vaaahlerie: I have some thoughts on this. Some dogs have different survival instincts from others, based on the history of their breeds and what challenges their ancestors faced. This can mean that they are predisposed to being aggressive if provoked — more so than other breeds. I think even the owners of these breeds know that, but won’t admit it because it is already impossible to defend your dog’s nature when being challenged by an adamant, elitist pit bull hater. The only pit bulls I have ever met have been sweet as pie, rub-my-belly face-lickers. That is because they were raised by people who understand the enormous responsibility that comes with caring for and shaping the life of a living, breathing animal. If a dog — any dog — is raised in a calm, happy environment by people who love him, he will grow up calm and happy. He will never need to tap into those instincts. You know your golden retriever can rip your face off with those teeth, right? But he doesn’t. He would never consider it. Because he’s never had to. Neither have his ancestors. The aggressive, vicious dogs you read about in the news are either A) raised by people who want a tough-looking dog by their side so they can appear tough themselves, B) raised for malicious purposes by people who couldn’t care less about the value of a life, or C) grew up as strays and had nothing to rely on but those trusty ol’ survival instincts passed down to them by their ancestors. It’s true — the breeds that people have considered “dangerous” throughout the years are not really more dangerous than any other breed, if you leave us stupid humans out of the equation. We take a mean-looking breed, make people think of it as a symbol of bad-assness, and voila! Everyone wants one, and they are being raised by the bazillions for the SOLE PURPOSE of being mean (so they live up to the hype). These poor dogs have become nothing more than a fashion accessory in some circles. A pit bull in the hands of a wannabe-bad-ass is no better than a chihuahua with pink toenails in the hands of Paris Hilton. It, at once, gives the breed a bad name and skyrockets it to popularity. Such a bad recipe. So now we have a bunch of dogs that were raised by assholes to be assholes, and everybody’s whining and pointing the finger at the dogs. Way to go, America. If you’re gonna have a dog, PLEASE consider what that means. You’re taking responsibility for another life. I mean, how well are you handling your own?

vaaahlerie:

I have some thoughts on this.

Some dogs have different survival instincts from others, based on the history of their breeds and what challenges their ancestors faced. This can mean that they are predisposed to being aggressive if provoked — more so than other breeds.

I think even the owners of these breeds know that, but won’t admit it because it is already impossible to defend your dog’s nature when being challenged by an adamant, elitist pit bull hater.

The only pit bulls I have ever met have been sweet as pie, rub-my-belly face-lickers. That is because they were raised by people who understand the enormous responsibility that comes with caring for and shaping the life of a living, breathing animal. If a dog — any dog — is raised in a calm, happy environment by people who love him, he will grow up calm and happy. He will never need to tap into those instincts. You know your golden retriever can rip your face off with those teeth, right? But he doesn’t. He would never consider it. Because he’s never had to. Neither have his ancestors.

The aggressive, vicious dogs you read about in the news are either A) raised by people who want a tough-looking dog by their side so they can appear tough themselves, B) raised for malicious purposes by people who couldn’t care less about the value of a life, or C) grew up as strays and had nothing to rely on but those trusty ol’ survival instincts passed down to them by their ancestors.

It’s true — the breeds that people have considered “dangerous” throughout the years are not really more dangerous than any other breed, if you leave us stupid humans out of the equation. We take a mean-looking breed, make people think of it as a symbol of bad-assness, and voila! Everyone wants one, and they are being raised by the bazillions for the SOLE PURPOSE of being mean (so they live up to the hype). These poor dogs have become nothing more than a fashion accessory in some circles. A pit bull in the hands of a wannabe-bad-ass is no better than a chihuahua with pink toenails in the hands of Paris Hilton. It, at once, gives the breed a bad name and skyrockets it to popularity. Such a bad recipe.

So now we have a bunch of dogs that were raised by assholes to be assholes, and everybody’s whining and pointing the finger at the dogs. Way to go, America.

If you’re gonna have a dog, PLEASE consider what that means. You’re taking responsibility for another life. I mean, how well are you handling your own?