A Lover, Not a Fighter ( A Rant)

There is no bad car either only bad drivers

I rather like that. I suppose with the right vet, Callie could be identified as a Staffie or bull mastiff. I know there's a big group in the UK trying to overturn the dangerous dog act. I mean I saw a young man in the park the other day. There was a house I reported last year and wouldn't be surprised if he was connected to them in some way.

The house is filled with young men and bullies of various ages. The house is ready to fall down around them...I feel I know what's going on there. The child I saw had an intact male bull on a spiked collar. At the very least backyard breeders, when there are so many destroyed weekly. Breeding them for what...

There's a lot of money to be had in an intact male and potential "gaming dogs". Then again there are even more like my Callie found wandering down the highway. I would pass a law making neutering male bullies and mastiffs mandatory. At least in an area like we live in. Too many in shelters to breed yet more, it's sad.
 

Thought you might like these gentle rescue mixes Fur, more pics here.


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I started doing baby talk from the first picture...doggies and duckies, such adorableness!!! I can see Callie nesting with them too. As long as he didn't accidently step on one he'd be a happy boy. That's what people don't see if they've never owned the breed. You'll be laying there on the couch with them...all four feet in the air and they're snoring in your arms...and yes they have an impressive set of choppers...but otherwise just a big sleepy baby, easygoing as can be.
 
fureverywhere said:
I started doing baby talk from the first picture...doggies and duckies, such adorableness!!! I can see Callie nesting with them too. As long as he didn't accidently step on one he'd be a happy boy. That's what people don't see if they've never owned the breed. You'll be laying there on the couch with them...all four feet in the air and they're snoring in your arms...and yes they have an impressive set of choppers...but otherwise just a big sleepy baby, easygoing as can be.
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My Bonnie LOVES to sleep on her back with all her feet in the air. She is SO cute when she does that-- I'm sure she knows that when she does that she's irresistible and if I see her doing that I'm sure to come along and give her lots of pets on her tummy.

She has impressive choppers, too, but then so do most big dogs. Bonnie is so gentle I can take food from her mouth (like something she isn't supposed to have) and all I get is a pitiful look from her.
 
Callie too, somebody taught him really strictly about hands and food. Unless you all but something his mouth he doesn't make a move to take it. Taking things out too, he has the grody habit of collecting used tissues to munch, but never a word he just looks all guilty. Something else adorable when they're in deep sleep, the droopy lips. Actually his whole face wrinkles...in sleep he looks like a Shar-Pei:)

If I had known, one human child and the rest fur kids...
 
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Bonnie is such a big mush and SO grateful to be treated well that it just melts my heart. She had been kept outside in her former life and is SO delighted to be able to sleep on the couch with her blankie or on her doggie beds. After her supper she goes and lays on the couch and waits for me to come and give her some pets and put her blankie over her. She lets out a long sigh and drops off to doggie sleep.
 
I am one that is of two minds on this subject as my cats were personally attacked sitting inside their own home looking out the screen door. They are strickly indoor kitties.

Fortunately the attack was unsuccessful. It was totally unprovoked, the dog spotted the cats and made a dash and while it did take the screen out the surrounding metal casing stopped the dog from completely running through. I screamed, the owner came running over to grab the dog and tragedy was averted.

This same dog also killed an outdoor kitty. All neighbors breathed a sigh of relief when they moved away.

On the other hand I do know people with a pit that is as lovable as the pictures here and they also have a cat and both dog and cat get along just fine.

It's the unpredictable nature that baffles me.
 
Oy Warrigal if somebody confuses a Border Collie with a bully their eyesight is very poor indeed! Good heavens I've had both and there is no comparison at all. Border Collies are one of the most beautiful dogs ever IMHO. Also one of the most intelligent possibly more so than the average human. They need lots of exercise and a job to do or they can be very destructive. My Ferdie was obsessed with electrical wires...even when I sprayed them with bitter apple they were even more tempting.

