[Krruqgwt]

I deal with the same thing from my two stepgrandfathers.

A few years ago, the one (hasn't met Sinead yet) upon hearing me talk about Jaycee, a GSD/pit mix I had growing up, said the only reason she hasn't killed us was the didn't get the chance to turn on the family yet...the dog died of cancer at the age of 14, my father rescued her from an abusive situation when she was a year old. I'm sure she had PLENTY of time to eat the family, if she felt like it.

Now, my other step-grandfather met Sinead and thought she was a wonderful dog, until he asked what breed she was. I'm like, "she's a pit bull," and his reaction was, "you're not safe keeping her in your house because you'll never know when she'll turn." Of course, she was wiggling all over him and gently taking snacks from his fingers. His dog (whom I adore) is a mini poodle that is far more aggressive.

[Mister.levitra]

my mom and dad tell me 'pit bulls kill babies! one killed an elderly woman who belonged to a ten year old child' and i would tell her 'mom zahra is more than 75% pit bull and she is laying next to the baby right now...' and she would insist it was cause she was 'mixed' no matter how many times i told her the pit bull was the dominant gene she would not listen, some people, have rocks for brains, but i do love my mom...lol.

[LongaDonga]

I thought there was a face transplant involving a woman whose hair got in a work machine and ripped her face off.
Face Transplant : Picture Slide Show : Discovery Health

Anyway, back on topic, you can't argue with ignorance. The less you react, the less satisfaction he gets.

I didn't know about that one but here is the article on the Lab:

http://www.dogchannel.com/media/dog-...2-05a.aspx.pdf

Here is another fabulous tool I use about other breed dog bites:

Punish the Deed, not the Breed!

Note how many Lab bites there are - last I looked it was around 66 & I wasn't counting the Lab mixes!

And don't feel bad about what you said about Labs. He was saying what he was saying just to irk you & you told him the truth - nothing wrong with that.

Blessings ...

[Nzmoafzn]

I try to not play in the sandbox with the special kids. I love this!


Their ignorance will only hinder them. I point, laugh, and walk away.
Unfortunately, this is not true. Their ignorance hinders all of us when it comes time for cities to decide on BSL. If you vote, are willing to show up at a council meeting or are even willing to post comments on public forums and hate Pit Bulls you have a pretty decent chance of hindering a heck of a lot of other people.

I have a lot of neighbors and family who hate my dogs due to breed and think I am insane and a bad mother for having them. I try to bring people around and then I move on to ignoring/avoiding them if attempts at education are unsuccessful.

Strangely, I have found that I don't much like the haters personalities anyways, so no big loss. I haven't talked to my Grandmother in 2 years because of her frothing at the mouth breed hate. After some time and distance I realized I am happier this way for many reasons.

[LongaDonga]

lol, I guess I am lucky. My mom makes snide jabs at me from time to time, but she has owned 2 absolutely vicious cocker spaniels, so I have something to come back at her with. Her last jibe at me was "why don't you own something less dangerous?" I replied "well, at least people can PET my pit bulls & not get eaten alive!" lol.

Blessings ...

[Lxbsvksl]

I get this kind of stuff from my parents all the time. They raised GSDs when I was a kid, and they've never forgiven me for getting a 'pit bull.'

There's actually a term for the effect ignorance has on a person's thinking:

the Dunning-Kruger effect

It can be summed up like so:

"In the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt." - Bertrand Russell

[LongaDonga]

How unusual. You'd think GSD people would be more forgiving since in the '70s they went through the same thing we are.

When (or if) they start their foolishness you can inform them that GSDs & GSD mixes make up 77% of dog bites overall for a medium to large sized dog! The understand - a - bull dog bite page might help too - GSDs are pretty liberally represented there as biters. You might also point out that GSDs have a stronger bite than the APBT (Rottie 1st, GSD 2nd, APBT 3rd) & the APBT scores higher on the ATTS temperament test (84.3 APBT, 83.5 for GSD).

Blessings ...

[tevyrefficy]

I'm sorry your uncle started at you like that. The best thing you can do is be an advocate for the breed (like you already are) and anytime you can have your well trained, loving Pit Bull around him. That is the ONLY way I was able to change the minds of so many people close to me. NO ONE except me younger sister (20) liked them. Infact, when I got pregnant I was told to her rid of him so he didnt kill the baby. That was 5 years ago and now Cash is gone but everyone who was worried about him still tell me how he made them a pit bull lover and they cant believe they ever even doubted him.

[fudelholf]

My other uncle has a Pit mix and she is a wonderful dog and at first when they found out she was part pit they were concerned but she turned out to be the best dog they ever had. I know its hard for him to hear our familys opinions on the breed as well. i'm really sorry your family is giving you a hard time. what did your other uncle say to him?
my family are lovers of bulldog/bully breeds. and my parents grew up with ASTs and APBTs when they were kids.

[ebookinfo]

Pitbulls score higher on the temperment test then labs do, I am less nervous when my son plays with a pitbull that we know then a lab lol, I have had problems with labs in the past but i dont judge the entire breed over it. I know how you feel my entire family hates pitbulls me and my wife hear about how he will turn on us it gets on my nerves our gizmo is the most docile loving animal ive ever met. unfortunatly because of the media and most people following that opinion like sheep we just have to keep our pitbulls safe and show people what the breed is really about.

[Galvanoidum]

i'm really sorry your family is giving you a hard time. what did your other uncle say to him?
my family are lovers of bulldog/bully breeds. and my parents grew up with ASTs and APBTs when they were kids.

