Desert Twins

There is a lot of hatred out there for many breeds of dogs, however, currently there does not seem to be a breed hated more than the Pit Bull.  As a dog owner, yes to a Pit Bull, and a dog trainer, I am overly sensitive to this view of evil marauding Pit Bulls.  Even when researching for this post, I am amazed to find sites dedicated to only reporting “bully breed” bites.

Before our current dog, we were the lucky owners of the best dog ever.  His name was Atrus and he was a 140 pound Rottweiler.  Atrus looked ferocious, but had the temperament of a bunny rabbit.  He was my demo dog while I was a dog trainer, and changed many peoples opinions on Rottweilers and other bully breeds.  Shortly after my children were born, Atrus was diagnosed with osteocarcinoma and had to be put to sleep 3 months later. Until the day he died, Atrus snuggled his kitties and never snapped or bit a person.

Our current dog, Max, is a 90 pound Pit Bull Mix. We discovered him at a shelter about 6 months ago.  We had been looking for a large dog ever since losing Atrus and hadn’t found one that fit our family.  When we met Max, we knew he was the one.  My daughters played with him at the shelter and pulled his ears.  After watching the three of them interact we decided to get him.  While filling out paperwork, Charles took the girls to look around.  Max got upset that his new family was leaving, further cementing our decision.  Now, my girls use him as a step stool and ride on his back.  He has never shown a hint of aggression.

While it is true that there are a large number of fatal dog bites from Pit Bulls and Rottweilers, they are by no means the only dogs biting out there.  These breeds, along with German Shepard Dogs, Dobermans, Mastiffs and other bully breeds, get a bad reputation not because of their demeanor, but because of their size.  Unfortunately, a bite from a 100 pound dog is usually much worse than that from a 5 pound dog.  Bites from these large breeds are reported on more because more damage is done.

Having worked in the animal field for the last 10 years, I have had MANY dog bites, but only one from a large dog.  The dog was taking a treat from my hand and bit through my finger.  I have had many from small dogs.  A Miniature Poodle nearly skinned my pinkie and a Chinese Crested attempted to take my face off.I have trained aggressive dogs (towards people and other dogs) and ones that have been deemed dangerous by animal control.   In every case, we were able to get the dogs behavior under control when the root cause of the problem was figured out.

Often times these aggressive dogs have been mistreated or abused.  They lash out in fear when they are confronted.  Often the dog has learned the only way to be safe is to growl, bite, or lunge.  This behavior is often instantly rewarded by their attacker backing off.  That being said, there is also the component of a dog trying to protect what is theirs.  A dog that is food aggressive has probably been starved.  He defends his food to save his life.  Teaching him that you are not there to steal his food will lessen this behavior.

All dogs have the same basic instincts.  Attacking humans is not one of these.  Dog training is a must for every dog, from the 1 pound Chihuahua to the 200 pound mastiffs.  Most bites are caused by lack of training, lack of control, and lack of respect for the dog.  I feel that singling out a breed as dangerous is the same as the being racist.  All dogs are not the same, none are inherently dumber or meaner.  Be smart about your dog and other peoples dogs.  Spay/Neuter  your dog and get him and your entire family into dog training.  Learn the real statistics on when and how dog bites occur.  Most importantly, don’t judge a dog by the actions of others.