[Galvanoidum]

I have never been so angry in my life, or atleast in recent history that I can remember.

I was at my grandparents today and my uncle came over and he started talking about the dogs that his neighbor allows. Well that wasn't the big deal, but I think because he knew it would get to me he started talking about pit bulls. He then said that "All Pit Bulls should be exterminated, the world would be a better place" and I said "You don't know what you are talking about" and he said "Yes I do those dogs will turn on you faster than you can blink. Its in their blood" and I'm like "I've done extensive research on these dogs and human aggression is not accepted in the breed standard and that if an APBT is human aggressive its considered a flaw" And he was like "Well you haven't researched enough, they were bred for war. Its in their blood to kill" and I replied "They were bred for bull baiting and up until recent history they were the number 1 family dog in the US" and he said "No they are natural born killers". Labrador people don't get mad at me, but I had to hit him where it hurt. I just wanted to show him how it feels when the breed you love is discriminated against. I love labs by the way. I said fine well then "If you feel that they need to exterminate Pit Bulls I'm certain you feel the same way about Labradors" And he said "No labs are great family dogs" and I replied "Really? Then how come I've been snapped at by more labradors and more labs have acted agressively toward me than pit bulls." His reply "Pit bulls are nice until they suddenly snap". I gave up at that point there is no sense arguing with him.

At that point I had to leave the room. There is no reasoning with the man. I know the only reason he brought it up was to get under my skin and it worked. Here is how I feel, I understand you don't like the breed but keep your ignorant opinions to yourself. My other uncle has a Pit mix and she is a wonderful dog and at first when they found out she was part pit they were concerned but she turned out to be the best dog they ever had. I know its hard for him to hear our familys opinions on the breed as well. I'm sorry to unload guys but I just had to get this off my chest, this really bothered me and really upset me. How do you guys deal with this crap from people on a regular basis? I don't even have my SBT yet and my family already looks at me like I am harboring a dangerous fugitive or something.

[hexniks]

I try to not play in the sandbox with the special kids. People have thoughts and no matter what you do, you will never change their thoughts. I find it their own misfortune if they choose to believe that something in the universe can change with the blink of an eye- this is not the way the universe behaves.

Someone was once telling me how a pit bull "just suddenly turned" on a lady and had her in a corner, snarling, and threatening her. The husband apparently had to come in and save her. I said, "Well, that makes me wonder what the wife was doing to the dog..". Yeah, turns out, she had always hated the dog and was never nice to it- aka, she hit it occasionally.

Well, shit yeah, you hit me occasionally, I'll probably get sick of it eventually too.

Their ignorance will only hinder them. I point, laugh, and walk away.

[LongaDonga]

Ha ha, I love using the Lab example too. I have met many more aggressive Labs than I have APBTs. BTW, you should have mentioned the only documented face transplant was due to a woman having her own LABRADOR RIP HER FACE OFF. That usually shuts them up. I guess people have forgotten about it since it was Lab that did it. But heaven forbid if it was a pit bull, people would still be talking about it to this day.

Blessings ...

[ViaxobbimeVar]

Every pit bull owner seems to say "I never saw it coming! I had no warning!!!" anytime their dog hits the news.

Some people believe them. It's crap, but it's widely reported crap. And some people still believe what they read or hear.

Sucks.

[StivRichardOff]

I thought there was a face transplant involving a woman whose hair got in a work machine and ripped her face off.
Face Transplant : Picture Slide Show : Discovery Health

Anyway, back on topic, you can't argue with ignorance. The less you react, the less satisfaction he gets.

[fudelholf]

i had to go to the ER for 12 stitches from a dalmatian and i don't bitch and go ape shit and say stupid shit that all DALMATIANS should be exterminated and banned.

we all know who we can blame for the unstable/unsound/damaged/broken/human aggressive/fear aggressive, etc "pitbulls" that are out there. :'( and once again no wonder why our breeds of choice is down the shitter. :'(

[Galvanoidum]

Ha ha, I love using the Lab example too. I have met many more aggressive Labs than I have APBTs. BTW, you should have mentioned the only documented face transplant was due to a woman having her own LABRADOR RIP HER FACE OFF. That usually shuts them up. I guess people have forgotten about it since it was Lab that did it. But heaven forbid if it was a pit bull, people would still be talking about it to this day.

Blessings ...

The only reason I did that was he owns a lab, its the only breed he will own. He holds them up on a pedistal. But I seriously feel bad about that now because I feel like I stooped to his level.

[ZZtop]

I get this all the time.. It gets under my skin, but Ive learned to ignore it for the most part.

[fudelholf]

How do you guys deal with this crap from people on a regular basis?

i try to educate them about Human aggressive APBT = euthanasia. and if they are still running their mouths off saying stupid shit. it goes in one ear and out the other, meaning i just ignore what they are saying and walk away.

[Stivenslivakovishhhs]

[quote=Chapstickglue;669049]I try to not play in the sandbox with the special kids. People have thoughts and no matter what you do, you will never change their thoughts. I find it their own misfortune if they choose to believe that something in the universe can change with the blink of an eye- this is not the way the universe behaves.

I have to use this sandbox analogy, love it!

