Can anything be done to preserve the "pitbull" terrier?

Question

I rescued a dog at the end of June, this year. And, later found out through 2 different vets that the dog is a Staffordshire Terrier.

My apartment manager told me NO pets were allowed here....AT ALL. I was forced to call animal control. :(

The day that she was going to be "put down" I went against the managers wishes, and went and got her. She is too good of an animal to be euthenized.

The lady at the shelter told me that this dog was NOT going to be adopted out....AT ALL. This was due to her breed! The ONLY reason she allowed me to get her was because she knew the story behind it.

Before rescuing her, I was afraid of dogs (all dogs, especially the bigger ones). Of all breeds to rescue, it was a "pitbull." I put that in quotations because the of the research I have done. I have learned that the term "pitbull" is actually a slang term. Not an actual breed.

My question...

What can be done to keep this breed and others from becoming "black listed?"

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Can anything be done to preserve the "pitbull" terrier?

Tony comments:
Sure. The breed's reputation has been made in the court of public opinion and it is in that court, possibly only in that court, that it can be saved.

Edit: First of all, my hat’s off to Norma Raeb, she is wonderfully close to being right on … but there are a few other things that must be considered.

1. BSL is not our elected politicians fault, it is our fault. ‘Our,’ as in the breed fancy. ‘Fancy,’ as in those of us that keep the breed. That means the dedicated show-dog breeder, the obedience competitor, the agility, rally-o and flyball people. But, the breed fancy also includes organized dog fighters (the dogmen), un-organized dog fighters (sport fighters) and dis-organized dog fighters (street corner chain rollers). And it would be silly of me to not introduce you to those in our fancy that keep the breed for things like ‘catching’ wild boar, bulls, and bear; things NOT to be confused with the legitimate needs of the catch-dog handler – some of which favouring our breed as their dog of choice. And of courses, there is the average pet-dog owner; whom, btw, has given their dogs (of our breed) a very wide range of things to do. Things ranging from bonafide service-dog work to guarding the family’s meth lab, and just about everything in between! It is we, the breed Fancy, who are to blame for BSL. Blaming our elected politicians for the problems we fail to fix is like shooting the messenger for the bad news he’s just delivered; it makes no sense. We, the breed Fancy, need to correct the problem.

2. The problem? There are several, way too many for me to address on this forum, so let me expand on the major one, the one that I think keeps fueling the fire under our politicians to keep advancing the BSL agenda. It is a two fold problem.

On the left side of the fold is a lot of mis-information about the breed. Again, too many to list here, but the first bit of mis-information is that ‘the pitbull is just like any other breed, he’s only mean if he’s made to be.’ The problem with that bit of nonsense is that our breed is not like any other breed of dog. He has an attribute/breed trait that keeps him as THE dominate breed in bloodsport. It is a trait that no other breed, or mix of breeds, has been able to match with any winning consistency. It is a trait forged in the foundry of the pit, and in fact, it is this trait which dogmen test with each battle. It is only (or pre-dominantly) the dogs who possess this breed trait/characteristic which were used as broodstock. Indeed, bloodsport can be looked at as a breed suitability test.

What is this trait that is so special that it has kept the breed at the very top of the game? Its unimportant for the purpose of this discussion … except to illustrate that those of you who claim to know the breed so well, yet even have to think about it, really don’t know the breed at all. And when those of us in the fancy hear (or read) you present something on the order of ‘pitbulls are like any other dogs,’ we know you either don’t understand what you have on the end of your lead, or you are in such complete denial about this aspect of the breed that you are dangerous to its preservation.

On the right side of the fold are a very weird bunch of people who actually think they can fight city hall. They are the ones who are constantly raising money to feed their fight. Sorry gang, you ain’t got enough money. And those occasional ‘victories’ you win, they’re calculated ‘give-aways’ which serve to allow proponents of BSL practice cases in which to perfect their end game. Those cases serve the other side by distracting you from the real assault yet to come.

And those of you that fight the name game … y’all really aren’t helping. As Shakespeare once wrote, “a pitbull by any other name is still a pitbull.”

Okay, Shakespeare didn’t write that, but here’s what I mean. Everyone take out your AKC Complete Dog Book. Now turn to the page with the American Staffordshire Terrier on it. I know this dog and its owners. He was an AKC Staffordshire Terrier, later became an American Staffordshire Terrier and through each of the breed-name changes he was a UKC PR- American Pit Bull Terrier. Did changing his breed-name change his breeding? Nope. A pitbull by any other name is still a pitbull.