My other Uncle wasn't there, but they brought up his dog too. And my one uncle that made the pit bull comments, well whatever he says, my grandparents take as fact. If I were to say the sky is blue and my uncle were to say "No the sky is green" my grandparents would take it as fact. My mother has always said they only have one child. (They have 3). My other uncle stopped in the other night when my husband and I were visiting. And I told them how I love their dog and how great I thought she was. She actually saved my cousin and her unborn child from a dog attack. The dog came at them, and she basically grabbed the dog by the neck and put in on the ground. But she didn't hurt the dog, she just held the dog their until help arrived a few seconds later. Then she let go, other dog wasn't even hurt. But that is beside the point. They were talking about how the dog was sold to them as a purebred boxer, but they found out a couple of years later that she was part pit. My aunt said she got real concerned because of her kids, but now they have grandkids and that dog is super protective of the grandkids too. She is 16 years old. They said she has been the best dog. My uncle also brought up Petey to my grandparents. You know from little rascals. And they were like "yeah he was a great dog" But then it was a totally different tone, yesterday with my other uncle there. "They will turn on you faster than any other dog breed" and my grandmother was like "I guess that is why they are being banned everywhere". Ugh, so frustrating. My Mom and stepdad aren't much better though they really aren't dog people. And don't get me started on my Mother in Law. My dad though, he loves all kinds of dogs regardless of breed. So its refreshing when I go see him. I only get to see him maybe once a year though. I think I get my love for animals from my dad. My uncle though, he also doesn't like my Terrier mix because we keep her inside (that and because we don't know what she is mixed with) and he believes all dogs should be outside "God gave them a fur coat so they could live outside" yet he is training his Labrador to be an inside dog. When I asked him about it he said "She is an exception" The man really gets to me My Terrier by the way, she wouldn't last outside. She doesn't have the right coat for it and she is too pampered. She loves TV and air conditioning. She feels the outside is a great place to visit but she wouldn't want to live there.

---------- Post added at 10:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:21 AM ----------

I think what really got me more than anything was. I almost had them convinced not to judge the breed, but to base their opinions on each individual dogs. I've also been working on them about dobies as well. Another breed I like. Anyway I almost had them convinced and then in one hour, my uncle undoes months and months of education. Month of time and energy I have put into helping them see that you should never base judgement on a whole breed because there will always be a few that don't live up to their potential. And in 1 hour, all of it was undone.

[Assunkkensatt]

-Hugs-

[Galvanoidum]

-Hugs-

Thanks. I'm not even sure if its worth starting over. He will just go and convince them otherwise.

[brraverishhh]

When I engage in such arguments I prefer not to put a burden on another breed to prove my point.
Having a well behaved dog, UTD on all vaccines on the leash usually gets my point across.

[Galvanoidum]

When I engage in such arguments I prefer not to put a burden on another breed to prove my point.
Having a well behaved dog, UTD on all vaccines on the leash usually gets my point across.

I already said I feel bad about that. I was just so angry and I know I stooped to his level. Again though I don't have a pit bull so its not like I can just prove my point with having a well behaved dog. Nobody on this earth makes me as mad as he does. And it doesn't just end with pit bulls. Its everything that comes out of my mouth he has to contradict. And it never fails I go to see my grandparents and he is there.

[brraverishhh]

I already said I feel bad about that. I was just so angry and I know I stooped to his level. Again though I don't have a pit bull so its not like I can just prove my point with having a well behaved dog. Nobody on this earth makes me as mad as he does. And it doesn't just end with pit bulls. Its everything that comes out of my mouth he has to contradict. And it never fails I go to see my grandparents and he is there.

What I'd do is put a little presentation packet for him get some video's on-line, use the pictures in our picture forums to show him what he is missing out on
Oh yeah, and don't forget to include the comic of the typical Pit Bull owner that is floating around this forums, if he has no sense of humor well, he is missing out on it as well

[Galvanoidum]

What I'd do is put a little presentation packet for him get some video's on-line, use the pictures in our picture forums to show him what he is missing out on

He's not worth wasting my time on when it comes to the issue. He is right about everything and everyone else is wrong. I know I should respect my elders but I can't respect someone who has such an attitude about such things. He said yesterday that he shot his neighbors dog in the back leg, and purposely ran over one. I don't know if he is for real or just blowing smoke out of his you know where. But I can't respect someone who does stuff like that. Granted both dogs broke loose and were on his property, how can someone do such a thing. Yet its expected of me to respect him because I was raised to always respect my elders.

My family has decided to stage an intervention because they are worried about me. My grandmother called my mother and got her involved too. My grandfather called me and said that they are concerned about me and the choices I am making. They fear I'm going to go out and get a dog that is dangerous even though they have advised me against it and have it living in a home with my child. They then went on to show pictures from different "pit bull" attacks. There is no winning. I love Staffordshire Bulls and APBTS, but my whole extended family is trying to put me through hell over it. One even went so far to say if I bring a pit bull home, they would try to take my child away. Can they do that?

[brraverishhh]

Well, Karma is a bitch...

[Galvanoidum]

And I doubt they can do that I think they were just spouting off a bunch of crap, but my future dog has been threatened. I've been told don't be surprised if I came home one day to find the dog dead. I don't even know if its a good idea anymore to get this dog that I have been wanting because I fear for that dogs safety. Its not fair. And this wasn't my immediate family either. The threat toward my child was a friend and the threat toward my dog, well that was an uncle.

[Assunkkensatt]

An intervention and threatening to take your child away? Sounds like a great family...I understand you love them but if I were in your shoes and had a baby and anyone threatened to take it away for me making a life decision I am old enough to make I'd be getting an order of protection against them. All of them.