Proud of our pit bull

[Paddletrucker]

I'll start by saying that we're big pit bull fans. Everyone we've ever known that was a family pet was an outstanding dog. They really do get a bad rap. The breed used to be "America's dog" and pits were known to be babysitters. It was the dog to be a companion for a kid. We adopted Piper, our pit bull, from a local shelter. She was almost starved to death. She had sores all over her, and we thought she might have some sort of skin disease. Turns out, the vet told us that it was simply malnutrition. Her little body had begun to consume itself. She was a mess physically, but she was the best behaved and sweetest thing in the world.

Here's Piper now.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-119.jpg
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-120.jpg


My wife competes with her in agility. It started as an obedience class, and progressed to the agility ring. This weekend, she'll compete for her first agility title. I'll post some pics of her doing agility in another post.



A while back, we started raising goats to help keep our weeds under control so that we wouldn't have to use chemicals. Turns out, the goats are actually pretty profitable. They can be, however, a pain sometimes.

This past early Spring, a bunch of our goats had babies. One was accidental. I never meant for her to be bred. Somehow, she started looking pregnant, and it was her first time.

So, as I left for work the one night, goats started kidding. At about 3AM, my wife called to let me know that the new momma had THREE babies and wanted absolutely NOTHING to do with them. Two were alive and one was almost dead. She took the one that was almost dead into the house to warm it up and see if she could get some milk into it.

She put it on the floor and went after a heating pad. Before she could, our pit bull, Piper, began licking the baby goat all over. That stimulated the little fella, and he jumped up, screaming his guts out. My wife went back out and milked some milk from the mother goat and got it into the little guy with a syringe. Piper has absolutely claimed the little goat. She did such a good job, we put her in charge of the other two. She wakes us up when it's time for their bottles. She keeps them rounded up, but that's not hard because they won't leave her side.

Here is Piper when my wife first brought the little orphan inside.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-57.jpg
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-58.jpg

And, a little licking and encouragement, and HE'S UP! Even if he is just a little wobbly.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-59.jpg

Piper loves to look after her "goat puppies" out by the goat pens where none of the other dogs are allowed.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-60.jpg

She keeps them safe and keeps them clean.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-61.jpg
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-62.jpg

She even plays with them when they start bounding around.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-63.jpg

[Paddletrucker]

Piper was just featured in a local magazine, Tulsa Pets. They even put her on the cover.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-121.jpg

You can read the article at the magazine's site.
http://www.tulsapetsmagazine.com/


Here's a link that has video of Piper playing with the baby goats.
http://www.tulsapetsmagazine.com/2012/07/cover-story-video-piper-and-gp/

My wife started a Facebook page to combat some of the misconceptions about pit bulls, you can visit Piper and see lots of pics at Piper's Pit Bull Place on Facebook. My wife would be tickled to death if you visit and "like" the page!!

[oderdene]

what a story, thanks a lot for sharing and wish all the best to your family including Piper and goat puppies.

[Paddletrucker]

Piper is the resident babysitter. We foster dogs for the shelter where we got her, and she is the self appointed protector of all puppies.

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-131.jpg

She's never met a puppy she didn't like.

[Paddletrucker]

She's done really good in agility, too.

Here she is after her very first agility trial. She did really well, especially for her first time.

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-127.jpg


Everybody at the trials knows Piper. She has to go around and "tell" everybody hello.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-123.jpg


Here's a few pics of her in the ring.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-129.jpg
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-128.jpg
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-124.jpg

Of course, between runs, she finds me for some rest. She's a 70lb lap dog! LOL
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-125.jpg

Here's my wife and Piper practicing at home for the trial.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-130.jpg

At outdoor events, Piper can bring her baby goat. Here they are in their shade tent, hanging out between events.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-122.jpg

[Mudderoy]

I'll start by saying that we're big pit bull fans. Everyone we've ever known that was a family pet was an outstanding dog. They really do get a bad rap. The breed used to be "America's dog" and pits were known to be babysitters. It was the dog to be a companion for a kid. We adopted Piper, our pit bull, from a local shelter. She was almost starved to death. She had sores all over her, and we thought she might have some sort of skin disease. Turns out, the vet told us that it was simply malnutrition. Her little body had begun to consume itself. She was a mess physically, but she was the best behaved and sweetest thing in the world.

