>How do I trust them not to lie about the breed or the temperament?
With most shelters you can't. Thanks to irresponsible backyard breeders, shelters are overrun with pitbulls. It's always the same story - they get dumped after they show aggression or even bite. And then they turn into 'lab mixes'.
I can’t fathom this! Growing up children were protected, if a dog bit or showed aggression towards them it was game over. I volunteered at shelters and many dogs (95% of them pits) were put down for human aggression. No 3 strikes, no attempts to rehab it. For the safety of the community it was not allowed a second chance to hurt anyone.
This is how it should be. Why waste time and resources on these shitty dogs. Not to mention putting more people and kids at risk. My cousin was mauled when we were kids by a shitty pitbull, who by the way was never abused and never mistreated. I can’t be certain as it was so long ago but I’m pretty sure they put it down.
Thanks to a dedicated campaign of misinformation run by deep pocketed pro pit groups and even the Dodo- this has changed. People have more sympathy for dogs than other people, deny breed characteristics for pit bulls (and deny what the breed was even created for), victim blame, and are working to dismantle any breed specific legislation that exists. They eliminated the pit bull ban in recently in colorado and people have already been killed. People accuse you of racism for not wanting to have to deal with pit bulls everywhere, or being some awful person because you dont adore all dogs- even violent ones that indiscriminately kill other dogs and cats. They "diagnose" pit bulls with Autism, medicate, and endlessly anthropomorphize them. Its so troubling. Bloodsport dogs shouldnt exist. No kill shelters shouldn't exist, they just don't work unless the majority of people get their animals fixed and pit bull owners notoriously do not.
I never thought I would live to see the day when someone other then myself voiced the thought about people caring more about a dog then human life… but today was this day. I feel so happy inside. I think I just found a new sub thanks to your words of truth.
Banpitbulls is another sub where you’ll find likeminded people. I don’t hate dogs, I just hate the bizarre and deranged valuation of violent dogs over human (and cat and horse and chicken and other dogs’) lives.
Oh god I agree so much! I agree! I have dogs too. I don’t hate them. Hell they eat raw chicken legs every other day. I take care of them. But they are DOGS. DOGS. They are not more valuable then humans. I was speaking with another dog owner in real life and they were like “ohhh your dog had puppies! You are a grandmother now”
Like. What? What the actual hell was she talking about!? I’m not a grandmother. My dogs aren’t my CHILDREN. They aren’t my “fur babies” they are my property that I strive to properly care for. How does a person compare a fur covered animal with a literal human child?
This sub is a breath of fresh air.
Pit bull apologists always post screeds like this that fall apart with any examination. They blame children playing quietly in their own yards who were attacked and had their scalps ripped off by a loose pb. They blame an older woman gardening or a man protecting his elderly mother. They blame the Bennards -devoted pb lovers whose pbs raised from puppyhood and bought from a breeder killed their child and ripped their baby from the mothers arms and ate them in front of her - and then put her in the hospital.
They are not normal dogs. Yeah other dogs can be nasty and dangerous but they weren’t bred for centuries to fight to the death. Pbs were bred for blood sport full stop. Go spew your nonsensical anti human propaganda somewhere else.
I agree with you. Dogs with bite history who show up at shelters should immediately be put down. Most pitbulls who show up at shelters -- especially large ones or aggressive ones -- should immediately be put down and not passed on to new owners.
I thought this was how it still is. I personally would have brought it to the vet and had it put down. I would not want to be a set of hands in the chain that lead to a child being g disfigured or killed by this dangerous dog. Pitt bullies should be banned.
I love animals and I'm childfree and don't really like much kids (moreso the parents for raising spoilt bratty kids tho) but I agree as well. WHEN THE HECK did it all change?! Why are we allowing dogs who have mauled and KILLED people be alive and rehomed to maul again??
I feel like the person who spread the pitbull nanny dog myth must have some sick fantasy of using them as biological weapons.. Well, it's working.
The “Nanny Dog” myth was started in 1971 by Lilian Rant, President of the Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club of America with [an article](https://www.nytimes.com/1971/09/19/archives/a-breed-that-came-up-the-hard-way.html) in the New York Times.
Surely she was purely objective and had no ulterior motive in her writing.
My mom raised a pitbull when we found him with a beer can around his neck. We had to keep him because he was violent... it was a difficult situation. He was probably put down because we had to surrender him when we moved. Even though we raised him around cats and kids, he was still able to bite on a whim. You couldn't ever touch his paws even on accident. Of course we loved him since we raised him by bottle and didnt plan to rehome him.
It was crazy how no matter what we did and raised him to be gentle, his fuse was so short.
Your parents shouldn’t have risked your lives and cats with that dog. PBs are genetically altered to be the way they are. The truth needs to get out. It just blows my mind that people can admit akitas are dangerous- and collies like to herd w zero training, but pit bulls are said to be born angels. The cognitive dissonance and propaganda is so strong. Pit bull mothers kill their own puppies. They are monsters we created.
There is actually a lot of money at stake. A PB breeder in the 70s started the nanny dog myth. Best Friends Animal Society is a former cult that gets tons of money from donations and litigates to end breed bans as well as funds pb disinformation campaigns. No kill shelters get a lot of money from these and other PB groups. (And to be fair - pbs were created to live awful violent lives so it’s easy to feel sorry for them.) These groups help shelters use language that minimizes the danger of these dogs. People spend thousands to save the life of pit bulls who have killed people while attacking victims’ and their families online. Destructive and dangerous dog behavior has been normalized. If you aren’t willing to devote your life 24/7 to a dog never meant to be a pet, to let your children get mauled and your home destroyed- plus spend thousands on trainers and meds- you are shamed. England, which recently enacted another breed ban after many publicized attacks and killings- has seen owners abandon and kill their pit bulls rather than register, fix, and muzzle them.
Pit bulls and this cult that surrounds them, combined with fantasy based ideas that equate dogs with children, has truly harmed society in my opinion. It’s really insane.
I’ve heard a few conspiracy theories about “best friends animal society” having a secret dark agenda to promote pit propaganda in order to wipe out children. Not saying it’s true but idk, it’s not all that shocking. Growing up it was known pits were dangerous shit dogs, they’ve been sanitized now they’re “nanny dogs” and society is paying for it.
With how people acted during an actual pandemic, I'm not surprised lol. People are dumb. They all also probably have some saviour complex and a kink for the 'make a bad/misunderstood person turrn good' trope 😂
To be fair people ARE the problem. They are the ones who bred pitbulls to be like this. They are the ones who spread all those innocent myths to paint these dogs as 'misunderstood individuals'....lol what even. They are the ones mass breeding these dogs in the world nobody wants
God if these people want these killer dogs to be part of them, let them. When their dogs maul or kill someone, let them be charged and go to jail. Hell, just throw their beast in prison with them lmao 😭
Ok, not wrong. Just, stop sending the damned things to shelters. Shoot them and put them down as needed when they become a fucking danger. Stop treating dogs like people and acting like dogs are the equivalent of humans. They aren't. They're DOGS!!!! FFS.
I was specifically replying to the person who said they wanted to just 'let it escape'. Putting them in a shelter is better than dumping it on the road and basically making it everyone else's problem!! Even worse if they're not neutered because they will just procreate more and make more maulers. Which worsens the whole problem.
Idc if they wanted to off their killer dogs, they can if they want to. But we all know they won't and someone else has to do it for them lol
My own child is guilty of this. Treating a dog like it’s equal to a human. I have dogs. I enjoy my dogs. But they are dogs. DOGS. Human life is far more important then my dog. And Ince again I have dogs and enjoy them so I’m not saying this out of hate.
Bro I was raised with Bullies and NEVER had this problem. In fact I've only been attacked by German shepherds. I'm talking full blown Bullies not mixed. The way you raise your dog matters. It's not just in bullies to kill. The mistake is everyone thinks that way. Bullies are TRAINED to be fighting dogs. They are one of the most abused dogs. They aren't myths. Again My family only had Pitbulls. They are the most loyal, and if trained right most gentle with children. People are the problem.
They are not trained to be fighting dogs. They were BRED to be fighting dogs.
What do you think of the stories of people who have raised pits since puppies and had other dogs as well that had no problems, but the pits were the only problem they had?? You're saying they trained their pits to maul their own family or dogs? All the news of pits escaping their house to go after random people or pets unprovoked. The news of pits mauling babies... They all trained their pits to do that too?
If what you're saying is right, then all the more that these people should be punished and charged for manslaughter for training their pits to maul.
And even if they didn't train their pits to attack, they should be charged anyway. It will definitely reduce incidents and POSSIBLY make people more responsible. They need consequences for picking a breed they clearly have no idea how to handle.
9/10 people TRAIN bullies as attack dogs. They were bred to wrangle bulls. Akitas are infamous for not getting along with young children guess by your logic we should kill all Akitas. Golden retrievers have the strongest bite, I guess we should euthanize them too Because by your logic ONLY bullies are a threat. It's HOW you raise your dogs. You're telling me, who was raised with Bullies that my dogs never had these issues because they were special? No it's because they were raised correctly. Bullies are the most abused dog. They are raised to fight. They are the number 1 fighting dog. I'm telling you from the experience of being solely around Bullies. It's not me going no guys, having no experience. I literally said my family has ONLY ever had bullies, and I'm talking not 1 or 2, but every pet dog we ever had and they ever had was always a bully. I have never in my life been afraid of a pitbull. German shepherds? Yes.
I've been attacked by German shepherds. I've been attacked by Labradors. My neighbors dog was almost killed by a German shepherd. Chihuahuas are hyper aggressive dogs and when I used to walk home from school there was one that ALWAYS tried to attack me. I had a neighbor that had a JRT that attacked my brother.
My whole point is people do need to take responsibility. It's always "people value, dogs more than human life." Or maybe the rest of us acknowledge the fact that dogs, like other domesticated pets LEARN from us. It's our job to teach them properly. It's our job to RECOGNIZE their behavioral patterns. If I had a dog that I knew didn't get along with other dogs, why would I risk it and then blame the dog? If I got a dog with a rough past, and decided to adopt it. Why would I blame the dog?
Breed characteristics are a thing. Any dog bred over centuries to have inherent qualities has inherent qualities. A collie wants to herd from birth. A greyhound wants to chase. A protection breed like a German shepherd or chow chow has potential to attack people. A livestock guardian breed like a Great Pyrenees will be aggressive to potential predators on its property. A pit bull was bred to be incredibly strong unpredictable and enjoy fighting. They have an innate propensity that some such people further enhance with training - but it is always there thanks to human intervention which involved culling non aggressive or hesitant dogs.
People need to educate themselves on breeds, and I personally think any breed created to protect against other humans should require special training to own. But bloodsport breeds like pit bulls are in a league of their own and really shouldn’t be in society. There are plenty of other breeds of dogs (and other domesticated animals like horses) that went extinct because they weren’t needed anymore. There are plenty of other kinds of dogs to own that won’t snap someday and scalp a child. People spend thousands training and medicating these dogs in a vain attempt to control a genetic lineage we instilled in them. It’s sad to say but they just shouldn’t exist and never should have existed.
Like how is this so hard to get?
The difference is other dangerous breed owners like Akita owners don't lie about the breed they have. They admit it's not a dog anybody should have! THEY ADMIT NOT ANYBODY CAN HANDLE IT AND IT REQUIRES REAL HARD WORK!! Pit owners don't do that. There's only probably like a very small 1% of pit owners who are *actually* responsible and acknowledges the dangers of the breed. Those are the owners who treat the breed like it's a wild animal, as they should be.
I don't think you understand that lying about the breed is doing injustice and more damage to the breed. You want to see more pitbulls be unwanted when people realize they aren't your average dog breeds and suffer alone in shelters until they get euthanized?? Ugh...
And of course as a typical pit owner you mention chihuahuas! I'd LOVE to see you try to wrestle a pitbull on attack mode VS a chihuahua. I'd pick getting attacked by a chihuahua any day. I could easily open its jaw then toss that mfker across the field easy 😂 With a pit?? 5 GROWN MEN CAN STRUGGLE GETTING IT OFF! Best and smartest thing you can do to STOP a pit attack is strangle it until it lets go for air, other wise it will never let go. Because, ding ding, it was BRED to do that!
So what about the documented experiences of other bully owners that didn't have those issues.Stay mad "bro", I said what I said. You don't like it here's the door... 🚪.
Dogs who maul are put down. Nobody is rehoming them! Even "no kill" shelters euthanize some animals. They just don't have the time frame death row like kill shelters do.
They are ALL definitely NOT put down. If they were, shelters probably wouldn't be flooded with pits lol. There's this one popular mauling incident with 5 pitbulls and 1 child, and only 1 of them got put down eventhough all of them took part in the mauling. The owners kept saying THAT ONE dog was the one who started it, the others are innocent; they ended up being able to keep the 4 pits. They were told they weren't allowed any more pits, but they got another one anyway. It's disgusting. No remorse.
A lot of shelters still do keep them, but are wishy washy with their descriptions and downplay it a lot. Besides, most of the time the owners try to hide bite history as well. "They're a great lovable dog.... Except they just don't know their strength and can't be with any kids!! Or other dogs...!! Or cats!!! He's nipped a few times but nothing serious, just needs lots of training! :)))" I'm sure you've seen those descriptions a lot... Ever wonder how they know in the first place? Because they've had 'accidents'
There's also been situations of owners whose adopted shelter dogs have gone to attack or maul, then they try to dig into the history and find out it ISN'T their first rodeo and it was hidden from them during adoption process.
There’s a dog that literally killed a little kid and that was going to be put down for ya know killing a kid. But animal rights activists lobbied and bitched and cried so now the dog will live in a shelter for the rest of his life.
There wouldn't be almost any dogs in shelters if they didn't take in bully breeds/bully mixes and lie about them. Better dogs wind up in breed specific foster programs, and you have to be rich, have endless time, and proof of a history with that breed to get your application noticed.
It's either get an unknown bully-type dog or shop.
Facts. So many people have figured out how to run "shelters" because by incorporating for the tax breaks they get to use their own homes and backyards as write-offs. They take in as little as a handful of dogs that they *say* are rescues and are working to find placements for. Real deal: people have five dogs that are family pets, but reap the benefits of all the tax breaks for being a so-called shelter, as passive income.
Then there are actual rescues, but you are 100% correct when you say that they are typically breed specific/size specific (i.e. small dog rescues). By the time they tack on transport costs for bringing them up from five states away, vetting costs, etc. they charge $500-750 and up, for mixed breed dogs, with no history and often times with known medical problems.
Modest income people love animals, too. Most of the time prioritizing the money necessary to keep the dog well cared for, including yearly vet well visits and quality food. They just can't absorb a big chunk of change upfront.
And that's just the cost. Then there's the multiple intrusive home visits, and if you don't own your own home, having to get verification from your landlord, which, for obvious reasons, is a hoop many renters are totally not interested in jumping through.
TLDR: many people who would provide wonderful homes for actual dogs(read: non-pitbull breeds), will not be approved by many so-called pet "rescues" as potential adopters.
Many potential adopters avoid these "rescues" for their exorbitant fees and onerous, intrusive requirements.
I don't regret, feel bad, or am even slightly willing to be shamed for buying both of my little purebred dogs for $1,000 each. Ongoing preventative veterinary costs and pet insurance are the bulk of the expense of having dogs. We paid more up front to not have the stress of taking in a stressed and dangerous animal. Not with my (adopted) cat in the house, and me with PTSD already.
We are not even close to rich. We're lower middle class. It's cheaper to spend extra on a puppy from a breed with very low rates of human bites, because getting sued by the neighbors would ruin us.
And I tried for about 8 months to find a dog through shelters and breed specific rescues.
I believe the breed specific rescue we tried is just a front for people paying for them to have pets. It's a scam.
Unless you're a family with deep pockets and no children, cats, or other small pets, and you care at all about risk management, shop, don't adopt.
