Group blog project? "You are being lied to."

[RealPitBull]

Michele and I started this blog but I thought it would be even better if we worked on it as a group/got feedback from ya'll. I'm specifically looking for more "myths" to add as well as resources. I want to try to keep this from merely an opinion piece and make it reference-full.

Whoever contributes will get credit (we can use your full name or your forum name, or we can simply post that the blog is "by members of the RPB Forum".

What do you think, guys?

<i>“The great enemy of truth is very often not the lie--deliberate, contrived and dishonest--but the myth--persistent, persuasive and unrealistic. Too often we hold fast to the cliches of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”

? <b>John F. Kennedy </b></i>

<P>When The Real Pit Bull, Inc first started, anti-Pit Bull propaganda ran rampant. Myths and misinformation like, "Pit Bulls turn on their owners", "fighting dogs cannot be rehabilitated", "Pit Bulls cannot get along with other animals", "only criminals and low lives own Pit Bulls", and more, ran rampant. Thanks to the work of so many pro-Pit Bull people, many of these myths have been all but squashed. And although certain persistent mythology persists (we still routinely here "Pit Bulls' jaws lock", even from PRO-Pit Bull people), we mostly can rest easy at night knowing that the truth is out there, readily available to those who seek it out, and it definitely seems to be outweighing the anti-Pit Bull propaganda.

<P>However we've noticed a disturbing trend that's created a whole new slew of myths. These myths are presented under the guise of Pit Bull advocacy, but in fact, they do their own sort of damage to the breed we know and love. These are "feel good" sound bites that seem to being working for Pit Bulls but they don't actually reflect reality. Because such New Age Myths have become so rampant, we felt the need to address them here. While this blog may not be popular, it is the TRUTH and we are happy to be able to address these NEW issues. Because reality and truth is what we are most concerned with and we feel it is the only tactic that truly works in the long-term favor of the dogs.

<P>Before we begin dispelling myths, it's important to note how and why these myths came about. They were a sort of backlash to the anti-Pit Bull myths that were used to ban the breed across the country and in various other parts of the world. Since mythology is largely what drove breed specific legislation (BSL) to begin with, it makes sense that the pendulum would eventually swing in the extreme opposite direction and mythology would be used to FIGHT BSL and overturn laws. The truth about these dogs, while not anywhere near as dark as some would have you believe, is not the cute and fluffy pink cloud that hovers over the dogs nowadays. We await the pendulum swinging back to center. The question is, when the pendulum swings center, will the breed be safe? Is this breed capable of existing without sugar-coating who and what it is? The fact of the matter is that whether lies of the pro- or anti- variety are propagated, the breed HAS survived and continues to survive. The truth winning out over the mythos can only further cement the Pit Bull in society and create more knowledgeable, more responsible Pit Bull guardians.

<P>Myth # 1 - "There is no such thing as a Pit Bull."

<P>Myth # 2 - "It is impossible to identify a Pit Bull."

<P>Myth # 3 - "'Pit Bull' is the term used to describe a variety of breeds."

<P>Myth # 4 - "Pit Bulls are no more dog aggressive than any other breed."

<P>Myth # 5 - "Pit Bulls don't need to be advocated for above other breeds, they are just dogs."

<P>Myth # 6 - "Focusing on anything negative with regard to Pit Bulls hurts the breed."

[emilys]

"when the legend becomes fact, print the legend" ..........

[suziriot]

So. Much. Awesome!

[melonie]

One of the ones that has really pissed me off lately in my neck of the woods is that certain "types" of people want/like/own pit bulls.
The myth they believe, (insert any racist word to describe a human being), are the ones who own these dogs.

I really enjoyed being called white trash with out actually being called white trash.

[RealPitBull]

I gotta get to work on this. I'll post to get feedback from you guys.

[RealPitBull]

"There is no such thing as a Pit Bull."

This is a claim that has it's roots in the fact that people have always been confused by the American Pit Bull Terrier and related breeds. Registry name changes and closely related breeds that look almost identical confuse the matter. There are three main breeds that get called "pit bulls": The American PIT BULL Terrier (APBT), the American Staffordshire Terrier (AmStaff - which is the American Kennel Club version of the APBT, the same dog with only a name change), and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier (SBT), which is very closely related to, but a different breed from, the first two mentioned.

AmStaffs and SBTs are relatively rare. You are not likely to run into either on the street. When you encounter a Pit Bull on the street it is likely an American Pit Bull Terrier. The shortened name/nickname for this breed has always been Pit Bull. AmStaffs can technically also be called Pit Bulls due to the fact that they are the same dogs as the APBT, only different in name then the majority of APBTs nowadays which are mainly breed for pet and show.

