Pitbull question

[CTChin]

I was watching Animal Precinct Houston on Animal Planet yesterday. Part of the story was about a terrible pit bull ring that they closed down. 63 dogs were involved. The adult dogs were scarred and VERY dog aggressive. They seized the dogs and humanely put them all to sleep.

I'm a little distressed that the dogs put to sleep involved a few 8-12 week old puppies and what looked to be several 3 week old puppies. They claimed that they were all bred to be fighting dogs and "it was in their blood."

How is this so? Does anyone else think the puppies should of at least been able to have a chance at life?

[Chrisanne]

I have seen that too Brenda. I do agree that they should be given a chance if under 4 months.

However, it is the law in Detroit (and I think all of MI) that any seized Pit must be destroyed.

[CTChin]

This show was in Houston, Texas. I got the impression that it wasn't the law but they just were just trying to cover their butts by killing all of them

[VelvetPurr]

*sighs*I once saw a forensic files where a man trained his pitbull to attack on command in russian,& he ended up getting it to kill his wife...the dog was taken & the man arrested...unfortunately for the dog,the guy wouldn't tell them the attack word,so they put the dog to sleep...he was very docile until his "word" was mentioned...It ISN'T the breed,it's the people that breed them irresponisbly without regard to temperament,etc...We have had 3 full pitbulls in the past,& now have a 100lber,my baby Taz,who is a pitbull/labrador mix..He's a big wuss,& super sweet...That is so sad,I missed that episode...I truly think those pups should have been given every chance possible...and just for the record I don't agree with the "if it's a pit,put it down" junk...they feel,love,& hurt just like other dogs...

[Chrisanne]

I don't know what the laws in texas are... guess i'm going to have to go searching.

Poor puppies. Yes they were bred to fight, but that doesn't mean they will be fighters. Some would end up as "bait", and those personalities would make wonderful pets. GRRRR :blob7:

[Wisdom]

the people who should be put to sleep are the ones breeding them to fight!
love,
shannon

[jmb9101]

I saw that episode last nite too...its so sad to see them all get put down. Even the older ones...its just so sad to see them have to die because some lame excuse for a human trained them to fight...I wish it was more possible to try to place them in homes where there are no other dogs, or to try to train them not to fight...its just so sad to see them all have to die.

[Deja]

Agreed, it's very sad indeed Unfortunately because of space, funding, staffing, among other considerations a line must be drawn and not every dog can be saved. That's just a fact. The problem does lie with the people who perpetuate the aggressive temperaments through their breeding programs. When shelters recieve these dogs the staff is at risk. They can't be "reprogrammed" and in the end the kindest thing to do is put them to rest. It pains me to see a poorly bred dog so high strung, aggressive and bristling, it's natural reaction to a loving stroke is a viscious warning and a quick bite.

I think Dena can explain further - she's been the victim of a vicious bite from a dog housed at the shelter she runs. It's really unfortunate and heartbreaking for the puppies, but knowing their background and what they have been bred for, their genetic composition is such that all indicators point to them being temperamentally unsalvageable.

It's so sad and unfortunate for the breeds that get bad reputations by way of a group of self serving people with private and violent agendas. I really feel it's unfair to the dogs who are born into a life of violence. Most feel that regulating and restricting breeding practices is a violation of their basic rights. It's a difficult and emotionally charged issue. It's a multi-faceted issue that sparks much debate. I wish there was something that could be done. Supporting our shelters, Humane Societies and rescue organizations and the people who give their love, attention, affection and time to serve there is a start. They aren't euthanizing with cruel intentions.

[Chinchilla_Girl]

The thing is, aggression CAN be bred in...when you take two naturally agressive dogs and breed them, they can produce aggressive pups...it's sad and some CAN be worked with and turn out to be wonderful and sweet companions, but personalities CAN be genetic. It's sad and is unfair to puppies that weren't given a chance, but again, funding and resorces make it near impossible to give them all a chance.
This is one of the reasons it is so important that when acquring a bully breed, you know their backgrounds...we bred Kali who has a wonderful temper and personality to a beautiful and dopey male who wouldn't hurt a fly if it was biting his eyeball...as a result, the puppies all ended up with wonderful personalities and non of them have any kind of aggression what-so-ever. I do know people with naturally aggressive pits who bred to sweet ones and some of the pups are wonderful, and other's can't be unsupervised at all. I feel aggression isn't just in the way they are treated but also in the breeding practices as well. It's sad those pups didn't get a chance, but how much of a chance can you give an animal that was purposely bred to be super aggressive?

[CTChin]

I guess it is a debate for nature versus nurture.

This dogs were totally conditioned to be more aggressive to other dogs. They confiscated a racoon used to bait and tease them and lots of sterioids and other things to encourage them to be aggressive. You have to wonder how these dogs would of turned out if all this "encouragement" had not happened.

[RSbunny]

Brenda it is terribly sad I agree. but I also agree with what Linda and Mandie say too. I probably wouldn't have believed it a year ago but I experienced it first hand. I obtained a pup from the rspca and I loved him dearly...never hit him, never taught him to be aggressive.....I don't like aggressive dogs. Anyway I had to make the decision to get my dog put down, he was extremely aggressive and I had not done anything to make him that way! I didn't get him until he was 4 months old and he had lived at the shelter since he was 6 weeks so while that wasn't the best start to his life he also wasn't getting trainged to be aggressive either. Part of his problem was the fact that he wasn't properly socialised at the crucial age but even a dog with a good temperment wouldn't have turned out the way he did cause he was in a very loving and caring home. He was part pit bull but I'm not saying that because he was a pit bull he was aggressive....it was bad genetics. It's why back yard breeding needs to be stopped. I'm seeing more and more aggressive labradors at work due to people breeding for a quick buck and not considering temperments at all....it's sad that the world is coming to this and now shelters have to make the choice to euthanize the dogs potentially dangerous...if they get into the wrong hands the results could be devastating. Not all dogs can be saved (unfortunately) and I agree that it's the ones that aren't going to be a threat to community that need to be saved. Even when they do fall in to the right hands, it is heart breaking and I never want to go through it again.

[Tilt]

There are a lot of dogs and pups out there who need homes. I can understand why they'd not want to take a risk with the seized pit puppies. Who knows what those pups were exposed to? Some things can change a pup for life. Levi and Myrl fear men because of one bad neighbor of mine, who hates dogs and likes to get drunk and throw tantrums.

[Rocheal]

These kinds of debates are almost poitless to some people and thats what infuriates me. (sp?)
I have had two pit bulls and just got my third puppy. I absolutely LOVE this breed. They are such sweet dogs and are SO good with children. For example- I babysat an almost 2 year old about once a week. He was interested in learning parts of the body and would use our pitbull (Rose.. In my avator) as a guinea pig. He would say: "Eye" and point his little finger in her squinted eye.
"Nose" and jab his finger into her nose.
She was so tolerant of that no matter how much she hated it and the thing that REALLY gets me is that my brother stole her from out of these people's backyard because they were fighting her. She is full of scars all over her face. She has never attacked anybody and she is now about 7 or 8 years old. We've had her since '98.

There are so many topics available for hot debate but only the people who truley care about the dogs and the people who would never fight them are the only people who will listen with open minds and try to do something about it. The sad part is: we need the ignorant people that breed them to fight to somehow listen to us and maybe turn their useless, "humorous", hobbies around to be something useful.

It is really turning out to be a sad topic. I often wonder if there is anything a group of small people can do.