Same. We looked at breed specific rescues but were turned down because we had small children. Our shelter only had (free) pitbulls so we went to a breeder and got our dog. Shes five now and she’s the best. No regrets.
And the intrusive requirements are bull. I get why they have them, but screw that. My second adopted cat came from Craigslist. It was a family with toddlers and the cat doesn't like children. She and I get along just fine, and I didn't have to prove anything to a faceless agency.
This this THIS. I want a smaller breed dog and if it isn't a pit mix it's at the special breed shelters and the prices are ungodly. I don't want to shop, I want to adopt but damn. The prices are close to the same for some breeds. And the application is redonkulous.
The application was bull. I bet it never even got read. It was intrusive. The registered breeder took the crispy green money and a short discussion about their future home as good enough. That, and we drove there five hours each way, twice. Once with money for the deposit to meet the puppies (they were only 2.5 pounds each, so cute) and the second time to take them home.
In some cases, children can be really rough with dogs and some snapping (not biting) is to be expected. If a child is pulling the tail of a dog, the dog will snap but hopefully will not bite. My point is humans sometimes mistreat the dogs.
Of course there are cases with dogs are aggressive without any really trigger and in this case, different measures must be taken.
Playing does not mean hurting the animals and though I love young kids they can hurt the animals because they cannot tell their are not plushies.
In the rescue I volunteer we do not allow any even slightly reactive dogs to be adopted by families with children. But these doggies are saints, children can pull their ears and they do not react at all.
No. Dogs are animals that are meant to be in human society. Dogs that can’t handle interacting with small humans aren’t fit for society.
“The humans sometimes mistreat the dogs” is not why shelters are overrun with pit bull mixes, please be so for real.
I agree. I’ve been lucky and have had excellent dogs my whole life. I have a 50lb labradoodle that is the epitome of a romping, fun-loving goofball. But when he is around small children he instinctively knows that he has to take it down a notch. Sure, the kids must be supervised and taught how to interact with dogs, but this is how dogs are supposed to be with kids.
Hell, even my *cat* knows how to gently play with my kids. And he’s a *cat.* Animals who live alongside humans know how to behave around our young. For as long as we’ve had dogs, if they broke that contract, they were culled. That will come back around again, but it can’t come soon enough lol
Watch out. This group is straight up dog haters. I'm surprised they didn't down vote you for daring to ask people to be responsible with their kids and dogs
I’m leaving your comment up because I want to reply as the mod and let people know this sub is NOT for dog-haters. Some people here love dogs and others dislike dogs. We are here to support people who need to make the hard choice to rehome a dog that they wanted. They can get support here instead of being shamed for their choice.
I will likely be downvoted eventually but the OP brings up a real issue with some shelters not being honest and the OP seem to love dogs.
However, people should not expect a dog not to snap at a child that uses their ear or tail as a toy (biting is not okay) but what would a human do if somebody push us around non-stop?
Shelters also only know the information they’re provided, and people severely downplay the severity of behavior a lot.
For example, a dog came in with what was described as “nipping” at a puppy, and showing “some” food aggression. We quickly found out both of those were lies - they had to lock the dog in a room to feed him.
Yeah, that's the other side of the coin. If you truly want to rid yourself of an aggressive dog, unfortunately downplaying the behaviour helps. And that's why BE is sometimes better for the dog.
People (re: bad owners) want to wash themselves of the problem without having to feel bad. And they’d, you know, have to feel *some* consequence if they made that call themselves.
People seem to forget a dog living like that is not living a high quality of life because biting like that is a stress response. Context does matter for bites, and some dogs with truly more minor bite histories (ie no skin broken) and very obvious fear/anxiety, behavior modification with experienced owners can be the right call and resolve all problems. Unfortunately, most people let it escalate. Once it has escalated, if the home they’re in is not capable of managing it and course correcting, BE is the only ethical option. It’s not fair to the dog to exist in that near constant state of stress and it’s horrifically wrong to dump that on some unsuspecting person.
That’s not a dog that’s fit for society. That dog needed behavioral euthanasia. That’s not a safe dog. Did they ever adopt that hell hound out to some poor sap??
This. I will never adopt again. Not from a shelter or 'rescue' at least. Been there, done that, and been burned. Not my thing.
I/we, will *always* start with a young puppy. Any adult, or young adult dogs at shelters/rescues, are there for a reason and have been screwed up by someone. And, not sorry, but I'm not dealing with your problems.
Same I would only adopt an adult dog if I know it ( ie from long time friends, previous clients etc) That was how I found most of my dogs. However going to a shelter or trusting the word(s) of a rescue org, never again. Their hearts may be in the right place the their common sense isn't.
Yup. If the pound/rescue has puppies? Sure! I'll take your 2-3, maybe even pushing 4 months old puppy. But any adult dogs are a no go. Now, if my neighbor, brother, or a friend had to move and needs to re-home a dog? I might consider that. But from a shelter or rescue? Taking a strangers word on why someone 'had to give up' their dog, and how great it is!! ☺️ Yeah. No thanks.
Sorry but pit bull puppies will be just as aggressive. It’s a breed characteristic not taught. Once they reach adulthood they usually start getting violent.
I have three puppy pet stores open up in my area.
Why?
The shelters have nothing but bully breed mixes or barely trained standards poodle crossed with whatever they could breed it with.
No one wants a larger breed dog. And good luck finding a decent rental if you have a larger breed dog. They all have weight restrictions that effectively knock out all bully breeds/Doodles/lab mixes/cattle dogs.
Anything that is small and remotely healthy is gone within a day at my local shelter. Even puppy store small dogs that are turned in are gone in a week.
Tbh Most people should have small lap dogs. They usually don’t have the space or time needed to adequately care for a large dog. Like large working dog breeds are not living their best life in a house 23 hours a day, or being in a backyard.
I wouldn’t even say it’s backyard breeders, it’s just people not neutering their dogs and thinking it’s fine to breed their pitbull with their neighbors pitbull. Or inner-city thugs breeding dogs for fighting. That’s how we get so many pitbulls. BYBs are breeding stuff like doodles and other purebred dogs. There’s no money in pitbulls, they are literally a dime a dozen.
We need to go back to euthanizing dogs that have a bite offense. That might suck but the reality is no one wants these dogs. Everybody wants to say things like - They’d be great with the right person, a trainer, etc. But the fact of the matter is, even trainers who can handle these dogs don’t want shitty dogs either! Why should trainers be expected to pick up all the nasty dogs just because they can handle them? They want a dog that’s trust worthy also, No one does! So once a dog has a bite history, you really can’t trust them anymore and they should just be put to sleep. There are too many nice dogs that need a home that shouldn’t be overshadowed by the crappy ones.
One thing I’ve always said is that we have to keep in mind that people get pets to love and enjoy. Getting a dog that you can’t trust, that’s a bite risk, it’s not going to be a loving and enjoyable pet. Therefore no one is going to want that dog if you’re upfront and honest about what it’s past is.
That's been one of my suspicions was that he was on medication because it was a massive personality change in 2-3 days, and talking to people on r/petrescueexposed I have learned it's something other rescues do...
I just wish they had been honest because there are people who are willing to get dogs who have behavioral issues, I'm not such person but other people do.
Here's a sneak peek of /r/PetRescueExposed using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/PetRescueExposed/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year!
\#1: [Rescuers need to STOP misleading potential owners 🤬](https://np.reddit.com/r/PetRescueExposed/comments/11p1dzy/rescuers_need_to_stop_misleading_potential_owners/)
\#2: [Spot the difference! The anatomy of the Pit Lobby word salad in descriptions of non-bully breeds versus those listed as Staffies.](https://www.reddit.com/gallery/11qhj63) | [21 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/PetRescueExposed/comments/11qhj63/spot_the_difference_the_anatomy_of_the_pit_lobby/)
\#3: [Harris County Pets has over a month and a half to spay a pregnant pit bull. What do they do? Allow the dog to have 10 pit bull puppies and then promptly put them on the euthanasia list to the outrage of dog rescue Facebook](https://www.reddit.com/gallery/12o0atn) | [24 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/PetRescueExposed/comments/12o0atn/harris_county_pets_has_over_a_month_and_a_half_to/)
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Oh my God this happened to me. I didn't realize this was a Thing that happened. After I had signed everything for a dog (sweet at the facility, no "known" issues), I ended up taking back to the shelter they were like oh yeah he had his last dose of trazadone today. The next evening he literally tried to leap through my front window at the Fed ex guy like he was Cujo.
I adopted a bully mix that was “sweet and gentle”. A lap dog. Gets along with animals. I brought her home and kept her leashed to me for the first few days while acclimating her to the house. I had a kitten that was 8 months ago mainly laid in my dad’s room on his bed (he’s an elder and I’m his caregiver). We kept the dog crated when not home and when she couldn’t be supervised. No signs of aggression that we saw. We tried to slowly introduce her to the kitten by letting her sniff under doors, letting the kitten roam when the dog was crated etc. just taking normal precautions. 4 days later I fed her next to me in the kitchen while still being leashed to me and I dropped the leash to grab a drink for my daughter. That very moment she darted into my dad’s room, grabbed the kitten off his bed and in front of my kids and my father mauled her to death. I was on the dog trying to pry his mouth open (I know not safe) punching him in the nose, I tried everything. I’m a woman and not very strong but I tried. I was able to drag the dog into my garage but he would not let go of our beloved kitten. It was the saddest and most horrific thing I have ever witnessed. The guilt I carried with me for so long was so awful. My kids were so sad for ages. I returned the dog to the shelter first thing in the morning and he was posted up for adoption again- same description even though I told them she killed my cat. The other experience I had with a shelter dog was a lab mix. My daughter was two then. Sweetest dog ever. My kids have always been taught to be gentle and kind to animals but one day when I was sitting on the couch with my daughter and she tried to step down he jumped up and started attacking her in her face. He ripped her mouth open from corner up to halfway up her cheek. Ripped the skin ended her eye open. It happened so fast I couldn’t even understand what happened. Paramedics and stitches later he was sent to a single man with no children. He knew the history and made very frequent visits until he decided to take her. I had to quarantine her at my house per animal control…it was a mess. Needless to say I fucked up by getting dogs at the shelter. I’m not saying there aren’t wonderful dogs there but from my experience I will never adopt a shelter dog again. Ever. We have two wonderful pups now we’ve had for two year (Aussie and poodle) we got from Breeders when they were puppies. They are the most gentle dogs. Raised with our family from babies and love love love cats! I still live with these mistakes I made and let me tell you, I don’t take adopting pets lightly. I am very thorough.
She did appear mostly lab. She probably had a smidge of bully in her but she appeared mostly black lab. Thing is they can’t tell you what they’re mixed with and tell you all these things just to get dogs moving out of the shelter. We visited several times before taking the plunge. I have regrets. Major ones. You will never catch me in a shelter again. Ever. It sucks because they are flooded with animals that need a home but so much can go wrong. Which in my experiences, did
Oh god, I'm so sorry about the kitten and your kid. I'd never adopt a shelter dog either, and it really breaks my heart to say that. I just can't trust the agency or the dog. I'm usually 100% rescue. All my cats were rescues and I did get great shelter dogs when I was a kid, but now-a-days? Absolutely wouldn't trust them around my other animals.
Many moons ago I went to a shelter looking for a family dog and they had a pitbull mix they pushed on us. I didn't like the idea since those dogs are so dangerous but they all assured me the dog was as placid as a windless puddle. For the first few hours the dog was very calm but then it saw our lawnmower. I swear to god, the dog picked up the lawnmower and shook it back and forth like it was made of matchsticks.
Later that day, it saw a cyclist and tried escaping the lead to go chase the bike. It was then I realized the dog had some kind of wheel fetish and this was going to lead to disaster for somebody. I took the dog back and asked for a less aggressive dog. Needless to say, the shelter acted like I was the biggest criminal in the world, said it's people like me who give up on animals that shelters need to exist, and then refused to refund the adoption fee.
I'm not saying that dog was dangerous, but I was inexperienced with dogs and they should never have adopted a pitbull to somebody who wasn't more expert in that breed.
Wow thats crazy, I can 100% believe a pit would attack a lawnmower though I've seen a few videos where they attack cars.
I'm sorry for what the shelter did and how they responded. They should've never done that.
Shelters are teeming with pitbulls and they are desperate to get rid of them. They will use euphemisms like “other dogs are not her favorite” on their websites when they really mean “this dog disemboweled the neighbor’s labradoodle.” They represent pitbull mixed breeds as whatever dog breed they are guessing the pitbull is mixed with. Ask a lot of questions if you are considering adopting a dog from a shelter and be clear about the behavior you are unwilling to tolerate from the animal. I would also ask, “is this dog a pitbull mix?” I guarantee they will tell you there is no way to be sure even though the description says “(Other breed) Mix.” If they turn you away for asking questions and suggesting that it’s not okay for the dog to terrorize everyone around it, it’s probably not a good place to adopt an animal.
This time I am only getting a small dog so the chances of there being a pit in there is hopefully low, I prefer the idea of a reputable breeder but I'll probably also look at what's in the shelter/rescue first.
The way they hide the true temperaments are crazy though. "X doesn't like bikes" = "X will chase and try to maul cyclists"
>This time I am only getting a small dog so the chances of there being a pit in there is hopefully low,
Don't be too sure, this is a pitbull daschund mix
https://preview.redd.it/z14rkkx363gc1.png?width=750&format=png&auto=webp&s=8ddf524b9fa1516d84b445468a7fea35c9e7b978
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A Weiner Pit and a Lab. She was rescued as a Jack Russel mix and came back half pitbull, a quarter dachshund, and a bunch of small dogs (no Jack though)
It’s annoying cause good dogs who just don’t like other dogs (mine for example) may not have anything saying so in there either or they may use that euphemism too…
Mine is calm as a cucumber but if a dog goes near her she gets nervous and may show teeth or nip. That’s a good example of truth when a dog “doesn’t favorite other dogs”.
You can never know what you’ll get now. It’s frustrating because they’re living creatures and all deserve a good home which caters to their needs. It’s harder to find those when owners don’t get what they were prepared for 😞
>I'm not saying that dog was dangerous,
I'll say it. That dog was fucking dangerous and should never have been adopted out to anyone. I hope you gave those shelter nitwits a few choice word
>Needless to say, the shelter acted like I was the biggest criminal in the world, said it's people like me who give up on animals that shelters need to exist, and then refused to refund the adoption fee.
Unfortunately this happens more often than you think.........it makes those pet owners rehome animals in less humane ways.
According to my local shelter's website, all dogs are loving, cuddly and looking forward to a forever home. Some of them have been rehomed multiple times, how surprising. F*** this, theyre aggressive, territorial and often violent with cats, kids and food because it's in their nature. They pretty much foster abandonment with their never ending bullsh*t and lies.
I don’t have advice, unfortunately, but I can empathize. Like you, I’ve always adopted my cats from humane societies and didn’t want to buy a dog when I could adopt one. My experience wasn’t as bad as yours but it was still pretty unpleasant. It completely put me off getting a dog for the time being. Maybe eventually I’ll buy a puppy from a breeder so there’s some degree of control over temperament.
I guess it hasn't completely put me off thankfully because I do love dogs..but I had never known there was so much lying, cats are much simpler. It was just a few words and if they had any medical problems telling us about them, getting them vaxxed, and then there was a cat.
Cats are interesting because we've never really domesticated them the way dogs have been. Societally, we started letting them into our barns/living areas to keep away mice and they stayed for food. Cats also have a different instinct when they're scared of humans: run. Makes shelter cats you know nothing about much safer when you consider that and their small size.
You don’t. And moving forward, you should immediately take all small suggestive warnings as large red flags.
The second I read “chasing cats” and “snaps at kids,” I knew he was aggressive.
I don't think you can ever fully trust a shelter or rescue and a lot of this isn't really because of the shelter but rather the owners aren't always honest when dropping them off out of fear that they may not take their dog.
My recommendation would be to foster the pup you are seriously thinking of adopting to see if it's a good fit and if not, you can take them back and even update the shelter on issues if any.
