Game-dog.com has ruined me!

be prepared: this is a HUGE rant.

(if it is italized, then it is a direct quote)

So I joined this local meet up group that promotes responsible Pit Bull ownership. I have taken my pup to a couple of meet up walks, and he has behaved like a gentleman both times. It seemed like a fun thing to do, and I am always eager to make friends with other bulldog people. It was quite obvious from the start that these are pet bull people; I don't mind, I appreciate both sides of the coin and they were welcoming and it gave me something fun to do with my dog. The group has a message board, and the leader of the group was encouraging people to use it. So I started to...but apparently I am not longer welcomed lol I am a opinionated, I will admit that. But today I got a email from the leader warning me that my tone and etiquette was getting out of hand?! Ouch. Apparently several group members have complained about my posts and one member even quit the group yesterday, although she rejoined two hours ago! I left a message on her page, "Welcome back. Sorry I ran you off. I got a lashing lol".

1. One of the major complaints was that I posted pictures and video of my pup during french ring training on Sunday. Apparently protection training is a big no-no there and instead of anyone confronting me with questions and trying to understand my decisions to do this sport, they bitched at the group leader about me. That kind of sucked. Then a couple people made snide remarks in another thread about the photos/vid, saying they would NEVER teach their dog to be aggressive. Right there tells me they do not understand the sport, because he is being worked in prey drive and not aggression...

2. Another compliant was in a discussion about blue dogs. The group leader posted GSDBulldog's blue hippo video, and of course I mentioned I recognized the vid because the creator was in other groups and I also said "I can not look at a blue dog without getting flustered". This developed into a short lived banter between me and another member, to which she became fed up and left the group. I honestly did not say much more than "I do not appreciate blue bully dogs because it reminds me that my breed of choice is becoming a rarity in it's true form." There are a lot of blue dog owners in this group, and they felt I was being hateful. Maybe I could have been a little more graceful about it, but I don't think it was so terribly mean.

3. I was chided by the group leader in the email, because apparently I was also promoting my pups dog aggression? In a thread I was greeting a new member, and she was show interest in the activities I plan on doing (weight pull, dock diving, agility, etc) and I said if she ever wanted I would happily be a practice partner with her and her dog. She then told me she would like to socialize her dog more and have play dates; this is what I responded:

"My pup isn't much for doggy play dates lol...Someone might go home missing a nose. He is very tolerant on walks though, and doesn't instigate fights at all. I have taught him ever since he was small to pretty much ignore other dogs and to not solicit attention from them, which I honestly believe if I had not reinforced the behavior he would have been out of control dog aggressive by now. Now if I was to let him loose with other dogs, I assure you it would get ugly very fast. But he is a bulldog and I love him just the way he is, dog hating and all.

I hope all gets better with your back! Maybe Benny and I will see you and Toby out on the competition field some day. How old is Toby? If you do ever need a practice partner when you are ready, don't hesitate to contact me! I'm buying Benny's weight pull harness soon, and I am waiting for a diving dock to built because I plan to take lessons there."

Was this out of line? I felt I was being honest and the "lol" before the nose remark was to show I was kidding around. Of course I would never intentionally let him hurt another dog but I was also informing her that he is not a dog with socialize with. The group leader wrote this in the email, and I think she took it way out of context "I need you to specifically avoid saying things that can be interpreted as aggressive - like "my dog will bite your nose off." This group works to IMPROVE the image of the pit bull, promote the APBT as a cherished family pet and dispel common misperceptions of this breed as being aggressive or dangerous." I am certainly NOT encouraging my dog's aggression towards other animals. It is just how he is and I am fine with it! I recognize his aggression and I take the proper measurements to avoid accidents.


