Getting to Know Pit Bulls By Darlene Zagata
When you mention pit bulls to people you may get varied reactions. Are these dogs really vicious or did they just get a bad reputation based on fearful exaggeration? While it may be true that some pit bulls do seem to be mean or unusually aggressive, unless you know the history of the animal, you can't be certain why the dog is behaving so aggressively.
Animals may exhibit mean or aggressive behavior due to abuse. Pit Bulls that are outwardly aggressive toward people may do so because they have been trained to be mean-tempered. Dogs that have been trained and used for fighting purposes are naturally going to be aggressive toward people and other pets. Pit Bulls do tend to be aggressive toward other dogs but they are not the only breed to react in an adverse manner to others of their own species.
They are loving, intelligent animals. If a dog, including pit bulls are raised from the time they are puppies in a loving home where they get plenty of social interaction and a balanced routine of play, discipline and proper training they will be loving, protective members of the family.
Dogs can sometimes show aggression for various reasons such as fear, illness or injury. Most people fear pit bulls because of reported attacks by these dogs. Admittedly, there have been cases of people being bitten or attacked, but these are not the only dogs to bite or attack someone. Such incidences can occur with any breed of dog and in fact, such attacks have taken place by many different types of dogs. Needless to say, if dog owners were more responsible in caring for and controlling their pets, more bites and attacks could be prevented.
The bite of a large dog can be more dangerous simply because it is a large dog and it can do more damage than a smaller one but small dogs bite too. My mother's Chihuahua bit me and a few years ago my son was bitten by a friend's cocker spaniel. The point is that any dog can bite someone. Biting or attacking is certainly not exclusive to pit bulls.
Society has taken some unfortunate happenings and used them to give all pit bulls a bad reputation. Many of these dogs are unable to find a good home because people fear them. If taken to a shelter the chances are pretty likely that the dog will be euthanized which is unfortunate because many good dogs are lost unnecessarily. These dogs deserve a fair chance. Don't jump to conclusions as soon as someone mentions a pit bull. Raised in a loving family they can be good, dependable dogs.
Society always seems to focus on the bad rather than the good. We hear horror stories repeated for weeks when a dog attack occurs but we don't often hear stories repeated about dogs that save their owners' lives or the life of a child. It may be cliché but there really are two sides to every story.
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