Posted on 04/17/2010 3:57:54 PM PDT by Chet 99
Updated: April 14, 2010
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. - Tuesday’s dog fighting bust is just the latest incident surrounding the controversial breed.
These pit bulls were trained to fight and now face an uncertain future.
People who own the breed say that’s not their nature.
One group is determined to prove that image isn’t everything. A whiff and a sniff—just like any other dog.
Only these are the much maligned pit bull.
Their owners say they are just like any other dog.
“They’re full of life, full of fun,” said Lee Nolan, founder of The Guardians Pit Bull Owners Club. “They’re hilarious to watch.“ Lee Nolan started The Guardians Pit Bull Owners Club two years ago, in part to change the way people think about the breed.
The problem is dog fighting busts like the one in Duplin County and a few months ago in Greene County involved pit bulls—dogs that were trained to attack.
“It hurts a lot because these dogs are wonderful animals and I hate to see anything happen to them,“ said Samantha Tye, a pit bull owner and trainer. It’s not clear what will happen to the pit bulls recovered in the Duplin County dog fighting bust. These fans of the breed say they deserve a second chance. “They’re naturally born to be a protector,” Nolan said. “So, you’re brainwashing the dog to be a fighter, to fight for its life all the time. So, it’s always on that fight or flight, do or die, kill or be killed mode.“ Dog trainers like Samantha Tye say pit bulls trained to fight can change their behavior.
However, it takes time.
Up to a year and a half and there are no guarantees.
“I’ve had dogs that have been fighting dogs that are terrified of everything, just sit in a corner and cower because they’re just, they were destroyed,“ Tye said.
In the world of pit bulls, there are lovers and there are fighters.
While technically the same species, they can be a breed apart.
I use a choke chain, so I’m not opposed to their use, but even I, a lowly non-professional dog trainer with no stock dog, bomb dog, dope dog, or attack dog training experience, know what a prong collar is, and why and how they are used.
Even *I*, a truly horrible, 2 year ex-Marine, know the breed and history of the War Dogs of Guam.
Even *I* know that not every dog needs a 300 word command vocabulary in order to be useful.
Even *I* know that canine instinct craves guidance and control.
My question is, what kind of dog trainer are you that all of this seems to escape you?
Military Occupational (Operational?) Specialty, I think.
Mine was “Computer Geek”.
I may be wrong, but that sure looks like Ronald Reagan, and Margaret Thatcher at the White House. Don't remember him having a Bouvier, though.
Military Occupational Specialty.
I was a 95B (before they changed the nomenclature) Military Police
Mrs shibumi was a 62F Combat Engineer & 05K Military Intelligence (she flew intel recon missions over East Berlin during the Cold War)
4066; they ‘phased out’ that MOS shortly after my discharge. I like to think I ruined it for everyone. :-)
THAT is extremely cool, by the way.
She’s way more cool than me, in several ways.
The true foundation of an enduring relationship!
Yup, it’s Ronnie and his “gift” Bouvier des Flandres, “Lucky”.
It was ginormous pup who dragged him and Nancy around like kites for several months until they sent it off to his CA ranch.
They then got the little dog...a Cavalier, I think.
Thank yew.
No! No, really no!
It is I who am forever in your debt.
Wow.
There’s a pandemic of smartassitis tonight, isn’t there?
:-P
Why, no!
My posting to you is only of the utmost sincerity!
(assumes groveling submissive posture in the presence of the Canine She-Goddess)
A prong collar is not ‘more than’ a choke chain; it’s designed to work more efficiently with gentler stimulation. If you try to choke a dog with a prong collar, it comes apart; the links were not made to hold under extreme stress because they work so well with a light touch.
I’m hesitant to bring my personal dog(trained with a choke chain) into this, as there is no way for me to prove my claims, but I assure you that he does not pull. He walks at my side with a loose leash past cats, dogs, people, food vendors, delicious bits of rabbit poo...He’s dropped squirrels and possums that were seconds from death at a single command; he’s not an attack dog, and I don’t bother teaching him tricks, but he is extremely well behaved. If you can take what I say at face value, please explain to me how I, a rank amateur, can achieve these results with a breed you deem un-trainable?
ROFL!!!
He was a young’un, not a senior citizen.
Poor carpenters are always cussing out their hammers.
*Magick*!
I KNEW it! All those ‘Buffy’ reruns have given me special powers!
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