Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Hi, I’m Zeus. Can you guess what kind of dog I am? 'The Truth About Pit Bulls
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January 5, 2011 at 8:03 pm #597535
funkietooParticipantVery good article from Kitsap Humane Society about dog breeds, plus myths,misconceptions and history of bully breeds.
January 5, 2011 at 8:18 pm #713198
JoBParticipantfunkitoo..
thank you for posting this
I have posted guard dog signs at my home to protect my dogs from the stupidity of people
even though i post signs
i don’t allow the dogs unsupervised in the front yard
because too many people read the sign
and say something about how cute the dogs are
and then put their hand over the gate inviting a bite:(
sometimes i wish my two were pitbulls
the fear factor alone would make it easier to deal with the human behavior that could get my dogs labeled dangerous.
public ignorance is a far greater threat to public safety than any single breed of dog.
January 5, 2011 at 10:32 pm #713199
DPMemberpublic ignorance is a far greater threat to public safety than any single breed of dog.
Jo, you are the owner of a highly idiosyncratic breed, the Shiba Inu, so I can certainly see how you would see things this way. They’re snappy dogs (as you once told me), but they’re also very cute and cuddly-looking dogs, and I’m afraid cuteness is always going to overrule common sense and warning signs when it comes to human beings.
When people see a dog like this, their instinct tells them to cuddle it, no matter how much you try to warn them off.
This is how dogs, cats, and other animals got domesticated in the first place. Wild animals that had mutations for certain characteristics (curly tails, floppy ears, big eyes) were selected by humans for breeding precisely because those are the characteristics humans find attractive in animals.
So what happens when breeders decide to develop a dog with those characteristics (like the Shiba) but fail to breed for gentleness at the same time?
Problems, obviously.
I’m truly sorry that you’re in this dilemma with your Shiba, but I can’t think of any way out of it, short of keeping the dog out of sight or muzzling it, neither of which seems particularly humane.
But please don’t blame people for being powerfully attracted to your dog. It’s not their fault, any more than it’s the fault of the dog for snapping at them.
January 5, 2011 at 11:15 pm #713200
JoBParticipantDP
i don’t blame people for being attracted to my dog..
i blame people for not listening when i tell them that the dog will bite them if they try to pet it…
i blame people for not listening when i tell them my dogs don’t play well with others…
i blame people for walking their dogs off leash and them expecting me.. the woman walking her dogs on leash.. to protect their dogs from mine when they come too close.
i could never blame anyone for falling in love with a shiba.
they are incredibly intelligent expressive dogs..
maybe too intelligent. maybe too expressive.. and definately dogs that require a fair amount of attention…
but cute as a button.
January 5, 2011 at 11:20 pm #713201
JoBParticipantDP…
btw…
i got an accidental lesson in dogs with my shibas.
i thought i was a really good dog trainer..
and i probably am since i have rehabilitated just about every kind of abused “problem” dog.
i even rehabilitated pit bulls bred and raised to fight.
but shibas humbled me.
i can rehabilitate an abused fighting pit bull in about 6 months… well enough to comfortably take them in public on a loose leash and rehome them in homes with young children.
3+ years later my shibas are still training me ;->
breeding isn’t always the problem with problem dogs. I can trace the bloodlines back on both dogs and they were bred to be companion dogs .. not guard dogs.
But both dogs were abused in some pretty nasty ways. Yuki was isolated and teased or tormented depending on how you look at it. Mochi was physically abused.. we found her pelvis had been recently broken after we adopted her.
Both dogs respond well to training and have great hearts..
but i wouldn’t trust either of them off leash in public…
not because they aren’t well trained…
but because the dogs and people around them aren’t:(
January 6, 2011 at 12:00 am #713202
JanSParticipantthese two dogs, Yuki and Mochi, are some of the most beautiful dogs I’ve ever seen. I’ve been getting in the car with them for..2 years now? And I still haven’t petted them. Mochi tolerates me. Yuki no longer wants to bite my head off..and he’s not able to get near me when I’m with them. I simply love them (and respect them) from a distance…I’m counting that they can read what’s in my eyes :) Yes, I’d love to cuddle with them…I’ll stick to my Leo (my cat, for those who don’t know him)….hehehe
January 6, 2011 at 12:27 am #713203
DPMemberWell, anyway, you’re doing good things in the world, Jo. I’ve got to hand it to anyone who rehabilitates an abused animal or comforts an abused child.
People who do this kind of work see the best (and worst) things human beings are capable of.
January 6, 2011 at 12:33 am #713204
JoBParticipantJanuary 6, 2011 at 5:14 am #713205
GenHillOneParticipantThis is a very good article, thank you for posting it.
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