Here's Piper now.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-119.jpg
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-120.jpg


My wife competes with her in agility. It started as an obedience class, and progressed to the agility ring. This weekend, she'll compete for her first agility title. I'll post some pics of her doing agility in another post.



A while back, we started raising goats to help keep our weeds under control so that we wouldn't have to use chemicals. Turns out, the goats are actually pretty profitable. They can be, however, a pain sometimes.

This past early Spring, a bunch of our goats had babies. One was accidental. I never meant for her to be bred. Somehow, she started looking pregnant, and it was her first time.

So, as I left for work the one night, goats started kidding. At about 3AM, my wife called to let me know that the new momma had THREE babies and wanted absolutely NOTHING to do with them. Two were alive and one was almost dead. She took the one that was almost dead into the house to warm it up and see if she could get some milk into it.

She put it on the floor and went after a heating pad. Before she could, our pit bull, Piper, began licking the baby goat all over. That stimulated the little fella, and he jumped up, screaming his guts out. My wife went back out and milked some milk from the mother goat and got it into the little guy with a syringe. Piper has absolutely claimed the little goat. She did such a good job, we put her in charge of the other two. She wakes us up when it's time for their bottles. She keeps them rounded up, but that's not hard because they won't leave her side.

Here is Piper when my wife first brought the little orphan inside.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-57.jpg
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-58.jpg

And, a little licking and encouragement, and HE'S UP! Even if he is just a little wobbly.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-59.jpg

Piper loves to look after her "goat puppies" out by the goat pens where none of the other dogs are allowed.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-60.jpg

She keeps them safe and keeps them clean.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-61.jpg
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-62.jpg

She even plays with them when they start bounding around.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/file-63.jpg

I love dogs, any dog. My Mom was always getting after me for running up to strays. I learned early how to read them. Never got bit by a stray dog either.

With that said, based on what I have seen on T.V. (and I know how they hype stuff) there is no way I would have a pitbull. To me they are a loaded weapon ready to go off and I wouldn't even have to be there to pull the trigger. I especially wouldn't have a pit bull if I had children. This isn't based on experience it's just based on what I've heard, read, and seen in reports on T.V.

There was a 3 year old found dead, killed by the neighbors pit bulls a couple of months ago, just North of Houston in Spring(?) Texas.

So it's great to have first hand information on the breed.

[Paddletrucker]

With that said, based on what I have seen on T.V. (and I know how they hype stuff) there is no way I would have a pitbull. To me they are a loaded weapon ready to go off and I wouldn't even have to be there to pull the trigger. I especially wouldn't have a pit bull if I had children. This isn't based on experience it's just based on what I've heard, read, and seen in reports on T.V.

There was a 3 year old found dead, killed by the neighbors pit bulls a couple of months ago, just North of Houston in Spring(?) Texas.

So it's great to have first hand information on the breed.

Tony, it's sad, but there are a lot of people who "would never own a pit bull" and then it's usually followed by "especially if I had children" In reality, it's a myth that they are genetically programmed to "snap" and it's a myth that they're jaws lock and it's also a myth that they're mean or prone to bite. They can be made to fight, but what we've learned, after having a pit and fostering a bunch more, is that they're actually really good natured, really sweet dogs. Yes, they can be trained to fight. That's because they really want to please. If that means they have to please a stupid gangster by fighting they will. They are also like any other animal, they'll do what they can to survive. That can mean fighting, too.

Do a little research on which dogs are most prone to attack, and you'll find that pit bulls are a victim of an incompetent media. I don't know why, but I always believed a lot of the hype, too. I mean, I don't trust the media on darn near anything else. They're biased and generally wrong as far as I'm concerned. It's no different with pit bulls. It's simply sensationalism. I grew up on a ranch around all kinds of animals and still run a small ranch of my own. I can tell you from experience that ANY animal of ANY breed can be made to be vicious. I've seen horses, cattle, dogs, and even sheep become horribly dangerous due to how they were handled. Trust me. I start and train colts and I help my wife with her dog training. Trust me, I know how to make any animal mean, but I also know how to keep ANY animal tame and a partner to a human. Pit Bulls aren't any different than any other species.