4. Probably the latest issue I got myself into the UKC vs ADBA standard. There is a UKC show coming up in our area, and I mentioned although I am solely faithful to the the ADBA standard, I will go and show my support. The lady said the ADBA and UKC standard were just about the same but UKC likes their dogs thicker. I direct quote bahamutt's lovely post and visual comparison of top winnings with accompanied with my response:
"I have to disagree with you there. Check out this side by side visual comparison of the top winning UKC, AKC, and ADBA conformation dogs. I am in the group that believes the APBT and AmStaff have diverged into two different breeds (and I know that is on paper, but some people will still argue they are the same dog). And the AKC and UKC dogs are both AmStaffs to me as well. ABDA is the only APBT I see here. And people will tell me "Well my dog is a UKC registered American Pit Bull Terrier!"...the easiest way for me to distinguish the two? The AmStaff was bred for show, and the APBT was bred for go. If I see a dog, and it's ped says it was bred for looks (a.k.a. solely a show dog), then it is in AmStaff to me. If the ped says it has a working lineage, it's an APBT. And I know soooo many people are going to argue with me about that, but it's my opinion and no one is going to change it "

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I think I am integrated myself so much into game-dog mentality that I am not having trouble relating with pet bull owners! I think I am just going to have refrain from posting in the message board much from now on. I didn't think I was causing too much of an issue, but apparently the group was not ready for my opinions lol I love game-dog always and forever; you all know how to forgive and forget!

 

sounds like just more pet bull owners who dont know or wont accept the truth

 

sounds to me like youve absorbed good solid information backed up with facts and them morons are living in denial. i have no beef with pet owners as long as they understand wtf they have or dont have living in their home.

 

Hey man you do whats best for you i cant argue with anything i read in any of your statements but a certain sayin pops in my head "Get in where you fit in". I have very close friends of mine who are what i also call petbull owners who will get pissed if i start talkin bulldogs one even has one of the better GAMEBRED dogs in my home town every dog being a winner for 4 generations will get super angry at me when i tell her about how lucky she is to have a dog bred like him it happens.

 

I find myself not fitting in ALOT of places because of my views. Oh well.... that just weeds out the places I don't belong and gives me more time to interact with people who are on the same level of thinking as I am.

 

BB i think your being real about it. and its to your credit, you know your smarter than the bullshit they produce.

My older brother once told me to keep my interests dispersed into a few different things, once someone gets totally obsessed by one thing and has it as their only outlay, they turn into"fuckwits" and no one will like them except those in the same"fuckwit" circle. sounds to me like youve found a circle of "fuckwits":rolleyes:

if i was you i would run like the wind!

 

agreed for sure

 

Thank you guys...You are right junkyard, sometimes we just have to stick where we belong. I was just more appalled than anything else. It seems like there if you don't have a perfectly friendly, lazy couch potato dog then they don't want you to be associated with their group name. Just bums me out because I thought I had found a nice group of people who shared my interests. Apparently not.

Oh, here is a keeper from the UKC/ABDA thread...

"ADBA has nothing (except weight pull), your dog lunging about on the end of it's leash screaming is considered good form. Makes me cringe because it really looks bad."

 

i say fuck them they dont nothing :rolleyes:

 

i will love to hear what they have to say when there so called "playdates" go wrong lol

 

BB i went throw the same thing about 6 months ago. Petbull owner told me that chaining up a dog is cruel. we got in a heated convo about it. We also had the same talk about abda vs. Ukc. The only thing that differs isthat they are ok with AG. My 13 month old boy sarge got a hold of two petbulls when he was 8months old bc. The lady didnt listen i told her that he doesnt like males that he doesnt know and even thos he does know he not to fond of. the only thing good that came out of that accident is that i am not the only one that cares a break stick

 

sounds like a fun group:rolleyes:

 

some people gotta stop watching tv shows full of shit and start looking at the reality of whats on the end of the leash.
some people think they can change the world after taking a few days off work to watch season 1 and 2 of cesar, and all of a sudden they are better than a guy thats bred bulldogs for twenty plus years.
if you ask me its the equivelant of brain washing the effect that shit has on some people.
they should seriously run off and start their own cult and see how all their dogs get along then.
bunch of pratts!

 

Someone said they went to an ADBA show and were edgy the whole time because she thought the dogs were going to break loose and kill each other...I mentioned that this behavior is typical, and if conformation is close then most often a judge will pick the more feisty of the two dogs.

