Beautiful Faces - pt 1

Some pix from our friends on Facebook. These dogs are too lovely not to share.

Enjoy!


Eva


Phife


Ben


Angel

Spring is in the Air - Time for some training!

It's 59 today here in NJ today. The blue skies and warmer weather are a big relief after a long, cold, messy winter. If you've been feeling cooped up and your dog's manners could use some refining after an extended bout of cabin fever, consider signing up for our Click Bulls! course. This 6-week breed-specific course covers all the basics of humane, science-based clicker training, management and preps your dog for the next-level CGC course. If you are looking to lay the foundation as you work your dog u p to breed ambassador-status, this class is for you. Spots are limited to 5, and the cost for the cost is $50, paid in full no later than 3/3. Classes are held in Unami Park in Cranford. If you'd like a sign up form or more information, please email: training@realpitbull.com


Sugar says "Yayyyy! Warm weather has arrived!" This sun-lovin' darlin' is available for adoption. Please contact us if you are interested.

The Click Bulls! course is for dogs who just need to learn some general leash manners and foundational skills; if you are having behavioral issues like dog-directed aggression, or other problems in your home, you may consider a private, in-home session. These sessions are offered courtesy of Peaceable Canines Dog Training, and the cost is $125/single session, or $300/three sessions. Email: realpitbull@gmail.com for more information on private sessions.

We have tentative plans for our first Pit Bull Fundamentals lecture in May. If you are a new Pit Bull parent, considering bringing a Pit Bull home, or are curious about the breed in general, this lecture will give you a good basic understanding of what these dogs are all about. We'll post more details as soon as we've firmed something up.

Are you interested in getting involved? Now that the weather is warmer we could use help manning tables at events, assistants for classes, and free-lance fundraisers. If you are in the Union County area and would like to be a foster home for a needy dog, please let us know.

Questions, comments, suggestions? Hit us up! info@realpitbull.com

They make it so easy!

We hear a lot of really whacky comments from people who are understandably upset about dog attacks, but don't really have all the facts as they relate to the Pit Bull breed and dog bites in general. Here, we tackle some of those comments.....and offer some easy, sane responses up in exchange.

"Pit Bulls are bred to be dangerous". First of all, none of us at RPB ever recall reading a history on or standard for the breed that included the need for the breed to 'be dangerous'. As a breed, they are actually required to be extremely GOOD with people, very biddable. Second of all, what does 'dangerous' mean, really? According to the CDC, playgrounds cause more injuries and deaths than Pit Bulls. Are playgrounds 'created to be dangerous'? Are they an acceptable risk? Or are they just too dangerous to exist? Hey, life is dangerous. That's just.....life.

"Pit Bulls have a gene that causes them to 'snap' at any time". Hmm, really. Research to substantiate your claim, please? It's ok, you can get back to us on that one.

"There are more fatal attacks committed by Pit Bulls than any other breed". This is an oldie but goodie - it's been bandied about forever. We recently sent a notice debunking this claim to the Huffington Post in response to a REALLY silly (even by over-the-top media standards) essay. Here's what we said: the Centers for Disease control have ceased compiling dog bite statistics based on breed because they recognize that such data is impossible to gather accurately. Statistics on dog bites based on breed have been called into question by many, including the American Veterinary Medical Association. Not to mention, for the purposes of bite statistics, the term "pit bull" doesn't even reference a single breed of dog: it references AT LEAST 3, along with mixed breeds and dogs merely looking a certain way. To compare "pit bull attack fatality stats" against those of "any other breed" means you are comparing attacks by MANY breeds and "types" against the bite stats of just ONE other breed. Hardly accurate or a fair representation of the American Pit Bull Terrier breed, aka Pit Bull.

But let's put the whole "dog bite deaths" thing into perspective for a moment, huh?

In 2008, there were 376 murders in our home state of New Jersey. Here are the NJ stats on dog bite deaths. Between 2000 and 2009, there were 2 deaths related to dog attacks.

Annually there are typically around 30-something dog bite deaths NATION-WIDE (in 2009 there were 33).

Here are some more numbers: In 2000, there were 435,000 tobacco-related deaths; (18.1% of total US deaths), poor diet and physical inactivity accounted for another 400,000 deaths; (16.6%), and alcohol consumption 85,000 deaths (3.5%).