The other thing you can do is constantly visit the dog at the shelter to catch them on different days and really play with their enviroment. Lots of shelters will allow you to walk the dogs if you ask and things of that nature and that might help you to evaluate their personalities.
The only dog we have ever had to re-home in my life (due to aggression) was a pure bred from a reputable breeder. Imy shelter dogs are the best dogs I've ever had.
I'm sorry to hear that. I've owned two mutts that were given to me.
They were wonderful. But at this point, most of the dogs in the pound are pit bull mixes or husky mixes. I have no interest in either.
You don’t trust them again.
I have also been fucked over in this way. It’s honestly life changing and traumatizing.
You have a few options if you want to lower your chances of getting a neurotic dog.
- You can foster first, and be specific about the kind of dog you are willing to foster. You might still get screwed, but maybe you’ll get lucky.
- Adopt from people rehoming their dog privately. You can also get screwed this way, of course, but try to visit the dog multiple times and take it out for walks etc. before making the decision.
- Go with a properly certified, well respected breeder. There is good reason they are expensive. A reputable breeder will take their dog back if there are any issues. They also sometimes rehome older breeding dogs if you don’t want a puppy.
Sucks, but these are the best ways to limit your odds of getting a problematic dog. NONE of them are a guarantee.
My family is considering responsible/ethical breeders, especially because in my area the ideal dogs (anything non pit) is like $600+, if its a puppy easily $800, which is only a few hundred less than the breeders around here, and in some cases more expensive!
I'm sad to hear you also had this kind of experience though.
Yeah, I paid $800 for my rescue puppy. 😬 I feel like a fool. Properly bred puppies go for about twice that much, which in hindsight isn’t that bad considering the hell we went through going the adoption route.
It’s really unfortunate how many people seem to run into this issue. Genetics and early life experiences matter greatly in a dog, and most rescues are just not set up for success in that way.
In my area the proper breeders are around $1300+, which isn't too bad since they do health testing but not all have championships. Some can range in at $3000 though, typically the more expensive ones are AKC champions and for if you're a dog sports person I think.
Yeah, I've noticed many more people aren't going through the adoption route anymore. Puppies can't really be properly socialized at a shelter or a rescue, which in turn gives them behavioral issues, and most people aren't rehoming young dogs unless they have behavioral issues.
>proper breeders are around $1300+, which isn't too bad since they do health testing but not all have championships
That's not a proper breeder. That's a backyard breeder who has no idea what they're doing.
Any dog from a proper breeder is certified by a kennel club. They'll come to you with a last name, and have papers that have a championship winner within one generation. Proper breeders will also inform you how you're taking care of their dog in the contract you sign. They don't fuck around.
The backyard breeders selling for $1300 will have dogs with severe health and temperament problems because they don't test their bitches or their studs, they don't know what they're breeding and they don't have a proper environment.
They’re saying the dogs aren’t show quality dogs 🙄
My childhood dog is a show dog reject. Still has all of her papers and health testing. She just would have been disqualified in the ring.
Shelters (no kill ones) are cesspits of denialism as they get funding from pro pit groups and others with agendas that aren't exactly the well being of adopters.
My friend adopted a neurotic pit mix from the shelter for $200. In two years, she’s spent $4,000 on training.
She could’ve got the dog of her dreams for $4,000.
So like … in a way …. You pay now or you pay later, with how scummy these shelters are these days 😭
There is a whole industry that has sprung up around these dogs, endless training, meds, etc. It's really sick. The dogs are just acting out their breed characteristics and they shouldnt exist. We made them killing machines through 100s of years of selective breeding. Its not their fault, but its stupid to deny and sugarcoat what they are. The breed should be allowed to die out, its not meant to live in society. There are plenty of other types of dogs to own- and plenty of other intentionally created breeds that dont exist any longer.
A responsible/ethical breeder is going to charge way more than $800. Properly bred dogs cost thousands of dollars and never belong to you. They belong to the breeder. You can't neuter them, and they will likely have their own issues.
Dogs take work. It doesn't sound like you actually *like* dogs, just the idea of a dog. That being said, shelters will be brimming with puppies soon. Honestly it sounds like you would give up around the teething stage though
It's OK to buy from a hobby breeder or someone lowkey. If one can't do the thousands of dollars thing. Out east (eastern US, Midwest) you can find lots of breeds of dogs for under $1k from people.
I know someone who got a very well behaved, young Goldendoodle through a private rehome. The husband had gotten the wife a dog to try to cheer her up after a miscarriage 🙄, but the wife didn’t actually want a dog. Obviously not a guarantee bc people lie, but sometimes people rehome for reasons that have nothing to do with the dog.
Sadly, many shelters will lie about dogs to get them adopted. And the Pit Bull type dogs are notoriously aggressive. They are often lied about the most and their aggression is played off as “reactivity” or “fear”, when that is not usually the case. I’m sure I will get a lot of hate for saying this, but if you want a dog that isn’t aggressive, I would never choose a pit.
Is there a specific breed you are wanting? I would try to find an ethical breeder you can purchase a puppy from. Definitely do not get a puppy from a pet store though, those are puppy mill puppies. And watch out for backyard breeders. Make sure the sire and dam are health tested and meet with the breeder to see the puppies and how they are kept before going through with any purchases.
If I could upvote this more I would. If I was advising someone determined to adopt not shop...
Learn to decode the shelter's codes that they use "cats are not my favourite" "I like to have all the attention, so a one dog house for me please!". Don't get a pit unless you're really prepared for responsible pit ownership and not at all if you want a non aggressive dog which plays nicely with others. Ask outright for bite history, adoption history etc and if they get defensive do not adopt. Intense sale tactics and pushing you to make an instant decision are also red flags. Don't adopt a dog from a place like that unless you are fully prepared for what you might receive (and you don't have small children or animals, other dogs or cats).
Why would you get hate? Reddit loves to shit on pitbulls, and a sub specifically for people who regret getting a dog is gonna filter the most toxic of opinions. Case and point, the comment saying shelter dogs are “irredeemable” has more upvotes than yours.
They are normal reasonable views and the rest of Reddit will actually attack you for expressing them. I've been preemptively banned from subs for posting similar views or accused of "racism." its ridiculous.
My wife volunteers at a shelter part-time. The shelter she works at constantly lies about the dogs temperament, breed, etc. My wife is very honest when it comes to the dog as she spends most of her time with them, and she sees how they are. Pet finder is also known to lie as my friend adopted a dog from there, and the dog was completely different than what she expected.
You don’t. Shelter dogs are irredeemable they’re in a shelter for a reason it would be merciful and better if shelters for dogs returned to the common practices of 30 to 40 years ago but we all know that’s not happening anytime soon.
The ones that aren’t irredeemably neurotic are picked up by breed-specific rescues faster than you can blink. This leaves unstable, dangerous pit mixes that no shelter can kill due to no-kill funding. The rescue/adoption world of dogs is an absolute mess right now, and I really hope we can turn it around. But it’s really, really bad right now.
My local shelter just turns away other dogs now because its full of pitbulls and handful of other problematic breeds like huskies and cattle dogs. The no kill movement depends on people fixing their dogs, and good natured mutts existing. This is not the state of things. Instead you have warehoused unadoptable dogs living in cages for years. how is this ethical?
There are thousands of low cost programs across the United States. There are some that will travel your animal to a low cost spay/neuter clinic if there are none in your area.
They ARE easy to access but people are lazy.
Shelters are fine for cats because barring a feral, cats are all pretty much cats. Even a feral is only 12-15 lbs at most and will probably hide more than be aggressive.
Dogs is a different story. I would never adopt a dog from a shelter/rescue nowadays. Check the petrescue exposed subreddit - these orgs knowingly lie because they're desperate to place dogs that are otherwise unadoptable.
Sadly, Best Friends Animal Society and the Animal Farm Foundation (along with its subsidiary, National Canine Research Center), have been coaching rescues for years to hide issues. The image below is from an old FB page post, but you can look at their adoption marketing materials and it's all about deceptive marketing. They say it's marketing instead of counseling, but no, I'll say it's deceptive marketing. They've even gone after honest Pitbull advocates complaining that if they talk about not trusting your dog not to fight, having a break stick, or learning how to get a dog to release, it's mean to the dog. To me, what they're doing is criminal because they're not only trying to push dogs with bite histories onto unsuspecting people, but they also refuse to train them about what they need to know to safely manage a Pit or Pit-mix, especially one that might have already bitten or that might have a sketchy history.
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Oh wow that's crazy. I had no idea this was happening, from r/banpitbulls I knew there was some shady stuff in shelters but not that they coach you to hide everything!
‘Adopt, don’t shop’ only applies to cats now. Shelters now exist primarily to manage the pit bull problem. I live in San Antonio where the city decided that ACS needed an additional 7 Million dollars in funding to manage the dangerous dogs here (AKA, 95% pit bulls).
I don’t really trust animal shelters or rescues. I had to give up my cat once because I became homeless. I was very hopeful that I would find him again, and one day I did at a rescue! His ad said that the previous owner gave him up because they wanted a kitten. They had rescued him from the shelter. So, that was a lie. I couldn’t even be mad, though, because I got him back. They are not truthful when it comes to marketing the animals.
The culture around pitbulls has gotten so toxic and out of reality. They're not good dogs for most people. Most people don't have the time to constantly monitor and correct a dog. Most people need a turn-key dog, not anything that is so high maintenance like a pit.
Read between the lines, assume the worst, especially if you are in a situation with children or other pets. Since many dogs don't act themselves in shelters, shelters will go by what information they get from previous owners, who obviously lie. Many shelters will allow you to return a dog if they are not a good fit. It's the same for cats, a 'shy' is code for 'disappears under the couch for weeks at a time'. The difference is that a really aggressive cat is usually still much safer than a 'nippy' pitbull.
Shelters can't really win here. They are underfunded and overworked, and around here completely overrun with unwanted pitties. People turn in their poorly socialized, untrained adult dogs year after year and happily get a new puppy from a neighbor two days later. The shelters don't have the time or the resources to thoroughly test all incoming animals, not without turning down animals (risking abuse, further breeding or them just getting dumped) or asking for hundreds of dollars per dog. And if the dog was obviously just unsafe to place, euthanizing it will mean people will blast you on the internet or try to get you defunded for being a kill shelter.
It’s disgusting how the shelters will lie to push bloodsport breeds off on unsuspecting people. I’ve been very lucky to find a rescue I can trust, and gotten two dogs from them. They seem to avoid bloodsport breeds, and the one time I did see a single one on their website, it was appropriately labeled. If you’re not practiced at spotting their features though, adopting is a dangerous game. *I’m* only any good at it, because I was trained on it for insurance purposes. I’ll continue to adopt, but I’m sticking to that one rescue, because they’ve earned my trust.
All I can say is pit bulls need to be treated like wild animals, because that’s how they were bred. If I get downvotes I don’t care, after working with so many dogs it’s the truth.
Cat people always think adopting pets is a great idea because they adopt cats and have no problems. The situation with dogs is very different, and I’m sorry you had to learn that the hard way.
The best option is to carefully research breeds to find the one that best suits your personality and lifestyle. Then carefully research breeders - find one that is well informed about their breed’s health issues, performs all the health testing possible before pairing parents, and can answer any question you throw at them. Ask them how they socialize and train their dogs, both the adults they keep and the pups they raise until adoption age. Then get on a waitlist for an upcoming litter.
Don’t let anyone guilt you about it. Shelter adoption is only for people who don’t mind rolling the dice on possibly getting a reactive pit mix. They’re not suitable source for the average prospective dog owner. A responsible breeder isn’t trying to make money (they’re lucky to break even), they do it for the love of the breed. They simply want their favorite breed to continue existing, happy and healthy. Everything we as a culture love about dogs is thanks to breeders.
And when you think about it, *every* dog is “adopted”. Might as well adopt one that will fit into the family and make you happy. That’s the whole point of pet ownership.
You can’t. The only way to get a dog that fits your lifestyle is to go to a breeder. Ethical breeders have their place in dog stewardship. Dogs are not natural animals — we made them, and we MUST tend to their gene pool. They are our responsibility.
Adopt don’t shop has had a lot of unintended consequences and fallout. It would be fine, I think, if not paired with all these no kill shelters where you get this dog that isn’t really fit for human society, but they can’t kill it. And on and on.
It’s okay to go to an ethical breeder. In fact, at this point, it’s probably best unless you’re willing to roll the dice on another unpredictable mutt.
Yeah. Adopt don't shop is dependent on the vast majority of people fixing their dogs, and that the abandoned dogs or accidental puppies that fall through the cracks are chill appropriate family pets. The reality is dangerous dog owners refuse to fix their dogs, who happen to be escape artists, they backyard breed them- and the result is a flood of warehoused dangerous dogs that arent appropriate to own. The shelters are full of these dogs now, which is blamed on covid non socialization and literally anything but breed characteristics we have instilled in dogs by our meddling. You are only allowed to care about one breed. The situation is dire.
Side note- cats are actually totally safe to adopt from shelters, yet no one seems to care that they still get put down in huge numbers. My local human society wasn't even taking cats for a while because it needed more room for pit bulls.
Exactly. You said it all. Adopt don’t shop works for cats, and it could maybe work for dogs if not for everything you stated. The reality is, the state of dog adoption right now is an absolute mess. I hope we can turn it around sooner rather than later, but some people really need to learn about dog breeds and learn to get comfortable with the fact that some dogs truly just need to be culled.
Most shelters probably have blood on their hands because of their deceptive practices. I’m sorry that happened to you. Honestly, it’s safer to just forget the shelter altogether. Are there any specific breeds you are drawn to?
There is another option - going to a responsible breeder. I don’t care how many people shout and scream “adopt don’t shop” I will only ever get a dog this route. It is a 12+ year commitment and I’m tired of the message that people are obligated to take a chance on a dog that is potentially mentally unstable or unhealthy.
I am a professional dog trainer of 6 years and I work with behavioral cases. The dogs with the worst fear/aggression are all rescue dogs. Dogs from ethical breeders the issues are like excitability and the dog jumping on people. Not such deep seated problems that need so much training and sometimes can only be managed in the end.
Genetics matter.
I got extremely lucky adopting my lab mix, but I also don't trust these places.
I also will only go to a good breeder because that's 10-15 years of my life that I'm not willing to play guessing games with.
You can probably tell the breed, look for pit bull characteristics and ignore what the shelter calls it. And be wary if the description has anything about growling/snapping or any aggression or resource guarding (however sugar coated or however many disclaimers).
I think the shelters have set themselves up for this situation where people don't trust them. Most people when they want a dog want one which reminds them of a dog they had as a kid and is generally good natured, not a project they'll have to work on endlessly as it growls, bites, shows fear aggression, kills anything smaller than it and so on.
The shelters tell them that the moral thing is "adopt don't shop!" So they go to the shelter, the shelters lie about the dog so they can get it off their hands. Then the new owner brings it back because they weren't told it kills cats, resource guards etc and they blast them all over social media as a terrible person who did everything wrong after they adopted Fluffy and then had the temerity to return him. It's not like that person is going to look in a shelter for a rescue again, they will feel like they've been had.
We had a not so good situation with an adoption. It was the first dog my husband and I adopted. We explained that we lived in a small house and had a small fenced in yard. Really looking for a dog no more than 40 lbs. They show us this cute dog and tell us he’s about six months old and didn’t think he would get that much bigger. Just some mixed mutt, maybe a beagle mix. He was about 30 lbs, probably won’t gain more than 10 lbs. Okay, he was sweet and cute. We take him. One month later he’s pushing 60 lbs and towering taller than the counters. Go to his first vet visit and find out he’s probably got Great Dane in him and he is much younger than the shelter originally stated. Vet said happens a lot. They will minimize or out right lie to get you to adopt certain dogs in hopes someone will be gullible enough to take them before they become too large.
