[MomToKaylaAndTwins]

I love my Marshmallow! Hopefully ya'll aren't sick of seeing her pictures! She's such a moosh! Who woulda thought?
I had to give her the present first, and then dangle it above the camera to take the Christmas Tree picture. Took me a few tries, but we finally got it. Oh, and she's going to see Santa Clause Saturday...

[thintowin]

She is so cute!

[Bobbolink]

Marshmellow is a beautiful dog, so is your Christmas tree! Can you tell me a little about Pit bulls, I'm a dog lover but scared to death of pit bulls and rottweilers. I got out my crossword dictionary to see what catagory pit bulls are in but couldn't find it. The rottweiler is under the "working group", are pit bulls a mixed breed from the bull dog family? Why do these dogs have such a bad reputation? Like any breed of dog, some can have a nasty personality. We have a 2 year old English Setter that has the sweetest nature, but our English Setter before Charlie had to be put down. She was so over protective of me, would bite anyone who got near me. She nailed the mailman, drew blood. We contacted 3 dog trainers, one who specialize in English Setters and they all said, "Put her down, don't let her get near my grandkids". DH and I both cried for a week, I'm getting all teary eye right now talking about it. Guess that's why I asked about pit bulls and why they seem to get more attention than most breeds about there aggressiveness.
Your Marshmellow looks like a sweetheart, how old is she?

Bobbi

[Ruthxxx]

Sure there are vicious pit bulls - the breed was bred to fight. However, there are lots of really sweet ones and Rotties too! Most of it depends on initial training although there are some exceptions.

Of course, I think my Portuguese Water Dogs are the best breed in the world!

[MomToKaylaAndTwins]

Thank you for responding!
To answer your question Bobbi, I will give you my most educated answer. I feel like I am CONSTANTLY explaining my reason for owning this breed, but to be honest with you, I can't say I'd ever want to own a different kind of dog.
Marshmallow is 2 years old. I got her when she was 4 months.
These dogs can be VERY hard to handle if they aren't owned by responsible people. And its not because they are "aggressive," its because they are dominant, and people have a tendency to let these dogs become the "alpha" in the house. You can tell around the age of 8-10 months when dogs start being snotty, you have to teach them that YOU are the boss.
The other big issue, as RUTHXXX mentioned, is these dogs were bred to fight. BUT, they were bred to fight dogs, not to be human aggressive. As a matter of fact, they had to be caring and loving of their handlers, because if you've ever seen documentaries on dog fighting, the handlers are on the sidelings pushing their dogs back in to finish the fight. It is NOT an acceptable trait for these dogs to be Human Aggressive. I have seen many Pit Bulls put to sleep for this reason. Most dogs give many warning signs that irresponsible owners ignore until its too late.
Let me also tell you, that everywhere I go (and I live in a VERY suburban neighborhood) I see old couples with pit bulls, I see families with them, and I'm not so sure that people realize they are even pit bulls. (Most are listed as "Pit Mix" at the shelter when they really aren't mixed at all) So this is a part of the problem. A LARGE majority of these dogs are dog aggressive, and that combined with poor ownership results in these dogs being dumped off in astounding numbers in shelters.
MANY owners of this breed do Agility Training, Fly Ball, Dock Diving, Weight Pulling, and even show their dogs. Many, like me, just have them around to be spoiled and to love on. My dog loves to swim, loves to let my daughter ride her like a horse, loves to play ball in the backyard. As far as I'm concerned, she's no different than your average dog. She is just being stereotyped because she is a Pit Bull. She is the SWEETEST dog I've ever had (and we've owned a chow,3 siberians, 2 basset hounds, and even a poodle)
I'd love to ask you to visit my other favorite forum and just look around, its www.pitbulltalk.com you'll learn so much over there.

[Bobbolink]

Jenn...I just checked out the Pit Bull formum, thanks! It was very interesting and I read a few of the comments. The one couple remarked that they didn't think they'd spend the rest of their lives explaining to people why they chose this breed. So my question to you obviously is pretty common. I smiled when I saw the post of yours, do you get much feed back on this thread? Looking at your picture sleeping with the dog is cute. His head is bigger than your, LOL!
Bobbi

[adoglover]

OOOOhhh I am so glad to see this section!! I have a pitbull too,a rednose..after Christmas I will post her pic because she is getting a new collar from santa. I want her to show her new collar..Her name is BG for baby girl.She is five years old and my best friend...I have had poodles,golden retrievers and terriers but BG is the best dog I have ever had.I have had her since she was six weeks old.I am just so glad to hear about others who love their pit too...Yes, I am constanly having to protect my dog from negative people but, BG and I don't care about those people...I shower her with love and she showers me with love and we have good time.I spoil her like crazy but she deserves it..so thank you for having this section...

[Mrs Quadcrew]

We now have a pit bull - her name is Hope. I have to say I was one of the folks that "would NEVER own a pit bull" - that was BH (before Hope) We have always had dogs in our home, first Rottweilers, then English Bulldogs. when our last EB died this past June, we decided no more dogs for awhile. THEN my DH calls home (he is a Police Chief) he says, I am bringing a dog home with me - if I call the Dog Warden, they will put her down, and she is too sweet to not help. Well....he brings her home, obviously starving, full of fleas, no fur on her back end at all. I won't let him bring her in the house until she has been flea dipped. The groomers get her in right away - and she comes to our home. We have her overnight and the Dog Warden calls and tells us the owner is claiming her. NO WAY. We thought maybe she had been on the run for a couple of weeks by the way she looked, Nope, she had only been missing for the time we had her. NOW we're pissed. DH calls the Humane Society and they open a case on this owner. Happy ending - she looses all 3 of her dogs (Hope, a boston terrier and a Staffordshire Terrier) We told the folks at the Humane Society that we wanted Hope. All 3 dogs had heartworms, and were a mess. I am happy to say that Hope is all cured from her heartworms, has gained 12 pounds, and has all of her fur now! She is without a doubt the BEST dog we have ever owned. She is so gentle, and we are lucky, she is not dog or cat aggressive at all. Our daughter is the one who named her......Hope. She sure has changed my thinking about Pit bulls, I can tell you that! I will see if I can find a good pic of her to post.
Here she is with her new coat!