If shelters do temperament testing and Pits are such horrible dogs (as so many claim)....?

Question

then why are there so many up for adoption EVERYWHERE?

If you think about it, it doesn't make sense. I think it just goes to show that it really isn't the breed, it's the owner.

If they were all that terrible wouldn't the shelters euthanize them? They all have to pass temperament testing (for the most part) right?

Not sure what you're syaing Roger?

If the dog fails a temperament test then it cannot be adopted out, right? So if Pits are so bad, then how come they all pass the temperament test?

Answer 1

As I have stated the only dogs I have had not pass a temperment test is purebreds. EVERY PIT HAS PASSED WITH FLYING COLORS!!! The most loveable even the one that we rescued with cigar burns all over his A.SS. Sweet as punch!!

Pits walk by my house everyday and when my door is open my dogs act like fools barking and jumping at the door. Never the pits???

Our local kill shelter that is supposed to enforce the pit ban adopted a litter stating on tv they were terrier mixes and would be about the size of an american bulldog. Most in the animal field will concur they do not want to uphold the ban and when they can get around it they do.

Answer 2

Well, I wonder what those tests consist of? Who administers these tests? Is it someone who has knowledge of REAL WORLD dogs, or someone who lives in fantasy land. I have nothing against pits, I had one at one point in time and he was a great little dog. MY PROBLEM is any dog that comes out of the shelter, not because he is a mutt or a pure breed, but because I do not know anything about that dog. I do not know why it's there, the real reason, I do not know how it was raised or trained or housed or anything. This has always been a big issue with me, with every dog I have gotten over the last 27 years, I WANT TO KNOW EVERYTHING about that dog. I cannot, in good conscious, place a dog with anyone that will take that dog home, and not be able to feel good about that dog. I cannot see a dog that I don't know anything about going into a home with a baby and something happens to that baby because of the dog. I would rather never place another dog again and never train another dog. So, why are these dogs there in the first place? What would make an owner drop their dog off at a shelter? THE TRUTH. And as far as why do shelters let pits get adopted? I am not sure, look at the bargain trader magazine in Miami Fl., it is full of ads for pits for sale in a county where pits became illegal over 10 years ago. But, people still do it. You tell me.

Answer 3

See pits are a very hyper breed they are very high manitaince in a way. They always want to play and run and chew on things. People get upset quickly and then give them up. Also many people that have children are worried that the dog will attack them. And then some people get the dogs taken away from them. I know here in Chicago there are at least three places commited to just pits. I am not sure about temperment testing b/c i saw a pit when i went to the shelter that said no children which means kids under 12 can not be around the dog. so i am not sure. I live in house that has four pitbulls 1 am staff and a mix (i am not sure what she is) And they are all big babies. They are just a big lap dog. And i love them. they are truly good dogs and they are great with kids.

Also when i got my puppy( the am staff) he was abused and unfed and all he wanted was love and now he is gaining weight and playing like a normal pup keeping up quite well with the other 5 dogs.

Answer 4

If a pitbull passes temperment testing, it is allowed to be adopted out. I do temperment testing on pitbulls, and am very critical because the public safety and the life of the dog is on the line.

Those that fail, are euthanized, as they are a danger to others, and they could fall into the wrong hands and have a cruel life.

It is not the "pit bulls" that are the problem. It's the irresponsible breeders, owners, and the ignorant people who don't want to know how good these dogs can be.

Excellent question!

http://www.libertydogtraining.com

Answer 5

I'd have to agree. If an animal is sheltered and goes through temperament testing, administered by a skilled K-9 enthusiast, and that animal passes, I would start giving the owners of these animals an equivalent test. If the owners of these animals can't pass a basic "animal training" test or "authority response" test, then they should not be able to own such an animal. All K-9's have the potential to be vicious, even Dachshunds, bad behavior is a learned or tolerated temperament.

Answer 6

Thank you thank you thank you!!! I have 2 pure blood Pits and they are NOT HORRIBLE they are very very sweet, cuddly, babies to me. I have a 2 year old nephew that had his whole finger, before we noticed, in my male pits eye and K-9(dogs name) did not do a thing he just stood there and let my nephew do it. Of course I stopped my nephew from doing it but the point is that K-9 just sat there happy as can be. My dogs have loved everyone that they have been around and we have never ever had a problem with any of the 5 that I have owned. Shelters are supposed to do a temperament testing on all dogs that are up for adoption to consider what kind of home the dog should go to(cats, other dogs, children, etc.). And like you said, in my opinion, yes it is NOT the dog it is the owner. Our other Pit we rescued from a dog fighting ring that her mom was killed in when she was a week old and she is a bigger baby then the male. She has never showed any signs of aggression toward anyone, her favorite place to go is the vet's office for her check-ups. So yeah what they put out there doesn't make any sense and if they were all bad then they wouldn't have them up for adoption and some police forces wouldn't use them for drug dogs like they are starting to do.

Answer 7

I have seen both sides to the Pits. Yes you are correct, currnetly in our shelter there are 23 Pits or Pit mixes up for adoption. There are about 16 mixes of unknown and 2 believed to be purebreds an older Peke and a Border Collie. Of all of the latest dogs that entered our shelter for what ever reason last month only 3 dogs were put down due to aggression. Not one was a pit. That being said the worst agression on file for 2006 where several people were injured was from a Pit.

Answer 8

tell you what my pit/chow mix ( two supposedly mean dogs ) will let you do anything to him. i can put my face right into his food bowl while he's eating and he'll just back up and wait till im done. I could pull the his tail, ear, hair, or what ever ( not that i would purposely do that, I just want to make sure he wouldn't bite my nieces if they ever did pull on him ) he would not do a single thing but flop on the ground and wait for his tummy to be rubbed. I believe it is all in the way you bring up your dogs not the breed of the dog.... i think pit bulls are a very loving breed. every one i have ever meant has been the biggest sweet heart. so i agree with you that it is the owner not the dog. its the same way with kids, you bring them up bad there is more of a chance that their going to grow up to be drug dealers or something.. catch my drift..... you get what you raise

Answer 9

It is a valid point, that most bad dogs are a result of bad owners, but there are medical conditions that are more likely to effect pit bulls than other breeds that could cause a sort of mental collapse in which case the dog may snap without much warning.
Also, they are not available for adoption everywhere. There are many, many areas in the US alone where owning and selling pit bulls has been outlawed and stray pits they find are put to sleep.
There is no guarantee that the dog will be a problem, but with pit bulls the chances are higher that some one will get hurt.

Answer 10

yea they do have to go though the temperment test. but every shelter i have been to they alwasy have pits and then the next time that i go there gone cuz they got adopted out. i love pits. and i believe thats its the owner not the dog. like maybe if the dog was mena maybe it was cuz the do was abused, fought and neglected. i always watch animal cop on animal planet and they show pits like all the time. and there all end up to be what i said. i dont think that all the shelters do i only think about a small porsion of them do.