Our dogs

I'm interested in what everyone's commitment levels are in respect to this wonderful breed.

I have a deep respect for the history of this breed, and my life basically revolves around them. The are not just a "hobby" to me, but a lifestyle.

I took training courses and schooling to get my animal care/vet asst. certificates because of this breed, so I could care for their health to the best of my abilities. I have moved and will move again, just to keep my dogs. I have gone without, so my dogs don't ever have to. They are my life.

So, are your dogs just a hobby? Are they just a pet? Or will you do everything and anything to keep them?

How far have you gone and how far are you willing to go to keep this fine breed.

 

I been into these dogs for almost as long as I been with my wife. She was an animal lover herself and it wasnt a battle or a heated debate when ever I came home with another bulldog, and then another, and then another, whoops, how I get 8 apbts so fast? LoL

My dogs are my family, not a hobbie.

 

If it came down to it, I too would move. At this point in my life, dogs are my life.

 

My dogs mean everything to me. The way I look at it is like this:
When my husband deploys they are here
When I am home alone I am not really alone they are here
They give so much and ask for so little
In my house it is well known that if my husband goes to a post where my dogs cannot be I will stay behind with the dogs and wait for him. I love this breed and cannot imagine life without them. I love training them, I love learning new things about them, and although I have other breeds in my home I will always have a APBT by my side. We will do whatever it takes to keep them with us and keep them safe.

 

i have to agree with everyone here so far,,,these dogs are a lifestyle,,, and are NOT for everyone,,, they take alot of dedication and time,, but i wouldn,t own anything else,,, i,ve owned apbt for over 20 years and a brief 3 year break because my wife thought the were maneaters,,,lol.... now she'll eat anyone up that messes with my dogs,,,lol,,, i current have a 8 and two thats farmed out,,, if i had to choose out of all that i,ve owned it would be one of my colby dogs,,, my dogs are part of my family and when provoked the owner bites,,, everything ad anything for my dogs and will and have done without for them,,,

 

I only have one... But she is the best dog in the whole universe. I have recently undergone heart surgery and my APBT has NOT left my side. She helps me stand and walk when I can not do it alone. I have never seen such devotion before. I love her.

 

they are my family...notjust my dogs that i own but the breed as a whole!

 

I've adopted two "pits". I saved both of them from two litters in which they are the sole survivors due to neglect from thier previous owners. I love my dogs as much as my girlfriend loves her children, and have suffered sevierly too go to great lengths to be able to keep them. But after reading many posts I sometimes wonder if I belong on this site due to the fact that my dogs werent purebred? It seems in some others opinions I would be better off to put these dogs to sleep and buy some famed breed before i would be considered a responsible dog owner.

 

People here aren't against rescuing mixed breeds or even dogs that were bred for looks. However, the majority are against supporting the kennels that produce dogs that hurt the breed rather than improve it. Of course, supporting is in reference to purchasing dogs from such breedings.

There is no way in hell I would give up my dog. I would move without ever giving it a second thought. I can't wait until I can get in a situation where I feel ready to put a yard together. In due time...

 

i would do anything for my dogs i have been involved with this wonderful breed of dogs longer than most folks have been alive,i have bred them,shown them,kept them as pets,and just about everything you can do with them they still to this day amaze me with the things that they can do.thankfully i have never had to move because my dogs were at stake but i know if i had to even today in my old age i sure as hell would.i still run my kennel that i have had since i moved to texas from louisiana.and even though it is becoming harder for me and i have to rely on my friends help more and more on acount of my emphizemia i still get up and feed em and shovel up the messy stuff lol. so to me yeah they are family i think of em as kin i have owned a good many of em over the years but i still never seemed to loose intrest in em from the time i got my first when i was in my mid 20's untill today i still am so enthueastic about these dogs it sometimes scares me lol.but i think richard stratton said it the best when he said we all have a case of terminal pitbull fever.

 

Pitbull...absolutely not. A dog is a dog, and needs to be loved once placed on this Earth-regardless of its breed, or any other factor. Unstable dogs, dogs with an unknown history, and unknown genetic faults should not be BRED, but that doesnt mean that just because a dog is a mutt, it isnt a good dog! One of the best dogs I've ever known was a mutt

 

Now that's what I'm talking about-Bless ya Texas, a devoted dogman.

 

I DITTO that Drycreek !

Sometimes when someone mentions the word "HOBBY" in any way that means it is a PASSION of his/hers.