I got this response lol. I am at a loss.

"You may see fiesty, I see out of control, untrained dogs. Really, that kind of reaction shows NOTHING of a dogs grit, it's all posturing, and I really don't understand putting any kind of merit on it. The ADBA has had this knee-jerk reaction to the slide toward overdone dogs by going in the directly opposite direction, IMO. I understand where you are coming from, as I much prefer standard sized dogs and I HATE the overdone direction the breed has been headed down, but sadly, the ADBA does nothing for me. Too many wink, wink, nudge nudge componants to it. Too many self-riteous 'somebody has to fight them or they won't be 'true' pit bulls' mentality people involved."

 

peopledont like to hear that their 5 thousand dollar RE/Gotti dog is a cur mongrel.

 

I couldn't agree more Woody. Good post.

Pet owners need to fully understand the history, DA, etc. and not think that their dog would never go after another dog. Understand the breed, learn the breed and everything that comes with it, and then decide if you want one or not. Know that there will be people who give you dirty looks, tell you that they wish your dog was dead, etc. You need a tough skin if you want this breed.

 

Well, I'm just going to stop posting there I guess. The lovely administration decided to close the thread after an established member publicly reamed me, and I could not respond. What she said was far worse than anything I posted...I never personally attacked anyone, nor did I resort to name calling. I said I like ADBA dogs, didn't like blue dogs, encouraged my dog's prey drive for his sport, and felt dog aggression was alright in our breed. This just finishes it for me; totally uncalled for, and I can't even defend myself. btw everyone, our dogs were not bred to be aggressive toward other dogs!!

and michele, I know you are at PBC all the time and let me tell you have a GREAT new appreciation for everyone over there. I thought, people who want pet bulls, not really my discussion types. After speaking with this local group for a week, the people at PBC are amazing. They don't deny the breed's history, they are open to all different types of sports, and are incredibly responsible. I love PBC now!

"Emily...No, I havent "met" you or your dog. I wasnt speaking from personal experience, I was taking into account that YOU said he is not much for play dates as someone will go home without a nose...sweet. And seriously? Bred to be dog aggressive, wrong again chick...born to have a high prey drive yes, being dog aggressive sometimes comes along with that yes, but not BRED to be aggressive towards dogs. Thats like saying Pits were only bred to be fighters... And I agree to disagree with most...you I just flat out disagree with...like the whole you love to see dogs trying to get at other dogs? I didnt think anyone who joined a group that was trying to represent the breed as non aggressive family dogs would ever be that stupid... And I still dont agree with building on the prey drive or aggression your dog might have if you are trying to promote the dogs as safe loving family dogs, which is why this group is here, so if your not doing that or interested in doing that then why are you here? Clearly, Im not a fan of you, and no I would have no problem messaging you but Id really prefer to talk to you about it in person...should I put a snide remark in here saying that prolly wont happen but Im just putting it out there? Stop trying to act badass Im really just over it. I have tried reaaaaaaaally hard to be nice and PC but enough is enough... you strike me as an immature, snotty brat who thinks she is always right. Because of you and your "better then you" attitude you cause a very valued member to leave. I think this is BS that you made her feel as though she had to leave because you dont like a color dog...shut up, good lord... I dont personally like itty bitty pit bulls who look like they are malnourished but did I say anything about that? No I didnt because we are here to promote this great breed not to judge and be bitchy and pathetic. Its like watching a kindergartner who doesnt want to share...Its just sickening. Im sure this will get deleted BUT I dont really care, I had to get it off my chest...

On another note... You said we usually agree to disagree, yes youre right, but we also dont advertise our opinions that people disagree with just to be confrontational. Thats dumb, we keep those opinions to ourselves as I think YOU should do as well..."

 

This makes me very happy to read this

 

F'n Pet owners i see them on myspace too damn much. Just let em have it!

 

Most pet ppl are ignorant and the problem with our breed. They cause more problems than solutions....... Don't take it to heart most of them are like that!:rolleyes: