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 Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2006 6:55 pm
I was walking my dog Buddy, a Black labrador-Pit Bull Terrier cross down the street a few weeks ago. He doesn't walk as far as he used to, and doesn't jog for too long, but that's expected-- he's a good 10 years old! We were coming back from the store--the people there know us and the dog and usually have a treat or so for Buddy.Well, we were walking back, and this guy in a truck drove by. As he was going by us, he leans out and yells that my dog ("that pit monster") should be muzzled, or better yet he didn't have a right to live. It was more clipped and corse, but that was the gist of it ._. The kicker is... he threw a bottle at us too. It missed and hit the ground in front of us, but I was a little shocked. We've lived at the same address for several years. We've had Buddy ten of those years, and walked him quite frequently. This was the only problem we ever really had with him. Maybe that's why I was so surprised.
It's funny...he favor the Lab "looks"-- he's a bit leaner than the average APBT, his coat's all black except little white 'boots', a white bib, and light brindle striping. He has the big paws of a lab, and his muzzle is a bit longer than a Pittie's, though his ears are fairly shorter than a lab. But he looks more like a lab-mutt (he's registered with the state as a Lab mix to prevent any pit-related bias), or so I thought. [See for yourself: http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/299/sm4gz.png] He's a cutie and a real sweetheart. It makes me sad people are so ignorantly abrasive.
Maine has a clause in our state law to prevent BSL, but there's nothing that can protect ignorance. I'm not the only one who's had walk problems...there was a women I saw walking her AmStaf and GSD, the Staffie being muzzled. I approached her and inquired about the Staffie's breed and why he had a muzzle. She told me that he was a sweetie, but he didn't do well with strange dogs. "As much as I hate to cage his face," she told me "it's for his saftey. He won't fight unless provoked, but if he does, regardless of who started it...you can bet Zeus would be blamed." She went on to say how she's had people walk in a wide arc around her or cross the street to avoid her while she was walking Zeus. People see the muzzle and think 'aggressive dog' not 'dog aggressive'.
Anyways, sorry about the rant, just relating something that happened to me (in a roundabout way, it was that event that led me to join this guild, but that's a long story best saved for another time).
-Janika, the other (female) side of this account.
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Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2006 8:04 pm
Heck, I've even had people worry about my dog when I walked my male Terrier cross on a Halti. It's not a muzzle, it very obviously does not prevent him biting (he usually walks down the street with his mouth wide open, panting) but just the thought that OMG THE DOG HAS SOMETHING ON HIS MOUTH, HE MUST BE VICIOUS! is usually enough to make people worry.
To be honest, the anti-Pit stigma and ignorance is one of the reasons I'm not particularly interested in owning a Pit Bull in the future. It depresses me, but I would very much not like to have random people yell at me about how they hate my dog. (The other reasons I don't want one have to do with personality compatibility and the fact that I think longer-legged, more streamlined body types are more attractive. I'm leaning towards a Dobie for the most part at the moment. For fairly similar reasons, I do not want a Lab or Golden.)
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Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2006 9:47 pm
My dog is a thirty-three pound (supposed to be 22) terrier mix, and has to wear a body collar instead of a regular one due to a 'collapsed trachea'. He had done good with a regular collar until recently, but earlier this year he was coughing and wheezing nearly continuously so we switched. He's been doing much better now that he has no pressure on his throat.
Anyway, on with the story:
Yesterday (I think) I was walking my dog. This guy was walking towards us, not a big deal ("Lucky heads up" *brings closer to my side so that the man doesn't have to walk on the boulevard*), only I guess the guy thought it was a big deal. He pointed to the yard we were passing, said... something... (he had a very heavy African accent), then went onto the yard (which meant around bushes) to pass us. Wow. He was afraid of my dog!
It was probably a phobia or something, but I'm sure the body collar didn't help in his mind. I think using anything other than the normal collar gives the impression that "something's wrong with this dog".
If my dog had been wearing a regular collar, I'm sure the man would've been okay merely passing on the boulevard.