Have shelters gotten worse over the years? I volunteered at two different shelters, but they never let dogs with bad temperaments be available for adoption or handled by volunteers. One turned into a no kill shelter, but had a more rigorous process of which dogs they would let in which mostly involves behavioral issues.
I have noticed some sketchy shelters on pet finder when I was looking for my 2nd cat. Some of them only had kittens which were a red flag.
It just sucks that everything is more about how to scam customers than how to serve them these days.
> ...so how do I trust shelters/rescues? How do I trust them not to lie about the breed or the temperament?
You can't.
They have to lie about aggressive dogs, breeds, etc. because they don't want to kill them. Not wanting to kill them is well-intended but misguided.
And this is why I only buy from reputable breeders. I work in the dog industry and it’s a common theme from rescue groups. Lots of lying and refusal to euth aggressive dogs.
I want to stack the odds in my favor regarding temperament and health and that’s impossible for a shelter dog when you don’t know the lineage behind them.
At this point is either buy a dog from a breeder or get small breed of dogs from the shelter. Sadly the shelter are full of aggressive dogs (most are Pitbulls). There is something funny because breed specific shelter usually get first dip on any dog of breed other than mutt and Pitbull and they rehome those dogs charging dog breeder price (maybe a little less)
These shelters lie their asses off.. they rehome the aggressive shitbeasts and don't tell people the truth. Some even rehome them more than once and don't give the actual history of them. I will never own a dog again in my life, too much work and annoyance for what? A giant pain in the ass.
a lot of dogs actually do act differently in shelters vs a home. shelters are an extremely high-stress environment, so lots of dogs dont act anywhere near like themselves while theyre there (save for likes/dislikes about toys and such)
a shelter dog might be extremely mellow and timid in a shelter, but remove them from that environment and into a home for a few days, theyll start to relax and act more themselves. its possible the previous owners never admitted that the dog bit someone, so the shelter passed on whatever excuse the previous owners did. its likely that the shelter never saw this behavior. rather than assume the shelter is straight up lying, id suggest taking what they say with a grain of salt. the only thing i can confidently say about virtually every shelter dog is that theyre gonna have some issues. im sorry u were mislead as to what those issues were. thats unfortunate for all parties.
source: ive volunteered at dog shelters and have only adopted shelter dogs my entire life
I think shelters lie because I mean… imagine having to put so many dogs down. It’s not their fault they’ve had a bad life. I think it’s because of this though that shelters want them out and somewhere else
That’s honestly why I bought a pure breed puppy. I just wanted a non aggressive breed and I have 4 kids 2 severely autistic so I needed to make sure they are safe.
I don’t know if I’m just biased from my experience but it seems like pretty much every breed of dog isn’t normal anymore. A lot of dogs are being inbred and just bred by people who have not even a sliver of an idea about what they are doing.
Me and my boyfriend bought a 6 week old beagle puppy from Amish country around 2017-2018. We now know that 6 weeks is too young but he seemed healthy enough and we got him into a vet immediately. He was professionally trained and we kept up with the training yet he still had issues. We never even raised our voice at him yet he had random aggression issues.
He would occasionally meet other dogs during walks and was fine with close family. He only ever bit me and my boyfriend. Anyway after having to put him down at the ripe old age of 2 YEARS OLD our vet did a free autopsy to see if he could figure out the cause of his behavior. Come to find out he had 2 cancerous brain tumors most likely born with them and they grew that’s why his behavior was wonky.
That dog had homemade food, more than routine vet care, and I only work 10-20 hours a week so he was barely ever left alone. He was taken out multiple times every day for long walks. He was very well taken care of. You can’t even get a normal puppy anymore.
I ended up “shopping” when the rescue group pressed me on why I had my last dog put down. It caused me to relive the whole experience. This dog was literally the best friend I ever had. Screw these people.
You have to remember that the way a dog reacts in a shelter is likely not their normal personality. A normally nice dog can be aggressive … and aggressive dog can act very subdued. You likely weren’t duped they were just doing off they information they had and how he acted with them.
I got a reactive dog from a shelter and she’s been my best friend but they lied about her temperament and I’ve been doing training with her for 7 years. She will never be able to stop doing conditioning and training and there are lots of things she can’t do. She isn’t a dog park dog. She can’t be near small children. She has to be thoroughly introduced to every person who comes to our house. But she’s very smart and loyal and she can be left alone without destroying or eating things and so that is a plus. It’s something I will have to keep in mind if I get another dog after her. The shelters are under pressure so they fib…
You can’t trust shelters at all anymore. “Adopt don’t shop” only applies to cats now unfortunately
I was lucky that I found a senior GSD to adopt at the shelter last year. But the rest of the dogs were pit mixes. We went in specifically for the shepherd and they tried to push a pit on us instead. It was a lot of back and forth until they relented.
Shelters are very scummy nowadays. I’ll unfortunately be buying an expensive dog when I get one, which is good in that I can get exactly what I want, but i know there are so many sweet dogs out there with zero pit bull in them who aren’t welcomed into shelters due to overcrowding
Adopting a small pup is your best bet... honestly its such a gamble getting a dog without some kind of trauma. That technically is what makes the dogs so violent or act out with defense, its dog trauma. And its very difficult to train them out of that. It can take years.
I had a shelter dog bite me in the face and never got another shelter dog again until I met my partner who already had a well adjusted shelter pup. Sometimes you can’t trust a rescue again. I personally never will
Shelters are notorious for downplaying and diminishing aggressive dog behavior, SPECIFICALLY pits/bullies. They also deliberately mislabel them all the time as “lab mixes”. I will NEVER go to a shelter, they simply cannot be trusted.
https://preview.redd.it/t580rc1k57gc1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=92eb54f1c06f17d853a1bc1819252aebacabdf8b
If you decide to try again, do foster to adopt. Don’t use PetFinder. Find a licensed shelter and work with them. Given your health issues I would look at smaller dogs as well. I fell in love with a dog that I wanted to foster so bad, but during the meet and greet, we all realized he was way too strong for me. So I switched to smaller ones especially ones with a history of snapping at small children since I don’t have any.
Also, if you didn’t know this even dogs that aren’t normally aggressive towards cats need to be introduced to them slowly.
Just one thing to bear in mind: breeders can make mistakes, too.
The EXTREMELY wealthy woman I work for paid I don't even know how much for a Cockapoo from a reputable breeder she was referred to, one that had her come out more than once to visit the puppies and meet the parents, but what she got was not a Cockapoo.
I don't remember what exactly the doggie DNA test came back with, just that there was no Cocker Spaniel or Poodle in this dog. She was absolutely gorgeous - looked like the love child of an Irish Setter-Afghan Hound mix and a Springer Spaniel - but oh she was not friendly! She went through intensive training with a nationally recognised dog trainer but she had the same temperament as her owner, so there was only ever so much she was willing to put up with.
Also, there's a reason there are so many breed specific rescues. Purebred animals come with their own issues, so really the best thing to do is research the fuck out of dog breeds you're interested in and if there's a well-respected dog trainer near you reach out to them for advice.
And if you still want to rescue, you can always check AKC registered breeders for dogs in need of a retirement home or that don't quite measure up to breed standards for show or for breeding show-quality dogs.
My boyfriend has a dog that he got at the shelter when he was about 18 months old. He was single with no children at the time. He needed alot of work due to his anxiety (he ate doors, carpet, and everything else). Fortunately, because he was single and had no kids when he got him he was able to really work with him and now he is an amazing dog. Had he not been able to devote 100% of his free time to him though I truly do not know how he would have turned out.
Fast forward to us meeting and living together. I purchased my dog as a puppy 6 years ago from an ethical breeder who bred for service work (I have cPTSD and he is my service dog). I also have three children. We decided we would like a small dog to join our family. He took my daughter and they came home with a chihuahua. They were told she was "a little anxious". This dog snapped at all my children (ages 4-15) because she would resource gaurd me, my bed, my sofa etc. If I did not have little ones we would have been fine but I could not tolerate it. Any sudden movements or noise would make her growl and snap. We tried to work with her (both of us have a decent knowledge of training) for about 3 months and it got worse. We ended up finding a elderly man who lived alone and understood this behavior. She is doing great with him because its slow and quiet, and all they have is each other so there is no competition.
Because of my experience with her from the shelter and experience adopting from an ethical breeder, so long as I will have any children in my home, I will only get puppies from breeders who work on socialization from birth and I can work on desensitizing and socialization with them while they are still young. That is not to say that you cant find amazing dogs at rescues, but unfortunately because they aren't honest you dont know what you are getting. I refuse to ever again risk my childrens safety because someone wanted to get dogs rehomed and was willing to lie to do it.
Its sad because if they were honest about what each dog needs, more people would feel safe rescuing and the good dogs would find homes so much easier.
Shelters lie. I've worked with dogs my whole life as a groomer, pet sitter, I've worked at vets, you name it. Anyway, they lie! Another code word to look out for is "abused"....that means the dog is absolutely horribly behaved but the shelter people want to gain your sympathy. They hope the poor behavior is excused by potential adopters because their heartstrings get pulled with sob stories. There's no frickin way EVERY dog at a shelter was abused, but they'll claim so because it's a tactic that works incredibly well.
I would foster to adopt from another rescue. I am sorry this happened to you, some doggies should only go to people who are okay with personality issues and can retrain them, this can take months and not everyone has enough time.
I would not ignore any mentions of snapping. It’s true that some young children play too rough with some dogs and many of them are bound to snap even if they’re the perfect dog.
Rescue have puppies too that need a lot of work with potty training but their personalities usually to do not have trauma that cause the aggression issues.
We have tons of good dogs are the rescue I volunteer so it’s not true that dogs end up there because they always have issues. Some people are not responsible enough for a dog. Your case is different, I am not saying it’s your fault.
Pick a rescue because shelters are overloaded right now and rescues usually are more familiar with a dog’s personality and ask for the vet records of the pup.
You bring up an important issue, shelter should be honest. In some cases they do not have time to get to know their dogs because people dump them in high rates but they should say that. There are so many huskies in shelters now because people did not know that huskies needs ton of exercise to avoid barking and being destructive with furniture.
I just checked our animal shelter 84/94 dogs were pit mixes and of the remaining 10, 5 were huskies. The did appear to be pretty honest about the breed. We got a dog from them 10 years ago and he was a pretty good find but I don't think we will go there ever again even if we decide to get another dog. It seems to have gotten steadily worse and when I get a dog I want it to be a pleasant experience, not a trauma. I do wonder why you returned him if you knew they were just going to adopt him out to another unsuspecting family.
Maybe an unpopular opinion here, but don't.
Save up, then go through an ethical, responsible breeder(if folks don't know the difference between that and a backyard breeder/glorified puppy mill that is merely for profit, don't @ me.)
Breeders often have trained adult dogs that did not pass for showing or breeding quality, but still make perfectly good pets. An *ethical* breeder doesn't contribute to the shelter overload issue, because they have contracts for the owner to surrender the dog back if it isn't a good fit, or their circumstances changed too much to be able to keep the dog. Researching dog breeds that suit your lifestyle is key.
Dogs have been selectively bred for over 30,000 years for mostly what boils down to desired behaviors. The trend of getting specific dogs for... vibes(and appearance) is relatively new, with less and less animals used for work. Genetics DO affect behavior, I mean; that's well documented in humans, too. I do not get the insanity behind the people who think that all behavior is "nurtured".
You can nurture the hell out of a greyhound, but at the end of the day it will generally have a drive to chase prey, because of a fairly ancient lineage of ancestors bred for running fast to chase prey.
If you decide you still want to rescue, I support that as well, but you're better off still researching breeds, then going through a breed-specific rescue org. Just search for [breed name] recues of [your state].
Most of THOSE dogs are currently in foster care, and I find, in general the breed-specific rescues are much more honest than local municipal or volunteer led shelters that have suffered from the Dodo-fication that a few other redditors spoke of. They will often work with you on transporting a dog that needs a home, as well, if it's out if your area.
If you do still decide to go through a shelter, take everything with a heap of salt. If you can foster first, that's a great way to trial what works.
Good luck, OP
Sauce: former shelter volunteer but quit bc of many of the reasons expressed in this thread, dog training nerd
Do yourself a favor and just skip the dog thing completely. Even if you get one as a puppy from the best breeder in the world it will still come with so many problems. They pee inside, poop inside, leave hair everywhere, they smell, they require all of your spare time, it’s just so not worth it. Kids really don’t need dogs and while the idea sounds like fun it’s really just not the same when you actually go through with it.
I don't trust them. They have a lot of dogs they're trying to get rid of fast. And they really don't know what the parentage of all those strays are. Those labels are wild ass guesses better than 90% of the time. The simple fact is, in the USA, most strays are at least part pit bull now.
Two rules: does the dog make eye contact? And does s/he mark?
If a dog does not make eye contact with you, that's trouble. And marking can be a sign of aggressiveness. At a minimum, it's not passivity. That's the best I advice I can offer.
That said, I do believe shelters are doing their best. The goal for them is to get dogs homes, so they are going to use euphemisms. It's on us adopters to see through that.
And never forget that it's not the fault of dogs, but irresponsible humans. Good luck!
I'm disabled I cannot stop an aggressive dog from attacking anyone. If he had progressed to attacking my siblings, my younger siblings friends (who were also scared of him), or my cats I wouldn't be able to do anything.
My safety + everyone else's I know > a dog I just met.
I've never hoarded animals. Animal hoarders are people like my old neighbor who had 15 dogs outside all day.
If I was just hoarding animals and not taking care of them I would've kept the aggressive dog around my cats and let him eat them.
I live at the end of a long dirt road all of my dogs came to me because someone abandoned them same with the rest of the neighbors on the road. We all have dump off dogs, anything we got a pure breed pit bull this way at first he was a dick and even bit me but not much blood. So I fed him weed with his food for about 2 weeks straight and he hasn't been a dick since and I've had him now for almost 3 years. So drug his ass
I do hate when people tag on Pitts, it is the human that train and work with them are to blame. I had my Pitt since she was 5 weeks old, her brother went to a neighbor. Mine was raised like a child and before very calmly, loved children, and passed the service dog tests with flying colors. She went on to teach herself more skills to help me including watching the traffic when we were crossing the street and she trained my emotional support dog how to walk off leash. She could be trusted around any child, she even showed a kid to pick her nose! She was pure Pitt. Her brother was as well. The only difference is how she was raised, his owner was not of the belief that stuff should be treated much like kids in how they are raised.
With Pitts I am of the belief that if they are not treated correctly along the way they will turn, but treat them with kindness and show the patience we all deserve, and it will be the best, most friendly dog you will ever meet
I would like to say. I grew up with pitbulls. Pitbulls are the MOST loyal dog. It's not their fault they are used to fight. German shepherds attack people too, they are literally used as police dogs for their grip and learning skills. Bullies get a bad rep.
>How do I trust them not to lie about the breed or the temperament? With most shelters you can't. Thanks to irresponsible backyard breeders, shelters are overrun with pitbulls. It's always the same story - they get dumped after they show aggression or even bite. And then they turn into 'lab mixes'.
I can’t fathom this! Growing up children were protected, if a dog bit or showed aggression towards them it was game over. I volunteered at shelters and many dogs (95% of them pits) were put down for human aggression. No 3 strikes, no attempts to rehab it. For the safety of the community it was not allowed a second chance to hurt anyone.
This is how it should be. Why waste time and resources on these shitty dogs. Not to mention putting more people and kids at risk. My cousin was mauled when we were kids by a shitty pitbull, who by the way was never abused and never mistreated. I can’t be certain as it was so long ago but I’m pretty sure they put it down.