Humans continue to be the biggest threat to themselves and to each other. You're worried about a Pit Bull killing you? You are a WAY bigger threat to yourself.

So pardon us if we are scratching our heads over all the hysteria. The chances of being killed by ANY dog, let alone a Pit Bull are so small as to practically not even warrant consideration. It should also be noted that non-fatal dog bites in general are on the decline. We as well as other groups continue to work hard to ensure safe, happy interactions between people and dogs, and apparently what we are all doing is working.

"Pit Bull bans don't cost us anything and would make us safer!" This was an interesting comment from someone who seems to think laws and their subsequent enforcement appear out of thin air and cost nothing to uphold. There was some interesting data gathered on the expense of enforcing a breed ban in Prince Georges County, Maryland. It cost $500,000 a year to enforce the ban. Maybe an acceptable expense? But the data determined “the public safety benefit is unmeasurable.” In other words, it was impossible to tell if a ban had any effect whatsoever, although it was determined that the ban impeded animal control's ability to appropriately respond to complaints in general, so there is reason to believe bans actually make people less safe not more.

Baltimore's BSL cost is $750,000/annually; the UK's Dangerous Dogs Act (which is a laughing stock in its inability to have controlled and eliminated the problem of the country's vicious dogs) cost $14 million to enforce between 1991 and 1996.

Breed specific legislation does NOT make us safer, and the costs of useless laws could be better spent on improving other areas of public safety. Calgary has a very interesting dog law that does not single out breeds and has been shown to be incredibly effective. They have seen a 70% drop in dog bites overall. They are at their lowest level in 25 years.

Bad information tends to get passed around quite easily, especially so when the subject matter is gossipy or fear-inducing. With the subject of Pit Bulls, not only do many urban legends refuse to die (although advocates are slowly but surely beating them down), and get passed back and forth between family, friends, neighbors and beyond, there are some really out of control organizations with dubious agendas that are nothing more than irrational fear mongers when it comes to the breed. Groups like PETA (an extremist animal rights group that actively works to outlaw pet ownership) and another org that concerns itself with dog bites (run by a disgruntled attack victim with an axe to grind), are great for spouting debunked myths, and unscientific "stats" that were simply compiled by scouring newspaper headlines. If the CDC couldn't reliably collect breed-based bite stats, what makes the untrained members of certain agenda-pushing groups think they can do any better?

Sometimes people are so blinded by their anger, ignorance and fear that they are unwilling to see the facts or listen to reason. With the sheer number of Pit Bulls out there, logically if you follow the rationale of the "anti's", we should be reading about attacks every hour on the hour. I mean if they really are this vicious then surely people would be killed left and right, Pit Bulls would be running rampant in the streets attacking people. But that clearly isn't the case.

Some days ya really just have to ask, "If you don't know what you're talking about can you please just STFU?"

Let's expand our compassion footprint.

From a blog on PsychologyToday.com, by Marc Bekoff.

Animals say, "Treat us better or leave us alone."

What do animals want from us? Their manifesto.

In Light of Recent Attacks: Sympathy for the Victims & Some Important Points to Consider

Over the weekend, three Pit Bull attacks in Philly made headlines. A woman's wrist was severely injured when her neighbor's dog bit her. Philip Sheriff was attacked by two Pit Bulls his friends were walking; doctors are fighting to save this poor child’s arm. And most tragically, Christine Staab lost her life when her mother's Pit Bull attacked her after she fell during a fight the two were having in her mother's home.

One attack is bad enough, three is just unbearably heartbreaking on so many levels. As Pit Bull advocates, we are quick to jump to the defense of a breed, argue against breed bans, and to point out irresponsible human behavior. But what often gets lost to the point, is that part of the anger and upset felt is due to the fact that humans are being needlessly hurt. Lives forever changed. When the finger is pointed at the wrong suspect, the real "bad guys" get away unnoticed. And go on to cause more harm down the road. We want less attacks, not more – and so we are angry; angry that a breed gets blamed, and attention is taken away from real solutions that might actually have a real impact.

In cases of "pit bull attacks", when the finger is pointed at the breed for being the 'bad guy', the real issues (irresponsible, ignorant humans and negligent behavior) get overshadowed, nothing gets solved. And more - not less -attacks are the result.