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Posted: Sat Apr 15, 2006 8:03 am
Stuff like that has never happened to us. We have a german shepard/lab mix so most people think he's friendly. He is, but he gets nervous about strange people, if they approch him quickly.
People didn't seem to care when we were using a halti(I think it was that) muzzle thing. It was more for better control though. He likes to pull a bit on the lesh. I didn't see any difference in how people reacted to my dog when he had it on.
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Posted: Sat Apr 15, 2006 8:12 am
It's crazy how biased some people are. It just wowed me because after a decade with no problems, you tend to drop your guard.
In the end, I still love Pittie and Pittie-crisses. I grew up around them from a young age-- my dad had two. There was a big one (oversized due to a glandular problem) named Rastass that could run just as fast backwards as it could frontwards, and a highly smart dog named Louie that lived with us for years. Rastass passed away early on due to his problem, but Louie was around for a good chunk of my life. He was fire trained-- if a kid had a match or lighter, he'd take it away. He come up, nudge your hands a bit and then gentle as you please, take it from your hands. He even bit the cherries off cigarettes and the ends of sparklers. xd He was also gun trained....if someone had a gun and held it in a threatening manner...well, he didn't very much like it. it would start him barking and growling. Thankfully, he was a good judge of character...the training dad must have put into him had to have been extensive. But damn, was that a good dog. He even let us dress him up-- we have a picture of him wearing a pair of glasses with a cig hanging out of his mouth somewhere. He was just so mellow and so good with kids. We were devastated when he finally passed away due to old age.
Our dog now is (obvuiously) a APBT cross...and we love him. I love the Pit-style dogs-- their personality, their loyalty...I love them. the only reason i'm iffy on getting one isn't as much the discrimination as it is the fact they tend to be dog aggressive and I'm the type that likes more than one dog, with maybe a cat. Maybe when I get older (I'm 18 now) my view will change a bit. I DO want one at some point in my life, though. But they are certainly not the dog for everyone-- you need to know about the breed, and assess whether they match you or not. I can understand why some people may not want one.
But Sola, Dobes, are very nice dogs. My uncle's had a few. They used to have a nasty rep, but thankfully it's starting to peter out. They are a good breed for knowledgable types.
Ah, sorry to hear about the 'collapsed tracea' thing, Pistil. Poor dog. But sometimes body collars/harnasses are an acceptable solution to troubles like that. Geh. But who knows, it could have been a phobia. Some people just don't understand. Hrm.
ASLO
How lucky you are, Kitty! I guess some areas are lower for breed bias or perhaps certain breeds manage to escape. I've wqlked my dog a few more time recently without trouble, though I'm admittedly more watchful now...
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Posted: Sat Apr 15, 2006 11:24 am
Kitty Menain Stuff like that has never happened to us. We have a german shepard/lab mix so most people think he's friendly. He is, but he gets nervous about strange people, if they approch him quickly. People didn't seem to care when we were using a halti(I think it was that) muzzle thing. It was more for better control though. He likes to pull a bit on the lesh. I didn't see any difference in how people reacted to my dog when he had it on. Haltis aren't muzzles, though; the dog can open its mouth, eat, drink, bite, and bark. The ONLY thing a Halti is good for is to get a little more control of the dog's head and stop it from pulling. I've used muzzles and Haltis before (my older JRT must be muzzled when having his nails clipped) and I can assure you that they are not at all equivelant.
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Posted: Sat Apr 15, 2006 4:46 pm
My dog only needs to be muzzled when he goes to the vet...nail clipping, shots, or a checkup...he's very excitable and to prevent anything that may happen, the vet muzzles him. But he can slip them with ease. xd The vet says he's the only dog she's known to be able to do that. We actually need to give him half a tranq to mellow him out before he goes. oo;;
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Posted: Sat Apr 15, 2006 5:39 pm
it's funny. My Miniature Poodle is an evil little thing so when I walk her I have to use a muzzle and body collar to keep her under control. So, I was walking her a few days ago and this woman approaches me saying how sweet my dog looked. She reached down to pet her and my dog snarled, the woman was scared. She walked off.
