# Pit Bulls - and other Bull/Terrier breeds.



## Poisoned (Nov 17, 2012)

Well it started a discussion on another thread, but I didn't want it going off topic.

I'm a Pit Bull (APBT) fancier.. I currently do not own any. But I still work to educate and do what I can for the breed. 

Just wondering if there are any others on here, or anyone who has any questions or thoughts they'd like to share. I'll share photos of my old mutts a little later.


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## RosesRufflesandRats (Apr 25, 2013)

Hello! I'm in the same boat as you. I don't own any but I do love them and think it's sad that they are so maligned, as I've never met one that was mean. Thankfully, a lot of people are coming around.


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## poodlecrazy1 (Apr 14, 2013)

I love Pit Bulls. I was owned by one when I was a baby(lol,yes I meant it that way, I was his he was not mine). His name was T.J. and of course that was my very first word. He always protected me, one time I wondered out of the yard and down the road,T.J. followed me to keep me safe.A cop saw me and pulled over to get me but T.J. wouldn't let him,he growled and stood between me and the cop and would not stand down. Right as the cop pulled out his gun to shoot T.J my mom walked out, saw me and told the cop to stop. He was the best dog ever. I don't remember much of him but I know I loved him and he loved me. We had to put him to sleep from an enlarged heart. If I could I would get a Pit Bull,but after having a German Shepherd for 13 years I am so over dogs that shed lol. It's Poodles, and Poodles only for me. I know what you mean about educating people on the breed. I never get why people think it is the dog or breed that is bad it's not, its the people/owners that make them bad. I have the worst neighbor ever,he is such a piece of dirt (no he is worse than a piece of dirt), he gets Pit Bulls and makes them hate people by beating them all the time (he does this on purpose, he even beat one to death) so that they will protect him and his property, he doesn't believe in socializing them, so they are severely aggressive to each other and any other living thing. They even kill each other and other dogs. One of them killed my toy poodle and he did nothing (nor did animal control),but he did get another pit bull puppy and she ended up killing that puppy too,so he got mad and killed her, because he really liked that one puppy. So far since he has lived next to us (which hasn't been long) he has killed 5 Pit Bulls and buried them on his property. He just sickens me to death. I have tried so hard to make it so he can't own any animals anymore but have failed each time (I have to do everything anonymously because he has threatened us so much we worry he will do something,and you can't get very far with anything that way) He did get a load of fines put down on his house for his dog killing my dog though,but he won't pay them. I wish I could just steel his dogs one day,but the only future they have is to be put to sleep. It's a sad and depressing situation but I will try my hardest to make it so he can't own animals anymore. Sorry if I depressed anyone.


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## RosesRufflesandRats (Apr 25, 2013)

Poodlecrazy,

I don't even know what to say. First of all, I love your story of you and the pitbull. It's so sweet how protective dogs can be of their families. It's sad he had to be put to sleep.

Secondly, I could hardly read the story about your neighbour. People like that make me sick. I'm glad you shared though, because it's important to be reminded that there are people like that out there so we can try all the more to give animals all the love we can and avoid becoming anything close to that at all costs. I hope that the situation will one day be resolved.


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## poodlecrazy1 (Apr 14, 2013)

Thank you I'm glad you enjoyed the T.J. story. It was sad but unfortunately a necessary thing, the vet absolutely loved him and cried just as much as the family did. he also payed for a lot of his hospital bills. As for the neighbor story ya its a hard story to read,its hard to not be able to do much about it also. we pray that some day one of his dogs will have had enough and rip out his throat (which they can, they've already taken one of his fingers) I hope that didn't make me sound like a horrible person,but its true. I hope the situation will be resolved one day too.


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## Poisoned (Nov 17, 2012)

Irresponsible/bad owners are the only reason this breed is in trouble. They are also misidentified so much, and almost all bad American Bully breeders call their dogs Pit Bulls when they usually have guardian breeds mixed in, so they don't always act like an APBT.

None of these dogs were papered, so I can't say what else they may have been mixed with. However neither of the females looked anything but APBT, and neither Tyson or Roxy acted anything but APBT. 

Tyson: 
This is THE dog who changed my mind. I was twelve years old and terrified of anything I thought was a Pit Bull. But my love for animals made me overcome that when I saw a sick, cold, hungry, old dog with no shelter and nowhere clean to sit, no clean food, no good water.. I convinced his owners to let me walk him and care for him at their house, and first things I did were buy him food that wasn't wet and moldy, clean up his tie-out area, and get him a dog house filled with bedding so he could be warm. I walked to his house and took him out for walks every day, and just let him know someone loved him. His owners told me they were leaving and chances were he was getting put down, again I convinced them not to, and they moved and left him behind the house, where I still cared for him daily. Ring Dog Rescue helped me get him to a home, unfortunately it was an ignorant home that could have cost him his life, by leaving him, another Pit Bull mutt, and three cats loose in the house while nobody was home.. But, in the end he found his forever family and lived a few more happy years. 