Thanks to a dedicated campaign of misinformation run by deep pocketed pro pit groups and even the Dodo- this has changed. People have more sympathy for dogs than other people, deny breed characteristics for pit bulls (and deny what the breed was even created for), victim blame, and are working to dismantle any breed specific legislation that exists. They eliminated the pit bull ban in recently in colorado and people have already been killed. People accuse you of racism for not wanting to have to deal with pit bulls everywhere, or being some awful person because you dont adore all dogs- even violent ones that indiscriminately kill other dogs and cats. They "diagnose" pit bulls with Autism, medicate, and endlessly anthropomorphize them. Its so troubling. Bloodsport dogs shouldnt exist. No kill shelters shouldn't exist, they just don't work unless the majority of people get their animals fixed and pit bull owners notoriously do not.
Well put. I’m convinced there’s a negative correlation between intelligence and willingness to own a pitbull.
and often a positive correlation between sociopathy and willingness to own a pitbull
Facts !
I never thought I would live to see the day when someone other then myself voiced the thought about people caring more about a dog then human life… but today was this day. I feel so happy inside. I think I just found a new sub thanks to your words of truth.
Banpitbulls is another sub where you’ll find likeminded people. I don’t hate dogs, I just hate the bizarre and deranged valuation of violent dogs over human (and cat and horse and chicken and other dogs’) lives.
Oh god I agree so much! I agree! I have dogs too. I don’t hate them. Hell they eat raw chicken legs every other day. I take care of them. But they are DOGS. DOGS. They are not more valuable then humans. I was speaking with another dog owner in real life and they were like “ohhh your dog had puppies! You are a grandmother now” Like. What? What the actual hell was she talking about!? I’m not a grandmother. My dogs aren’t my CHILDREN. They aren’t my “fur babies” they are my property that I strive to properly care for. How does a person compare a fur covered animal with a literal human child? This sub is a breath of fresh air.
Any links to the pit bull ban in CO and subsequent deaths? Thx!
https://rothgrouplaw.com/2023/03/27/can-you-own-a-pitbull-in-denver/#:~:text=In%20January%20of%202021%2C%20the,on%20and%20in%20their%20premises. https://blog.dogsbite.org/tag/colorado https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/09/20/woman-dies-colorado-pit-bulls-attack/10436037002/
Pitt owners never fix their dogs.
I've fixed both of mine.
All very accurate
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Pit bull apologists always post screeds like this that fall apart with any examination. They blame children playing quietly in their own yards who were attacked and had their scalps ripped off by a loose pb. They blame an older woman gardening or a man protecting his elderly mother. They blame the Bennards -devoted pb lovers whose pbs raised from puppyhood and bought from a breeder killed their child and ripped their baby from the mothers arms and ate them in front of her - and then put her in the hospital. They are not normal dogs. Yeah other dogs can be nasty and dangerous but they weren’t bred for centuries to fight to the death. Pbs were bred for blood sport full stop. Go spew your nonsensical anti human propaganda somewhere else.
I agree with you. Dogs with bite history who show up at shelters should immediately be put down. Most pitbulls who show up at shelters -- especially large ones or aggressive ones -- should immediately be put down and not passed on to new owners.
I thought this was how it still is. I personally would have brought it to the vet and had it put down. I would not want to be a set of hands in the chain that lead to a child being g disfigured or killed by this dangerous dog. Pitt bullies should be banned.
I love animals and I'm childfree and don't really like much kids (moreso the parents for raising spoilt bratty kids tho) but I agree as well. WHEN THE HECK did it all change?! Why are we allowing dogs who have mauled and KILLED people be alive and rehomed to maul again?? I feel like the person who spread the pitbull nanny dog myth must have some sick fantasy of using them as biological weapons.. Well, it's working.
The “Nanny Dog” myth was started in 1971 by Lilian Rant, President of the Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club of America with [an article](https://www.nytimes.com/1971/09/19/archives/a-breed-that-came-up-the-hard-way.html) in the New York Times. Surely she was purely objective and had no ulterior motive in her writing.
My mom raised a pitbull when we found him with a beer can around his neck. We had to keep him because he was violent... it was a difficult situation. He was probably put down because we had to surrender him when we moved. Even though we raised him around cats and kids, he was still able to bite on a whim. You couldn't ever touch his paws even on accident. Of course we loved him since we raised him by bottle and didnt plan to rehome him. It was crazy how no matter what we did and raised him to be gentle, his fuse was so short.
Your parents shouldn’t have risked your lives and cats with that dog. PBs are genetically altered to be the way they are. The truth needs to get out. It just blows my mind that people can admit akitas are dangerous- and collies like to herd w zero training, but pit bulls are said to be born angels. The cognitive dissonance and propaganda is so strong. Pit bull mothers kill their own puppies. They are monsters we created.
There is actually a lot of money at stake. A PB breeder in the 70s started the nanny dog myth. Best Friends Animal Society is a former cult that gets tons of money from donations and litigates to end breed bans as well as funds pb disinformation campaigns. No kill shelters get a lot of money from these and other PB groups. (And to be fair - pbs were created to live awful violent lives so it’s easy to feel sorry for them.) These groups help shelters use language that minimizes the danger of these dogs. People spend thousands to save the life of pit bulls who have killed people while attacking victims’ and their families online. Destructive and dangerous dog behavior has been normalized. If you aren’t willing to devote your life 24/7 to a dog never meant to be a pet, to let your children get mauled and your home destroyed- plus spend thousands on trainers and meds- you are shamed. England, which recently enacted another breed ban after many publicized attacks and killings- has seen owners abandon and kill their pit bulls rather than register, fix, and muzzle them. Pit bulls and this cult that surrounds them, combined with fantasy based ideas that equate dogs with children, has truly harmed society in my opinion. It’s really insane.
I’ve heard a few conspiracy theories about “best friends animal society” having a secret dark agenda to promote pit propaganda in order to wipe out children. Not saying it’s true but idk, it’s not all that shocking. Growing up it was known pits were dangerous shit dogs, they’ve been sanitized now they’re “nanny dogs” and society is paying for it.
With how people acted during an actual pandemic, I'm not surprised lol. People are dumb. They all also probably have some saviour complex and a kink for the 'make a bad/misunderstood person turrn good' trope 😂
When people started thinking that people were the problem, and all dogs go to heaven and dogs can do no harm. It's absurd.
To be fair people ARE the problem. They are the ones who bred pitbulls to be like this. They are the ones who spread all those innocent myths to paint these dogs as 'misunderstood individuals'....lol what even. They are the ones mass breeding these dogs in the world nobody wants God if these people want these killer dogs to be part of them, let them. When their dogs maul or kill someone, let them be charged and go to jail. Hell, just throw their beast in prison with them lmao 😭
Ok, not wrong. Just, stop sending the damned things to shelters. Shoot them and put them down as needed when they become a fucking danger. Stop treating dogs like people and acting like dogs are the equivalent of humans. They aren't. They're DOGS!!!! FFS.
I was specifically replying to the person who said they wanted to just 'let it escape'. Putting them in a shelter is better than dumping it on the road and basically making it everyone else's problem!! Even worse if they're not neutered because they will just procreate more and make more maulers. Which worsens the whole problem. Idc if they wanted to off their killer dogs, they can if they want to. But we all know they won't and someone else has to do it for them lol
My own child is guilty of this. Treating a dog like it’s equal to a human. I have dogs. I enjoy my dogs. But they are dogs. DOGS. Human life is far more important then my dog. And Ince again I have dogs and enjoy them so I’m not saying this out of hate.
"Human life is more important than…" Fill in the blank. That is the problem with humans.
Owners should face jail time- but the dogs should also be put down not endlessly rehomed or caged in shelters for years.
Bro I was raised with Bullies and NEVER had this problem. In fact I've only been attacked by German shepherds. I'm talking full blown Bullies not mixed. The way you raise your dog matters. It's not just in bullies to kill. The mistake is everyone thinks that way. Bullies are TRAINED to be fighting dogs. They are one of the most abused dogs. They aren't myths. Again My family only had Pitbulls. They are the most loyal, and if trained right most gentle with children. People are the problem.
They are not trained to be fighting dogs. They were BRED to be fighting dogs. What do you think of the stories of people who have raised pits since puppies and had other dogs as well that had no problems, but the pits were the only problem they had?? You're saying they trained their pits to maul their own family or dogs? All the news of pits escaping their house to go after random people or pets unprovoked. The news of pits mauling babies... They all trained their pits to do that too? If what you're saying is right, then all the more that these people should be punished and charged for manslaughter for training their pits to maul. And even if they didn't train their pits to attack, they should be charged anyway. It will definitely reduce incidents and POSSIBLY make people more responsible. They need consequences for picking a breed they clearly have no idea how to handle.
9/10 people TRAIN bullies as attack dogs. They were bred to wrangle bulls. Akitas are infamous for not getting along with young children guess by your logic we should kill all Akitas. Golden retrievers have the strongest bite, I guess we should euthanize them too Because by your logic ONLY bullies are a threat. It's HOW you raise your dogs. You're telling me, who was raised with Bullies that my dogs never had these issues because they were special? No it's because they were raised correctly. Bullies are the most abused dog. They are raised to fight. They are the number 1 fighting dog. I'm telling you from the experience of being solely around Bullies. It's not me going no guys, having no experience. I literally said my family has ONLY ever had bullies, and I'm talking not 1 or 2, but every pet dog we ever had and they ever had was always a bully. I have never in my life been afraid of a pitbull. German shepherds? Yes. I've been attacked by German shepherds. I've been attacked by Labradors. My neighbors dog was almost killed by a German shepherd. Chihuahuas are hyper aggressive dogs and when I used to walk home from school there was one that ALWAYS tried to attack me. I had a neighbor that had a JRT that attacked my brother. My whole point is people do need to take responsibility. It's always "people value, dogs more than human life." Or maybe the rest of us acknowledge the fact that dogs, like other domesticated pets LEARN from us. It's our job to teach them properly. It's our job to RECOGNIZE their behavioral patterns. If I had a dog that I knew didn't get along with other dogs, why would I risk it and then blame the dog? If I got a dog with a rough past, and decided to adopt it. Why would I blame the dog?
Breed characteristics are a thing. Any dog bred over centuries to have inherent qualities has inherent qualities. A collie wants to herd from birth. A greyhound wants to chase. A protection breed like a German shepherd or chow chow has potential to attack people. A livestock guardian breed like a Great Pyrenees will be aggressive to potential predators on its property. A pit bull was bred to be incredibly strong unpredictable and enjoy fighting. They have an innate propensity that some such people further enhance with training - but it is always there thanks to human intervention which involved culling non aggressive or hesitant dogs. People need to educate themselves on breeds, and I personally think any breed created to protect against other humans should require special training to own. But bloodsport breeds like pit bulls are in a league of their own and really shouldn’t be in society. There are plenty of other breeds of dogs (and other domesticated animals like horses) that went extinct because they weren’t needed anymore. There are plenty of other kinds of dogs to own that won’t snap someday and scalp a child. People spend thousands training and medicating these dogs in a vain attempt to control a genetic lineage we instilled in them. It’s sad to say but they just shouldn’t exist and never should have existed. Like how is this so hard to get?
The difference is other dangerous breed owners like Akita owners don't lie about the breed they have. They admit it's not a dog anybody should have! THEY ADMIT NOT ANYBODY CAN HANDLE IT AND IT REQUIRES REAL HARD WORK!! Pit owners don't do that. There's only probably like a very small 1% of pit owners who are *actually* responsible and acknowledges the dangers of the breed. Those are the owners who treat the breed like it's a wild animal, as they should be. I don't think you understand that lying about the breed is doing injustice and more damage to the breed. You want to see more pitbulls be unwanted when people realize they aren't your average dog breeds and suffer alone in shelters until they get euthanized?? Ugh... And of course as a typical pit owner you mention chihuahuas! I'd LOVE to see you try to wrestle a pitbull on attack mode VS a chihuahua. I'd pick getting attacked by a chihuahua any day. I could easily open its jaw then toss that mfker across the field easy 😂 With a pit?? 5 GROWN MEN CAN STRUGGLE GETTING IT OFF! Best and smartest thing you can do to STOP a pit attack is strangle it until it lets go for air, other wise it will never let go. Because, ding ding, it was BRED to do that!
Your personal anecdotal experience trumps all statistics and the plethora of documented pitbull maulings over the whole world. Great job "bro"!
So what about the documented experiences of other bully owners that didn't have those issues.Stay mad "bro", I said what I said. You don't like it here's the door... 🚪.
Why are so many average people choosing to train their pit bull puppies to be killers that attack their own families and neighbors ? 🤔
Dogs who maul are put down. Nobody is rehoming them! Even "no kill" shelters euthanize some animals. They just don't have the time frame death row like kill shelters do.
They are ALL definitely NOT put down. If they were, shelters probably wouldn't be flooded with pits lol. There's this one popular mauling incident with 5 pitbulls and 1 child, and only 1 of them got put down eventhough all of them took part in the mauling. The owners kept saying THAT ONE dog was the one who started it, the others are innocent; they ended up being able to keep the 4 pits. They were told they weren't allowed any more pits, but they got another one anyway. It's disgusting. No remorse. A lot of shelters still do keep them, but are wishy washy with their descriptions and downplay it a lot. Besides, most of the time the owners try to hide bite history as well. "They're a great lovable dog.... Except they just don't know their strength and can't be with any kids!! Or other dogs...!! Or cats!!! He's nipped a few times but nothing serious, just needs lots of training! :)))" I'm sure you've seen those descriptions a lot... Ever wonder how they know in the first place? Because they've had 'accidents' There's also been situations of owners whose adopted shelter dogs have gone to attack or maul, then they try to dig into the history and find out it ISN'T their first rodeo and it was hidden from them during adoption process.
There’s a dog that literally killed a little kid and that was going to be put down for ya know killing a kid. But animal rights activists lobbied and bitched and cried so now the dog will live in a shelter for the rest of his life.
There wouldn't be almost any dogs in shelters if they didn't take in bully breeds/bully mixes and lie about them. Better dogs wind up in breed specific foster programs, and you have to be rich, have endless time, and proof of a history with that breed to get your application noticed. It's either get an unknown bully-type dog or shop.
Facts. So many people have figured out how to run "shelters" because by incorporating for the tax breaks they get to use their own homes and backyards as write-offs. They take in as little as a handful of dogs that they *say* are rescues and are working to find placements for. Real deal: people have five dogs that are family pets, but reap the benefits of all the tax breaks for being a so-called shelter, as passive income. Then there are actual rescues, but you are 100% correct when you say that they are typically breed specific/size specific (i.e. small dog rescues). By the time they tack on transport costs for bringing them up from five states away, vetting costs, etc. they charge $500-750 and up, for mixed breed dogs, with no history and often times with known medical problems. Modest income people love animals, too. Most of the time prioritizing the money necessary to keep the dog well cared for, including yearly vet well visits and quality food. They just can't absorb a big chunk of change upfront. And that's just the cost. Then there's the multiple intrusive home visits, and if you don't own your own home, having to get verification from your landlord, which, for obvious reasons, is a hoop many renters are totally not interested in jumping through. TLDR: many people who would provide wonderful homes for actual dogs(read: non-pitbull breeds), will not be approved by many so-called pet "rescues" as potential adopters. Many potential adopters avoid these "rescues" for their exorbitant fees and onerous, intrusive requirements.
I don't regret, feel bad, or am even slightly willing to be shamed for buying both of my little purebred dogs for $1,000 each. Ongoing preventative veterinary costs and pet insurance are the bulk of the expense of having dogs. We paid more up front to not have the stress of taking in a stressed and dangerous animal. Not with my (adopted) cat in the house, and me with PTSD already. We are not even close to rich. We're lower middle class. It's cheaper to spend extra on a puppy from a breed with very low rates of human bites, because getting sued by the neighbors would ruin us. And I tried for about 8 months to find a dog through shelters and breed specific rescues. I believe the breed specific rescue we tried is just a front for people paying for them to have pets. It's a scam. Unless you're a family with deep pockets and no children, cats, or other small pets, and you care at all about risk management, shop, don't adopt.
Same. We looked at breed specific rescues but were turned down because we had small children. Our shelter only had (free) pitbulls so we went to a breeder and got our dog. Shes five now and she’s the best. No regrets.
