Sometimes, it's just painful

[Sweet72947]

Check out this article that was in FOHA's newsletter this week.

Have you taken the time to meet some of the wonderful pit bulls at FOHA? Maybe you don't know what a pit bull is -- let's take a couple of quizzes! Here are two:

http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html
http://www.pickthepit.com/

Were you able to pick out the pit bull? Did you know that the breed standard for the "American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT)" is that the dog be good-natured and good with all of us humans, adults and children alike. They make amusing, extremely loyal and affectionate family pets. When socialized from a young age, Pits are almost always good with other animals. Even when they have not been socialized and choose not to be around other animals, they still love their people.

Pits are obedient dogs and always eager to please their masters, which is why, in the wrong hands, they can be taught to be aggressive. Pits are usually very friendly, but have an uncanny ability to know when it needs to protect and when everything is okay. Pits are extremely courageous and intelligent guard dogs; they are very full of vitality. As with any dog, pits need basic training, along with the proper amount of exercise and a firm pack leader, to become tranquil, obedient dogs.

Most of us in the "rescue world" love the breed because we have come to know what great animals they are. Unfortunately, there are hundreds of thousands of pits in shelters across the country, and many of them will not make it out alive. Because of recent breed restrictions in housing and insurance, pits are difficult to place.

Watch this video to see what has happened due to recent breed restrictions. All of the wonderful dogs in this video have lost their lives due to legislation or restrictions banning the breed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ9Te3A17LQ

According to the American Temperament Testing Association, APBT's have an 85.3% passing rate, compared to 81.9% for other breeds. Recent statistics indicate that Labrador Retrievers had the highest bite rate for 2011, not pit bulls! But the bad press for pits continues. We hope that all of you will become a voice in support of these wonderful dogs.

Get to know a pit bull -- you'll be glad you did!

I want to know where in the BLEEP they got their information. Seriously, there is so much wrong with this. I'd offer REAL information, but I don't know if they'd even listen.

[BlackPuppy]

Can you point out the errors?

[Sweet72947]

- When socialized from a young age, Pits are almost always good with other animals.False. They are terriers. As such, they often have prey drive, and they are often scrappy with other dogs. Socialization helps, but they can "turn on" and become animal aggressive at any age, although it tends to happen when they mature around 2 or 3 years.

- Pits are usually very friendly, but have an uncanny ability to know when it needs to protect and when everything is okay. Pits are extremely courageous and intelligent guard dogs; American pit bull terriers are NOT guard dogs and were NEVER bred to be guard dogs. Any aggression toward humans is considered a FAULT in the breed. There are other breeds often confused for pit bulls, such as American Bull Dogs, Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldogs and mastiff mixes (100lb+ "pit bulls") that do have a guarding instinct, but American Pit Bull Terriers do not and should not guard.

Not to mention the "it's all how they're raised!" message in this article (any dog can be born "wrong" and grow up to be aggressive no matter their breeding/training) and the fact that they throw labs under the bus with the bite statistics at the bottom.

[stafinois]

Well, they got it right that they are dogs!