AS far as only dogs, I've owned about all of them and I can tell you I'm not at all worried about any dog based on it's breed. I can assure you that without a doubt if you come to our house, you're likely to be bitten. We have five dogs. You will be bitten by our Jack Russell Terrier, or as I call him, our Jack Russell Terrorist. The lab, husky, and beagle might (might) bark because they're happy to see someone. The pit bull will greet you and treat you like you've grown up together. If a fight breaks out, she runs and hides in my wife's closet. All of the pit bulls we've fostered have been the same. Now, I'm sure if you TRAIN them to fight, fight they will, but we've fostered pits that came FROM illegal dog fighting rings and once they find out that we're NOT here to hurt them, even the meanest fighting dog is just fine.

If you only knew the horrible things they do to make those dogs fight, you'd know that ANYTHING put through that hell would become vicious. We've fostered dogs that were burned with acid to make them irritable so that whenever any other dog came near them, they'd fight. That's pretty common among the dog fighting crowd. It's also common to set dogs on fire to make them mean. Read about what Michael Vick and his crew did to those dogs. A lot of those dogs (the ones that didn't have to be put down) went on to be great pets. It's all training. They're usually started as puppies. It's all they know. Even humans can be vicious if they're raised to be that way.

As I said, I've owned LOTS of different breeds of dog, from hunting dogs, to working dogs, to dogs just meant to be pets in a yard. We don't have kids, but IF we did, I'd want a pit bull, raised from a puppy by our child to have as a protector and companion. All of my friends have kids and none of them have any problems with their kids being around our pit, and many of the ones we've fostered. Sure, sometimes we have foster dogs that have been rescued that we don't want the kids around, but they are not usually pits. Labs are usually the ones we find that don't tolerate kids too well, followed by the smaller breeds.

Sorry if this seems like a rant, but my wife and I really are passionate about the misinformation that the morons in the media have spread and the damage that a bunch of idiotic gangsters have done to this breed of dog.

Incidentally, a lot of the dogs that the gang members fight are not pits, they just look like them. There are a lot of breeds that look like pits that aren't.

It's just one more segment of our society dealt an enormous disservice by an incompetent, ignorant, and sometimes corrupt media.

[Paddletrucker]

A different side of the 'terrifying' pit bull:D from my wife's albums.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.348367751879865.75684.348326105217363&type=3

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.383513621698611.81101.348326105217363&type=3

http://www.facebook.com/media/albums/?id=348326105217363

[denverd1]

Wow.... I thought we would've gone more than a post or two before the breed's stereotype took over. Tony stupid people raise dogs too. and raise them the wrong way. I blame the owners, not the dog. I also blame the fly by night breeders for not watching their bloodlines and cross breeding. Are their aggressive dogs out there? of course. are they all pitbulls? course not. It used to be the Rott that would jump a fence and kill you, then Dobermans, now pitbulls are getting the undeserving reputation of being "loaded weapons ready to go off." Seriously???

Here we have a fine specimen of the breed. Congrats Piper for making the cover!! super cool. And doing quite well in agility!!

[Paddletrucker]

A lot of it too is looks. Pits can be made to look a certain way. Trimming the ears, cropping the tail, branding, and all kinds of other crap I wouldn't dream of subjecting any of my beloved pets to.

It's not just dogs. I've got a Brahma bull that you can ride. Aren't they supposed to be the mean ones?:D

[denverd1]

here's my dude. Had a rare blood cell problem (why IMO the breeders are just as much a problem as owners are)
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/225992_10150325685078009_1134224_n.jpg

[Mudderoy]

Wow.... I thought we would've gone more than a post or two before the breed's stereotype took over. Tony stupid people raise dogs too. and raise them the wrong way. I blame the owners, not the dog. I also blame the fly by night breeders for not watching their bloodlines and cross breeding. Are their aggressive dogs out there? of course. are they all pitbulls? course not. It used to be the Rott that would jump a fence and kill you, then Dobermans, now pitbulls are getting the undeserving reputation of being "loaded weapons ready to go off." Seriously???

Why is this such an emotional issue for you?

[cantab27]

Wow.... I thought we would've gone more than a post or two before the breed's stereotype took over. Tony stupid people raise dogs too. and raise them the wrong way. I blame the owners, not the dog. I also blame the fly by night breeders for not watching their bloodlines and cross breeding. Are their aggressive dogs out there? of course. are they all pitbulls? course not. It used to be the Rott that would jump a fence and kill you, then Dobermans, now pitbulls are getting the undeserving reputation of being "loaded weapons ready to go off." Seriously???