The next day I took my Rottie for a walk, using a light pink diamond collar with a pink leash no muzzle or anything. The same woman comes near me, and when she sees my baby she walks to the other side of the street.
I confronted her the next day and asked why she veered away from my rottie and not my poodle and she said, "Because Rotties Are mean." I found that funny and started laughing I told her that my Rottie is kinder than my poodle and she said no your poodle was and angel and left. Stereotypes are so mean.
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Posted: Sat Apr 15, 2006 7:29 pm
It's dumb how even when confronted with information like yours, people still insist big dog = bad and little dog = no problem. I've met some mean dogs of varying sizes, and good dogs of varying sizes too, but people always insist the bigger ones are badder first. I guess that's why responsivble dog trainers have to work so hard to propagate that not all dogs are bad.
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Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2006 11:39 pm
Kokonotsu Ah, sorry to hear about the 'collapsed tracea' thing, Pistil. Poor dog. But sometimes body collars/harnasses are an acceptable solution to troubles like that. Geh. But who knows, it could have been a phobia. Some people just don't understand. Hrm. Thanks. He's had it since we got him (8 years ago from the local humane society). We thought he just had kennel cough and when it 'didn't go away' (he did have kennel cough, but even after he got over it he continued coughing) we mentioned it to our vet. She didn't do a good job explaining it, but mainly his trachea somehow became damaged and will 'collapse' under certain stimuli (excitement, running, pulling on the leash too much, etc.) At first we couldn't even touch his throat without him coughing for five minutes. Even now he'll start coughing if he over-scratches himself. Our walk today was much better. He had two bikes pass right beside him, and a lady pass right beside me (who whistled at my dog o.O). But the last person we passed, a guy (not the same one), found it necessary to step onto someone's yard to pass us (on my side). Do they think that I've trained him to defend me against males or something? I'm starting to wonder. >< I still say the body collar has something to do with it. It's not exactly discrete (my dog is a light golden while the collar is blue) so people can see it from at least half a block away. Most dogs I see with body collars are of a large breed and are highly excitable. The main objective of the collar is to 'have some control over the dog' as many of the owners put it. So maybe this is the norm of what people think a body collar is for?
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Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2006 11:51 pm
Kokonotsu It's dumb how even when confronted with information like yours, people still insist big dog = bad and little dog = no problem. I've met some mean dogs of varying sizes, and good dogs of varying sizes too, but people always insist the bigger ones are badder first. I guess that's why responsivble dog trainers have to work so hard to propagate that not all dogs are bad. Most dog owners around here admit to the opposite: smaller dogs = more likely to bite/be aggressive, larger dogs = intimidate by being present/barking, therefore less aggressive because they don't need to be. I've only met two large dogs who were aggressive, but they were trained that way. I'd like to quote the owner of these dogs here: "Get you dog away from the fence! My dog can jump it easily and have your dog for a snack!" (when they only had the German Shepard) And yes, the dog COULD jump the fence. The next summer my mom and I were walking our dog and the German Shepard - who was sitting on the front steps of her house after jumping the fence - came and threatened my dog. Luckily, my moms threats were more persuasive and she went back to the steps (owner didn't get her dog until we were half a block away) Then there was the medium? dog who attacked mine, but was absolutely fine with people. And the little tiny squirt of a dog (I forget what it was, but it was a miniature something ><) who cornered my sister in the kitchen and wouldn't let her pass. Ooh, another owner quote! "She doesn't like anything that's bigger than she is"
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Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 1:44 am
Pistil Kokonotsu Ah, sorry to hear about the 'collapsed tracea' thing, Pistil. Poor dog. But sometimes body collars/harnasses are an acceptable solution to troubles like that. Geh. But who knows, it could have been a phobia. Some people just don't understand. Hrm. Thanks. He's had it since we got him (8 years ago from the local humane society). We thought he just had kennel cough and when it 'didn't go away' (he did have kennel cough, but even after he got over it he continued coughing) we mentioned it to our vet. She didn't do a good job explaining it, but mainly his trachea somehow became damaged and will 'collapse' under certain stimuli (excitement, running, pulling on the leash too much, etc.) At first we couldn't even touch his throat without him coughing for five minutes. Even now he'll start coughing if he over-scratches himself. Our walk today was much better. He had two bikes pass right beside him, and a lady pass right beside me (who whistled at my dog o.O). But the last person we passed, a guy (not the same one), found it necessary to step onto someone's yard to pass us (on my side). Do they think that I've trained him to defend me against males or something? I'm starting to wonder. >< I still say the body collar has something to do with it. It's not exactly discrete (my dog is a light golden while the collar is blue) so people can see it from at least half a block away. Most dogs I see with body collars are of a large breed and are highly excitable. The main objective of the collar is to 'have some control over the dog' as many of the owners put it. So maybe this is the norm of what people think a body collar is for? I'd suggest a Halti as an alternative, except people tend to mistake it as a muzzle. Have you tried using a martingale collar? It was originally designed especially for dogs with sensitive necks, like greyhounds.
