dogdaze

Pit bulls have a bad reputation for being unpredictable and aggressive. In most dog attack stories you read, the dog doing the attacking is a pit bull. But not all pit bulls are bad.

When my husband brought our pit bull, Lady Bird, home several years ago I was very leery. We had other much smaller dogs and I was afraid she would turn on them.

In her time with us, Lady has been the sweetest, most obedient dog we’ve had. She loves nothing more than to play with the other dogs. She acts like a puppy even though she’s now about 8 years old. Her best friend is Itty, a beautiful 7-year-old dachshund mix. They even share the same bed!

My husband found Lady almost starved to death and brought her home to get her back to health. We estimated that she was about a year old. She had had a litter of puppies and appeared to still be nursing them. We ran an ad in the paper to see if she belonged to anyone and after no one responded, we decided to get her healthy and then find her a good home. Because of her sweet disposition and gentle nature, we fell in love with her and made her part of our family.

I believe that dogs react to the way they are treated. If a dog is mistreated or abused then it will have a tendency to act out aggressively. I think that’s why some breeds, especially pit bulls, get a bad reputation. Once that reputation is in place, it’s hard to overcome.

I’m not advocating that you run out and get a pit bull because this breed is not for everyone. If you have children, you should be extra watchful of them when they are around any dog, not just pit bulls. Never leave your child unattended with any dog, even a family pet.

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