AP-Petside poll: Training, not nature, makes bully

[ArkRescue]

"LOS ANGELES (AP) - The majority of American pet owners believe a well-trained dog is safe _ even if it comes from one of the "bully breeds."

Some dog breeds, such as pit bulls or Rottweilers, are considered truly dangerous by 28 percent of American pet owners, but an Associated Press-Petside.com poll found that 71 percent said any breed can be safe if the dogs are well trained."

AP-Petside poll: Training, not nature, makes bully - wtop.com

 

[Chasey_Lane]

My sister has two pits -- a male and a female -- that she got at the same time as pups. One is sweet as can be, the other is on the defensive all the time, and I've always been worried that she'll bite someone.

How is it that two dogs, growing up in the same family as pups, be so different?

 

[TurboK9]

My sister has two pits -- a male and a female -- that she got at the same time as pups. One is sweet as can be, the other is on the defensive all the time, and I've always been worried that she'll bite someone.

How is it that two dogs, growing up in the same family as pups, be so different?

Easy. They aren't clones. Look at people. :shrug:

 

[ArkRescue]

That is so true as I had the same parents as my brother and he's nothing like me at all. We have differences so great you'd think we had been raised in different families.

Easy. They aren't clones. Look at people. :shrug:

 

[kwillia]

Easy. They aren't clones. Look at people. :shrug:

I believe that is her point... just as in people, environment and nurturing has only a small impact on overall disposition.

 

[libertytyranny]

A big chunk of the problem with bully breeds is crappy/indiscriminate or even purposeful crappy breeding. While usually I would say any dog, when well trained, has a chance to be a "good" dog..there are dogs that are so badly bred as to be hopeless. It happens in all kinds of breeds but bully breeds attract it becasue stupid people like to make up for their tiny penises by getting a big mean agressive dog...then think it's fun to "breed" it and sell the puppies for crack money. Gives the majority of very sweet friendly bully breeds a bad name.

 

[vraiblonde]

I believe that is her point... just as in people, environment and nurturing has only a small impact on overall disposition.

Well that can't be possible. Everyone knows that mean dogs are a product of their environment, therefore two dogs raised in the same house by the same people would be exactly the same. I read it on the forums, so it must be true.

And what about all those killer Poms and Chis? They eat people just as often as Pits and Rotties, right?

 

[libertytyranny]

It comes down to people. The breed isn't inherently bad. If you have one, it is not a ticking time bomb. the brees doesn't need to be exterminated or banned. They are mostly very intelligent, brave, and loyal doggies. It is the few that were treated ####ty or bred terribly that give them all a bad name. Just like we don't blame all white men because jared whatshis name shot a bunch of people..or demand white men be banned or exterminated simply becuase there are several cases of white men going crazy and killing people. Bad environment or bad breeding or both..doesn't make them all bad.

 

[thatguy]

It comes down to people. The breed isn't inherently bad. If you have one, it is not a ticking time bomb. the brees doesn't need to be exterminated or banned. They are mostly very intelligent, brave, and loyal doggies. It is the few that were treated ####ty or bred terribly that give them all a bad name. Just like we don't blame all white men because jared whatshis name shot a bunch of people..or demand white men be banned or exterminated simply becuase there are several cases of white men going crazy and killing people. Bad environment or bad breeding or both..doesn't make them all bad.

they are a ticking timebombs, its just that training can help to prevent them from going off. Not always, but sometimes. there is a reason that agressive breeds are choosen for "protection work"

 

[TurboK9]

Well that can't be possible. Everyone knows that mean dogs are a product of their environment, therefore two dogs raised in the same house by the same people would be exactly the same. I read it on the forums, so it must be true.

And what about all those killer Poms and Chis? They eat people just as often as Pits and Rotties, right?

You forgot your

Seriously though... exactly.

The canine brain, not unlike ours, is dependant upon chemicals to dictate how it 'feels' and how the dog responds... not being as concious of thought and action as people are, a dog doesn't think "Gee I feel like doing this, but it's wrong, so I won't."

They see or hear or smell something that stimulates a drive, such as prey or defense, chemicals are released into the brain making the dog 'feel' like performing an action in response, and they do it. That simple.

Two dogs, same litter, same environment... one has an over abundance of the hormones that trigger defensive behavior... one doesn't, because one may have the sire's gene for defense, one may not, etc. One is a defensive dog, one is a mook. That simple.

Easily correctable through training. Training is simply redirecting the response to a drive trigger. You can take a dog with uber high prey drive, and train him to turn circles when he sees a squirrel instead of chasing it... it's just simple conditioning... through repetition, correction, and reward. You trick the brain into reprogramming the response to stimuli.

:shrug:

 

[vraiblonde]

You can make the argument that "bully" dogs are no more aggressive than small dogs, but the fact remains that if a small dog comes after you, you can punt it across the room before it can do a whole lot of damage. We hear stories about the Pomeranian who ate an infant's face, but really - which would you rather take on? A pissed off Pom or a pissed off Rottie?

 

[cattitude]

And what about all those killer Poms and Chis? They eat people just as often as Pits and Rotties, right?

No, thankfully they're small... because their dispositions are much worse than most of the pitts I've been around.

 

[TurboK9]

No, thankfully they're small... because their dispositions are much worse than most of the pitts I've been around.

Here's what really cracks me up...

Pitties... Actual, died in the wool, American Pitbull Terriers... the compact 'fightin' dog'....

Inherently. Man. Friendly. Ironically, until Johnny Law got involved and started shutting down the old timey 'dog men' anyway.

See, back when they did dog fighting for it's own sake, it wasn't like the gangsta crap you hear about now. You had dogs held by handlers in opposite corners. The ref would blow his whistle, the dogs were released... and would lock onto eachother for several seconds. The ref would blow his whistle. THe handlers retrieved their dogs. Over and over, not until a dog died, but simply until one hesitated. Fight over. Handler tended to their dogs wounds, right then and there.

So you had dogs fighting at a refs feet. And handlers tending wounds with no anesthesia. And what happened if the dogs bit a man?

See ya. The long sleep.

So for generation upon generation only very man friendly dogs were bred... exceedingly man friendly.

Then we come along all humane and such, shut down the fighting rings, and look what happens... Only gangtas fight their dogs now. And they don't give a crap about temperament.

Ironic.

The dog men of old may have been cruel by todays standards, but they sure knew a heck of a lot more about dogs and breeding than little Johnny selling his pitty puppies out of the back of his van.