 

My life revolves around them too... I meant to add in the above reply too~ How could they not?...they are my family and I love them all.

 

I have read everyones' comments thus far and haven't read why anyone loves this specific breed. I for one would like to say that as for my reason to loving this breed or any relative of it, is simply because of the stereotypes these dogs recieve. I too have been stereotyped all my life and still til this very day and I don't think it will stop anytime soon. I admit, I have been in trouble with the law and I have made decisions that put me in bad situations. This breed takes alot of bad raps for their behavior but like myself they often can't help their enviroment or what they were taught and the perception of the world they have been introduced to. I could love any breed of dog, but this breed is the only one I know that has taken so much heat and still has something to contribute to the world, like myself. I like other dogs, but I wouldn't want to be responsible for any other.

 

My life revolves around this breed. I work with them every day. I adopt them from kill-shelters & pounds. I give this breed 100% of my life & time! Now, I'm working with certain individuals, to help stop all banning of them. Here & every where, til' the end.

 

A few days ago I had a termin to come with my dog jimbo to the dogshelter here in Hamburg. Some days before that I god a letter in wich they tould me I have to come there to show my dog, becose they had to prove to wich race he belongs. You and I know he is a boxer mix ...They call this race comission.......the same like about 65 years ago with the jewish people. Well, as I arrived at this place they sayd I should wait in the Frontroom while they had to prove my dog in the backroom.......OH OH that was a hot discosion because I sayd I wouldnt leave my dog allone with them. I ask what they had to do with him and why I couldnt see it....They sayd thats the law and Bottom line. Well, after a while I agreed, I sayd that I would trust them and gave my dog to them......I know that sounds stupid but at this moment it was like given a true familie member away....strange thoughts poped into my head .....you know because strange things happen here by us....many so called dangerous dogs( in fact familiedogs)been killed.... while I was sitting there, waiting for jimbo sec. turned into min. and min. into houers. I looked arround the room.....4 man,2 woman......had allready a strategie, with headnuts kickin down doors and souch parts of comunication but luckylie they gave me no reason....they came finaly in with my dog....he looked happy,tailwagging(100 times a min..) and they told me he is souch a cutty...and so friendly! Yes this people had a quiet 180 pound time bomb in here rooms.....but they never will know it! My dogs are part of my life my stile my familie.....steel from me if you need food or money,its ok....maybe i give you more....but dont hurt my familie...never ever!

 

My dogs are my family. I only have one APBT at this point, but she is very important to me. My dogs, present and future, are companions first and foremost who also have side jobs in weight pull, conformation, OB, agility, etc. (At least that's the plan.)

I love the breed and want to see it preserved in some shape, and to that end I feel like the breed is more important than individual dogs. It is okay to love a mix, or a superchunk bluff -- my first dog that was "mine" was a Pit/Akita mix -- but don't let that love blind you into thinking the dog should be bred. (And a dog that would lay teeth to a human without just cause flat out needs to die.) I don't believe in breeding without proving, and the more proving the better. By proving I mean working and titling your dog, showing it, testing temperament, and getting one or more genetic health screenings done. That is my ideal and albeit it does not mesh with what some hold important, but hopefully we all agree that there should at least be more than head size and pretty colors to guide a breeding program.

I had to get out of the breed for a while because I was not in a position to own one. But now that I am back, I honestly don't see myself being without one until I get so decrepit that I can't hold a leash. (And hopefully by then I will have bulldog-savvy kids and grandkids who've taken over, LOL.)

ETA: I noticed the comment about why we keep these dogs. You're talking about a dog that's:
small enough to fit in an apartment,
tough enough to stop an attacker,
game enough to take on all comers,
hardy enough to go camping or hiking,
gentle enough to take on your kids,
comes in a gob of colors,
is generally posessed of an ideal disposition,
can get out there and pull with the big dogs,
then run an agility course with the fast dogs,
then do obedience with the smart dogs,
then fit comfortably in the bed when the day is over.

You just can't beat that.

 

Well, i believe that everyone has the same aspect. We make our dogs and our dogs make us who we are. I am not whole without my dogs, and I seriously doubt that they are whole with out me. As long as I live, this will be my life. They are a creature of God. How could you not love your best friend? I am such a part of my dogs life that my wife, daughter and parents all believe I have become one of them. God Bless.

 

I respect these dogs for their bravery and willingness to go on against the odds. I see a reflection of who I would like to be in these dogs.

As far as moving due to them, I'll be doing it real soon. So, yes I guess I would..lol