I think people who buy pit bulls have the fighter anti-social personality that’s bred into a pit bull.
These dogs are bred to fight and kill. Maybe the owner/master of these dogs see themselves in the pit bulls they buy – as misunderstood beings and if only someone gave them the care and attention they crave, then they wouldn’t possess those traits. This of course implies that the traits are not bred into the animal, but that they’re learned. If they can be learned, then they can be unlearned.
But we know those traits are bred into the animal.
People buy fighting dogs for a reason. This dog loves only me, and protects only me or me and my family and I’m going to show the world how wonderful these creatures are by showing me interacting with a pit bull on Facebook and isn’t this all lovely?
Most dogs are friendly to their owners, no matter how badly they’re treated or the nature of their genetic make-up. It’s when the owner isn’t there that the problems arise – when the owner is at work or elsewhere and the pit jumps the fence and does a number on one of the neighbors. Often children. Or when the owner is taking a nap and wants the dog outside to alert the napper to intruders. Again, so easy to jump that fence, or a neighbor kid open it, then next thing you know there’s a knock at your door and it’s a police officer with animal control in tow.
Now I know that children tease dogs. When I moved to Cleveland Heights, Ohio many times I’d look out the back window to check on the dogs and the neighborhood kids would be poking sticks through the fence taunting them. I know humans do it too. I also know that owners of pit bulls know their dog can be provoked. They provoke them, then settle them in the training process of making them do what they want them to do.
It’s for the owner, not the passer-by or the neighbor. Those people aren’t going to be able to control your pit with your commands like you can. You need to understand this. And it doesn’t matter whose fault it is. As unfair as that is, it is still your responsibility to control your dog even when you are not there.
It makes more sense to leave the dog in the house when you’re not at home. If you’re worried the dog is going to tear up the house, then you haven’t trained the dog or maybe you shouldn’t have one. Make one room for the dog or part of a room, or buy a big cage. Figure it out.
It is also your responsibility as an owner to protect your dog from people who might think provoking or taunting a dog is funny. Or when you are at home making sure you have a secure fence with no means of escape. If you’re napping, your dog belongs inside with you. You don’t nap while your kids play outside in the yard do you? Well, if you do, stop now. Any stranger could whisk your child away in an instant.
All it takes is a little planning and concern for your pit and those your pit might attack if allowed to roam free of your property. Remember, if you hit your dog, at some point your dog will hit somebody else.
WORD WARRIOR DAVIES-TIGHT™ 