Let's take the Sheriff case for instance. In the above report, there are some very glaring red flags - namely young children unsupervised walking two dogs much stronger than they, dogs that were found as strays merely 3 months prior to this attack. That hints at an unknown history, new dogs that might not have been properly evaluated for temperament, nor received proper training or socialization. The dogs, obviously out of control since one broke free and began to run off, ended up fighting. When two dogs fight, a young child can very easily become the initially-unintended target.

In the case of Christine Staab, there was a dog placed in the confusing, frightening situation of his human facing a perceived threat. Dogs allowed free reign in the midst of domestic disturbances - which can be extremely agitating to dogs – dogs who can very easily in the midst of confusion, yelling, and thrown objects, act in defense by attacking one of the involved humans.

We expect dogs to protect us when there is a threat, be docile and our best friends at all other times, and remain calm and collected no matter what chaotic situations we place them in as long as WE personally deem the situation "non-threatening". That is an awful lot of pressure placed on dogs, and when dogs make "mistakes", instead of owning up to human fallacy (hey parents, kids shouldn't walk dogs they are physically incapable of handling, and adults shouldn't scream and throw things at each other in the presence of dogs who may feel a need to defend self, human guardian, or property), we point the finger at the easy target: a "bad" breed.

Why exactly do dogs act aggressively, or attack? The underlying factor is fear of harm: a need to protect, defend, remain safe. This is true of ALL dogs. When dogs are placed into situations where a human is incapable of providing a safe, controlled environment, the dog is set up to fail and the humans are left in a vulnerable position. But this is what humans consistently do with dogs: set them up to fail. Dogs are not socialized yet forced to exist in a world that demands they always "act nice"; don't receive proper training but are expected to always behave; are mismanaged and abused and expected to "take it"; do not receive health care; are not spayed and neutered (intact male dogs are the biggest culprits in attacks); kept on chains (which are another factor implicated in attacks); kept by humans who lack even a basic understanding of dog behavior and can very easily miss warning signs that their dogs are presenting signs of potentially dangerous behavioral issues; left alone with children and the elderly; [omit a myriad other examples for sake of space and time].

Erasing a dog breed as if it alone is the problem – or even just PART of the problem – will leave ban supporters clamoring unsatisfied when the next wave of popularity sweeps dogdom and another breed becomes victims to the whims and ignorance of humans. What then? More breeds banned? Where do we draw the line? When do we expect humans to take responsibility for what is, in fact, theirs to be responsible for? Instead we lay blame at the feet of an animal; ban a breed, as if that will suddenly solve all our problems. So we can keep attempting to wipe out dog breeds until we are left with none, or we can begin to address societal issues that bring us to these discussions in the first place. And we can start expecting people to actually be responsible for their dogs, to engage in proper management, care, training. To educate themselves on at least the basics of dog behavior and learning. And to face the consequences when they fail to live up to their responsibilities.

Paws For Change

Remember that heart-string-tugging anti-BSL vid we posted a little while back? How about a whole website of similar videos, dedicated to bringing awareness to important animal issues, including BSL? Our friend and animal advocate Aubrie Kavanaugh has created a wonderful website showcasing her work. Please check it out and be sure to share it with any and all who could benefit from this important effort.

Thank you for doing this, Aubrie. The animals have a wonderful friend in their corner!

Paws4Change.com

Philly-steria

3 dog attacks made the news this weekend in Philly and South Jersey papers. All 3 were reported to be "pit bull attacks". The BSL hysteria is already in the air.

The after-effects of these attacks remain to be seen, but RPB would like to take a moment to remind everyone that dogs are animals, with instincts and behaviors unique to their species. As a whole, dogs have much more to fear from humans than humans have to fear from dogs. Having said that, dogs can and do bite, and oftentimes cause serious harm or, extremely rarely, even death (there has not been a fatal Pit Bull attack in PA in the past 45 years; there HAVE been 19 other attacks, but NONE were committed by Pit Bulls). An argument between humans, erratic behavior, unsupervised children and dogs, can all be contributing factors in attacks. Spending time researching attacks, and gaining even a rudimentary grasp of canine behavior, can help one make sense of such incidents, and shed much light on the how's and why's, and more importantly the prevention of dog attacks.

Using a breed of dog as a scapegoat while ignoring normal dog behavior, contributing abuse/neglect, and human-canine interaction patterns, as well as the usual common denominators in dog attacks, will simply mean more human pain and suffering, not to mention persecution of innocent animals.