Pit Bulls Are a Nice, Honest Dog Breed

Pit bulls are nice, honest. I'm not just saying that because I have one. It's common knowledge. Well, almost. You see, there's no genetic predisposition that makes a pit bull more fierce than any other animal. It is human conditioning of the animal. In other words, it's how you raise them.

Any dog can be raised to be cruel and made into a guard dog. Some however are more fiercer looking, have sharper teeth or other traits that make them a more domineering force for the duty. German Shepards, Pit Bulls, Bull dogs and other are made to be this way. They're not born mean. When we adopted my puppy we were told that he was a German Shepard mix. They weren't sure what he was mixed with. He looked the least like a German Shepard out of his six siblings and was definitely the runt. It didn't matter to us what he was, we instantly loved him and couldn't wait the forty-hours for the backyard inspection and adoption papers to go through until he could come home. It wasn't until a few weeks later when he had put on ten pounds and grown a couple inches that his body shape started indicating what he was, a pit bull. We weren't scared at all.

My husband's best friend has a full blood blue pit bull. She is the sweetest thing. They got her when she was six weeks old and had seen her for the first time when she was only a few days old. She is just like a little lab. She's playful and loving. She wants to constantly play fetch and be pet. She cuddles up with her parents at night and needs to be loved. Nothing about her is the typical pit bull besides the way she looks. And even then, she really doesn't look fierce. I mean, how does a sun-kissed tan dog wagging its tail and kissing you look fierce?

Our little boy is a bundle of joy. Yes, I talk about him like he's a child because well, he is my child. He sleeps in our bed with us, takes showers with us and even watches television with us. He too likes to play fetch, play with children (he's very good with kids and loves them to death), and be loved. He is an attention-whore. He's so spoiled and he knows it. The only problem we have with him is the fact he's too smart. He knows what's going on and about to happen before it does so he's one step ahead of everything. Or he watches us use things and learns how they work then helps himself to whatever he pleases. But he's not fierce. He's not mean. There's no cruel and angry disposition in him. It's all about how you raise them, just like children.

Pit bulls only have a bad rap because they've been given one by publicized horror stories of attacks. What the news doesn't mention is those were guard dogs. A Cocker Spaniel could be trained to be a vicious attack dog but you don't hear about that because it's less common. Cocker Spaniels are much smaller, they don't have the same presence. It's just a stereotype for dogs, much like the one attributed to Great White Sharks or sharks in general. They don't attack that often, in reality, it's really rare. Heck there are more deaths from sting rays and Portuguese Man-of-War attacks than sharks. But that fact is conveniently left out. So next time you hear someone talk about pit bulls or you see one on the street don't tremble with fear. Looks can be deceiving.