Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

A Pit Bull's Point of View

Now that the testicles have been ripped off a 6-month-old-baby in Murietta, I suppose it will be even harder to convince people that my two pit bulls aren't dangerous.

I adopted Gus (formerly known as Lavidicus) two weeks ago. He and my other three dogs have brought me great joy at a time of great sorrow--my dad is wasting away due to cancer. He starts chemo next week.

I didn't decide that I wanted to be a pit bull owner to be cool--I liked what I saw in both Gus and Nancy while temperament testing them at the county animal shelter in Carlsbad.

Gus had a hard time finding a home--his bloodshot eyes and flakey skin due to stress told me he had "had it" with shelter life. And as a person who is dog savvy, I knew he'd make someone a great, great pet. Luckily, that someone is me.

He was perfectly willing to follow me everywhere which suggests he had no prblem looking at me as his leader. When I didn't like what he was doing, I could easily call him off. And he didn't give a rat's ass when an old, crotchety dog got in his face and barked which was a good sign because I have an old, crotchety dog myself.

Gus is "alpha" and scientists have found that alpha dogs are unflappable due to a high level of Serotonin--an ingredient found in psychiatric drugs. You could drop Gus fron an airplane and it wouldn't faze him. I trust him around kids (although no child should be left alone with a pet) and because I know enough about dogs to avoid the pit falls (excuse the pun) I don't run the risk of endangering other people's lives and animals with my pets.

Studies have shown that the quick, spontaneous movements and high-pitched voices of small children can trigger attacks in ordinary household dogs. Pit bulls tend to be high in prey drive so they are especially vulnerable to mistaking a human baby as a squirrel, rabbit, cat or other types of prey.

Monday's attack in Murrieta doesn't suggest in itself that the two pit bulls (who have been euthanized) were aggrssive to people or dogs--their behavior simply suggests that the testastrone they smelled in the little boy triggered something in them--possibly they were unneutered males. Unneutered dogs tend to have issues with other males.

The first rule of dog training is, "it's always the owners fault." The two woman who were naive enough to leave a baby on the floor with two "nice" pit bulls, were ignorant of dog behavior and should be charged with child neglect.

People are the cause of these tragedies and not the dogs. Seventy percent of all dogs in America's shelters are pit bulls and pit bull mixes (which suggests there are at least as many out in public) and yet we hear about relatively few pit bull attacks.

As a rule, pit bulls are a strong, dominant breed that are better left in the hands of experienced dog owners. For some reason, everyone who has ever owned a dog considers himself a dog expert. If this were the case, owners would know everything their dogs are thinking and would have complete control over them. This is rarely the case.

Studying behavior, applying the principles effectively and observing the dogs in your pack for years makes an experienced dog owner. The number of pit bull attacks, when compared to the number of dogs being sent to the euthanasia table out of owner ignorance, leads me to believe they are much more the victims of us than we are of them.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Centennial Salute to San Diego’s Military, East Village Block Party, Birding Basics Class

Events March 29-March 30, 2024

Now that the testicles have been ripped off a 6-month-old-baby in Murietta, I suppose it will be even harder to convince people that my two pit bulls aren't dangerous.

I adopted Gus (formerly known as Lavidicus) two weeks ago. He and my other three dogs have brought me great joy at a time of great sorrow--my dad is wasting away due to cancer. He starts chemo next week.

I didn't decide that I wanted to be a pit bull owner to be cool--I liked what I saw in both Gus and Nancy while temperament testing them at the county animal shelter in Carlsbad.

Gus had a hard time finding a home--his bloodshot eyes and flakey skin due to stress told me he had "had it" with shelter life. And as a person who is dog savvy, I knew he'd make someone a great, great pet. Luckily, that someone is me.

He was perfectly willing to follow me everywhere which suggests he had no prblem looking at me as his leader. When I didn't like what he was doing, I could easily call him off. And he didn't give a rat's ass when an old, crotchety dog got in his face and barked which was a good sign because I have an old, crotchety dog myself.

Gus is "alpha" and scientists have found that alpha dogs are unflappable due to a high level of Serotonin--an ingredient found in psychiatric drugs. You could drop Gus fron an airplane and it wouldn't faze him. I trust him around kids (although no child should be left alone with a pet) and because I know enough about dogs to avoid the pit falls (excuse the pun) I don't run the risk of endangering other people's lives and animals with my pets.

Studies have shown that the quick, spontaneous movements and high-pitched voices of small children can trigger attacks in ordinary household dogs. Pit bulls tend to be high in prey drive so they are especially vulnerable to mistaking a human baby as a squirrel, rabbit, cat or other types of prey.

Monday's attack in Murrieta doesn't suggest in itself that the two pit bulls (who have been euthanized) were aggrssive to people or dogs--their behavior simply suggests that the testastrone they smelled in the little boy triggered something in them--possibly they were unneutered males. Unneutered dogs tend to have issues with other males.

The first rule of dog training is, "it's always the owners fault." The two woman who were naive enough to leave a baby on the floor with two "nice" pit bulls, were ignorant of dog behavior and should be charged with child neglect.

People are the cause of these tragedies and not the dogs. Seventy percent of all dogs in America's shelters are pit bulls and pit bull mixes (which suggests there are at least as many out in public) and yet we hear about relatively few pit bull attacks.

As a rule, pit bulls are a strong, dominant breed that are better left in the hands of experienced dog owners. For some reason, everyone who has ever owned a dog considers himself a dog expert. If this were the case, owners would know everything their dogs are thinking and would have complete control over them. This is rarely the case.

Studying behavior, applying the principles effectively and observing the dogs in your pack for years makes an experienced dog owner. The number of pit bull attacks, when compared to the number of dogs being sent to the euthanasia table out of owner ignorance, leads me to believe they are much more the victims of us than we are of them.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.