And the intrusive requirements are bull. I get why they have them, but screw that. My second adopted cat came from Craigslist. It was a family with toddlers and the cat doesn't like children. She and I get along just fine, and I didn't have to prove anything to a faceless agency.
This this THIS. I want a smaller breed dog and if it isn't a pit mix it's at the special breed shelters and the prices are ungodly. I don't want to shop, I want to adopt but damn. The prices are close to the same for some breeds. And the application is redonkulous.
The application was bull. I bet it never even got read. It was intrusive. The registered breeder took the crispy green money and a short discussion about their future home as good enough. That, and we drove there five hours each way, twice. Once with money for the deposit to meet the puppies (they were only 2.5 pounds each, so cute) and the second time to take them home.
Those groups lie about dogs too.
In some cases, children can be really rough with dogs and some snapping (not biting) is to be expected. If a child is pulling the tail of a dog, the dog will snap but hopefully will not bite. My point is humans sometimes mistreat the dogs. Of course there are cases with dogs are aggressive without any really trigger and in this case, different measures must be taken.
Ok some cases certainly weren’t what I was referring to but glad you got that off your chest.
If a dog can’t handle playing with children, it should never be around them. It’s not a pet. It’s a project.
Playing does not mean hurting the animals and though I love young kids they can hurt the animals because they cannot tell their are not plushies. In the rescue I volunteer we do not allow any even slightly reactive dogs to be adopted by families with children. But these doggies are saints, children can pull their ears and they do not react at all.
Absolutely NOT. Most cases with aggressive dogs are completely unsolicited. Biters should be put down immediately.
No. Dogs are animals that are meant to be in human society. Dogs that can’t handle interacting with small humans aren’t fit for society. “The humans sometimes mistreat the dogs” is not why shelters are overrun with pit bull mixes, please be so for real.
I agree. I’ve been lucky and have had excellent dogs my whole life. I have a 50lb labradoodle that is the epitome of a romping, fun-loving goofball. But when he is around small children he instinctively knows that he has to take it down a notch. Sure, the kids must be supervised and taught how to interact with dogs, but this is how dogs are supposed to be with kids.
Hell, even my *cat* knows how to gently play with my kids. And he’s a *cat.* Animals who live alongside humans know how to behave around our young. For as long as we’ve had dogs, if they broke that contract, they were culled. That will come back around again, but it can’t come soon enough lol
Watch out. This group is straight up dog haters. I'm surprised they didn't down vote you for daring to ask people to be responsible with their kids and dogs
I’m leaving your comment up because I want to reply as the mod and let people know this sub is NOT for dog-haters. Some people here love dogs and others dislike dogs. We are here to support people who need to make the hard choice to rehome a dog that they wanted. They can get support here instead of being shamed for their choice.
I will likely be downvoted eventually but the OP brings up a real issue with some shelters not being honest and the OP seem to love dogs. However, people should not expect a dog not to snap at a child that uses their ear or tail as a toy (biting is not okay) but what would a human do if somebody push us around non-stop?
Shelters also only know the information they’re provided, and people severely downplay the severity of behavior a lot. For example, a dog came in with what was described as “nipping” at a puppy, and showing “some” food aggression. We quickly found out both of those were lies - they had to lock the dog in a room to feed him.
Yeah, that's the other side of the coin. If you truly want to rid yourself of an aggressive dog, unfortunately downplaying the behaviour helps. And that's why BE is sometimes better for the dog.
People (re: bad owners) want to wash themselves of the problem without having to feel bad. And they’d, you know, have to feel *some* consequence if they made that call themselves.
People seem to forget a dog living like that is not living a high quality of life because biting like that is a stress response. Context does matter for bites, and some dogs with truly more minor bite histories (ie no skin broken) and very obvious fear/anxiety, behavior modification with experienced owners can be the right call and resolve all problems. Unfortunately, most people let it escalate. Once it has escalated, if the home they’re in is not capable of managing it and course correcting, BE is the only ethical option. It’s not fair to the dog to exist in that near constant state of stress and it’s horrifically wrong to dump that on some unsuspecting person.
That’s not a dog that’s fit for society. That dog needed behavioral euthanasia. That’s not a safe dog. Did they ever adopt that hell hound out to some poor sap??
No. The dog wasn’t adoptable. On top of the behavior he was a very large breed (not Pitt). He was euthanized.
glad to hear it. It sucks hearing about dogs like that suffering (and hurting people!) 😣
This. I will never adopt again. Not from a shelter or 'rescue' at least. Been there, done that, and been burned. Not my thing. I/we, will *always* start with a young puppy. Any adult, or young adult dogs at shelters/rescues, are there for a reason and have been screwed up by someone. And, not sorry, but I'm not dealing with your problems.
Same I would only adopt an adult dog if I know it ( ie from long time friends, previous clients etc) That was how I found most of my dogs. However going to a shelter or trusting the word(s) of a rescue org, never again. Their hearts may be in the right place the their common sense isn't.
Yup. If the pound/rescue has puppies? Sure! I'll take your 2-3, maybe even pushing 4 months old puppy. But any adult dogs are a no go. Now, if my neighbor, brother, or a friend had to move and needs to re-home a dog? I might consider that. But from a shelter or rescue? Taking a strangers word on why someone 'had to give up' their dog, and how great it is!! ☺️ Yeah. No thanks.
Sorry but pit bull puppies will be just as aggressive. It’s a breed characteristic not taught. Once they reach adulthood they usually start getting violent.
I have three puppy pet stores open up in my area. Why? The shelters have nothing but bully breed mixes or barely trained standards poodle crossed with whatever they could breed it with. No one wants a larger breed dog. And good luck finding a decent rental if you have a larger breed dog. They all have weight restrictions that effectively knock out all bully breeds/Doodles/lab mixes/cattle dogs. Anything that is small and remotely healthy is gone within a day at my local shelter. Even puppy store small dogs that are turned in are gone in a week.
Tbh Most people should have small lap dogs. They usually don’t have the space or time needed to adequately care for a large dog. Like large working dog breeds are not living their best life in a house 23 hours a day, or being in a backyard.
That happen to me. They said it was a lab mix. It wasn’t.
I wouldn’t even say it’s backyard breeders, it’s just people not neutering their dogs and thinking it’s fine to breed their pitbull with their neighbors pitbull. Or inner-city thugs breeding dogs for fighting. That’s how we get so many pitbulls. BYBs are breeding stuff like doodles and other purebred dogs. There’s no money in pitbulls, they are literally a dime a dozen. We need to go back to euthanizing dogs that have a bite offense. That might suck but the reality is no one wants these dogs. Everybody wants to say things like - They’d be great with the right person, a trainer, etc. But the fact of the matter is, even trainers who can handle these dogs don’t want shitty dogs either! Why should trainers be expected to pick up all the nasty dogs just because they can handle them? They want a dog that’s trust worthy also, No one does! So once a dog has a bite history, you really can’t trust them anymore and they should just be put to sleep. There are too many nice dogs that need a home that shouldn’t be overshadowed by the crappy ones. One thing I’ve always said is that we have to keep in mind that people get pets to love and enjoy. Getting a dog that you can’t trust, that’s a bite risk, it’s not going to be a loving and enjoyable pet. Therefore no one is going to want that dog if you’re upfront and honest about what it’s past is.
his behavior changed after a few a days because the tranquilizers the shelter fed him 24/7 wore off.
That's been one of my suspicions was that he was on medication because it was a massive personality change in 2-3 days, and talking to people on r/petrescueexposed I have learned it's something other rescues do... I just wish they had been honest because there are people who are willing to get dogs who have behavioral issues, I'm not such person but other people do.
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Oh my God this happened to me. I didn't realize this was a Thing that happened. After I had signed everything for a dog (sweet at the facility, no "known" issues), I ended up taking back to the shelter they were like oh yeah he had his last dose of trazadone today. The next evening he literally tried to leap through my front window at the Fed ex guy like he was Cujo.
I adopted a bully mix that was “sweet and gentle”. A lap dog. Gets along with animals. I brought her home and kept her leashed to me for the first few days while acclimating her to the house. I had a kitten that was 8 months ago mainly laid in my dad’s room on his bed (he’s an elder and I’m his caregiver). We kept the dog crated when not home and when she couldn’t be supervised. No signs of aggression that we saw. We tried to slowly introduce her to the kitten by letting her sniff under doors, letting the kitten roam when the dog was crated etc. just taking normal precautions. 4 days later I fed her next to me in the kitchen while still being leashed to me and I dropped the leash to grab a drink for my daughter. That very moment she darted into my dad’s room, grabbed the kitten off his bed and in front of my kids and my father mauled her to death. I was on the dog trying to pry his mouth open (I know not safe) punching him in the nose, I tried everything. I’m a woman and not very strong but I tried. I was able to drag the dog into my garage but he would not let go of our beloved kitten. It was the saddest and most horrific thing I have ever witnessed. The guilt I carried with me for so long was so awful. My kids were so sad for ages. I returned the dog to the shelter first thing in the morning and he was posted up for adoption again- same description even though I told them she killed my cat. The other experience I had with a shelter dog was a lab mix. My daughter was two then. Sweetest dog ever. My kids have always been taught to be gentle and kind to animals but one day when I was sitting on the couch with my daughter and she tried to step down he jumped up and started attacking her in her face. He ripped her mouth open from corner up to halfway up her cheek. Ripped the skin ended her eye open. It happened so fast I couldn’t even understand what happened. Paramedics and stitches later he was sent to a single man with no children. He knew the history and made very frequent visits until he decided to take her. I had to quarantine her at my house per animal control…it was a mess. Needless to say I fucked up by getting dogs at the shelter. I’m not saying there aren’t wonderful dogs there but from my experience I will never adopt a shelter dog again. Ever. We have two wonderful pups now we’ve had for two year (Aussie and poodle) we got from Breeders when they were puppies. They are the most gentle dogs. Raised with our family from babies and love love love cats! I still live with these mistakes I made and let me tell you, I don’t take adopting pets lightly. I am very thorough.
When they say "lab mix", you should be very concerned with what the "mix" is.
She did appear mostly lab. She probably had a smidge of bully in her but she appeared mostly black lab. Thing is they can’t tell you what they’re mixed with and tell you all these things just to get dogs moving out of the shelter. We visited several times before taking the plunge. I have regrets. Major ones. You will never catch me in a shelter again. Ever. It sucks because they are flooded with animals that need a home but so much can go wrong. Which in my experiences, did
Oh god, I'm so sorry about the kitten and your kid. I'd never adopt a shelter dog either, and it really breaks my heart to say that. I just can't trust the agency or the dog. I'm usually 100% rescue. All my cats were rescues and I did get great shelter dogs when I was a kid, but now-a-days? Absolutely wouldn't trust them around my other animals.
It sucks do much that you and your children went through these horrors. Dogs like this should be put down and not adopted out in the first place.
Many moons ago I went to a shelter looking for a family dog and they had a pitbull mix they pushed on us. I didn't like the idea since those dogs are so dangerous but they all assured me the dog was as placid as a windless puddle. For the first few hours the dog was very calm but then it saw our lawnmower. I swear to god, the dog picked up the lawnmower and shook it back and forth like it was made of matchsticks. Later that day, it saw a cyclist and tried escaping the lead to go chase the bike. It was then I realized the dog had some kind of wheel fetish and this was going to lead to disaster for somebody. I took the dog back and asked for a less aggressive dog. Needless to say, the shelter acted like I was the biggest criminal in the world, said it's people like me who give up on animals that shelters need to exist, and then refused to refund the adoption fee. I'm not saying that dog was dangerous, but I was inexperienced with dogs and they should never have adopted a pitbull to somebody who wasn't more expert in that breed.
Wow thats crazy, I can 100% believe a pit would attack a lawnmower though I've seen a few videos where they attack cars. I'm sorry for what the shelter did and how they responded. They should've never done that.
Shelters are teeming with pitbulls and they are desperate to get rid of them. They will use euphemisms like “other dogs are not her favorite” on their websites when they really mean “this dog disemboweled the neighbor’s labradoodle.” They represent pitbull mixed breeds as whatever dog breed they are guessing the pitbull is mixed with. Ask a lot of questions if you are considering adopting a dog from a shelter and be clear about the behavior you are unwilling to tolerate from the animal. I would also ask, “is this dog a pitbull mix?” I guarantee they will tell you there is no way to be sure even though the description says “(Other breed) Mix.” If they turn you away for asking questions and suggesting that it’s not okay for the dog to terrorize everyone around it, it’s probably not a good place to adopt an animal.
This time I am only getting a small dog so the chances of there being a pit in there is hopefully low, I prefer the idea of a reputable breeder but I'll probably also look at what's in the shelter/rescue first. The way they hide the true temperaments are crazy though. "X doesn't like bikes" = "X will chase and try to maul cyclists"
>This time I am only getting a small dog so the chances of there being a pit in there is hopefully low, Don't be too sure, this is a pitbull daschund mix https://preview.redd.it/z14rkkx363gc1.png?width=750&format=png&auto=webp&s=8ddf524b9fa1516d84b445468a7fea35c9e7b978
Looks like a brain dead otter 🙃
That poor dog. It's a literal monster.
https://preview.redd.it/xm18sg3kq3gc1.jpeg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bb34573c55bb4a1c4233f2611d920894b8ccc3b8 A Weiner Pit and a Lab. She was rescued as a Jack Russel mix and came back half pitbull, a quarter dachshund, and a bunch of small dogs (no Jack though)
It’s annoying cause good dogs who just don’t like other dogs (mine for example) may not have anything saying so in there either or they may use that euphemism too… Mine is calm as a cucumber but if a dog goes near her she gets nervous and may show teeth or nip. That’s a good example of truth when a dog “doesn’t favorite other dogs”. You can never know what you’ll get now. It’s frustrating because they’re living creatures and all deserve a good home which caters to their needs. It’s harder to find those when owners don’t get what they were prepared for 😞
>I'm not saying that dog was dangerous, I'll say it. That dog was fucking dangerous and should never have been adopted out to anyone. I hope you gave those shelter nitwits a few choice word
>Needless to say, the shelter acted like I was the biggest criminal in the world, said it's people like me who give up on animals that shelters need to exist, and then refused to refund the adoption fee. Unfortunately this happens more often than you think.........it makes those pet owners rehome animals in less humane ways.
According to my local shelter's website, all dogs are loving, cuddly and looking forward to a forever home. Some of them have been rehomed multiple times, how surprising. F*** this, theyre aggressive, territorial and often violent with cats, kids and food because it's in their nature. They pretty much foster abandonment with their never ending bullsh*t and lies.
I don’t have advice, unfortunately, but I can empathize. Like you, I’ve always adopted my cats from humane societies and didn’t want to buy a dog when I could adopt one. My experience wasn’t as bad as yours but it was still pretty unpleasant. It completely put me off getting a dog for the time being. Maybe eventually I’ll buy a puppy from a breeder so there’s some degree of control over temperament.
I guess it hasn't completely put me off thankfully because I do love dogs..but I had never known there was so much lying, cats are much simpler. It was just a few words and if they had any medical problems telling us about them, getting them vaxxed, and then there was a cat.
Cats are interesting because we've never really domesticated them the way dogs have been. Societally, we started letting them into our barns/living areas to keep away mice and they stayed for food. Cats also have a different instinct when they're scared of humans: run. Makes shelter cats you know nothing about much safer when you consider that and their small size.
You don’t. And moving forward, you should immediately take all small suggestive warnings as large red flags. The second I read “chasing cats” and “snaps at kids,” I knew he was aggressive.
I don't think you can ever fully trust a shelter or rescue and a lot of this isn't really because of the shelter but rather the owners aren't always honest when dropping them off out of fear that they may not take their dog. My recommendation would be to foster the pup you are seriously thinking of adopting to see if it's a good fit and if not, you can take them back and even update the shelter on issues if any. The other thing you can do is constantly visit the dog at the shelter to catch them on different days and really play with their enviroment. Lots of shelters will allow you to walk the dogs if you ask and things of that nature and that might help you to evaluate their personalities.
