Beliefs of Pawsitively Pit Bull

We have strong convictions about the pit bull breed and how these dogs should be dealt with. We provide these tenets of our organization so that everyone will know our views and perspectives. If someone does not agree with these views, they may be more comfortable utilizing resources elsewhere.

• We oppose breeding of pit bulls
• We endorse spaying and neutering of all animals

There are far more animals in the world than there are safe and loving homes for them. The number of pit bulls put down is shocking. Pit bulls are hugely over represented in shelters and the dog-breeding world. It is irresponsible and uneducated to allow pets to continue to breed uncontrolled. Animal shelters are constantly in a state of overflow capacity. If a dog doesn’t get adopted in a certain number of weeks or months, they are euthanized to make room for newer animals. Approximately 3,000,000 animals were euthanized in America in 2002 alone. This number is difficult to fathom and shameful. Some people get involved with dog breeding not for love of the breed, but to make money. They hear that pit bull puppies can go for hundreds of dollars each, so they breed and sell the puppies. But, you can only sell puppies for high dollars if you have proof of their bloodline, usually attained through AKC Registration papers.

Since they do not have these papers, as any dog from a shelter does not, they are then left with a litter or litters of puppies that they cannot sell for $800 a pup. So they may give them to friends or relatives that do not want them, dump them in a field somewhere, relinquish them to a shelter, sell them for whatever they can get, or give the dogs to undesirable people who will use them as guard dogs, bait dogs, or fighting dogs. This is where this breed gets their bad name. The proliferation of unwanted pit bulls resulting from breeding needs to stop. We would recommend always getting a pit bull from a shelter rather than a dog breeder.

Having your animal spayed or neutered does not only prevent unwanted litters and stem overpopulation. This procedure has been shown to benefit the animal’s overall health. Sterilized animals generally lead longer and healthier lives. Oftentimes they are less hyper, less aggressive, and more affectionate after the simple procedure. The Oregon Humane Society says that a spayed female is less likely to get breast cancer and will not get uterine and ovarian cancer. A neutered male will not get testicular cancer, and has a reduced chance of prostate enlargement and prostate cancer. A fixed animal is less likely to roam or fight for dominance. “Of the nearly 20 fatalities caused by dog attacks between 92 and 94, none were caused by a spayed or neutered dog”, says Randall Lockwood of the Humane Society of the United States. Unsterilized animals often exhibit more behavior and temperament problems than animals that have been sterilized. The procedure also reduces or eliminates spraying, wailing, messy heat cycles, and humping.

Lava and Squiggle, down at the swimmin' hole.

We oppose ear crops and tail docks.

This is the surgical amputation of most of the dog’s ears and tails, drastically changing their appearance. Cosmetic surgeries on animals are cruel and unnecessary. These practices come from dog fighting, where fighters would intentionally crop the ears and tails so they would not get ripped and mangled in the fight. Now, people crop simply to give the dog that ‘tough’ look. There is no medical advantage to cropping ears or docking tails. The Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights says, “Dogs use their tails and ears extensively as a part of their behavioral repertoire, signaling a variety of emotions from hostility to happiness to submission to alertness. To deprive an individual of a significant part of their body seems as outrageous as it is unnecessary.”

For more information, refer to AVAR, the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights at www.avar.org.

We oppose the use of prong collars

Much as pain compliance techniques used on humans are discouraged, the use of prong collars on dogs is painful and unnecessary. A prong collar is a chain collar with prongs pointed inward towards the dog’s neck. Whenever the dog pulls on the leash, or the owner yanks on the leash, the collar constricts, obviously hurting the dog by stabbing into the throat. Choking injuries, puncture wounds and increased aggression are common results of this device. There are many effective training techniques that do not utilize this type of painful restriction. Pit Bulls are very intelligent and easily trained, so they can be trained to heel without using a prong collar, and humans can be trained not to yank on dog leashes.

We oppose breed-specific legislation banning ownership of pit bulls

We are lucky to live in Oregon, where it is legal to own pit bulls. Many states actually have legislation banning the ownership of this animal due to their supposed inherent aggression. This injustice is unfounded and ridiculous. You can raise a dog-aggressive or human-aggressive Chihuahua if you intentionally mis-train it and abuse it. The media hype that reports pit bulls as vicious, menacing, murderous beasts is largely to blame. It is obviously a tragedy when any animal or human is injured or killed, but one has to look at the causes, the particular situation, and how the animal was raised. As the Pit Bull Rescue Central website says, “Blame the deed, not the breed.” There is no legitimate reason why these amazing animals should be illegal to own. Legislation of this kind must be repealed. Pawsitively Pit Bull vows to be a positive voice for this breed, and to fight against any ordinances attempting to ban ownership of pit bulls.

For more detailed information about Breed Specific Legislation (BSL), please go to the following page on the Pit Bull Rescue Central web site:
www.pbrc.net/breedspecific.html

We oppose any form of dog fighting

This is obvious and goes without saying. The illegal dog fighting rings must be shut down and the criminals prosecuted. This is unusually cruel and inhumane and serves no purpose whatsoever. This sickening display of humans using a canine death match as entertainment and a gambling sport is reprehensible. Even the dogs that “win” the match are often put down due to their injuries. Sadly, even dogs that are rescued from a dog-fighting ring are usually put down automatically by authorities due to the extent of the psychological and physical damage done by fighting. Usually the dogs are too far gone to ever be rehabilitated after they get the taste of blood in a dogfight like this. Their aggression has been too ingrained after being forced to fight other dogs to the death. Game testing is not necessary, as there are other approved methods of achieving this. ANY form of dog fighting or game testing is repulsive and deserving of just consequences.