[lkastonidwedsrer]

I'm a firm believer that EVERY animal deserves a chance. Regardless of its history. Unfortunantly there are not enough homes for all the shelter dogs, especially pitbulls being the most common in a shelter....and there are far less homes for pitbulls that need rehabilitation and work because the dog has previously been fought.

My friends pitbull was attacked by another dog when she was a puppy. She has scars all over her face. She was never fought and is a family pet. Its just a sin to think that is she were ever surrendered to a shelter or picked up as as stray a wonderful dog could be euthanized because of scars that arnt even from being involved in dog fighting.

Its to bad there isnt a "test" to know if they are really fighting dogs instead of looking at physical marks ect.

The policy in many areas in Metro-Detroit, even those with BSL, is that if the dog is found on the streets they will be held for 7-14 days in order for the owners to pick them up. After that time period, they are then euthanized.

With the economy the way it is, many people are dumping their animals - either at established rescues or on the streets. Some people post them on Craig's List, and who knows what kind of homes they are going to. I really wish there were more knowledgeable people and that the stigma of the bully breeds wasn't as bad as it is. But, that isn't the reality. I agree, every animal deserves a second chance, but that isn't always possible and that isn't always the best option for the dog. Personally, I'd rather the animal be humanely euthanized rather than placed into a home where they will be mistreated.

And even though it is true that just because the dog was once a fighting dog that it will not be aggressive toward humans - the risk is still there. And there is definitely still a risk that the dog will attack another dog - and risk being euthanized because it attacked another dog. This doesn't apply to just pits...could be a rottie, or Doberman.

The key is knowledge - whether to rehab or own. I know many of us are first-time pit owners (Howie is my first purebred pit, before him I had a 1/2 pit who was much more aggressve than him), and we're learning along the way. Even though I've done a great job training Howie so far, I wouldn't trust myself to rehab a former fighting dog - doesn't mean that I wouldn't foster/adopt a pit in general, though.

It's a tough subject.
I guess what it comes down to is: with so many dogs already in shelters, what is best for the dog with the resources that are available to the rescue/humane orginization?

[Slonopotam845]

SadMushroom...if in Australia you are judging the "game" in dogs by puppy behavior...you are fooling yourselves. If ya'll buy dogs based on the behavior as a juvenille or puppy, you might as well roll the dice...it is a crap shoot. Some of the best dogs are ones that didn't turn "hot" until they were 2 years old or later. I understand that it is safer to just PTS than try to rehab a known fighting dog, but that does not mean that it is the correct choice based on what the dog will be.

HA dogs are going to most likely be the ones that don't have scars so based on your criteria, they would be spared and the dogs with DA would be PTS...bassackwards as far as I can tell.

We do not class game from puppy behaviour,,,,,but if you are buying a fighting PIT you pick the one out of the litter that goes hard...
Not many chances here with illegal figthing,,,,,so pick the best..

Game dogs have nothing to do with fighting...
I have seen Pits pull shit to the max and be classed as "game" dogs.....That never stood a chance in the ring..

Really it is up to the law in your area,,,,,,about what gets put down,,,,,I fight for my area,,,,,maybe you should stop posting for a minute and post for yours

[Karpattaisp]

Uh, SadMushroom by that logic no pit bull would be let out alive. Any pit bull can and will fight, there's no "training" to fight bs. My dogs aren't from "fighting stock or fighting lines" or whatever crap you are spewing but given the right trigger and chance would fight another dog. This breed was CREATED for dog fighting. DA is a normal trait of the breed and in no way means your dog has been fought or that they will be HA. One of my dogs has scars, he was also a stray, what's to say he didn't scrap on the street with another dog? Pit bulls will fight willingly, any pit bull. There is no difference between owning a former fight dog and any other APBT to me, the same rules apply. Keep your animals contained and safe and there won't be any problems, I don't leave my dogs together unsupervised just because they mostly get along, I respect their history and prevent problems.

[EspanaCamsInfo]

OK,,,HOW do you think they get the pick of the litter from fighting dogs???
People who fight dogs illegally and want to purchase a new fighting dog!!!
Do you think they sit and watch it walk about OR do you think they put all the pups in a cage/ring and make them fight????

This is beyond ridiculous and sounds like some Peta propaganda bull shit.

Their is no such thing as "pick of the litter from fighting dogs".
You cannot judge gameness by fighting puppies - where would you ever get such an idea?

[Friend_Joe]

You cannot judge gameness by fighting puppies - where would you ever get such an idea?

I doubt that gameness has much to do with the kind of "dogfighting" that goes on in many places among many groups of idiots.

Carla

[AlexBrith]

Now really. Common sense. How do you handle a dog in the pit that is going to try and bite you. This wonderful breed was bred to be da not ha. For two main reasons. You can't handle a dog that is goin to try and bite you. And you can't give medical treatment to a hurt ha dog. Just not possible. I'm not talking about street fighting. I'm talking about where theses dogs came from. Where the pit had and has rules, to test gameness. Where a dog could lose and still be breed because it showed game. Back in the day. So most gamebred apbt are not ha because it was specifacally bred out of them and not tolerated. The biggest problem is when the breed became popular. People wanted to make a quick buck and breed whatever to whatever ha or not. And alot of the so called dog bites are from pitbulls which can be any number of breeds. Because the apbt is a very generic looking dog. And everyone one wants to blame them because of their history.

[auctionlover]

Agreed - the Vick dogs were funded by him, not a rescue that had the money. Not altogether true. As in the case of the dogs that Best Friends took, they figure that the amount of money they were awarded will not even come close to covering the care of these dogs.
Best Friends was willing to take on the rehab of these dogs for a number of reasons, even though at first they did not know if they even would get any $$$ to help with their care. Part of Best Friends intentions for taking these dogs was for experimental reasons. They are studying the dogs and their behavior with hopes that it will help them and other animal welfare organizations with pit bulls as well as other breeds of dogs. They hope eventually their work will help slow down or stop BSL.
Best Friends has had to invest money into the Vick dogs that has come from other sources, not from Michael Vick. Many services and equipment needed for these dogs has been generously donated. DNA tests were donated.
Best Friends hope and ultimate intention is to learn everything they can about them, rehab them and hopefully place some of them into foster homes. So far, the courts have only allowed one of their dogs to be placed into a foster home. But the reality is they know they may have several of these dogs at the sanctuary for life. One of the dogs will spend its life at the sanctuary as per court order. The courts still have control over what happens to these dogs. The Sheriff Dept. in the county where Best Friends is located also has some of their own restrictions in place concerning the dogs.

As for the Animal Cops show, I don't watch them anymore as I don't agree with some of these organizations policies, particularly Detroits.

[LClan439]

As I stated, I am in Australia. I have no idea who you are talking about or the laws for each area you are in.

Of course pits seized from a fighting situation would be PTS,,,,that was what the OP was about. Dogs assumed to be fighting. IF they are taken from a fighting scene it would be assumed they are fighters.

Do NOT think a dog needs to be OF AGE to be trained for fighting.
They begin training as soon as they can walk about. Pups as young as 3 months are killed in continual fights.
How else do you get the 'pick' of the litters???

I may not know about all your USA APBT breeds/lines and associations BUT after many years here trying to work with police to stop illegal fighting I have learnt and seen a hell of alot more in regards to Fighting Dogs,,(Dogs bred and used in illegal fighting).

If this site is going to be WWW and open to all countries then I guess you just have to put up with the fact that people from other areas/countries will have different problems/issues, laws and legislation, along with different areas they follow amongst the breed.

Now I have heard it all! Lol,,, That's how we get pick of the litter huh! Stop with the madness!