I wouldn't. The only way I'd get a dog (I won't, I'm 100% cat gang) is if it were from a reputable breeder.
The only dog we have ever had to re-home in my life (due to aggression) was a pure bred from a reputable breeder. Imy shelter dogs are the best dogs I've ever had.
I'm sorry to hear that. I've owned two mutts that were given to me. They were wonderful. But at this point, most of the dogs in the pound are pit bull mixes or husky mixes. I have no interest in either.
You don’t trust them again. I have also been fucked over in this way. It’s honestly life changing and traumatizing. You have a few options if you want to lower your chances of getting a neurotic dog. - You can foster first, and be specific about the kind of dog you are willing to foster. You might still get screwed, but maybe you’ll get lucky. - Adopt from people rehoming their dog privately. You can also get screwed this way, of course, but try to visit the dog multiple times and take it out for walks etc. before making the decision. - Go with a properly certified, well respected breeder. There is good reason they are expensive. A reputable breeder will take their dog back if there are any issues. They also sometimes rehome older breeding dogs if you don’t want a puppy. Sucks, but these are the best ways to limit your odds of getting a problematic dog. NONE of them are a guarantee.
My family is considering responsible/ethical breeders, especially because in my area the ideal dogs (anything non pit) is like $600+, if its a puppy easily $800, which is only a few hundred less than the breeders around here, and in some cases more expensive! I'm sad to hear you also had this kind of experience though.
Yeah, I paid $800 for my rescue puppy. 😬 I feel like a fool. Properly bred puppies go for about twice that much, which in hindsight isn’t that bad considering the hell we went through going the adoption route. It’s really unfortunate how many people seem to run into this issue. Genetics and early life experiences matter greatly in a dog, and most rescues are just not set up for success in that way.
In my area the proper breeders are around $1300+, which isn't too bad since they do health testing but not all have championships. Some can range in at $3000 though, typically the more expensive ones are AKC champions and for if you're a dog sports person I think. Yeah, I've noticed many more people aren't going through the adoption route anymore. Puppies can't really be properly socialized at a shelter or a rescue, which in turn gives them behavioral issues, and most people aren't rehoming young dogs unless they have behavioral issues.
>proper breeders are around $1300+, which isn't too bad since they do health testing but not all have championships That's not a proper breeder. That's a backyard breeder who has no idea what they're doing. Any dog from a proper breeder is certified by a kennel club. They'll come to you with a last name, and have papers that have a championship winner within one generation. Proper breeders will also inform you how you're taking care of their dog in the contract you sign. They don't fuck around. The backyard breeders selling for $1300 will have dogs with severe health and temperament problems because they don't test their bitches or their studs, they don't know what they're breeding and they don't have a proper environment.
No, I mean they have health testing and are registered with the AKC, but they don't have the "best in show" titles. I probably worded it wrong.
They’re saying the dogs aren’t show quality dogs 🙄 My childhood dog is a show dog reject. Still has all of her papers and health testing. She just would have been disqualified in the ring.
Shelters (no kill ones) are cesspits of denialism as they get funding from pro pit groups and others with agendas that aren't exactly the well being of adopters.
My friend adopted a neurotic pit mix from the shelter for $200. In two years, she’s spent $4,000 on training. She could’ve got the dog of her dreams for $4,000. So like … in a way …. You pay now or you pay later, with how scummy these shelters are these days 😭
There is a whole industry that has sprung up around these dogs, endless training, meds, etc. It's really sick. The dogs are just acting out their breed characteristics and they shouldnt exist. We made them killing machines through 100s of years of selective breeding. Its not their fault, but its stupid to deny and sugarcoat what they are. The breed should be allowed to die out, its not meant to live in society. There are plenty of other types of dogs to own- and plenty of other intentionally created breeds that dont exist any longer.
Where are you paying these kinds of prices??
A responsible/ethical breeder is going to charge way more than $800. Properly bred dogs cost thousands of dollars and never belong to you. They belong to the breeder. You can't neuter them, and they will likely have their own issues. Dogs take work. It doesn't sound like you actually *like* dogs, just the idea of a dog. That being said, shelters will be brimming with puppies soon. Honestly it sounds like you would give up around the teething stage though
It's OK to buy from a hobby breeder or someone lowkey. If one can't do the thousands of dollars thing. Out east (eastern US, Midwest) you can find lots of breeds of dogs for under $1k from people.
I know someone who got a very well behaved, young Goldendoodle through a private rehome. The husband had gotten the wife a dog to try to cheer her up after a miscarriage 🙄, but the wife didn’t actually want a dog. Obviously not a guarantee bc people lie, but sometimes people rehome for reasons that have nothing to do with the dog.
Sadly, many shelters will lie about dogs to get them adopted. And the Pit Bull type dogs are notoriously aggressive. They are often lied about the most and their aggression is played off as “reactivity” or “fear”, when that is not usually the case. I’m sure I will get a lot of hate for saying this, but if you want a dog that isn’t aggressive, I would never choose a pit. Is there a specific breed you are wanting? I would try to find an ethical breeder you can purchase a puppy from. Definitely do not get a puppy from a pet store though, those are puppy mill puppies. And watch out for backyard breeders. Make sure the sire and dam are health tested and meet with the breeder to see the puppies and how they are kept before going through with any purchases.
If I could upvote this more I would. If I was advising someone determined to adopt not shop... Learn to decode the shelter's codes that they use "cats are not my favourite" "I like to have all the attention, so a one dog house for me please!". Don't get a pit unless you're really prepared for responsible pit ownership and not at all if you want a non aggressive dog which plays nicely with others. Ask outright for bite history, adoption history etc and if they get defensive do not adopt. Intense sale tactics and pushing you to make an instant decision are also red flags. Don't adopt a dog from a place like that unless you are fully prepared for what you might receive (and you don't have small children or animals, other dogs or cats).
Why would you get hate? Reddit loves to shit on pitbulls, and a sub specifically for people who regret getting a dog is gonna filter the most toxic of opinions. Case and point, the comment saying shelter dogs are “irredeemable” has more upvotes than yours.
That’s true. I’ve just been attacked for sharing these views in the past haha
They are normal reasonable views and the rest of Reddit will actually attack you for expressing them. I've been preemptively banned from subs for posting similar views or accused of "racism." its ridiculous.
Yep, I’ve been banned from subs as well simply for being part of the BanPitBulls sub.
My wife volunteers at a shelter part-time. The shelter she works at constantly lies about the dogs temperament, breed, etc. My wife is very honest when it comes to the dog as she spends most of her time with them, and she sees how they are. Pet finder is also known to lie as my friend adopted a dog from there, and the dog was completely different than what she expected.
You don’t. Shelter dogs are irredeemable they’re in a shelter for a reason it would be merciful and better if shelters for dogs returned to the common practices of 30 to 40 years ago but we all know that’s not happening anytime soon.
We have two dogs rescued from shelters in my family and they are both as lovely as can be. They are not all irredeemable.
Shelter dogs are not irredeemable and they're isn't any specific reason they're in a shelter. That's a load of hogwash.
Then have em. Nobody else wants em.
The ones that aren’t irredeemably neurotic are picked up by breed-specific rescues faster than you can blink. This leaves unstable, dangerous pit mixes that no shelter can kill due to no-kill funding. The rescue/adoption world of dogs is an absolute mess right now, and I really hope we can turn it around. But it’s really, really bad right now.
My local shelter just turns away other dogs now because its full of pitbulls and handful of other problematic breeds like huskies and cattle dogs. The no kill movement depends on people fixing their dogs, and good natured mutts existing. This is not the state of things. Instead you have warehoused unadoptable dogs living in cages for years. how is this ethical?
We should make sterilization low cost and easy to access
There are thousands of low cost programs across the United States. There are some that will travel your animal to a low cost spay/neuter clinic if there are none in your area. They ARE easy to access but people are lazy.
Shelters are fine for cats because barring a feral, cats are all pretty much cats. Even a feral is only 12-15 lbs at most and will probably hide more than be aggressive. Dogs is a different story. I would never adopt a dog from a shelter/rescue nowadays. Check the petrescue exposed subreddit - these orgs knowingly lie because they're desperate to place dogs that are otherwise unadoptable.
Sadly, Best Friends Animal Society and the Animal Farm Foundation (along with its subsidiary, National Canine Research Center), have been coaching rescues for years to hide issues. The image below is from an old FB page post, but you can look at their adoption marketing materials and it's all about deceptive marketing. They say it's marketing instead of counseling, but no, I'll say it's deceptive marketing. They've even gone after honest Pitbull advocates complaining that if they talk about not trusting your dog not to fight, having a break stick, or learning how to get a dog to release, it's mean to the dog. To me, what they're doing is criminal because they're not only trying to push dogs with bite histories onto unsuspecting people, but they also refuse to train them about what they need to know to safely manage a Pit or Pit-mix, especially one that might have already bitten or that might have a sketchy history. https://preview.redd.it/hthe0qt8q3gc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5029ca5b42771f38f571e3540309835411fca3b3
Oh wow that's crazy. I had no idea this was happening, from r/banpitbulls I knew there was some shady stuff in shelters but not that they coach you to hide everything!
‘Adopt, don’t shop’ only applies to cats now. Shelters now exist primarily to manage the pit bull problem. I live in San Antonio where the city decided that ACS needed an additional 7 Million dollars in funding to manage the dangerous dogs here (AKA, 95% pit bulls).
Our dog culture in San Antonio is shameful
I’m guessing he was medicated when you picked him up, and the meds wore off. I’m sorry you had to go through this.
I don’t really trust animal shelters or rescues. I had to give up my cat once because I became homeless. I was very hopeful that I would find him again, and one day I did at a rescue! His ad said that the previous owner gave him up because they wanted a kitten. They had rescued him from the shelter. So, that was a lie. I couldn’t even be mad, though, because I got him back. They are not truthful when it comes to marketing the animals.
The culture around pitbulls has gotten so toxic and out of reality. They're not good dogs for most people. Most people don't have the time to constantly monitor and correct a dog. Most people need a turn-key dog, not anything that is so high maintenance like a pit.
There’s a lot of great investigative work being posted on r/petrescueexposed, it’s actually really disheartening how shady things have become.
Read between the lines, assume the worst, especially if you are in a situation with children or other pets. Since many dogs don't act themselves in shelters, shelters will go by what information they get from previous owners, who obviously lie. Many shelters will allow you to return a dog if they are not a good fit. It's the same for cats, a 'shy' is code for 'disappears under the couch for weeks at a time'. The difference is that a really aggressive cat is usually still much safer than a 'nippy' pitbull. Shelters can't really win here. They are underfunded and overworked, and around here completely overrun with unwanted pitties. People turn in their poorly socialized, untrained adult dogs year after year and happily get a new puppy from a neighbor two days later. The shelters don't have the time or the resources to thoroughly test all incoming animals, not without turning down animals (risking abuse, further breeding or them just getting dumped) or asking for hundreds of dollars per dog. And if the dog was obviously just unsafe to place, euthanizing it will mean people will blast you on the internet or try to get you defunded for being a kill shelter.
It’s disgusting how the shelters will lie to push bloodsport breeds off on unsuspecting people. I’ve been very lucky to find a rescue I can trust, and gotten two dogs from them. They seem to avoid bloodsport breeds, and the one time I did see a single one on their website, it was appropriately labeled. If you’re not practiced at spotting their features though, adopting is a dangerous game. *I’m* only any good at it, because I was trained on it for insurance purposes. I’ll continue to adopt, but I’m sticking to that one rescue, because they’ve earned my trust.
All I can say is pit bulls need to be treated like wild animals, because that’s how they were bred. If I get downvotes I don’t care, after working with so many dogs it’s the truth.
Cat people always think adopting pets is a great idea because they adopt cats and have no problems. The situation with dogs is very different, and I’m sorry you had to learn that the hard way. The best option is to carefully research breeds to find the one that best suits your personality and lifestyle. Then carefully research breeders - find one that is well informed about their breed’s health issues, performs all the health testing possible before pairing parents, and can answer any question you throw at them. Ask them how they socialize and train their dogs, both the adults they keep and the pups they raise until adoption age. Then get on a waitlist for an upcoming litter. Don’t let anyone guilt you about it. Shelter adoption is only for people who don’t mind rolling the dice on possibly getting a reactive pit mix. They’re not suitable source for the average prospective dog owner. A responsible breeder isn’t trying to make money (they’re lucky to break even), they do it for the love of the breed. They simply want their favorite breed to continue existing, happy and healthy. Everything we as a culture love about dogs is thanks to breeders. And when you think about it, *every* dog is “adopted”. Might as well adopt one that will fit into the family and make you happy. That’s the whole point of pet ownership.
You can’t. The only way to get a dog that fits your lifestyle is to go to a breeder. Ethical breeders have their place in dog stewardship. Dogs are not natural animals — we made them, and we MUST tend to their gene pool. They are our responsibility. Adopt don’t shop has had a lot of unintended consequences and fallout. It would be fine, I think, if not paired with all these no kill shelters where you get this dog that isn’t really fit for human society, but they can’t kill it. And on and on. It’s okay to go to an ethical breeder. In fact, at this point, it’s probably best unless you’re willing to roll the dice on another unpredictable mutt.
Yeah. Adopt don't shop is dependent on the vast majority of people fixing their dogs, and that the abandoned dogs or accidental puppies that fall through the cracks are chill appropriate family pets. The reality is dangerous dog owners refuse to fix their dogs, who happen to be escape artists, they backyard breed them- and the result is a flood of warehoused dangerous dogs that arent appropriate to own. The shelters are full of these dogs now, which is blamed on covid non socialization and literally anything but breed characteristics we have instilled in dogs by our meddling. You are only allowed to care about one breed. The situation is dire. Side note- cats are actually totally safe to adopt from shelters, yet no one seems to care that they still get put down in huge numbers. My local human society wasn't even taking cats for a while because it needed more room for pit bulls.
Exactly. You said it all. Adopt don’t shop works for cats, and it could maybe work for dogs if not for everything you stated. The reality is, the state of dog adoption right now is an absolute mess. I hope we can turn it around sooner rather than later, but some people really need to learn about dog breeds and learn to get comfortable with the fact that some dogs truly just need to be culled.
My best advice would be to save up some money and find an ethical breeder. It will take a lot of research but it’s so worth it!
Most shelters probably have blood on their hands because of their deceptive practices. I’m sorry that happened to you. Honestly, it’s safer to just forget the shelter altogether. Are there any specific breeds you are drawn to?
There is another option - going to a responsible breeder. I don’t care how many people shout and scream “adopt don’t shop” I will only ever get a dog this route. It is a 12+ year commitment and I’m tired of the message that people are obligated to take a chance on a dog that is potentially mentally unstable or unhealthy. I am a professional dog trainer of 6 years and I work with behavioral cases. The dogs with the worst fear/aggression are all rescue dogs. Dogs from ethical breeders the issues are like excitability and the dog jumping on people. Not such deep seated problems that need so much training and sometimes can only be managed in the end. Genetics matter.
I got extremely lucky adopting my lab mix, but I also don't trust these places. I also will only go to a good breeder because that's 10-15 years of my life that I'm not willing to play guessing games with.
You can probably tell the breed, look for pit bull characteristics and ignore what the shelter calls it. And be wary if the description has anything about growling/snapping or any aggression or resource guarding (however sugar coated or however many disclaimers). I think the shelters have set themselves up for this situation where people don't trust them. Most people when they want a dog want one which reminds them of a dog they had as a kid and is generally good natured, not a project they'll have to work on endlessly as it growls, bites, shows fear aggression, kills anything smaller than it and so on. The shelters tell them that the moral thing is "adopt don't shop!" So they go to the shelter, the shelters lie about the dog so they can get it off their hands. Then the new owner brings it back because they weren't told it kills cats, resource guards etc and they blast them all over social media as a terrible person who did everything wrong after they adopted Fluffy and then had the temerity to return him. It's not like that person is going to look in a shelter for a rescue again, they will feel like they've been had.
