[Pmeidstc]

So this morning, my bf took Duke out for a walk around our neighborhood. We have a neighbor across the street from us who has made some comments about the 2 pit's that now live on our street. He said something to the effect that the neighborhood is going to pot because there are 2 pits. He also said that the we are drug dealers because we have pits (completely not true for us and my other neighbor with the pit).

Duke and Coco both are super sweet, people-lovers. While my bf and Duke were walking, they walked by this man's house. The man came out and gave my bf hell because they stopped for a second. He said to get that dog off my property (they were on the PUBLIC sidewalk). He claimed that Duke is a viscious killer who would attack anything. While this guy was going off on his rant, Duke is sitting there wagging his tail, like a good boy. He showed ABSOLUTELY NO AGGRESSION towards this guy. My bf was standing there, defending Duke.

Basically, this interaction made me so mad. Any dog can be trained to be mean. Look at doberman pinscers about 20 years ago. They were the mean ones. Now its pit bull's turn.

So my question is how do you deal with this type of discrimination?
Is there any way to keep it from getting under your skin and making you furious? Duke did nothing to this guy except be a pit bull. It makes me so mad, but I feel completely helpless. I need some advice. HELP!!

[LeviBrawn]

I am all too familiar with such snide remarks. I would simply state the sidewalk is public property and your dog is allowed to walk anywhere that is such as long as he is wearing a leash and collar. If this person continues to harass you, you may want to think about talking to someone about it.

[Anaedilla]

Tell him that your sorry hes such an ignorant human being who has NO CLUE WTF hes talking about then avoid going past his property in the future. Some people will just not understand, no matter how much you try to tell them. Your better of to avoid him in the future then to try to change his opinion. IF you REALLY want to though, try talking to him WITHOUT the dogs around. Whatever you do, dont get pissy, dont add to the stereotype.

[Pmeidstc]

Thats what my bf did. And Duke was on his collar and leash. Who would/could we talk to about it? Any ideas?

[LeviBrawn]

You may not want to take it this far but I had to call the police on a woman that harassed me about not being able to walk her dog past our yard because she said my dogs were "vicious". I told her if she didn't like it, she could easily walk across the street and she balked at the idea. She told me she was going to call the police on me and I did her one better and called on her. The cops came out, met Logan and Molly and told the woman to her face, the dogs were not doing anything out of the ordinary and if she didn't like it, she could walk across the street. She left with her face beat red and was fuming.

Like I said, I don't know if you want to take it that far but I did because she threatened me first. I knew I was in the right and it took her to hear it from the police what she said was wrong.

[Pmeidstc]

I hope it doesnt go that far...but it might. Especially if this guy makes a bigger stink out of it

[Dr.Hoodoba]

some people will ever know how pits are really all they know is what they see on tv and in the paper. i would say education is key for your neighbor. tell him you quit walking him by there only if he educates hisself bout the breed .tell him to resreach the breed if he is still an a** just dont go by there anymore .you will find you will runin to this more and more stupid should hurt ! because these people are just that

[Dr.Hoodoba]

some people will ever know how pits are really all they know is what they see on tv and in the paper. i would say education is key for your neighbor. tell him you quit walking him by there only if he educates hisself bout the breed .tell him to resreach the breed if he is still an a** just dont go by there anymore .you will find you will runin to this more and more stupid should hurt ! because these people are just that

pits dont have any friend cause people read the paper

[ClorrerVeks]

Really, if it were me, I'd walk by his house everyday lol.

[Pmeidstc]

Really, if it were me, I'd walk by his house everyday lol.

lol Its so tempting to do, especially if Duke behaves like he usually does while on a walk. But on the other hand, I dont want to start a war with my neighbors. Even though those on my side of the street have either met Duke or have seen him enough to know how he really is. Hence the 'stuck betweek a rock and a hard place' situation. grrr ignorance!

[LeviBrawn]

pits dont have any friend cause people read the paper

There are some people that are willing to listen and learn and others won't budge an inch. Perhaps if your bf goes to this guy's house without Duke, he can extend an olive branch and try and educate him. From there he will know if this guy is hell bent on making you miserable or open to learning.

[Pmeidstc]

There are some people that are willing to listen and learn and others won't budge an inch. Perhaps if your bf goes to this guy's house without Duke, he can extend an olive branch and try and educate him. From there he will know if this guy is hell bent on making you miserable or open to learning.

Really good idea. It may be worth it, especially if we can figure out where exactly we stand with this guy Thanks!!

[trettegeani]

Dobermans, German Shepherds, Rottweilers, and now Pit Bulls....they are new vicious dog du' jour at the moment....

I would ignore the man, wear headphones with an MP3 player...if you see his mouth start moving...point to your earphones and and shake your head, keep walking or take another route.

[Sarah Armstrong]

Yeah, you can try to educate, but some people don't want to learn, so, it's best to ignore them, unless he really does harass you a bunch.

[letmelogin]

All I can say alot of people out there absolutely LOVE to play the victim role.I would just walka different route,I know you shouldnt have to but you just cant win with certain people who think they know everything.Its not worth you getting upset over.

[BoomBully]

The neighbor behind us always seemed kind of hesitant when the dogs were out, or if we were walking them by him. He's never said anything, but you could tell by his reactions that he wasn't at ease. We smoked some dove and brisket's one day and took him a nice big plate to break the ice, this is when he asked what breed Buddy is. I told him proudly "an American Pit Bull Terrier" then had a conversation with him about the good and bad points of the breed, and the amount of work that good, responsible owners put into the dogs. He asked the typical questions about aggression, biting, etc, but I was able to put him at ease with a civil conversation and finally having him meet the dog. I think if you ignore it, continue to walk by him, etc, it can and probably will turn out to be an ugly scenario.

[gogoleanylinkfo]

I've had pretty good luck in the past with talking in a positive manner to educate people about the breed. It was amazing how many other volunteers at the shelter ONLY walked labs/retrievers/small fluffy things. I had to talk about various breeds to other volunteers more often than I did to the public.
Most people are willing to learn, but there will always be a few narrow minded, ignorant jerks that will never change. Best to just work around those as best we can.

What stuns me is how many people veer away from my Sibe/GSD mix. She has the most open friendly face and body language. I just don't get it. Of course, I guess most people don't know jack about canine body language or breed identification either...

[VeniHemealm]

I may have been kicked off of my local tv stations website for posting my concerns about breed restriction and regulations. I am so tired of stupid, ignorant people who know absolutely nothing about dogs. I even mentioned that itty bitty dogs have the most bites on record.... but who cares about those right since they are not news worthy.....