A question I am commonly ask is if these dogs are so trust worthy and stable, Why do I always hear of them attacking? This is a fair question and you should educate yourself so you can correctly answer this question.

First - be honest. One fact we must admit - if a American Pit Bull Terrier (never refer to our dogs as pit bull) attacks you they have the power and tenacity to inflict much more damage than the average breed of equal or even larger size. This being said lets explore some other aspects.

To the defense of the American Pit Bull Terrier. Why do we hear of so many attacks?

1. The words Pit Bull Attack brings in the money. Put it on the front of a newspaper and see how many copies are left in the coin machines at the end of the day. If the local new channel on tv runs a story , how many times do they advertise it? For two hours or more each and every commercial break will have at least one ad about it. Newspapers and tv stations are businesses, they want to make a profit. If the management can not turn a profit, they will be fired and new management hired. Do you think it matters to these people if the dogs were actual cross bred or in lots of cases altogether different breeds? How did they determine the true linage of the dogs in question. There is a sheet that goes around on the internet and different magazines with 20 photos of 20 different breeds. It says - can you pick the American Pit Bull Terrier out. With all my years experience I was able to correctly narrow it to three, and guessed the last. I’ve spent my life with these dogs and that was the best I could do. Most people I showed it to thought half the dogs on there were APBT’s.

2. The APBT history was as a fighting dog. When this is said most people assume this means they are vicious. Are Beagles vicious because they were bred to hunt rabbits? Are Labrador Retrievers vicious because they were bred for duck hunt? The fact that an APBT will very likely grow to be dog aggressive, especially when challenged is something we must accept and be prepared to provide him a safe and secure home to prevent problems. Most will only fight when challenged and gladly play with pups and others, but should never be left unattended just in case. The temperament of the true APBT is like Petie from The Little Rascals. The American Temperament Testing Society tested 122 different breeds of dogs. The test included such things as pull his tail, pull his ears, roll him over, take his food away, take his toy, mess with his feet, etc. The test was given in two parts, the first with the owner and the second with a complete stranger. Out of 122 breeds where do you think the APBT ranked. Second most stable dog with the most stable temperament. Only the Labrador Retriever did better overall. The APBT - more stable than a Poodle, Boxer, Beagle and so on and so on. Why? As a fighting dog people aggression has been intentionally bred out of them for hundreds of years. You have to be able to handle this dog, while in the midst of battle. When told, a handler had to be able to safely go to his dog and pry his mouth open and carry the dog to his corner. Ever been hunting? Try to grab a coon dog or beagle or any other breed of dog while it is fighting, I’ll watch you then give you a ride to the hospital. Furthermore, if a breeder bred a great fighting dog and decided to sell it, who would by a dog that would bite the new owner? Breeders for centuries have culled dogs on the spot that showed people aggressive tendencies. Petie is honestly the true temperament of the APBT when properly raised and socialized.

3. The APBT attracts a lot of the very worst people to own them. Just like handguns. My father has pistols that belonged to my Grandfather and those handguns have been safely owned and stored for 20 years. You could go and take that same handgun and put in the hands of some ghetto thug and it would be the most dangerous thing imaginable. People want to ban the APBT because of a very few people, for the safety of the public. Drunk drivers kill thousands of people a year. Why don’t we outlaw automobiles and alcohol. It is not legal to have vicious dogs and allow them to roam. There are laws in place to remove those vicious dogs and put the owners in jail. Why do you need to ban the APBT? Law enforcement and animal control simply need to enforce the laws we have.

4. Unfortunately, in most of the attacks you hear about the truth of what triggered it will never be known. Either the owner was too ignorant to recognize and correct behaviour that was a clearly dangerous, or something happened to trigger the attack. Below I give two stories that will help you understand what I am talking about. Some of the names have be changed to keep identies private.

