Owners and Breeders Say Pit Bulls Are NOT Bullies

April 15, 2007, 1:01AM
Owners, breeders say pit bulls are not bullies


By ARMANDO VILLAFRANCA
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

Stan Smith, known in the rap music scene as Lumba, loves his dog, who stood obediently at his feet at Reliant Arena on Saturday.

But dogs such as Shogun, a pit bull with a beautiful chocolate coat stretched across thick muscles, are getting a bad rap as a dangerous breed that attacks and kills people, Smith said.

Smith was among thousands of pit bull lovers who attended the annual United Bully Breed Council pit bull convention to share their love of the breed. But they also came to dismiss the dog's much-maligned image.

"That's the bear that we're trying to beat right now," Smith said.

Organizers claim the one-day show drew 5,000 attendees and more than 1,000 breeders, many of whom showed their dogs in competition.

Byron Hayes, a co-host of the event, said the organization's conventions, held across the U.S., promote the breed's better characteristics, such as the dogs' loyalty to their owners.

"I felt like this breed has a bad image, and this will help fix it," Hayes said.

Dave Wilson, a co-host from Washington, D.C., has bred pit bulls for more than 17 years. He said pit bulls were raised as fighting dogs that were trained not to bite humans.

"We kept that part of them — that loyalty toward humans — but we bred away the dog aggression that they had in them by using American Staffordshire Terriers, which tone down their drive toward other animals," Wilson said.

At the show, owners walked the floor with massive pit bulls weighing more than 100 pounds.

Wilson said serious pit bull owners buy or breed larger dogs that lack the stamina to fight, unlike the lean dogs reported in savage attacks on humans.

"I bred for the dog to be the ultimate companion," he said.

As an example of the difference, Wilson pointed to the hundreds of dogs on the convention floor. If they had been trained to fight other animals, how could they resist the urge to attack, he asked.

Wilson said show organizers are trying to restore the breed's image as "America's Dog."

During World War I, pit bulls represented the United States in propaganda posters that pitted America against enemy nations with their own national dogs. Pete the Pup in the Lil Rascals and Our Gang was a pit bull.

"America kind of turned its back on the breed, and we're bringing it back. We're bringing a positive image back to the breed," Wilson said.

Tony Flores, who runs TF. Golden Kennels and owns 90 pit bulls, is a soldier in that effort. He said the pit bull's image problem is not a dog problem, but rather a human one.

As he squatted next to Menudo, a 2-year-old, 105-pound pit bull with a head the size of a casaba melon, Flores had to fend off Menudo's tongue, with the dog repeatedly licking his face.

"He's like a big baby," he said.

Carlos Peralta and his wife brought their 3-year-old daughter and 18-month-old son to Saturday's show. When asked whether he felt comfortable having his young children mingling with pit bills, he said the family's dog is kept inside the home and has never threatened his kids.

"It's a friendly dog," he said.

No one at the show seemed to feel daunted by the many pit bulls, and many expressed the view that the breed has received a bad rap.

Ironically, the breed's reputation is what seems to attract some people to the dog.

At one booth, rows of thick leather dog collars were spread out across the tables, and shoppers could pick out their preferred style of collar spikes. Some came adorned with 2-inch tree spikes or dragon claws. :confused: Some came with spikes of bullets and casings.

armando.villafranca@chron.com

 

Notice how they were being referred to as "pit bulls" by the people there? I think some people just use the term "American Bully" when around or addressing true APBT fanciers.

 

i only saw one pic of this dog:
"Lil Rarue"

 

WOW!

The APBT is in trouble.

 

just another "ignorance at it's finest" comment, ...:rolleyes:

ironic, as well, seeing as the majority of the "reports" i read about seem to involve "not so lean" dogs. .....
not gunna even go there, ...

 

100 pound PLUS PitBulls in dragon clawed collars and spikes.. heeeeeeeeeey thats a good image ?

Sound more like mastiff mixes than "pitbulls"

off to stash my rescue dog that tend to be more on the , yanno lean and people eating..
Guess if you were to stand in the way of her tail, she could hurt ya...

Hopefully the media focused on these dogs but they werent the MAIN STAY of the event???
(sad tho that these dogs got the media attention..probably arent game for they couldnt move fast for the life of themeselves..yet alone expel energy enough to eat anything but dog food.)

 

DAUMN!

They need to cover that shit up. It's no wonder that, that style of ofi appeals to the gangsters or hip hop crowd.

NO CLASS!

 

no doubt Simms.

tx for posting those pics. woulda been nice to see some "lean" dogs included as well, tho, ....

 

It is very sad but true. These people are always in the media trying to spread the word and image of their dogs. Why not real APBT owners? Could we not organize an event such as they do and promote the standards of the true APBT? I'd be more than willing to support it and even have a hand it putting something together.

 

I think people who KNOW these are not true pitbulls need to write to that reporter to try to get a REAL story.

Those dogs made me naseaus

 

I agree 100%

 

X some big number I can't type!

 

Get with the LSSPBC, or call GH.

 

Dave Wilson, a co-host from Washington, D.C., has bred pit bulls for more than 17 years. He said pit bulls were raised as fighting dogs that were trained not to bite humans.

Wilson said serious pit bull owners buy or breed larger dogs that lack the stamina to fight, unlike the lean dogs reported in savage attacks on humans.

How can this guy make both these statements like that? What a total contradiction. On the one hand, a true APBT is non HA and on the other they're the ones who attack people? This guy's been breeding dogs for 17 years and still apparently doesn't know a whole lot.

Then there's this:

"I bred for the dog to be the ultimate companion," he said.

No sir, it was already the ultimate companion, you bred them to be massive and way out of standard....to make them freakish in appearance so you could make a fortune.

I am just appalled by this story......

 

Damn near every attack I read/hear about is some mastiff mix piece of crap. THE TENDENCY TOWARDS HUMAN AGGRESSION COMES FROM THE MASTIFF BLOOD.


Some of the key people behind breeding the bullies........... well, lets just say I don't think very much of them. They seem to both try to steal the name and take pot shots at the real thing. I just don't get it.

 

I'm moving this thread to Miscellaneous News I don't see anything Positive in it.

 

Showbulldog-blood mixed with canario-dogs and some game blood...this dogs are dangerous you never know wich kind of character you get. More then lightyears away from ouer pure Bulldogblood. And now this Experts try to explain that this dogs are the perfect Familie-dogs while the true Bulldog is dangerous...nice try.

 

do as you see fit! initially, when i posted this, i wasn't able to view any pics, cept for one

 

"Pitbull, Pitbull, Pitbull". Didn't we just discuss this? They don't refer to them as pitbulls as "American Bully" conventions huh? I guess someone forgot to tell Mr. Wilson (who is a large reason, if not the largest reason, these dogs exist today).

I sure hope Mr. Wilson wasn't incenuating that gamebred dogs are the ones attacking people, and he has the cure in dogs too fat to run.

He is doing nothing to "help the breed", because he owns an entirely diffrent breed! You cannot "restore the breeds image as Americas Dog" if his breed was officially created by crossing mutts not 2 even years ago!

 

ah! those things again. see how they can face them off and nothing happens. they are so in the dark. Not APBT not pit bull. They are some other dog. They need to drop the Pit bull from their lingo and forget all about thinking they have anything of the sort. They make pets. Good pets for the right person. But they are not APBT by a long shot. No more than I am Chinese.