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Comment by Rockstar on September 27, 2009 at 12:33pm

When I did my first obedience class, Rockstar was in it with 3 mastiffs, a pit bull, a golden, some mixed breed medium sized dog, a weinheimer, and some shepards. The only dog in the class that consistently wanted to eat him was one of the mastiffs. The pit was sweet, compared to the mastiffs, and event the shepard was more fun to pet/play with. All dogs are different, all have different temperaments based on how the dog is trained, how it is handled, and the personality of the dog. The only two "mean" dog's I've ever met were a Carin Terrier that was just this side of rabid and a rottweiler that tried to bite me. As a result, I'm timid around rott's - but that is just from personal experience and a scary neighbor dog. (The dog had mange and the owners never cared for it or fed it.)

Comment by Geri & Sidney on September 25, 2009 at 8:36pm

This article was on our local news website. The trainer mentioned is Sidney's trainer. She's awesome!


Military bans so-called aggressive breeds of dogs

The most decorated canine war hero in U.S. history was a pit bull, but now the military has banned them from Marine Corps bases, along with other so-called aggressive breeds of dogs.

The move is not sitting well with some pet owners, since it's their dogs being booted from military housing. But there is a chance some of the dogs could stay.

For Marines on base who already own a pit bull, Rottweiler or wolf hybrid, their canine will be put to the test to verify they are not a threat. It's a policy that has many dog owners anxious they may have to give up their pets, and animal rights activists angry that this may do more harm than good.

Marine Caleb Hearn and his wife Amy recently moved to Marine Corps base housing from Texas, brining with them their "baby" - eight-month-old Titan, a pit bull mix. But Titan may find himself booted off base if he does not pass a special canine temperament test overseen by the American Kennel Club.

"If he passes, he can stay. If not, he has to go," Amy said.

Last month the U.S. Marine Corps enacted a new rule banning pit bulls, Rottweilers and wolf hybrids from Marine Corps bases for safety reasons.

"Obviously a dog who is aggressive to other dogs or to people won't be able to pass it," former Marine and certified canine educator Liz Palika said.

Palika, who works for Kindred Spirits Dog Training, is offering her services at a discounted rate to Marines and their families who want to keep their pets, helping train potentially banned pooches in everything from sitting politely for petting to walking on a loose leash to pass the AKC's Canine Good Citizen Test.

The Marine Corps' new rule has its critics. Animal rights activists are concerned this new ban will mean more abandoned dogs that have nowhere to go, which they say could pose an even greater danger.

"We don't want to see them ending up in shelters or ending up in rescues," Palika said.

Local animal protection non-profits like Pit Bull Rescue San Diego are working to help find housing for Marines who choose to live off-base with their pets.

Marines have until Oct. 11 to obtain the waiver to keep their dogs with them on base.

Comment by Derek on September 25, 2009 at 2:37pm

I get annoyed with owners how don't have ID tags with vaccinations, dogs off leash, etc. I don't think it has much to do with breeds. Logically a larger dog is able to do more damage than a smaller dog, but pit bulls are not mean animals. My dog was bit by a Lab, they are nice dogs but she met an overly energetic, untrained dog that bit her. You can meet a mean yorkie, a dog bite is a dog bite. ALL dogs should be on leash and all dogs should be trained.

Comment by Kristin P on September 25, 2009 at 2:15pm

Don't hate the dog, hate the owner. Pitbulls can be GREAT dogs. Ours was. Don't stereotype.

Comment by Laura & Lola on September 25, 2009 at 2:01pm

Oh, and I should add that Lola has gotten along famously with pit bulls, rottys, labs, german shepards, golden retrievers, and on & on! It's the smaller ones she has issues with... go figure!

Comment by Laura & Lola on September 25, 2009 at 1:59pm

It sounds like the dogs should have been better trained to listen to their owner (who also should have checked his surroundings before letting his dogs bolts out of the car) & also that Anna should not have ran away... that might have seemed like the right thing to do, but then the other dogs will see your dog as prey & want to pounce. I've had the same thing happen to Lola & I with 2 big german shepard type mixes (the owner had them off leash in front of his house, while he was on the side of the house working under his car!)... Lola was freaked out to have two big dogs approach her, but I just made her sit & let them sniff her. She was totally fine & the dogs didn't try to hurt her.

And you can't hate on the breed... Lola is a dominate female & she also will go after smaller dogs that show weakness (cower, attachment to their owner, ect). This is why I have to keep her leashed until I know she's ok around a certain dog. It's not the breed, it's the dog & how it's trained! :)

Comment by Valerie and Simon on September 25, 2009 at 1:23pm

Oh, I also wanted to comment about the 'bite list' thing that Linsey made. She is right -- pits are NOT on the top of the 'bite list' in regard to dogs.

I had a wonderful Border Collie/Aussie Shepherd mix that played like a maniac. He would growl, snap, paw -- whatever he needed to do to win the game. I got more scratches and accidental play bites from that dog than I could count!

But Josie, my pit mix? Guess how many accidental bites/scratches I've gotten from HER? Um . . . . that would be ZERO! Not one, in ten years. She doesn't LIKE 'rough play' -- in fact, it clearly BOTHERED her when I'd play rough with Beckett, because she doesn't understand that sort of thing. And now my corgi Simon seems to enjoy rough play as well, and once again, Josie just stands there, clearly frustrated by all of it. The ONLY game she enjoys is 'fetch' -- she hates rough play and keep away and ANY sort of game that could be seen as aggressive.

Comment by Valerie and Simon on September 25, 2009 at 10:33am

Beth, my pit mix is dog aggressive in certain situations, but it's MY responsibility as a pet/pitbull mix owner to KNOW this and handle the situation accordingly.

Josie is wonderful with puppies and SMALL dogs, which sounds strange, but she has a very strong 'mother' instinct and takes to little dogs with great affection. The minute I brought Simon home, he was her 'baby'. She taught him more about play and manners than I did. The first time that their play got too rough and she made him yelp by accident, she was horrified. She ran to me, trembling, afraid that she hurt the baby, even though all she did was an innocent play bite that was too much for a little puppy. Now? Well, now Simon is alpha and makes HER cry during play!

However, Josie does NOT like dogs that are her size or larger (except my boy Beckett that passed away in April -- he was her buddy and best friend). When I lived in CA I found a daycare that was willing to work with Josie and give her a try and see if she could be socialized with other dogs. Turns out she could -- with SMALL dogs. Josie was the 'welcoming' dog for any small dogs/puppies -- she was the mother hen and they all loved her. She went to daycare for 5 years and I never heard a word of complaint about her from ANYONE. But she had to be with the babies and the little ones. I don't send her to daycare anymore because she's getting old and it'd be too much for her -- she's starting to get skin lesions from old age and she has hip dysplasia and has already had one injury from playing with Simon too hard.

It all really does come down to knowing your individual dog. Unfortunately, too many stupid people don't get that. And THAT is where the 'bad dogs' come from. I would NEVER put Josie with a dog bigger than her. It would be a fight waiting to happen. She also doesn't do well meeting dogs while she is on leash, as she is protective of me and on the leash she feels it is her job to guard me, not to socialize.

Comment by Beth on September 25, 2009 at 10:18am

Here's a great positive page that says exactly what I'm talking about: many well socialized pits are dog-aggressive.

http://www.rescueeverydog.org/pitbull_breed.html

Comment by Beth on September 25, 2009 at 10:14am

It's not pit bull hate to understand the history and nature of the breed regarding other dogs. They can be great family dogs and are usually good with people.

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