SBTs are NOT Pit Bulls although they are very closely related. However, they always get lumped in under the heading "pit bull".

Breed specific legislation uses the term "pit bull" to classify the APBT, the AmStaff, and the SBT, and their mixes, although SBT people do NOT call their dogs "pit bulls", and the term is incorrectly used when applied to SBTs.

Now, where do we get to this nonsense the there is "no such thing as a pit bull"? Clearly there is. Just type "pit bull" into google.com and see what comes up. The term has been used extensively to refer to three breeds/types, and two of those types (technically the same breed) can absolutely be called "pit bulls". Because they ARE PIT BULLS! Pit Bull is a nickname just like "Berner, Rottie, Dobe, Golden, Lab, etc". Although those are not official breed names, we all know what those nicknames refer to. And although some people will erroneously call a mix or the wrong breed one of those nicknames, it doesn't negate the fact that let's say, Labs aka Labrador Retrievers DO exist.

[RealPitBull]

"It is impossible to identify a Pit Bull."

This is a sticky subject because it IS difficult to identify a Pit Bull since they come in such a wide variety of shapes and sizes, and there are so many Pit Bull mixes out there now, too. However to say it is impossible and that no one can identify a Pit Bull is pretty off base. Almost every day of every week is a dog show where dogs step into a ring and a judge identifies the dogs as the correct breed. Is it "cheating" because the judge KNOWS the dogs are registered as their breed in the applicable purebred dog registry? You can say that the judge has some foreknowledge. But the point is that if a Lab walked into the ring by mistake, or a Bull Terrier, or a Patterdale Terrier, or anything else, the judge would recognize it as the WRONG BREED.

Now let's get to rescue, the typical stratosphere in which the line "It is impossible to identify a Pit Bull" reigns. Let's just talk about the absurdity of this claim. First off, you have "pit bull" rescues saying they cannot identify the breed they identify as the one they are rescuing. Second of all, they claim to educate on a breed they are a) saying doesn't exist (see #1 above) and b) they cannot even identify. Now, to give credit where credit is do, at least SOME "pit bull" rescues are now claiming that since they cannot identify the breed, they won't call the dogs they pull into their rescue "pit bulls". Some don't identify breed at all, some make up names like "American Rescue Dog" and versions thereof. The funny thing is that these rescues, while refusing to ID the breed, are still focusing on a dog that looks and acts a certain way. They are grouping dogs together based on traits that are very specific and suspiciously correlate to the APBT standard. Now, you can group a bunch of dogs together and call them whatever you want, but it won't change what they REALLY are, and denial isn't a good look for rescues working to supposedly help a specific breed, whether or not they call it such.

Rescues of all different breeds across the country every day pull dogs they have identified as their breed of choice. Can anyone guarantee that a dog with an unknown history is a purebred dog of a specific breed? OF course not! However, experts in their breed can very craftily identify physical and behavioral traits that make up their breed, and then make an educated guess as to whether or not a dog in question is a specific breed. It happens every day. It is how purebred dog rescues work and succeed. To say that Pit Bull (APBT) rescue people are the only ones in existence that cannot recognize their own breed is just insulting. And the people saying this are the actual Pit Bull rescuers. Absurd! If you cannot recognize your own breed perhaps doing rescue work isn't in anyone's best interests.

[emilys]

these are great!
I suggest adding to the "can't identify" piece, a reference to the Voith study "experts can't identify a dog's breed".
Because it's true that the breed identification by shelter staff and the general public is generally wrong (especially trying to identify the breed components of a mixed breed dog, because that's a parlor game anyway).

1) Maybe it would be a better idea to learn how to identify dog breeds, or to recruit local experts such as dog club members, judges, breeders to help identify dogs??? Of course that would involve allying with those icky breeder and purebred dog advocates.

2) the implication of the "we won't try to identify dog breeds in shelters" is that breed rescues are cut out of the loop.

3..... there's some pathology I don't get in this whole "we focus dogs that do sort of look alike but we're going to go through whatever contortions we can to NOT call them APBTs, or even "pit bulls" "... they're "pibbles", "blockheads" or "pit bull type dogs". Along with the consistent "if you focus on a single breed, you're discriminating, you're supporting the rationale for BSL, you're scaring people away from the dogs blahblah" line of attack. Someone please explain this to me.

Here's another breed that's extremely diverse in appearance: border collies. Many are NOT the classic heavy coated black/white style. Can you imagine border collie rescuers saying they can't identify a purebred bc.? Or taking in random English shepherds, Australian shepherds, Shelties.... all because they sort of might look like border collies....... to people who don't know anything about border collies????

The whole idea is ridiculous.

