize by submitting themselves to you. According to “pit bull awareness coalition", pits will “still nuzzle up to its abuser” ( pit bull awareness coalition) after getting a beating.
Dog training actually helps in correcting undesirable dog behavior. Some of these undesirable behavior include: digging up your flowers, barking at everyone and so on. Training it will make it develop desirable behavior.