As being older and “wiser”, I feel I need to get in this conversation. J.Kb. has made it clear that he has no love for the breed and he is not the only one out there. And there are the Pitbull lovers that will swear on a stack of bibles that the dogs are truly lovable and incapable of hurting another living creature unless trained for it. Some dog lovers consider the anti-Pitbull stance aking to an anti-gun position and say it is a bit hypocritical. I’ll expand on this later.
I am going to share a couple of experiences with you. A friend of mine in Venezuela had a small farm in which he raised sheep and pigs. Not that many, but enough to keep himself and his family fed and sell the excess. But he was suffering losses from thieves and decided it would be a good idea to have a fierce dog on property. Being of Italian extraction, he got himself a Cane Corso pup and trained him to be obedient and take care of the stock. The dog was raised among the sheep so they were not unknown animals that suddenly appeared in his life and could be considered either threats or prey. Everything was fine till one day when he was about 2 years old and for reasons unknown, the Corso attacked the sheep and killed several. He was obviously put down by the owner who did not relish doing so.
The other case was my own Dobermann, trained by me personally. Extremely obedient, bilingual and a great guard dog. But because of one silly experience he became a child hater. The next-door neighbor kid got his hand through the fence and the dog knowing him, simply approached him. The kid thought it would be funny to punch him in the nose for shits and giggles to which the dog responded by nipping him in the fingers. This happened in the presence of me and his parents, both on our own side of the property.
The kid’s mom raised shit about the dog biting the kid to which I reminded her that it was her bipedal vaginal excretion the one who inserted his hand in my property and attacked the dog. I went on to warn them not to harm my dog or else. They did not, mostly I believe because they have seen me for many years playing and improving on flammables. But as for the dog, he no longer trusted kids and saw them as outright threats to him and the household. After that, no kids were allowed on property, and we had to isolate the section of our land that butted into the neighbor’s house just to avoid future episodes. Our dog lived a long life in case you wanted to know.
If I had not be present the moment my dog was hit, I wouldn’t know why he may have attacked a child nor prepare for it. And here comes the point I wanted to make about the “equivalence” of being Anti-Pitbull and Anti-Gun: Dogs are capable of autonomous actions. Guns are not. Guns will not shoot anybody on their own if you leave them unattended. Dogs may attack if left to their own devices and specially if improperly trained and let loose.
That is the big difference.
Will I shoot a roaming Pitbull on sight? Nope, but you can bet your ass my hand won’t be far from my sidearm. More than one Pitbull loose? My hand will be on the gun, no shit. And if I detect the slightest hint of aggression, I will draw and the call to Animal Control or 911 be damned. And the same goes to any big ass dog bred for fighting.
Recently I have been working with the Anatolian Shepherd breed. The breeder is also a goat and sheep herder which the Anatolians grew up with, being actually born amongst the herds, living with them as if they were one of them. Currently I am in the third month of training the largest male pup from the last litter. The goal is to learn what level of human acclimation can be achieved. Just what are they capable of and not capable of. So, I have altered the normal training plan which I’ve used for the past thirty years, by adding a much higher rate-of-failure scenario to the format.
The breeder told me that a few years ago, his most favorite Anatolian was being challenged by the alpha male sheep of the herd. This dog weighed 175 lbs. was almost three years old, and up until this time, had always been gentle with the animals in his care. The male sheep which decided to challenge his guardian, was five years old and large. And decided to charge his guardian head down. On the first attack the dog was ready and successfully avoided the charge, but on the second charge the sheep successfully made contact enough so that the dog retaliated by grabbing his attacker by the throat and broke its neck. The breeder observed this conflict from several hundreds of yards away. And due to high winds, his commands to not retaliate were not heard by the dog.
From that time forward, this dog no longer trusted the males, goat or sheep, in his herds. So, the breeder, not wanting to kill his prize dog, moved him into his house for the new role of guardian of the family. However, the dog believed he was the authority of the home. He would not take ‘no’ for an answer and was unable to be trained in the new environment where he was not in charge. Within a few months the conflicts in the home became more confrontational and the dog had to be put back outside. The breeder provided a large fenced in area for the dog to own. Moved a female in there for company. The pup I’m working with came from that union. And I’m training this pup for the owner of the poodle owner that had their dog attacked by five Pitbull, which I posted the story about here a month or so ago. This pup will be the new guardian of that poodle.
I knew you were going to go with gun are inanimate and dogs are animate. I don’t find this argument entirely satisfactory but I understand why you are making it. I do not find this satisfactory because it is still hypocritical for the simple reason of it all hinges on the what ifs. Gun grabber want guns banned becausd they can kill. People don’t like and some wish to ban putbulls because they can be dangerous killers. Same logic, the what if. The real problem is not the gun or the breed it is the individual behind the act be that the person pulling the trigger or the dog that is dangerous. Certain breeds have certain characteristics that can make them more dangerous in the wrong hand or if they decide to wig out one day. Just like certain guns have different characteristics that make them more dangerous in the wrong hands.
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As I’ve argued before there is a rich history and tradition of dogs being used for military and police purposes including offensive purposes as weapons. Therefore dogs qualify as arms and are protected by our second amendment.
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Your approach I think is the most prudent, like any unknown animal of person treat it as a potential threat until proven otherwise. Meet aggression with the necessey level or force or preparation for force as required.
I don’t believe I made any comment about wanting to ban pit bulls.
Apologies, I’m not implying you did with my statements.
I’m speaking generally that the logic of the arguments is the same between the pit bull ban people and gun grabbers; I’m certainly not accusing you of being either.
I had a lab I got when he was 8 months old. During part of his life he was exposed to my now exwife. Who I found out later used to kick him. He developed an adversary reaction to women…. Its how and who mistreated them that they dont like and they remember.