[RealPitBull]

Emily, great comments, thank you so much!! Going to incorporate some of what you said....will get back to this shortly....

[emilys]

why are all the "beyond breed" types going "beyond pit bulls" ?
Maybe they were never really interested in "pit bulls" at all?
I certainly have no problem with programs designed to help all dog owners. I like the growing focus on helping owners keep their dogs, through financial support, training, help finding apartments etc.

But why are they being built off the backs of "pit bulls"?

At this point, is there ANY rescue that actually focuses on "dogs likely to be APBTs"? as opposed to "dogs discriminated against because they have a certain appearance"?

[emilys]

animalfarmfoundation.wordpress.com/2014/04/22/the-buck-stops-here-ending-the-cycle-of-canine-discrimination/


such bullshit.

[RealPitBull]

I wonder what Malinois people would think about the 'doesn't need an experienced owner' comment?

[RealPitBull]

Emily, how do you think I should incorporate the Voith study?

[michele5611]

Apr 23, 2014 7:27:23 GMT -5 RealPitBull said:

I wonder what Malinois people would think about the 'doesn't need an experienced owner' comment?

This whole notion that all breeds are created equal makes my head spin!

[emilys]

Apr 23, 2014 7:30:36 GMT -5 RealPitBull said:

Emily, how do you think I should incorporate the Voith study?

It's being used by the "no such breed" people to mean "since experts can't identify breed, NO ONE can.... and therefore breed doesn't matter"

[RealPitBull]

Apr 23, 2014 14:28:29 GMT -5 emilys said:

Apr 23, 2014 7:30:36 GMT -5 RealPitBull said:

Emily, how do you think I should incorporate the Voith study?

It's being used by the "no such breed" people to mean "since experts can't identify breed, NO ONE can.... and therefore breed doesn't matter"

Yeah I know, but how should I debate that? The "experts" in that study were just like, random dog people, right, not necessarily purebred experts. Like, were there all breed judges? Quality breeders? People who study dog standards like they are the Bible?

But of course, us silly show dog/purebred people would be dismissed, I'm sure. We don't count.

[emilys]

I just think it's part of the whole weird confusion about what "pit bull" advocacy really is, or should be.
The newcomers come from the sheltering "don't breed while shelter dogs die" mantra... while the old timers come from the knowledge/ownership of purebred APBTs/ASTs. There's a huge philosophic gap there.

[RealPitBull]

"'Pit Bull' is the term used to describe a variety of breeds."

It is INCORRECT to describe any breed other than the American Pit Bull Terrier (or AmStaff) as a "pit bull". We've talked before about how BSL proponents have included some variation of the following wording in BSL legislation: "Pit Bulls = APBTs, AmStaffs, SBTs and any mix thereof or dogs that display characteristics thereof". This wasn't some effort to define any and all dogs that look a certain way as a "pit bull" (the way modern advocates use the term), but rather an effort to cover their bases, and make sure ALL actual Pit Bulls got held to the laws laid out by BSL.

For some reason, instead of recognizing this fact, "pit bull" advocates have taken to calling any and all dogs affected by BSL "pit bulls". Instead of rightly recognizing that dogs that look like Pit Bulls (but aren't) get targeted by BSL (unless you can prove they are NOT Pit Bulls or Pit Mixes), and referring to these dogs by either their correct breed/mix, mislabeled, or as 'unknown ancestry', all of these dogs have become "pit bulls". Of course, calling something a Pit Bull doesn't make it such. But it's become the lazy activist's way of "advocating" for "pit bulls" to simply call any and every short coated, sorta stocky, blocky-headed dog a "pit bull" (even when it's not, or unknown to be such). Why?

Well partly this is due to a lack of understanding of history and political motivations of BSL, dog breed history and labeling, and simply parroting what others say (there is a TREMENDOUS amount of copy-catting in the "pit bull" advocacy world - so many people simply lack the background to truly know what they are talking about and simply repeat what the person who came before them has said - unfortunately, a lot of what gets repeated is incorrect to begin with, or misconstrued). We also think it's just plain EASIER to advocate for dogs of a specific morphology rather than an actual breed and it allows one to scoop up MORE dogs under the "pit bull" label and indeed make more donation money off of them. Which brings us to our next Modern Myth.

[RealPitBull]

<P>Myth # 4 - "Pit Bulls are no more dog aggressive than any other breed."

