"My Pit Bull Is Not A Breed Ambassador"

[RealPitBull]

Whoa. I have a lot to say on this.....

*for later*

www.dogster.com/lifestyle/my-pitbull-not-a-dog-breed-ambassador

[emilys]

I feel her pain.... but like it or not, we ARE breed ambassadors. The world doesn't give us a choice.

[pitbullmamaliz]

I agree with Emily. When I got baby Inara, I swore she'd be the most perfect dog ever because she and I were responsible for the fate of all pit bulls in the world. She humbled me quickly. ;-) However, I still strive for her to be the best dog SHE can be, which is, honestly, better than most of my friend's dogs. I still get stressed out sometimes, like during our therapy dog workshop when she (brace yourselves!) OMG barked at another dog. I was apologizing profusely when the trainer said, "she's a dog, they bark. Relax." Once I relaxed, Miss Sassy Pants relaxed. So I guess what I'm getting at is that sometimes our own expectations to have breed ambassadors can contribute to imperfect behavior.

[RealPitBull]

I 100% can empathize with the author in terms of her wanting to have a "perfect" dog, and a great breed ambassador, but Axle not quite living up to expectations. No one should have to feel like their dog isn't good enough or defective in some way because of behavioral problems, or worse-yet, NORMAL breed temperament traits (dog-sensitivity). I think it is wonderful that she is a) obviously a very responsible dog parent, and b) accepting of and acknowledging her dog's unique behavioral concerns.

The following is in NO way meant as a criticism of the blog writer, but this blog got me thinking about something that bums me out big time: that is, lack of a critical eye when viewing APBT temperament, and excuse-making for bad temperaments in Pit Bulls and any dogs miss-ID'd as such.

While I don't think it is fair to hold Pit Bulls up to supernaturally-high standards of behavior, I do think we have to recognize that our dogs' behavior has an impact on the breed as a whole, and we can never lose sight of this. Anyone not prepared to deal with the scrutinzing public eye, not prepared to go above and beyond to ensure their dog NEVER reflects poorly on the breed (i.e. never is involved in an altercation of any sort), should probably not get a Pit Bull.

Maybe I could be misinterpreting the blog (it IS afterall entitled "My Pit Bull is NOT a breed ambassador") but I did feel like her dog's apparent human fear and aggression issues were dismissed and in the end, implied "acceptable". There seems to be a greater and greater tolerance for human-aggro issues (not normal or acceptable) and less for dog-aggro issues (common in the breed). I think many breed newbies don't even have the pleasure of experience truely solid, real APBT temperament, nor have they learned about how human-aggression issues in this breed should be taken seriously. Very worrisome to me.

[pitbullmamaliz]

It is disappointing how many fearful/soft pit bulls we're seeing now. I'm sure it's because they're just being pumped out in record numbers for color or size or anything OTHER than temperament.

[RealPitBull]

Apr 2, 2013 12:06:22 GMT -5 pitbullmamaliz said:

It is disappointing how many fearful/soft pit bulls we're seeing now. I'm sure it's because they're just being pumped out in record numbers for color or size or anything OTHER than temperament.

Most definitely.

[melonie]

I don't think a dog needs to be a certified therapy dog, or cgc certified to be a good ambassador. Having a dog that enjoys meeting new people, and behaves well goes a long way at changing peoples minds.
Mine are not formally trained, but they are good dogs who I think give the breed a good name.
I have a neighbor that now has a pit mix and what looks like a pure bred pit. He keeps them in an outdoor pen, with not a lot of human interaction. The other day I came home from taking my dogs for a ride. He was outside with the pure bred. The dog was at the end of his leash acting like a wild trying to get to things he wanted. The owner just kept jerking at the leash, and yelling at the dog. I realized he was also calling for his other dog that was running off leash. I was trying to figure out the best way for me to get inside with my own dogs with out a scene.
My dogs knew there were other dogs present, and it had me worried. Finally I sucked it up and decided to take one dog inside at a time. I took Cleveland first since he would most likely be the one to react the worst. He completely ignored the scene across the street. He didn't even look in that direction. He just headed for the house. Winston ignored the dogs just the same as Cleveland did.
I felt really good about my dogs after that.

That guy is the type of owner who help give pit bulls a bad name. I feel badly for his dogs.

[Dave]

What I took away from this article was, while it's great the owner eventually accepted Axle as he was, that she was a bit misinformed, misguided and that she maybe misunderstood what an ambassador for the breed is. And isn't. I feel she came to the wrong conclusions on certain things, and she probably screwed the pooch up just a tad because of it. Maybe it stemmed from her pre-conceived notion of pit bulls and her desire to make the best Axle into dog she could.

My idea of a breed ambassador is a safe and manageable dog in public. Sure it's great if your dog accepts everyone and every animal, but if they don't, they should at least be able to be safely handled. That part comes from responsible training.

[RealPitBull]

Apr 2, 2013 13:16:34 GMT -5 Dave said:

What I took away from this article was, while it's great the owner eventually accepted Axle as he was, that she was a bit misinformed, misguided and that she maybe misunderstood what an ambassador for the breed is. And isn't. I feel she came to the wrong conclusions on certain things, and she probably screwed the pooch up just a tad because of it. Maybe it stemmed from her pre-conceived notion of pit bulls and her desire to make the best Axle into dog she could.

My idea of a breed ambassador is a safe and manageable dog in public. Sure it's great if your dog accepts everyone and every animal, but if they don't, they should at least be able to be safely handled. That part comes from responsible training.

Oh, love this post. I agree completely.

[suziriot]

Apr 2, 2013 13:16:34 GMT -5 Dave said:

What I took away from this article was, while it's great the owner eventually accepted Axle as he was, that she was a bit misinformed, misguided and that she maybe misunderstood what an ambassador for the breed is. And isn't. I feel she came to the wrong conclusions on certain things, and she probably screwed the pooch up just a tad because of it. Maybe it stemmed from her pre-conceived notion of pit bulls and her desire to make the best Axle into dog she could.

My idea of a breed ambassador is a safe and manageable dog in public. Sure it's great if your dog accepts everyone and every animal, but if they don't, they should at least be able to be safely handled. That part comes from responsible training.

Yep, totally agree Dave.