Tink was a dog I adopted with my family from the SPCA because I educated myself on the breed, and that cost her and us a lot. I was convinced it was how you raise a dog, I never considered genetics. Dogs are going to have instincts that they were bred for. She was an amazing dog and I loved her more than life, she made me learn and be who I am today. Unfortunately her story is not uncommon. People bring Pit Bulls home thinking they'll act like a Labrador and accidents happen. APBTs are prone to be animal aggressive, just like a Beagle raised in Suburbia still has an instinct to scent and hunt, or a German Shepherd true to it's breed will have a strong herding and protective instinct. And I ignored that fact and it hurt everyone. 




Roxy belonged to a friend, I told them when they brought her home as a tiny wrinkly puppy they couldn't leave her with the other mutts when she was grown, and that they needed to educate themselves. They blew me off and once she hit adulthood, she acted like an APBT and could no longer coexist with the other female, and eventually the male. She spent seven months in a small crate there because she acted true to breed. They were about to put her down and I caved and said I would foster her.. Well I did for many months. And finally someone who seemed trustworthy came forward, long sad story short that _woman_ cost Roxy her life. Roxy died at the SPCA, alone - where she started off. Again, a very common story for a Pit Bull mutt these days. 

Roxy was wonderful, sweet, adoring dog who did nothing wrong except come into this world. She had no choice in who took her or that they refused to educate themselves and she suffered for a long time before dying of ignorance. And the saddest thing, is I think I'm the most heartbroken person over it. She was MY dog, no matter who owned her. She was my girl.


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## Poisoned (Nov 17, 2012)

> Tink was a dog I adopted with my family from the SPCA because I educated myself on the breed


BEFORE I educated myself* 


These are my current dogs. My other favorite breed is definitely the German Shepherd. When I have the room, and no little dog, then I will either rescue a Pit Bull mutt or I'll get a real APBT for work/show possibly.


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## LukeandSam'sMomma (May 19, 2013)

I love this post! All of your stories and vouches for pit bulls are SO amazing to hear, as a pit lover myself. I'm a rescuer, and Jack was a pit I rescued and fostered last year. I couldn't keep him (he was sadly not animal friendly) but I did save his life, and he saved mine. I brought him home Thursday, he was to be killed Friday. He'd been neglected to the point that I cried the day I met him. He didn't know his name, he was thin as all ****, and he wasn't housebroken or leash trained at all. They'd gotten him as a puppy, then trained him to be a guard dog. He was stuck outside in a 5x8 pen for the first three years of his life, before they decided he was a pain and dumped him in a kill shelter. Of course, no one would adopt an unsocialized, un-neutered, untrained pit who happened to also weigh 85 pounds (yeah, he's the biggest pure pit I've ever seen). So long story short, my smart boy was entirely housebroken, leash trained, and a perfectly behaved dog in only six months (after many destroyed couches, a few shots, a neuter, fights with society, discriminating episodes, and a thousand or so walks around the block on a toe strap and an anti-pull harness). The baby stole my whole heart, and I now have two tattoos for him. He's with a responsible family I handpicked, living it up on 7 full fenced in acres and a beyond loving home. He started me compaigning for pit rights and against discrimination. He changed my entire outlook on life, and most especially showed me that pit bulls can be the best dogs one can EVER find. I could go on about him forever. <3 Here's my boy. 








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## RosesRufflesandRats (Apr 25, 2013)

LukeandSam'sMomma,

He's so beautiful, and his story is very touching. I'm glad you gave him a chance!


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## Poisoned (Nov 17, 2012)

L&SMomma, thanks for sharing, he was beautiful! And very lucky. However, I want to point out he is not an APBT. But most likely an American Bully. Most people don't even know they exist, because most breeders sell them as APBTs, when they are a mix of several breeds to create a bigger, thicker, dog bred for looks. He actually is nigh identical to an acquaintance's American Bully, I'll share his picture below. 
Also, most blue dogs are going to be American Bullies, no real APBT breeder breeds for color like that, blue is a dilute black, like in rats, and the constant breeding blue to blue causes health issues. 

6S5A4135 by kamdon1, on Flickr



American Bullies are awesome dogs! But we (the Pit Bull and good Bully people) are working to make more people educated on the differences, and on the breed itself. 

Here is a video showing APBTs, Bullies, SBTs, and ASTs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cams0iaqQbM


And a fun video, Which also shows the different breeds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xeQyVHEr_A


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## LukeandSam'sMomma (May 19, 2013)

Thank you so much, RosesRufflesandRats!  

Poisoned, 

See, you are the first person I've spoken to on the subject that explained it in a way I actually could understand! I knew of American Bullies, but man doing the research alone is HARD! Especially when a rescue gives you a dog and tells you it's a breed that it really isn't, when it's such a crucial piece of this dog and his breed's history. Information is so contradicting, and I really appreciate you helping me to actually have that down! That's one more thing, I can't stand backyard breeders or people who enable them.  It's so wrong for these babies, and not cool! I knew that too, about how many problems are caused breeding blue to blue. I read that blue dogs tend to be very aggressive exactly because of this, and that when you're dealing with aggressive dog, a very high percent of them are blue and it is genetic. 

Anyhow, thank you for this post! I'm glad that Jack at least did open my eyes to APBT's predicament, and I've met so many since that have only pushed me further to push for ALL APBT and bully breeds. Only love will help people to see the truth and stop hurting dogs!


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