<P>Instead of repeating what we've recently posted in this blog, we refer you to this post to read more about Pit Bulls and dog-directed aggression: <a href="http://therealpitbullblog.blogspot.com/2013/07/do-pit-bulls-have-propensity-for-dog.html">Do Pit Bulls have a propensity for dog-directed aggression?</a>

<P>We'd like to add a note here, however: many of the people making claims about how Pit Bulls (really, "pit bull type dogs", that generic term for dogs that simply vaguely look alike and aren't actually the same breed), don't necessarily show any more dog-directed aggression than any other breed, love posting pictures of Pit Bulls romping with other dogs, cats and baby bunnies, don't actually have a lot - if any - experience with real, true American PIT BULL Terriers. Their experience lies with "pit bull type dogs" which we've already discussed aren't actually a breed, but dogs that have been lumped together based on very general looks. If you take such a group of unrelated, non specific dogs, it is very likely you will see a wide variety of behavior and temperament types and no real commonalities. The problem here is that American Pit Bull Terriers get lumped into the "pit bull type dog" category as well, and that's where the trouble starts. People are told "pit bulls" are no more aggressive than any other breed, but the dogs being referenced here are a huge group of non-specific breeds.

<P>Those who insist on talking about non-specific "pit bull type dogs" would do well to DROP the term "pit bull" altogether. They are trying to advocate for something that doesn't actually exist, while intentionally or not, confusing people and putting out information that is straight up WRONG when it comes to actual Pit Bulls, the American Pit Bull Terrier.

[RealPitBull]

<P>Myth # 5 - "Pit Bulls don't need to be advocated for above other breeds, they are just dogs."

One morning scrolling through my Facebook feed, I came upon a post that suggested Pit Bulls are getting too many resources above other breeds, and therefore those other breeds are suffering. "Pit Bulls don't deserve/need any extra funding" was the take-away from the post. And let me emphasize - this was from a PRO-PIT BULL POSTER. When I saw the same post reposted several times to thumbs-up and positive comments, I became disgusted and reminded why some days signing onto Facebook just is NOT worth my time.

The reason this post bothered me so much was because it was coming from people who haven't been involved with Pit Bulls for very long, or maybe weren't even Pit Bull-specific advocates period. They don't remember the days when all media reports on the breed claimed Pit Bulls were blood-thirsty, maniacal killers; the heartbreak of reading about fight busts where every.single.dog would get euthanized, no questions asked, because they were "killer Pit Bulls"; walking down the street and instead of meeting person after person who loves Pit Bulls or even has one of their own, you get dirty looks, people moving to the other side of the road, or mothers grabbing their children violently and saying, "Stay away from that dog, it will KILL you!" (yes, that actually happened to me when I was out with one of my dogs many a year ago).

Now Pit Bulls are considered popular (VERY popular - www.aspcapro.org/blog/2014/05/15/filling-pit), lots of people have them, they are one of the most adopted breeds from shelters, and there are so many advocacy organizations I've totally lost track (I used to be able to count on two hands the groups out there fighting for the breed). Fight bust dogs are lauded not vilified. And you aren't automatically considered a crazy person, criminal, or gang member by virtue of the fact you keep Pit Bulls.

Why have things gotten better for the breed? Because of a very concerted, breed-centric effort to CHANGE THINGS. If many resources (and believe me, it took a long time to get those resources flowing) weren't channeled into these dogs who needed MUCH help, we'd still be living in the dark ages. But the fact of the matter is, we've still got a long way to go. Pit Bulls are still the most banned breed; dog fighting is still a rampant problem; prejudice is still common (i.e. housing); misinformation and a fundamental lack of understanding about Pit Bulls is a constant thorn in our sides; and now, with being so popular, the breed is facing a whole NEW set of problems due to that popularity (over abundance of homeless dogs being the most problematic).

If someone is not a breed-specific advocate, and just "likes dogs" in general, that's fine. But don't bitch and moan about Pit Bulls getting much needed funding and attention when they have been and still are a very needy, worthy cause. It might not make much sense to channel tons of funds and efforts into certain breeds (a huge grant dedicated to rescuing Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers might not be a great allocation of funds), but Pit Bulls still need a LOT of help. And, breed centric advocacy and rescue IS a THING after all, and people who advocate for specific breeds are constantly looking for better and more ways to HELP their breeds. This isn't about dumping on or ignoring other dogs, or not caring about what happens to dogs in general. But the FACT is that a) people advocate for certain breeds over others and that is their prerogative, and b) some breeds or segments of the dog population need more and specific help over others. The larger animal welfare organizations granting funding to Pit Bulls recognize this fact, and we are very thankful for that.

So to those who feel Pit Bulls "get too much", we don't really have much more to say to you. There will always be some one or some group bitter because they aren't getting what someone else is. Someone always has a better idea of how to use funding or manpower. RPB was founded circa. 1997, and we can assure you, back then the breed was a very worthy, needed cause. Today, the dogs still need our help, and until they sink back into obscurity and slink out of the intense, always-watching public eye, they will continue to need our help.