She was blessed she didn't light herself up more than once. Whipped me into the best shape of my life, a half hour walk in 8 minutes tops. Unfortunately I was working full time and going to school. The kids were afraid of her. She was rehomed to a working farm and much happier I'm sure.

It's the unpredictable nature that baffles me.

Any breed can be unpredictable off leash. That's prey drive, not nature. It's also why it's so important for any dog to be either leashed or contained in a secure yard. My Sophie is so fear aggressive with other animals that we only walk after dark where we can be alone. She's kept on a short leash away from shadows, bushes, under cars. If I can't see clearly where she's walking she isn't going there. Callie has zero prey drive even with most toys. But he's a strong guy, the only time he runs free is our house or backyard.
 
I haven't found pits to be unpredictable -- I mean their behavior varies from dog to dog, as with any breed, and of course is affected by the way they have been treated. But individual dogs, not unpredictable at all -- I mean they do NOT switch from being a big mush to being dangerously enraged.
 
It was funny today in a sad sort of way. I'm babysitting a beagle for a week. I never met him before but what a sweetie. Old and hard of hearing but his human came with us on our first walk together. "Careful he pulls"...yep my dogs pull to dislocated shoulder or you're laying flat out on the pavement.
Such a good boy, we came upon another dog and I called back "How is he with other dogs???!!!!" Oh just fine. "How about strange men????" Oh he wagged his tail. But they are not unpredictable. Sophie hates other dogs and Callie is leery of strange human males coming near me. It's not unpredictable. I know it will happen and take precautions.
 
Fur, what would you say makes some dogs unpredictable? Not talking specific breeds, just in general.

I admit that the incident has left me leery about dogs and I never was before. As a result I feel like a dog senses my tension now when meeting me and I avoid contact. Suggestions.
 
There is a passage of a book " In a Sunburned Country" by Bill Bryson. Basically he is being trailed by two feral dogs in the outback. He doesn't like dogs in general and apparently they detest him in return. He writes on to suggest that small lap dogs will see him and suddenly start foaming and throwing themselves at the window. A funny chapter for a dog lover, terrifying for everyone else. Dogs especially have evolved to read humans very well. We can fake emotion with other humans but not dogs.

They can tell by your expression, your voice, even your body fragrance what you're feeling at a given moment. Maybe they don't have the human understanding but happy, fearful, angry, sad...they sense it. I'm a bit leery of small dogs. They seem to be most likely to bark and show teeth. Of course if they're dancing with joy and a helicopter tail, then no worries. But I'll walk up to the biggest pup, eyes slightly averted and smiling and most of the time they go all licky waggy right there.

I think dogs can be like humans in that some of them might not be playing with a full deck. Maybe they had past abuse or abandonment issues. Maybe it's some neurological thing that would respond to medication. Sophie would be considered unpredictable if someone else tried to care for her. But we know all her triggers and have spent almost ten years working her through them. We adopted her as an adult with no history so we can only guess how she got that way.

Perhaps you could desensitize yourself gradually. Maybe a stroll through a dog friendly pet shop. Just chatting up the easygoing pups and their owners. Maybe an adoption event and give some well deserved loving to dogs in need of a home. Who knows, you might find someone special waiting for you. It took me fifty years to find my forever dog:)
 
Fur, thanks for the advice and I will try. I have always liked dogs, just one bad incident should not throw someone off. But I can't have a dog of my own, my one cat has never taken to dogs, tried to bring one in once and he deliberately looked at me and pooped on the floor, strained and forced it out. He was showing me. Cats can have their issues too :)
 
Oh the kits get over it too. Mr. Foote stayed upstairs for a full month. No dogs in his house. Then he met Sophie nose to nose. He dislocated his back foot permanently, but hump a dog? Yeaass.
 