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Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 7:56 am
Pistil- Maybe it is the body collar...people would look at Louie (dad's pit bull) oddly when he was walked on the harnass. Maybe it was the harnass or maybe it was because he was a pit, I'm not sure as it happened awhile back before I was exactly aware of the anti-pit stigmata.
And it's funny...even when people say little dogs are more yappy and prone to biting, they don't care. People here will treat a little yappy-snappy dog with no problem, but they see a big dog-- even one that's not snappy-- with a wary eye. Maybe it's because bigger dog = bigger bite. I can understand the nervousness there, but if the dog's minding it's own business and just...existing, then why get so nervous? I guess, in a way, I do sort of understand, but I still think it's stupid. xp
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Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 11:40 am
Sola Catella Pistil Kokonotsu Ah, sorry to hear about the 'collapsed tracea' thing, Pistil. Poor dog. But sometimes body collars/harnasses are an acceptable solution to troubles like that. Geh. But who knows, it could have been a phobia. Some people just don't understand. Hrm. Thanks. He's had it since we got him (8 years ago from the local humane society). We thought he just had kennel cough and when it 'didn't go away' (he did have kennel cough, but even after he got over it he continued coughing) we mentioned it to our vet. She didn't do a good job explaining it, but mainly his trachea somehow became damaged and will 'collapse' under certain stimuli (excitement, running, pulling on the leash too much, etc.) At first we couldn't even touch his throat without him coughing for five minutes. Even now he'll start coughing if he over-scratches himself. Our walk today was much better. He had two bikes pass right beside him, and a lady pass right beside me (who whistled at my dog o.O). But the last person we passed, a guy (not the same one), found it necessary to step onto someone's yard to pass us (on my side). Do they think that I've trained him to defend me against males or something? I'm starting to wonder. >< I still say the body collar has something to do with it. It's not exactly discrete (my dog is a light golden while the collar is blue) so people can see it from at least half a block away. Most dogs I see with body collars are of a large breed and are highly excitable. The main objective of the collar is to 'have some control over the dog' as many of the owners put it. So maybe this is the norm of what people think a body collar is for? I'd suggest a Halti as an alternative, except people tend to mistake it as a muzzle. Have you tried using a martingale collar? It was originally designed especially for dogs with sensitive necks, like greyhounds. We actually had a halti for him, but he went ballistic when we put the leash onto it. It was the only time he refused to go for a walk (we got as far as down the front steps, where he promptly dug his feet in and pulled in an attempt to get it off, which only made him go even more crazy ><) I'd try it again, but it's been missing for years. XP A martingale collar would still put pressure on his neck when he pulls, which he does quite often as he is mostly terrier and our neighborhood has plenty of rabbits and squirrels. XD With the body collar, the pressure is at least lower down onto his chest instead of his neck. Thanks for the suggestions though.
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Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 8:31 am
That was really, really unecessary on that man's part. I can't believe people can let their ignorance make them look so stupid. On the other hand, you are lucky that was your first encounter wink and hopefully, it will be the last smile .
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