And right down the middle of this problem, the fold itself (if you will) is John Q. Public and his father, mother, son, daughter, grand- parents, grand-children, neighbours, friends, acquaintances and associates. They have asked us nicely (the first I was made aware of their asking was back in the 1962 or 63 Christmas Edition of Dog World Magazine – the first article where I read the words ‘breed ban’) to do something about our out of control dogs.

And how did the fancy respond? The left side of the fold pointed their finger at the Doberman Pinscher and said ‘they bite people more often,’ and the right side of the fold told them how unfair they were to suggest a breed ban when it isn’t even their ‘breed’ that had gone out of control, and how they were going to organize to stop breed bans by fighting for their rights in court.

Meanwhile, neither of the two folds did anything to address the concerns of Mr. J.Q. Public. Y’all left him no choice but to seek some sort of remedy from his public officials.

sidebar: Ironically, the Dogmen (organized dog-fighters) dealt with the problem, decisively and permanently – they removed their man-mean dogs from their breeding program. How? Ever notice, on those rare occasions when one of the Dogmen are busted, how nice and un-confrontational their dogs are with the animal control officers taking them into custody? That ain’t by accident, people, the man-mean dogs were identified and killed during the early phases of conditioning as too great a liability. end sidebar.

And those public officials, responding to public opinion (the ‘court’ which has tried and convicted us), responded with BSL; the fancy gave them no choice. We, the fancy, continue to counter with the same old, tired, lame logic of: the breeds not mean by nature, he’s made that way by some other guy … besides, you’ve identified the wrong breed … and its the yip-yip dogs that bite more often anyway.

So, can anything be done to reverse the course of the BSL monster? Yep; quit feeding it. In fact, you should actively organize to starve it. How? Norma Raeb came up with a doable step in the process, who else has ant practical suggestions?

No more whining about the unfairness of it all, enough with the blame/name game, it’s time to recognize what you have on the other end of the lead – take control of it – and convince public opinion that you have removed man-mean pitbulls from public concern. Who has some suggestions, practical suggestions, suggestions that the whole fancy can use; from the doctors and lawyers that own pitbull terrier to the boyz-in-the-hood that keep them – we’re all in it together, our dogs as the common interest. How do we make them safe, so that we can safely keep them; and how do you let the court of public opinion experience/learn that you are getting the matter under control?

Most of the politicos see BSL as a potential end to their political aspirations. If we, the fancy, can give them an out … trust me, they’ll take it. But if we leave them no other choice, then they’ll take their chances – we, ourselve’s will have forced their hand.

Tony Ancheta

Answer 2

There is an actual breed, it is the American Pit Bull Terrier. This will preserve the breed. Too many of the dog labeled 'pit bull' are mixes of a bully breed and too many of those have been bred to be aggressive and unpredictable. This has put many cities/counties into the position of outlawing the 'pit bull' type of dogs and any that go into a shelter will never come out. If anything, this should urge the reputable, APBT owners and breeders to fight to save their breed, to educate the public and to encourage the spaying and neutering of the 'mixes' and unregistered ones. Michael Vick set back the type and the breed a big step! I feel sorry for the true fanciers because it almost seems there are more of the irresponsible and 'shady' type owners out there than the responsible ones. The dogs are most certainly the ones paying the price but I just don't have the answers.

Answer 3

Well good for you for not immediately assuming just cause she is a pit bull she is mean...unfortunately a lot large breed dogs are already black listed when it is most of the time the owners fault and how the dog was handled and raised. Alls you can do is try to educate people about the good qualities of the breed and show that not all pit bulls or other supposedly mean dogs are all bad. From bad breeding and lack of socialization puppies don't get a good start in life when the bad owners out there want to have that mean tough dog image, they create a volitile dog and when that dog goes and bites someone then all of a sudden the whole breed is bad which is sad cause it's false. I own a rottie who is more of a wimp than a meanie, she would protect us but strangers come in the yard and she is just happy to get pet yet people are scared of her just because of the bad press rottweilers got. If you are keeping the dog or finding a new home on your own for her then use her good behavior to show people who might otherwise might just assume pit bulls are bad. I hope you can find her a good home, as most shelters dont' even try they just say it's a pit pull and treat it like it's not worth a chance.

