Mark Weiss wrote:
> This once rare breed has become a potent symbol that crosses the class
> divide. It's alive and well in the minds of the machos or would-be machos
> in my neighborhood, which is why one sees so many of them in the park.
> Good for the owner's image, even when both dog and owner are pussycats.
> Otherwise, why choose a breed that carries an onus and anyway tends to be
> aggressive towards other dogs? There are lots of other effective
> breeds for
> guard dogs that don't come with these problems.
So are Rottweilers and German Shepherds: I mean having evil
reputations. It's very hard to get homeowner's or renter's insurance
now if you have a dog off a short list of "dangerous" dogs. As for
pits, they do indeed have that rep as BADDD: bad-assed drug dealer dog.
Yet I've not heard of Rotties being throw into the ring with another Rottie.
Our dog is a cross between Rott and Shepherd, and he's a marshmallow who
gets reprimanded if he starts hostile barking at another dog--and in
almost five years I've known him to charge another dog once. I have no
idea why a Weimeraner inspired aggression, but the Weimie came back at
him ever harder. It's not fun trying to pull two 100-pound dogs apart.
The pits I've met at "my" shelter are mainly sweethearts--but then
another dog walks by and they get upset. Some of them love cats, and
not as part of their diet. I ascribe the dog-eat-dog hostility to the
animal having been taught to hate other dogs and see them as prey.
These, to repeat, are mainly rescued fighting animals. The only problem
I'd have bringing a pit into my house is that people would either run
off screaming or would try to buy cocaine from me.
Sad to say we have many more pits and variants than we have adoptions.
We are "no-kill" so the population increases. The reputation of the dog
precedes it, founded or not. Hence the nomenclature revisions as a way
to move them, like we're fooling anyone.
I don't like people to be afraid of my dog when I take him walking. He
looks tough and mean but he's not. More often he'll be afraid of you
or, if he likes you, he'll get all excited, jump up on you, and piddle
on your shoes. Big thrill:-).
> I thought I was tempering an overly-pastoral impulse by including another
> part of the reality of my overwhelmingly friendly multi-everything
> neighborhood.
You were. I was just running one line in another direction to see what
would happen.
Ken
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