Pit Bulls- agencies that rehabilitate fighting dogs - Page 3

 Thank you, James...for one of the only intelligent, knowledgeable posts I have ever read on Pits (real Pits) on this forum!

That's exactly what I was trying to say. Why would they need rehab??? That's kind of akin to saying a GSD would need rehab after bitework training to be adopted into a "normal" home. They shouldn't need rehab for doing what they naturally do. Not the best analogy, I admit, but it's all I could think of. 

My experience w/gamebred Pits temperament is very much the same as yours. I have never had one who was what I'd call dog aggressive (but I haven't had that many and have always had other dogs and selected against those dogs) but you had to very diligently watch that the switch wasn't flipped by a dog who didn't have any idea what they were about to get themselves into. Rough play is a no-no. Besides that, I cannot fathom what a stable dog would need to be "rehabilitated" after fighting if placed in a home w/common sense.

As I said in my initial post, it's probable that these dogs seized are not truly game Pits, are improperly bred, raised, trained, and treated. Regardless, I think proper treatment and common sense is about the best that can be done for them. 

That beeing said adopting out a pit that has been faught to singal dog homes is no different in adopting out other breeds and stating they will not be good for homes with children, cats, dominant males, or other specifications.

I'm not sure if i understand this, because you say once the trigger is "on" it's hard to subdue.  A dog-aggressive APBT from fighting lines is going to be diffrent than a "dog aggressive", say, GSD or Yorkie.  Otherwise, good points, thanks for sharing.  I think about news stories I read or hear about a dog that gets loose and kills another dog, that is what worries me.  No man is an island, and no dog can be guaranteed to live in a 100% managed environment...

+10000 for your post James. Sadly, I think pits are a misunderstood breed. But even sadder, is often times they are placed in the hands of some of the worst people in society. People that don't understand what they were initially bred for, and want to live their life vicariously through a "tough" dog. I believe dogs are born physical...some are just more physical than others. Is this bad?...nope...just different.

@doberdoodle, I do agree you must take precaution in keeping your dog from getting loose.  I know I will stir up some PETA advocates but I truthfully I only kept my pits on chains or in the house. I did not allow them to free range in a fenced in area with out being supervised. ( I've seen some chew through the standard fence wire)

Anybody's loose dog is a liability. I currently have a neutered, very loving, very nervy dutch shepherd at my house that I believe if he was to get loose and cornerd by somebody he would bite. I would be held responsible and liable. (looking for a better home for him as we speak so please pm if you are interested, lol, but serious)

All pits come from game lines (some just further in the pedigree than others) but if you go back 15-20 years all will have game dogs in their pedigree. So anybody with a pit bull should be knowledgeable of some of the game characteristics. Kind of like some of the herding instincts in GSD's. Even show lines will still show some nipping at the ankles and other herding characteristics, eventhough you will have to go over 50 years in some pedigrees to see any herding dogs.

@jenni, there a lot of people who have and will breed unstable pits. Historically I agree game pits were also very stable and none man aggressive, but an unstable Pit is a great threat

. In recent years I've seen an increase in Pitts being used as "Guard dogs or PPD" I've seen pits do sleeve work and enjoyed it, but many you have to be mindful of too much agitation because they will begin naturally to thrash and shake, and the handler loses that control factor. (dog won't release, nor listen) 

Quite a few nervy non stabe pits are now getting bred as PPD or guard dogs. (I guess kind of like the GSD) but any type of man aggression is far from the original breed standard.

(a little off subject) Sorry GSD owner, but the APBT will always be close to heart

 

 

James and Jenni,
All the posts are excellent and informative, especially for those unfamiliar with the true nature of these dogs, but, couldn't "rehab" mean things like acclimating the dogs to living in a home environment, potty training the dogs, obedience training and other similar things? These are things that most of these dogs probably have not been exposed to by the previous idiots that owned them.

I think that the point Jen made about about proper care and treatment of any stable Pit or Am Staff couldn't be more true. You pretty much end up with the most loyal, loving dog you could ever hope for.

 Sure, those things could factor into it but the question was about so-called "special agencies" who strictly rehabilitate fighting dogs. Do you need some sort of degree in potty-training a fighting dog? LOL  That's what I thought was so funny and bizarre. 

Their needs in the regards you mention would be the same as any neglected dog not used to home/family life. 

 James, very true. I would be so pessimistic as to say MOST of the "Pit Bulls" you see being seized or running loose are not what we could call well-bred Pit Bulls. I just shake my head when I hear what some of these morons are using as their selection criteria for their fighting dogs. These dogs couldn't fight their way out of a wet paper bag, but these soul-lacking scumbags will just abuse them until they get the desired result or "meanness".  Then they take the most unstable of the bunch and breed them together, inbreeding much of the time (which is totally fine if you know what you're doing, but they are inbreeding on the most undesirable traits you can imagine) and now they have their own "line."  Then when they go to jail for not paying child support since the late 90's, they give the dogs away to a buddy who just got out of jail and the cycle continues. These same experts don't recognize my dogs as Pit Bulls half the time. 

But I digress....getting way off topic. My point was that a (stable dog who just liked to fight) really shouldn't need any particular rehab for doing something that comes naturally, and if they do, it's a result of the lives they led w/the idiots they were taken from, not because of the fighting itself. So, the "special agency" thing seemed kind of silly to me. I have no doubt that a stolen dog used as a bait dog, for example ( because you need these to get these dogs to fight, lol) may have some special needs related to trauma, but that would be the exception, IMHO.

i agree with your last post jenni

my first comments were because we both know these are
by  no means well bred gamedogs and therefore probably
should not be rehabbed and adopted out.

no pics yet?

btw i have been considering getting a little bulldog bitch
for in the house.
how big do you expect your new little girl to be?35 lbs or so?

 She's tiny, Buckeye. I don't know what she weighs now at 9 mos. but I would guess around 27lbs or so. I would expect her to stay around 30...which I love. She has excellent conformation (check out the linebreeding back a few generations- some good Chinaman stuff in there for conformation) and super temperament....she's a true bulldog in every sense. If there were good homes for Pits out there, I'd breed her w/Simon (whose papers I finally got! Yay!). But it's pretty bleak out there for Pits, so I don't think breeding them is the best idea;-) With my luck they'd have 12, lol. 

I will get some new pics, but here's one my bf snapped in the snow the other day to give you an idea of size. Remember, Simon is only about 54lbs....you can see how small she is.