So there are definitely several factors here which have given the pitbull a bad name.

1) Overbreeding - it leads to lower prices / people needing to place dogs with poor owners
2) Social stigma - like it or not, the breed is seen as 'bad ass' - and unfortunately that resonates with the wrong type of owner (not all of course - but a LOT) which actually encourage the wrong type of behavior (similar to the morons who go our and buy a Hayabusa for their first bike - it's violently powerful and you need to be qualified to own one or you're just adding to the statistics)
3) Media hype - while certainly over done - the first two causes here have given the media quite a bit to write about.

Again, I think pits can be good dogs, however like the motorcycle example, I also think they need to be in the hands of a well trained owner who is willing to lay down some heavy discipline.

In my mind this means far more than socialization - it means 'confidence walks' with a Halti, tight around the head, where the dog is trained to ignore everything else other than you thereby teaching it that it doesn't have to make decisions - because they ALWAYS make bad ones - you're the alpha and you'll be making the decisions. It also means squir bottles around the house for when a visitor comes to the door (in the case of my rott particularly). It means not wanting to be 'peers' with the dog like many women want to be, but instead having a caring relationship more like a parent / child relationship - kinda LDO - but very often overlooked.

Positive Puppy training or w/e does not work with bully breeds in my mind. Even if they live to please you, they don't necessarily know how, and with years of instinct bred into them, it takes a lot of work to handle something so willful and powerful.

only way to settle this dog argument is with a michael vick dog thunderdome imo

tbh only ceasar's 2 fingers in the neck method works. THE DOG MUST BE IN A SUBMISSIVE AND RELAX STATE OF MIND SI

My pit was a bait dog. He was treated terribly -- He was the dog that the dog fighters chained to the fence and had other dogs attack him for practice or whatever.

Even with a violent past, he's a great dog today.

He's completely fine now; cuddles everyone he meets, knows basic commands, walks off leash. He had very minimal training. Just lots of love and attention.

my mom smokes for 35 years every day a pack of cigarettes. Even when she was pregnant of me & my sister yet we turned out great and doctors say my mother has the lungs and physique of a 40 year old woman. (she's 57 now). Does that mean smoking cigarettes gets you awesome handsome kids and makes you younger?

It means you need to provide pics obv.

you could have just said..... lol, sample size.

haha I knew that's where this conversation would end up

Whatever, **** yall, pitbulls 4 lyfe

Sounds like you have a great dog! As I (think I) said before, I've known some great pits. They just require a good, committed owner and obviously your little guy has found that.

Also, it ain't pretty, but it's pretty damn tasty for you spice lovers out there.



http://www.eatdrinkcheer.com/sliced-...e-brown-butter

not to be a downer, but doctors said "..." doesn't mean ****. girl at work said doctors told her grandmother she was the healthiest old lady they ever saw and that her circulatory system was great, then the old lady had a heart attack and it's discovered her arteries are like 95% blocked. I'm not ****ting on doctors, just that you have to take those comments lightly. if your mom has smoked that long and that much, what are the doctors supposed to say? you're effed and will probably die soon? They probably realize there is no changing her behavior regardless of what they say and so they say something kind and optimistic rather than something mean.

I know. It's her own choice. I think smoking is ******ed. Literally never even had a cig next to my mouth. Smoking is ******ed, same with drugs. Care..

Any of you guys play guildwars 2 btw?

Or...more likely...your mom would be in even better heath and her kids would be even healthier (cognitively and physically) if she never smoked.


...also lol sample size.

yeah obviously shpanko. That's why people that smoke are stupid.

pretty naive to think you can train instinct out of an aggressive dog.

they strike me as volcano-like. lay dormant for the most part (and they might never go off b/c their lifetime just isn't that long), but if they do errupt, see poin's story.

also poin,

every year or so i read the thread about your son. so well written, it gets me every time. then i think that you've got two (?) healthy kids now and it makes me happy, mostly for you, but just happy in general.

Thanks, El P. His birthday is coming up soon, so I've been thinking about him quite a bit.

The PoinClan now has 3 (!) healthy kids, so we've moved from man-to-man to zone defense over here! They're all ridiculously happy, great kids. Like I've said in that thread before, I know just how lucky I am, and I relish every minute of it.

moar baby pics

missed you guyss!! I'm back from Israel, radiology electives in NYC atm. most exciting thing thats happened to me recently: randomly met a smart, cool, 6'2" chick on the interwebs, and she came to visit this weekend.

Who else but flancrest would meet a girl in an internet sub-forum specifically for tall people heh.

whole lotta brags in that post, nj flan

flancrest you a jew?

Well that was a pretty direct question...

yessir. by blood, at least.

what's wrong with that? Oh wait american hypocrisy.

Where did you go to in Israel? I have family living somewhere in the desert with a farm below jerusalem lol.