Something else that can make bullies a misunderstood breed is they do have a high energy play style. I do take Callie to the dog park from time to time. But I size up every dog that approaches him. The ideal playmate for him is a female bulldog, possibly a bit younger and smaller. They are strong pups so you have to choose their friends carefully. When Sophie and Callie play in the living room you hear the growls and snaps and footfalls like elephants...but they're having a blast.

I found a cute video of a bully and Jack Russell playing the same way. For those who don't Jack Russell dogs...they're mastiffs in twenty pound bodies, great little dogs:D:D:D
 
Rescue Pitbull Gets His Own Rescue Kitty to Love

Thought you'd like this Fur. More here.

Bubba, the 6-year-old rescue pit bull, has always been obsessed with cats. It started when his human mom Rebecca Pizzello got him from a shelter in Phoenix, Arizona when he was just 3 months old.

Her roommate was caring for a litter of kittens and Bubba just clicked with them. Finally, after 6 years of waiting, Pizzello surprised her mellow pit with his very own kitten.“I always knew he’d love having one of his own, but I wanted to wait until we moved to New York City [from Los Angeles] this year,” Pizzello told The Dodo.

She got the tiny ginger kitten from a shelter, too. “The fact that Bubba and Rue have identical coloring still blows my mind…I knew Bubba would be filled with joy the second we walked in the door and boy was I right.”

After only a few hours at her new home, the kitten fell asleep on Bubba. “Rue thinks Bubba is her mom and Bubba loves it,” Pizzello added. “He bathes her like a baby and snuggles close to her to make her comfortable.”

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That looks just like my baby boy. He scares adult humans with his face. But human women, kids, other dogs, cats, even squirrels. No problem.
 
Rescues all love each other and are one big happy family. Full article and more pictures HERE.


I bet it never occurred to you that dogs, cats, and ducklings could get along, huh? Well, turns out not only do they get along, but they’re inseparable!

Meet Roxy, Edith, Mia, Rose, Jake, Gertrude and Donald – the most adorable family of seven that you’ll ever see. They were adopted by Kasey Boggs and her husband, who have been rescuing animals for a decade.

Their current family of seven is made up of four dogs, a cat, and two ducklings, and they’re all inseparable. They go on adventures every weekend, take the cutest photos ever, then post them to Instagram.

The animals love each other so much, they won’t even take pictures separately. “Whenever I have to take a pic of two or three of them, I put the others in a different room. If I try to do it in front of them, they will come together, because they are so used to being together”, Boggs told Barkpost. Too cute!


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So cute! I hear all the hubbub about the pits and there is no denying if they become aggressive and bite someone, they can do some damage. They are also quite strong. The thought on the back of my mind is I wonder if they are being bred with other aggressive pits. My stepson had one, a female, but she was the sweetest dog I've ever seen and very submissive. He sent her to obedience school and she listened (took commands) quite well. Reminds me of the gray one in your photo. Our shelters are loaded with pits and many look pure, some are mixed. There is quite a stigma and people have become afraid of them, so why do they continue to breed them? Unless you are intending to breed, have them neutered. I think it is a shame to have to put these animals down, especially if they haven't attacked anyone. It may be more of a people problem, they are so cute as puppies but once grown, they need training, attention and love.
 
It was interesting in a book I was reading they were talking about breeders who try to produce " game dogs", that is dogs who will fight. Of course the majority of these lugnuts don't know the first thing about breeding or genetics. But in theory if you took two dogs...prize fighters and majorly dog aggressive...their puppies would not be automatically winning dogs. Then breed them a few more generations and the genes of the first two dogs are completely diluted. You can't breed a dog with the intention of making it a killer. Humans have been known to torture dogs until they finally lash out at the abuse. But even those dogs can be re-socialized with the right care. There are countless stories of dog fighting operations being broken up. Animal control will swoop down to free the dogs...only to be greeted by licking and wagging. The bully breeds are among the most people friendly dogs you'll ever meet.
 

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