"Families and Dogs against Fighting Breeds"

I found a website a few days ago, about an organization out in Seattle promoting the ban on Pit Bulls. Quite honestly, I think it's the most ridiculous organization I've ever heard of.

It's called "Families and Dogs against Fighting Breeds," or "FDAFB." Here is their website. FDAFB.org

Their organization promotes the banning, euthanizing, and general hate of so-called "Fighting Breeds."

I have quite a few problems with this particular organization, and the first is simply their lack of education. They have no expert advice, no actual facts with references, and no solid information what-so-ever backing them up. There are no quotes from professionals, no real statistics, and absolutely nothing that should be able to move people to join their movement.

Their plight makes no sense, either. Here is a direct quote from their website:


"Akita, American Pit-Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Cane Corso, Dogo Argentino, Dogue de Bordeaux, Juvasz, Presa Canario and Tosa Inu.

Note:

Powerful and potentially dangerous dogs such as Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Dobermann’s, Boxer’s and other “working” breeds are specifically excluded from this definition, because our aim is to eliminate dogs bred to fight; not herders, or guard-dogs. Fighting breeds are those dogs which have historically been bred for fighting other dogs or other animals, such as bull-baiting and bear-baiting."


Okay, so, We're only banning dogs that are "bred for fighting other animals." The first problem I have with this, is that they list off "Bull baiting" breeds. Yet, they forgot one main breed: The BULLdog. The many different types, of bulldogs.

Second problem I have is this: Where are the beagles, who are bred to go after small game? Rhodesian Ridgebacks, who are bred to take down lions? Coonhounds, who are bred to kill small game also? Borzois and Irish wolfhounds, who are bred to take down WOLVES, other canines?? Where's the Parsons' Russel and Rat terriers, who are bred to kill small animals underground? Dachshunds to Badgers? Cats to mice?

If Akitas are bred to bait bears, yet because of this they will turn on us and kill our children, Why aren't the beagles running amok?

Simply put, Animal aggression does NOT transfer to people. There is no scientific or statistical evidence backing their information at all.

Lastly, their plight is against Dogs bred to take down other animals because they'll bite our families, but specifically excludes dogs bred to guard against people?

And one more quote, for the heck of it.

"Pit bulls are protective dogs, but they are also as likely to attack a family member as they are a stranger."

Hmm. Anyway, I did send them an e-mail, politely addressing these issues and how they can account for them, but I received no reply.

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Now lets talk a little bit about MY pit bull! (Well, my foster one, anyway.)

Baby Bruno went through 6 weeks of beginner education with his previous foster parent, and now I'm going to continue his education and let him earn his diploma. He's well on his way!

Here we see, the "Leave it."

The "Stay." Perfect form!

This move is called, "The Saltine."

The "Tell me."


And Last but not least, the Innocent Bystander, or the "Incredible Arch" (Whichever you prefer.) Take note of his new Custom-made Halloween Bandana!

"Take care with Pit Bulls"

And finally, for some Non-Anti-Pit-Bull Press!

Wonderful! I'm so glad to see an article in this Detroit Metro area that's not bashing pit bulls, supporting the banning of them, and feeding the fear and loathing of these innocent dogs.

(Please click on link for full view of article)

Sometimes, even the people who pretend to understand get to me. "It's all in how you raise them." "Not All Pit Bulls are bad," and "They're not aggressive at all!" Mind you now, when I talk about this, I'm going to consider American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, and Staffordshire Bull Terriers as "Pit Bulls." Not the other 32 or so breeds that are considered "Bully Breeds."

Pit bulls are like many other dog breeds. Tenacious, Resilient, High-Energy and Athletic, and Extremely Devoted. All of these things Combined make one incredible dog.

Tenacity and devotion to their owners is what makes them great at anything they put their mind to (or what their owners put their minds to.). That's what makes them either clever, award winning athletes or excellent in obedience or other competitions; or winners in the fight ring. Like I stated, whatever their owners put their minds to.

As far as those above-stated excuses go, there's truth and there's lack of depth in each statement.

"It's all in how you raise them." Well, because of the breeds' resilience, they're usually able to bounce back and flourish after living through all kinds of hell, whether it be physical or mental, neglect or abuse. With a little bit of positive encouragement in the right direction, they can usually come back as a well-rounded Pet.

Even when trained to be a "Vicious fighting dog," they can bounce back. Perhaps not living with other dogs (Although the Vick dogs proved otherwise-- Kudos to BadRap and the other organizations that stepped up to help!) There's no reason they can't be taught proper living skills.

Of course, there is the occasional dog that is just too battered and bruised, so to speak-- and has essentially given up all hope on Humans. There's also the occasional dog that simply has been trained to be aggressive, which is rarely the case. Normally these "Aggressive" dogs have never been taught proper manners and living skills, or have just been encouraged to think that aggressive behavior is a game, that their owners ("Parents") approve highly of. I'd like to think that most of these dogs have a chance to recover.

"Not All Pit Bulls are bad," I believe that NO Pit Bulls, or any dogs, are bad. Some simply haven't been set on the correct track. They're not "Born" Bad or good. They may have genetic tendencies, but good behavior despite that is an achievable goal for any dog-- given that the "Parent" is devoted enough.

"They're not aggressive at all!" When we talk about Aggression, we have to remember that there are many different types. Dog Aggression, Human Aggression, Prey drive can be considered as aggression, there's fear aggression, dominant aggression, Resource guarding (Food or toy aggression),so on and so forth.

Pit Bulls, due to their fighting backgrounds, may be genetically predisposed to be Dog Aggressive. This does NOT mean that all Pit Bulls are aggressive to other dogs, and this does not mean that they're unpredictable and dangerous. Like I stated above, good behavior despite aggression of any kind, is not an unattainable goal. Pit Bulls aren't the only ones, either. Dobermans, Terriers, Akitas, Chows, and many other breeds (Many times Working breeds) have tendencies to be Dog Aggressive when not properly socialized, as well.

Pit bulls are NOT genetically predisposed to be Human Aggressive, or any other type of aggressive. They do have a good prey drive, which I don't think should be lumped together with aggression at all. Prey drive is what drives dogs to pursue prey-- like a Beagle to a squirrel, or a Shepherd to a cat, Rhodesian Ridgeback to a lion, or a Rat Terrier to a Rat. That's what dogs do.

It's always important to remember that Human aggression is RARE in a "Pit Bull," and other types of "Aggression" have no effect on Humans what so ever! Many people believe that they go after our children and families because they were bred to kill other animals. Terriers don't eat our children, but they eat small animals? Ridgebacks kill lions, but not our fathers? Hounds kill squirrels, but not our babies? Wolfhounds hunt wolves, other canines, but we don't worry about them "turning on us"? Hmm.

More importantly, we have to remember that Aggression is NOT BREED SPECIFIC!

Regardless, I believe Pit Bulls are AWESOME family dogs, with normally sweet dispositions, even temperaments and devotion to family. It does take a strong hand, though, as they are one of those strong-willed breeds!

This brings me to the featured Adoptable Pet-- Our Very own, Baby Bruno!

Which brings me to my last point for today:

Butchie is back on his own 4 legs! He's survived his Parvo treatment, and I got word from the vet as of Thursday 9/26 that he can go home now :)

From Butch

Any opinions read in this blog are my own, and not the representative of my place of employment, place of rescue, or any other thing I choose to associate myself with.

The Parvovirus in Puppies

Ah, the Parvovirus. Any dog-person dealing with puppies, a kennel, shelter, rescue, or any other doggy-operation will tell you about Parvo.

Well, I have one word about this topic: Awful.

As most people already know, The Parvovirus is a virus that attacks the lining of a puppy's intestines. Puppies are vaccinated for it at a young age, and after vaccinations, a dog is very much protected against it. However, unvaccinated dogs, especially puppies (And Dobes and Rotties for some reason), are susceptible to this deadly condition.

Kennels, especially shelters (full of stress and unvaccinated, sometimes sickly dogs) are especially devastated by this disease. They quickly fall prey to it's death tolls, and disinfecting against this virus is near impossible with that many dogs. Some shelters go as far as to paint over infected areas after disinfecting.

Which brings me to my problem:

Disinfecting after Parvo exposure.

Bleach is undoubtedly the most effective way of killing the virus, at a strong solution (My vet recommended a 6:1 mixture). Clorox 2 and other "fake" bleaches (Bleaches for colors) do not work. There are also other solutions my vet told me about that work; one was something called "Mikro-Quat." They allowed me to douse my car with this stuff after I transported my Parvo-infected rescue puppy. Whether it works? I do not know, yet.

Also, the Nature's Miracle Company also manufactures a disinfectant that claims to kill the Parvovirus with a 5 minute contact time. I am hoping to use this on my car seat (As well as the Mikro-quat) where the puppy had vomited, since I cannot exactly bleach my vehicle's upholstry. Nature's Miracle's other cleaning solutions (Namely; their Pet stain and Odor remover) is great stuff- in a 5+ dog household, we live by it.

Now, the reason I'm dealing with this Parvo situation:

Butch.


Butch is our little Parvo-puppy, currently undergoing treatment at the Gibraltar Veterinary hospital right now. We're all hoping and praying that he'll survive and have a safe recovery. He's got such a wonderful little Personality.

Which brings me to the Adoptable Pet of the Post, Butch!