Here we have a fine specimen of the breed. Congrats Piper for making the cover!! super cool. And doing quite well in agility!!

yep owner not the breed...same as the gun debate ....trying to ban them down here....

[cantab27]

opps ..nice story to wake up and read...cheers for sharing nate..

[Paddletrucker]

Why is this such an emotional issue for you?

I can only speak for me and my wife, but it's something like this.....


We really love our pit bull. We don't have kids. Our dogs are our kids.

Say your son or daughter has red hair. Straight A's, respectful, well behaved, all around nice child. Would you be emotional if you saw reported in the news all the time about how red headed kids are dumb, misbehaved, and likely to end up as serial killers? What if you heard people say, "I wouldn't let my child play with a red headed kid. You know, it's only a matter of time before they start killing cats and then kids. It's only a matter of time before they're raping the grandmother down the street, they're genetically programmed to snap and commit horrific crimes."

Now, you know your kid is a good kid. You know what you're hearing is bullcrap, but it's being reported on the news, for crying out loud. Aren't those people supposed to be verifying their information before they go on the air or in print with it?!?

It just gets a little old having your beloved companion pigeon holed for total bovine excrement. I know you weren't really doing that, as the last line of your first response indicates, but it's hard to not defend these dogs after you get to know how they really are, ESPECIALLY if you have experience with a number of them.

[Mudderoy]

I can only speak for me and my wife, but it's something like this.....


We really love our pit bull. We don't have kids. Our dogs are our kids.

Say your son or daughter has red hair. Straight A's, respectful, well behaved, all around nice child. Would you be emotional if you saw reported in the news all the time about how red headed kids are dumb, misbehaved, and likely to end up as serial killers? What if you heard people say, "I wouldn't let my child play with a red headed kid. You know, it's only a matter of time before they start killing cats and then kids. It's only a matter of time before they're raping the grandmother down the street, they're genetically programmed to snap and commit horrific crimes."

Now, you know your kid is a good kid. You know what you're hearing is bullcrap, but it's being reported on the news, for crying out loud. Aren't those people supposed to be verifying their information before they go on the air or in print with it?!?

It just gets a little old having your beloved companion pigeon holed for total bovine excrement. I know you weren't really doing that, as the last line of your first response indicates, but it's hard to not defend these dogs after you get to know how they really are, ESPECIALLY if you have experience with a number of them.

Well in my head I thought I said that I understand that since you have experience with pit bulls that was much more important that what any news hype that I had seen, read, etc... However I personally wouldn't risk learning about it first hand as long as I had children, or even children near by. It's just not worth the risk to me.

Kind of like the scientists say that sharks don't hunt man. They mistake them for something else. That they come up strike, and then release because it's then when they realize it's not say a seal. Of course the mistaken identity leads to several hundred stitches, or worse, death!

It just isn't worth it to me to go swimming around testing this theory. :D

BTW, your dog looks like fun. It would be fun to meet her.

[denverd1]

Why is this such an emotional issue for you?

LOL.

Nate pretty much summed it up. Sharks are fun to swim with BTW.

[denverd1]

http://dsc.discovery.com/sharks/shark-pictures/images/whale-shark-man-swimming.jpg

[denverd1]

what about manatees? do they scare you?

[denverd1]

hummingbirds are VERY territorial as well....

[prerunner1982]

My wife started a Facebook page to combat some of the misconceptions about pit bulls, you can visit Piper and see lots of pics at Piper's Pit Bull Place on Facebook. My wife would be tickled to death if you visit and "like" the page!!

Liked and passed it on to my friends that own two very sweet pits.

[XJ Wheeler]

That is one sweet pup you got there, could never fear that beauty. Unbelievable how she took those goats under her wing... er... paw.

[OrangeXJ]

I have 2 rescued pits sweetist dogs I've ever had. They get a bad rap

Ruby

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m470/GregKnowles/Picture079-1.jpg

Reggie

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m470/GregKnowles/Picture080.jpg

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m470/GregKnowles/Picture091.jpg

[Paddletrucker]

That last pic looks like a typical day around here. Lost of lounging around.:D:D

Nice looking pits you've got there!