[pageup85]

You're talking about pitbulls as a general category yet you are getting a SBT. From my experience, SBT are that little bit more mellow and that little bit better with people, especially kids, than even an apbt. Seriously, you would struggle to find a better family dog that what you want. All the staffy guys in the UK take great pride in recounting the Nanny Dog label. Anecdotally for whatever reason, the SBT breed seems to have a lower incidence of attacks on people or owners that the apbt or Amstaff population, even adjusting for percentages of breed ownership within the dog population.

[Krruqgwt]

I deal with the same thing from my two stepgrandfathers.

A few years ago, the one (hasn't met Sinead yet) upon hearing me talk about Jaycee, a GSD/pit mix I had growing up, said the only reason she hasn't killed us was the didn't get the chance to turn on the family yet...the dog died of cancer at the age of 14, my father rescued her from an abusive situation when she was a year old. I'm sure she had PLENTY of time to eat the family, if she felt like it.

Now, my other step-grandfather met Sinead and thought she was a wonderful dog, until he asked what breed she was. I'm like, "she's a pit bull," and his reaction was, "you're not safe keeping her in your house because you'll never know when she'll turn." Of course, she was wiggling all over him and gently taking snacks from his fingers. His dog (whom I adore) is a mini poodle that is far more aggressive.

[Mister.levitra]

my mom and dad tell me 'pit bulls kill babies! one killed an elderly woman who belonged to a ten year old child' and i would tell her 'mom zahra is more than 75% pit bull and she is laying next to the baby right now...' and she would insist it was cause she was 'mixed' no matter how many times i told her the pit bull was the dominant gene she would not listen, some people, have rocks for brains, but i do love my mom...lol.

[LongaDonga]

I thought there was a face transplant involving a woman whose hair got in a work machine and ripped her face off.
Face Transplant : Picture Slide Show : Discovery Health

Anyway, back on topic, you can't argue with ignorance. The less you react, the less satisfaction he gets.

I didn't know about that one but here is the article on the Lab:

http://www.dogchannel.com/media/dog-...2-05a.aspx.pdf

Here is another fabulous tool I use about other breed dog bites:

Punish the Deed, not the Breed!

Note how many Lab bites there are - last I looked it was around 66 & I wasn't counting the Lab mixes!

And don't feel bad about what you said about Labs. He was saying what he was saying just to irk you & you told him the truth - nothing wrong with that.

Blessings ...

[Nzmoafzn]

I try to not play in the sandbox with the special kids. I love this!


Their ignorance will only hinder them. I point, laugh, and walk away.
Unfortunately, this is not true. Their ignorance hinders all of us when it comes time for cities to decide on BSL. If you vote, are willing to show up at a council meeting or are even willing to post comments on public forums and hate Pit Bulls you have a pretty decent chance of hindering a heck of a lot of other people.

I have a lot of neighbors and family who hate my dogs due to breed and think I am insane and a bad mother for having them. I try to bring people around and then I move on to ignoring/avoiding them if attempts at education are unsuccessful.

Strangely, I have found that I don't much like the haters personalities anyways, so no big loss. I haven't talked to my Grandmother in 2 years because of her frothing at the mouth breed hate. After some time and distance I realized I am happier this way for many reasons.

[LongaDonga]

lol, I guess I am lucky. My mom makes snide jabs at me from time to time, but she has owned 2 absolutely vicious cocker spaniels, so I have something to come back at her with. Her last jibe at me was "why don't you own something less dangerous?" I replied "well, at least people can PET my pit bulls & not get eaten alive!" lol.

Blessings ...

[Lxbsvksl]

I get this kind of stuff from my parents all the time. They raised GSDs when I was a kid, and they've never forgiven me for getting a 'pit bull.'

There's actually a term for the effect ignorance has on a person's thinking:

the Dunning-Kruger effect

It can be summed up like so:

"In the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt." - Bertrand Russell

[LongaDonga]

How unusual. You'd think GSD people would be more forgiving since in the '70s they went through the same thing we are.

When (or if) they start their foolishness you can inform them that GSDs & GSD mixes make up 77% of dog bites overall for a medium to large sized dog! The understand - a - bull dog bite page might help too - GSDs are pretty liberally represented there as biters. You might also point out that GSDs have a stronger bite than the APBT (Rottie 1st, GSD 2nd, APBT 3rd) & the APBT scores higher on the ATTS temperament test (84.3 APBT, 83.5 for GSD).

Blessings ...

[tevyrefficy]

I'm sorry your uncle started at you like that. The best thing you can do is be an advocate for the breed (like you already are) and anytime you can have your well trained, loving Pit Bull around him. That is the ONLY way I was able to change the minds of so many people close to me. NO ONE except me younger sister (20) liked them. Infact, when I got pregnant I was told to her rid of him so he didnt kill the baby. That was 5 years ago and now Cash is gone but everyone who was worried about him still tell me how he made them a pit bull lover and they cant believe they ever even doubted him.

[fudelholf]

My other uncle has a Pit mix and she is a wonderful dog and at first when they found out she was part pit they were concerned but she turned out to be the best dog they ever had. I know its hard for him to hear our familys opinions on the breed as well. i'm really sorry your family is giving you a hard time. what did your other uncle say to him?
my family are lovers of bulldog/bully breeds. and my parents grew up with ASTs and APBTs when they were kids.