A good friend of mine had wanted a dog after seeing the temperament of mine. So I gave Jon Doe a littermate sister to Taylor’s “Bad Ass Bitch” by the name of Sadie. Jon is a great friend and it was my pleasure to give him a dog. He proudly raised this dog and even had her trained not to kill his chickens, she would not let them eat her food but otherwise left them alone. She was friendly to all - men, women and kids.

Sometime after Sadie was about four years old Jon called me and said Sadie had charged and tried to bite Nathan. Nathan was a young teen at the time, a very good boy who I could not picture doing anything wrong to set her off. This really caught me off guard, Sadie’s breeding was one I have repeated several time and the temperament is always perfect. I rode over to Jon’s and told Nathan to walk through Sadie’s spot. Her body language told me she would bite him. I was in shock. I questioned Nathan, have you hit her, teased her or anything else? No. I believe him. I go to Jon and talk with him. Something has happened but what? We both are puzzled.

About a week and a half later on Sunday afternoon Jon calls me. He tells me what happened. After church every other Sunday his family comes over. He notices the 3 grandsons disappear as soon as they get there. Jon slips on some camouflage and cuts through the woods to see what they are up to. Three boys, 7 - 10 years of age standing there hitting Sadie with rocks as hard as they can go. She screams in pain, runs away as best she can on her chain. When she can take no more she charges to protect herself. When she hit’s the end of the chain trying to get to them - CRACK - all three boys hit across the head with tobacco sticks. Now we are country people, and needless to say those boys probably didn’t sit comfortable for a day or two. But what now? Many consider what I did wrong. But Sadie was ruined. If she got loose, there was a very real possibility she could kill a child.

I cried like a baby when I shot her. I cried three paper towels wet as I buried her. I get teary eyed thinking about it. I did the right thing. The threat to a child was there and no dog was worth that. But I ask you - If her collar had broke and she attacked one of those boys - Do you think the whole story would have been in the news or simply Pit Bull Attacks Child?

Sweet Pea was a very special dog I house raised. I had her house broken and well trained off lead. I retired her from the breeding program and decided if I could find the right home I would place her so she could get undevided attention. Jay was the right home. By my experience with Sweet Pea, I knew she was animal aggressive but if supervised you could tell her no, unless the other dog attacked. Jay had been around my kennel several times and loved Sweet Pea. I felt it necessary to give him a parting stick and teach im how to use it just in case. A parting stick is like a large letter opener made of wood or plastic that you use to help separate to dogs that have gotten into it. The purpose of the stick is simple. If a dog has a hold and you pull or yank it you rip large holes in what ever he holds onto. The stick allows you to loosen his grip and minimize the damage.

Jay had Pea several months and loved her to death. One day he was under his mother’s car working on it and Pea was hanging out. Jay’s mother is elderly and didn’t think before letting out her little housedog. Jay was watching and the little dog ran up to Pea growling and snarling. Jay raised his voice and yelled NO at Pea, her hair was on end, but she just stood there with that little dog growling in her face. Jay was starting out from under the car and the little dog jumped up and bit Pea, piercing her lip in four places. Well you know what happened. Pea grabs this little dog by the head and bites down so hard Jay said it looked like the little dogs eyes where going to pop out. In a panic to save the little dog, he forgot the lesson of the parting stick and charges over and tries to open her mouth with his fingers. Well you know what happens when you stick your fingers in a dogs mouth while it is fighting. After getting his fingers torn up he finally gets a screwdriver and manages to get Pea loose. Jay was not mad at Pea for what she did to the little dog or to his fingers. He remembered the stick but had to act quick so to save his moms little dog. Now the story goes around that Pea attacked an innocent little dog and then Jay for trying to stop her. Luckily for Pea, she had a honest owner who told the truth. But you see how easily the story could get twisted. Pea resisted the urge to fight this little dog even when it was in her face growling and snapping, obeying Jay’s command. Only when attacked did she fight. But to hear the little old ladies around town tell it she was a vicious dog that just turned.