Answer 4

Step 1: Neuter all the idiots that give Pit Bulls a bad name.

Step 2: Send out an ambassador for the Pits. Most people don't even realize what a pit actually is.

Step 3: World peace!

Unfortunately I don't think this will happen soon, as too many people discriminate against Pits. I don't understand, everyone agreed that racial profiling is bad and that slavery is bad and etc., but people still put a mark on dogs because of their breed?!?!?! People are just as bad as ever.

An Edit with more wise words: Take my dog Judge for example. My mom doesn't trust Pits, but Judge actually does snap at little kids sometimes. There haven't been any injuries, but still, he does sometimes. Now, if all of the sudden a couple of beagles started biting kids and it got on the news (which I know they wouldn't, since only pit attacks are "new worthy"), my mom would NEVER get rid of Judge. So why the Pit Bull? I say stand by it, after all, the main "pit breed" is our good friend, The AMERICAN Pit Bull Terrier.

Answer 5

I know that all over this country and even in the state you live in there are dog rescues for almost all pure bred dogs.
There maybe a "pitbull rescue" in your area or state. You have acess to a computer just put in pitbull rescues and see what comes up. Now what ever comes up and if they have a contact number.........give em a call see what they can tell you and maybe they can give you information to help you to do something good for this breed.

I know, its a real friggin shame that because of some irrisponsible owners of this breed, and probably some really messed up breeding these dogs have the reputation that they do.

I swear the older I get the more ignorant people seem to be getting.

You may even want to call the American Kennel Club, tell them what your looking to do and maybe they can refer you to people that can help you.

Anyway, good luck. I have alot of respect for you or anyone that wants to help any animal.

Answer 6

I do not know if we will ever be able to preserve the "pitbull" terrier, but I sure hope that we can. I as a matter of fact will be attending a public meeting concerning the APBT breed. Our local newspaper posted a really nasty article on "pitbulls," and some other people around my area as well as myself are trying our best to defend the "pit bulls." I am also going to check in with the city to see if they will allow me to bring my APBT to the public meeting, to show everyone that they are not all bad. The bad ones are made that way by humans, and that the humans should be punished, not the animal.

Answer 7

Can anything be done to preserve the "pitbull" terrier?

Great question!

Acknowledge what you have at the other end of the lead and control your dog. Make him the best trained dog on the planet. Be responsible for his every action; to the point of betting your annual income on his good behavior. Never fail to deliver on your promises to this dog, because he will hold you accountable.

Encourage anyone you know with a pitbull to do likewise. Make it your mission in life to educate people about this dog. Use him as a service dog to visit the elderly. Start a program to show him off at elementary schools. Never miss an opportunity to present him to the public in a good light.

You can't fix what you don't acknowledge as a problem. Admit to yourself that this breed was developed and bred to fight other dogs. Period. Be a responsible owner; make sure you have absolute control on your dog at all times.

Answer 8

I wish there was a way to stop black-listing but unfortunately there are certain breeds that appeal to certain idiots or people who have no idea how to raise their breed. It'd be better if people were black-listed. The best way to at least promote your dog is to work a lot with him training etc. and show the world (or at least your neighbourhood) that your dog is well trained and a lovely dog. Apartment managers should go get stuffed, although you really should have checked whether you were allowed pets before you went and got her ;)

Answer 9

I wish I had an answer for you.I just wanted to thank you for rescuing her.
You are correct about the term being a slang in one sense as people apply it to all bully types.My one staffies akc papers actually say American Pitbull Terrier.My other one is a bull terrier who, alas, has no papers as she is a rescue as well.
To keep them from being black listed is what I try to do every time I have my staffies in public....educate people who come in contact with them to show what a wonderful breed dog they are.
Best of luck to you and God bless.

Answer 10

Educate.

Take your pet on walks and when someone walks up, let them pet her. I've gotten the chance the spread good vibes with kids about my "pit" while adults shy away. I have had more 2 and 3 yr olds come up to my dog then adults, its a shame!!

One apartment that i lived at also requested no "large breeds", but the manager got to know him and adored my dog, lshe let us stay.

putting your dog out there in your community is a start, show that this breed is not a man killer, when trained properly they are damn great campanions.

Answer 11

you might try a pitbull rescue.... I am not sure if there are any but I would try there first then maybe post flyers saying that she needs a home fast and what makes her a great dog you can do that a petsmart and at local banks goodluck