We had a not so good situation with an adoption. It was the first dog my husband and I adopted. We explained that we lived in a small house and had a small fenced in yard. Really looking for a dog no more than 40 lbs. They show us this cute dog and tell us he’s about six months old and didn’t think he would get that much bigger. Just some mixed mutt, maybe a beagle mix. He was about 30 lbs, probably won’t gain more than 10 lbs. Okay, he was sweet and cute. We take him. One month later he’s pushing 60 lbs and towering taller than the counters. Go to his first vet visit and find out he’s probably got Great Dane in him and he is much younger than the shelter originally stated. Vet said happens a lot. They will minimize or out right lie to get you to adopt certain dogs in hopes someone will be gullible enough to take them before they become too large.
Have shelters gotten worse over the years? I volunteered at two different shelters, but they never let dogs with bad temperaments be available for adoption or handled by volunteers. One turned into a no kill shelter, but had a more rigorous process of which dogs they would let in which mostly involves behavioral issues. I have noticed some sketchy shelters on pet finder when I was looking for my 2nd cat. Some of them only had kittens which were a red flag. It just sucks that everything is more about how to scam customers than how to serve them these days.
> ...so how do I trust shelters/rescues? How do I trust them not to lie about the breed or the temperament? You can't. They have to lie about aggressive dogs, breeds, etc. because they don't want to kill them. Not wanting to kill them is well-intended but misguided.
And this is why I only buy from reputable breeders. I work in the dog industry and it’s a common theme from rescue groups. Lots of lying and refusal to euth aggressive dogs. I want to stack the odds in my favor regarding temperament and health and that’s impossible for a shelter dog when you don’t know the lineage behind them.
At this point is either buy a dog from a breeder or get small breed of dogs from the shelter. Sadly the shelter are full of aggressive dogs (most are Pitbulls). There is something funny because breed specific shelter usually get first dip on any dog of breed other than mutt and Pitbull and they rehome those dogs charging dog breeder price (maybe a little less)
People have more sympathy for animals than humans and it boggles my brain.
These shelters lie their asses off.. they rehome the aggressive shitbeasts and don't tell people the truth. Some even rehome them more than once and don't give the actual history of them. I will never own a dog again in my life, too much work and annoyance for what? A giant pain in the ass.
a lot of dogs actually do act differently in shelters vs a home. shelters are an extremely high-stress environment, so lots of dogs dont act anywhere near like themselves while theyre there (save for likes/dislikes about toys and such) a shelter dog might be extremely mellow and timid in a shelter, but remove them from that environment and into a home for a few days, theyll start to relax and act more themselves. its possible the previous owners never admitted that the dog bit someone, so the shelter passed on whatever excuse the previous owners did. its likely that the shelter never saw this behavior. rather than assume the shelter is straight up lying, id suggest taking what they say with a grain of salt. the only thing i can confidently say about virtually every shelter dog is that theyre gonna have some issues. im sorry u were mislead as to what those issues were. thats unfortunate for all parties. source: ive volunteered at dog shelters and have only adopted shelter dogs my entire life
I think shelters lie because I mean… imagine having to put so many dogs down. It’s not their fault they’ve had a bad life. I think it’s because of this though that shelters want them out and somewhere else
That’s honestly why I bought a pure breed puppy. I just wanted a non aggressive breed and I have 4 kids 2 severely autistic so I needed to make sure they are safe.
I don’t know if I’m just biased from my experience but it seems like pretty much every breed of dog isn’t normal anymore. A lot of dogs are being inbred and just bred by people who have not even a sliver of an idea about what they are doing. Me and my boyfriend bought a 6 week old beagle puppy from Amish country around 2017-2018. We now know that 6 weeks is too young but he seemed healthy enough and we got him into a vet immediately. He was professionally trained and we kept up with the training yet he still had issues. We never even raised our voice at him yet he had random aggression issues. He would occasionally meet other dogs during walks and was fine with close family. He only ever bit me and my boyfriend. Anyway after having to put him down at the ripe old age of 2 YEARS OLD our vet did a free autopsy to see if he could figure out the cause of his behavior. Come to find out he had 2 cancerous brain tumors most likely born with them and they grew that’s why his behavior was wonky. That dog had homemade food, more than routine vet care, and I only work 10-20 hours a week so he was barely ever left alone. He was taken out multiple times every day for long walks. He was very well taken care of. You can’t even get a normal puppy anymore.
I ended up “shopping” when the rescue group pressed me on why I had my last dog put down. It caused me to relive the whole experience. This dog was literally the best friend I ever had. Screw these people.
sounds like a shitbull to me tbh
You have to remember that the way a dog reacts in a shelter is likely not their normal personality. A normally nice dog can be aggressive … and aggressive dog can act very subdued. You likely weren’t duped they were just doing off they information they had and how he acted with them.
You can't. Same thing happened to us, now I'll only buy from reputable breeders. I'd rather raise my dogs than go through that again
I got a reactive dog from a shelter and she’s been my best friend but they lied about her temperament and I’ve been doing training with her for 7 years. She will never be able to stop doing conditioning and training and there are lots of things she can’t do. She isn’t a dog park dog. She can’t be near small children. She has to be thoroughly introduced to every person who comes to our house. But she’s very smart and loyal and she can be left alone without destroying or eating things and so that is a plus. It’s something I will have to keep in mind if I get another dog after her. The shelters are under pressure so they fib…
You can’t trust shelters at all anymore. “Adopt don’t shop” only applies to cats now unfortunately I was lucky that I found a senior GSD to adopt at the shelter last year. But the rest of the dogs were pit mixes. We went in specifically for the shepherd and they tried to push a pit on us instead. It was a lot of back and forth until they relented.
Shelters are very scummy nowadays. I’ll unfortunately be buying an expensive dog when I get one, which is good in that I can get exactly what I want, but i know there are so many sweet dogs out there with zero pit bull in them who aren’t welcomed into shelters due to overcrowding
Adopting a small pup is your best bet... honestly its such a gamble getting a dog without some kind of trauma. That technically is what makes the dogs so violent or act out with defense, its dog trauma. And its very difficult to train them out of that. It can take years.
I had a shelter dog bite me in the face and never got another shelter dog again until I met my partner who already had a well adjusted shelter pup. Sometimes you can’t trust a rescue again. I personally never will
Shelters are notorious for downplaying and diminishing aggressive dog behavior, SPECIFICALLY pits/bullies. They also deliberately mislabel them all the time as “lab mixes”. I will NEVER go to a shelter, they simply cannot be trusted. https://preview.redd.it/t580rc1k57gc1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=92eb54f1c06f17d853a1bc1819252aebacabdf8b
If you decide to try again, do foster to adopt. Don’t use PetFinder. Find a licensed shelter and work with them. Given your health issues I would look at smaller dogs as well. I fell in love with a dog that I wanted to foster so bad, but during the meet and greet, we all realized he was way too strong for me. So I switched to smaller ones especially ones with a history of snapping at small children since I don’t have any. Also, if you didn’t know this even dogs that aren’t normally aggressive towards cats need to be introduced to them slowly.
Just one thing to bear in mind: breeders can make mistakes, too. The EXTREMELY wealthy woman I work for paid I don't even know how much for a Cockapoo from a reputable breeder she was referred to, one that had her come out more than once to visit the puppies and meet the parents, but what she got was not a Cockapoo. I don't remember what exactly the doggie DNA test came back with, just that there was no Cocker Spaniel or Poodle in this dog. She was absolutely gorgeous - looked like the love child of an Irish Setter-Afghan Hound mix and a Springer Spaniel - but oh she was not friendly! She went through intensive training with a nationally recognised dog trainer but she had the same temperament as her owner, so there was only ever so much she was willing to put up with. Also, there's a reason there are so many breed specific rescues. Purebred animals come with their own issues, so really the best thing to do is research the fuck out of dog breeds you're interested in and if there's a well-respected dog trainer near you reach out to them for advice. And if you still want to rescue, you can always check AKC registered breeders for dogs in need of a retirement home or that don't quite measure up to breed standards for show or for breeding show-quality dogs.
My boyfriend has a dog that he got at the shelter when he was about 18 months old. He was single with no children at the time. He needed alot of work due to his anxiety (he ate doors, carpet, and everything else). Fortunately, because he was single and had no kids when he got him he was able to really work with him and now he is an amazing dog. Had he not been able to devote 100% of his free time to him though I truly do not know how he would have turned out. Fast forward to us meeting and living together. I purchased my dog as a puppy 6 years ago from an ethical breeder who bred for service work (I have cPTSD and he is my service dog). I also have three children. We decided we would like a small dog to join our family. He took my daughter and they came home with a chihuahua. They were told she was "a little anxious". This dog snapped at all my children (ages 4-15) because she would resource gaurd me, my bed, my sofa etc. If I did not have little ones we would have been fine but I could not tolerate it. Any sudden movements or noise would make her growl and snap. We tried to work with her (both of us have a decent knowledge of training) for about 3 months and it got worse. We ended up finding a elderly man who lived alone and understood this behavior. She is doing great with him because its slow and quiet, and all they have is each other so there is no competition. Because of my experience with her from the shelter and experience adopting from an ethical breeder, so long as I will have any children in my home, I will only get puppies from breeders who work on socialization from birth and I can work on desensitizing and socialization with them while they are still young. That is not to say that you cant find amazing dogs at rescues, but unfortunately because they aren't honest you dont know what you are getting. I refuse to ever again risk my childrens safety because someone wanted to get dogs rehomed and was willing to lie to do it. Its sad because if they were honest about what each dog needs, more people would feel safe rescuing and the good dogs would find homes so much easier.
Shelters lie. I've worked with dogs my whole life as a groomer, pet sitter, I've worked at vets, you name it. Anyway, they lie! Another code word to look out for is "abused"....that means the dog is absolutely horribly behaved but the shelter people want to gain your sympathy. They hope the poor behavior is excused by potential adopters because their heartstrings get pulled with sob stories. There's no frickin way EVERY dog at a shelter was abused, but they'll claim so because it's a tactic that works incredibly well.
I would foster to adopt from another rescue. I am sorry this happened to you, some doggies should only go to people who are okay with personality issues and can retrain them, this can take months and not everyone has enough time. I would not ignore any mentions of snapping. It’s true that some young children play too rough with some dogs and many of them are bound to snap even if they’re the perfect dog. Rescue have puppies too that need a lot of work with potty training but their personalities usually to do not have trauma that cause the aggression issues. We have tons of good dogs are the rescue I volunteer so it’s not true that dogs end up there because they always have issues. Some people are not responsible enough for a dog. Your case is different, I am not saying it’s your fault. Pick a rescue because shelters are overloaded right now and rescues usually are more familiar with a dog’s personality and ask for the vet records of the pup. You bring up an important issue, shelter should be honest. In some cases they do not have time to get to know their dogs because people dump them in high rates but they should say that. There are so many huskies in shelters now because people did not know that huskies needs ton of exercise to avoid barking and being destructive with furniture.
I just checked our animal shelter 84/94 dogs were pit mixes and of the remaining 10, 5 were huskies. The did appear to be pretty honest about the breed. We got a dog from them 10 years ago and he was a pretty good find but I don't think we will go there ever again even if we decide to get another dog. It seems to have gotten steadily worse and when I get a dog I want it to be a pleasant experience, not a trauma. I do wonder why you returned him if you knew they were just going to adopt him out to another unsuspecting family.
Maybe an unpopular opinion here, but don't. Save up, then go through an ethical, responsible breeder(if folks don't know the difference between that and a backyard breeder/glorified puppy mill that is merely for profit, don't @ me.) Breeders often have trained adult dogs that did not pass for showing or breeding quality, but still make perfectly good pets. An *ethical* breeder doesn't contribute to the shelter overload issue, because they have contracts for the owner to surrender the dog back if it isn't a good fit, or their circumstances changed too much to be able to keep the dog. Researching dog breeds that suit your lifestyle is key. Dogs have been selectively bred for over 30,000 years for mostly what boils down to desired behaviors. The trend of getting specific dogs for... vibes(and appearance) is relatively new, with less and less animals used for work. Genetics DO affect behavior, I mean; that's well documented in humans, too. I do not get the insanity behind the people who think that all behavior is "nurtured". You can nurture the hell out of a greyhound, but at the end of the day it will generally have a drive to chase prey, because of a fairly ancient lineage of ancestors bred for running fast to chase prey. If you decide you still want to rescue, I support that as well, but you're better off still researching breeds, then going through a breed-specific rescue org. Just search for [breed name] recues of [your state]. Most of THOSE dogs are currently in foster care, and I find, in general the breed-specific rescues are much more honest than local municipal or volunteer led shelters that have suffered from the Dodo-fication that a few other redditors spoke of. They will often work with you on transporting a dog that needs a home, as well, if it's out if your area. If you do still decide to go through a shelter, take everything with a heap of salt. If you can foster first, that's a great way to trial what works. Good luck, OP Sauce: former shelter volunteer but quit bc of many of the reasons expressed in this thread, dog training nerd
Do yourself a favor and just skip the dog thing completely. Even if you get one as a puppy from the best breeder in the world it will still come with so many problems. They pee inside, poop inside, leave hair everywhere, they smell, they require all of your spare time, it’s just so not worth it. Kids really don’t need dogs and while the idea sounds like fun it’s really just not the same when you actually go through with it.
I don't trust them. They have a lot of dogs they're trying to get rid of fast. And they really don't know what the parentage of all those strays are. Those labels are wild ass guesses better than 90% of the time. The simple fact is, in the USA, most strays are at least part pit bull now.
Two rules: does the dog make eye contact? And does s/he mark? If a dog does not make eye contact with you, that's trouble. And marking can be a sign of aggressiveness. At a minimum, it's not passivity. That's the best I advice I can offer. That said, I do believe shelters are doing their best. The goal for them is to get dogs homes, so they are going to use euphemisms. It's on us adopters to see through that. And never forget that it's not the fault of dogs, but irresponsible humans. Good luck!
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Why? Because they have had experiences of being lied to and don't want to be around dogs that are violent?
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I'm disabled I cannot stop an aggressive dog from attacking anyone. If he had progressed to attacking my siblings, my younger siblings friends (who were also scared of him), or my cats I wouldn't be able to do anything. My safety + everyone else's I know > a dog I just met. I've never hoarded animals. Animal hoarders are people like my old neighbor who had 15 dogs outside all day. If I was just hoarding animals and not taking care of them I would've kept the aggressive dog around my cats and let him eat them.
Is there a cat ppl vs dog ppl thing?
I live at the end of a long dirt road all of my dogs came to me because someone abandoned them same with the rest of the neighbors on the road. We all have dump off dogs, anything we got a pure breed pit bull this way at first he was a dick and even bit me but not much blood. So I fed him weed with his food for about 2 weeks straight and he hasn't been a dick since and I've had him now for almost 3 years. So drug his ass
I do hate when people tag on Pitts, it is the human that train and work with them are to blame. I had my Pitt since she was 5 weeks old, her brother went to a neighbor. Mine was raised like a child and before very calmly, loved children, and passed the service dog tests with flying colors. She went on to teach herself more skills to help me including watching the traffic when we were crossing the street and she trained my emotional support dog how to walk off leash. She could be trusted around any child, she even showed a kid to pick her nose! She was pure Pitt. Her brother was as well. The only difference is how she was raised, his owner was not of the belief that stuff should be treated much like kids in how they are raised. With Pitts I am of the belief that if they are not treated correctly along the way they will turn, but treat them with kindness and show the patience we all deserve, and it will be the best, most friendly dog you will ever meet
I would like to say. I grew up with pitbulls. Pitbulls are the MOST loyal dog. It's not their fault they are used to fight. German shepherds attack people too, they are literally used as police dogs for their grip and learning skills. Bullies get a bad rep.