American Pit Bull Terrier. F. Favorito
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VERSATILITY OF THE BREED
We have accepted unabashedly the fact that the Pit Bull as a breed is the most adept “game dog” ever to have been produced. We also know of the Pit Bull’s utilization as a “catch dog.”
Guard work and personal protection work are other areas in which the Pit Bull breed often excels. The Pit Bull generally makes a useful home guardian and personal protection dog, primarily because it is such a devoted and determined breed. It is not a dog that automatically protects whatever space it happens to be occupying or whatever person happens to be holding its leash. Instead, it is a breed that will often defend due to a sense of devotion to its family and its family’s property.
CATCH DOGS
The work of the catch dog is to run down, seize and hold free-range animals, such as free-range hogs, on large farms and ranches. The dog should be agile, powerful, fearless and determined enough to hold the free-range animal until the farmer or rancher can tie it. This kind of work often requires greater physical size than many Pit Bulls possess, but Pit Bulls on the upper end of the size scale, in the 65-pound and over range, serve very well as catch dogs.
THE BEST HOME FOR A PIT BULL
Before getting into the question of where to get your pup, we should consider the question of what types of homes are most appropriate for the Pit Bull breed. It is all too common these days for authors of breed books to present their breed as being ideal for every home. This is not true in any case and neither is it true in the case of the Pit Bull.
The Pit Bull is an ideal dog for an adult family with older (14 years and above) children and with someone at home most of the time. The size of the home is not as important—it can be large, with a fenced yard, or small. It can even be an apartment in the city. The important thing is that someone is often home and someone is willing to take the dogs on regular long walks. This describes the best of all possible situations for the Pit Bull.
The Pit Bull is an ideal pet for families with children over 14 years of age. The whole family should take part in the Pit Bull’s training and care from the very beginning.
A beautiful, alert, intelligent American Pit Bull Terrier in healthy, muscular condition.
Conversely, the worst situation for a Pit Bull is one in which a dog is raised by a young person who, when the dog is older, becomes too busy to spend much time with the dog. Worse still is that this young person has children when the dog is grown and these children end up spending time with a dog that doesn’t relate to them as true “members of the family.” This is how so many of the disasters we read about in the tabloids happen.
Not too long ago, a story erupted in all of the local newspapers in a particular American town. The story told of a Pit Bull that had killed and seriously mutilated the body of the young child it was living with “for no apparent reason.” The dog immediately was euthanized by the local authorities and the community began calling for a total ban on the ownership of Pit Bulls in the city.
The dog was examined to confirm its breed, and, unfortunately, it was without question a Pit Bull. But the authorities were questioned about the circumstances of the killing, and the details are as follows. You decide who or what is to blame for the child’s death.
A young unmarried woman who lived alone in an urban area had a baby. The father of the baby lived in an apartment of his own with his male Pit Bull. The man was a drug dealer. The dog was six years old and had never lived with anyone but this man. The dog had been fully and professionally attack-trained at a young age and occasional refresher lessons had been provided throughout its life.
When the woman’s baby was three months old, the father decided to move in with her and the child. She was so happy that the baby’s father would be moving in that she decided they should go out and celebrate. They had no babysitter for the three-month-old child, but the man assured the mother of the baby that the dog could be trusted to protect the home and its juvenile occupant in their absence. Besides, he said, they would only be out for a few hours.
The man brought the dog to the woman’s home, where the dog met the infant for the first time. It was locked in the apartment with the infant and the couple left the two alone. Neighbors said that within half an hour of the time that the couple left the apartment, the infant began to cry out loud. Shortly after that, the crying stopped and growling was heard. The infant was never seen alive again and the dog was put down the next day. The owner of the dog swore that the dog had never acted in such an unpredictable, irrational manner before. After all, the dog had lived with him, and if anyone was in a position to evaluate the temperament of the dog, that someone would have to be him. Furthermore, he said, the dog had been trained!
Would any breed of dog be appropriate for the situation I just described? Was that particular dog to blame for having murdered a child? Should the Pit Bull breed be held responsible in a situation like this? Is this breed a problem or does this breed currently suffer from the problem of irresponsible, and indeed downright stupid, ownership? Well, this is now for you to decide.
In any event, this was possibly the absolute worst environment for any Pit Bull to find itself living in. Again, the absolute best environment for the Pit Bull is with an adult family with grown children. Another fine situation for a Pit Bull is an adult couple with no children or a retired adult in need of some serious companionship.
Pit Bull owners often engage their dogs in games that utilize the dog’s agility and strong jaws.
OWNER SUITABILITY
Being the perfect Pit Bull owner involves understanding your dog and complying with certain breed demands, but it also involves selecting this breed because it fits into your own lifestyle. For example, if you own another dog and you know that your dogs will be unattended for a few hours each day, the Pit Bull may simply be the wrong breed for you. After all, fighting between your Pit Bull and other dogs you may meet on the street is easily discouraged. However, leaving two dogs alone for hours at a time, on a regular basis, with one of the two being a pup with the full knowledge that within a few years their lifestyles will be completely different than it is when they acquire the dog. Pit Bull, may be too much to ask of this breed. We must understand that when all is said and done, the Pit Bull is a fighting dog.
THE WRONG OWNER
The Pit Bull breed is not high on the list of dogs to be recommended for a family expecting children or for a situation in which the dog will be left alone for extended periods of time on a regular basis. Other than that, this is a fine family dog.
For example, if you are a young man who knows that within a few years you will be married and maybe have a child, this would be the wrong time to buy yourself a Pit Bull pup. This is an unfortunately common mistake. Too many young people make the decision to obtain a Pit Bull
If you are a working person or half of a working couple, and you desire a pet that you can leave alone all day, almost every day, a dog of any breed is really the wrong pet for you. There will be other times in your life for a dog, but this would seem not to be the right time.
Even if you are a person who simply hates to take a walk on a