Pitbul service dog kicked out of Walmart.

[Lorgakor]

Stupid Walmart people. I hope they get a big fine.

http://chloethepitbull.com/

Edit: Oops. I spelled Pitbull wrong in my title.

 

[green_bottle_04]

Stupid Walmart people. I hope they get a big fine.

http://chloethepitbull.com/

Edit: Oops. I spelled Pitbull wrong in my title.

that infuriates me! people are freaking rediculous!!!! i have 2 pits and they are the best dogs ive ever owned.

 

[bugmankeith]

To Walmart:

If it's a Service Dog it has to be calm around all people, passed Service Dogs cant be dangerous or have any behavioral problems. Why the big fuss?

You cant pet service dogs because that will distract them from doing their job.

 

[pitbulllady]

I hope that Wal-Mart gets the ever-lovin' doo-doo sued out of them under the Americans With Disabilities Act. What a bunch of idiots! Pit Bulls don't have a "crazy gene that causes them to like, kill people", but obviously there are a LOT of people who have a STUPID gene that causes them to believe everything they hear via the popular media, AND causes them to willfully break FEDERAL law!

pitbulllady

 

[Taceas]

Legally, it was a bad thing to do. Guide dogs are supposed to go anywhere their handicapped owner needs to go, unhindered. Although it does make me wonder the intentions of the owners, considering they have their own PR website. :?

Although given the obvious stigma against the breed I can't imagine having one in the service with capacities like that. I know being a citizen I would feel more comfortable around a golden retriever than a pitbull. Although pits might be better than poodles. *twitch*

Personally, I don't trust them, regardless of what the media tries to spoon feed me. I can make up my own mind and form my own opinions based on life experiences (amazing concept, eh?). Maybe its my own bad luck, but I've never met one I would trust unequivocally.

The breed was bred as a fighting dog, so the genes are there, latent and waiting, so whether they come out through abusive owners or poor training, is neither here nor there. They still have those inescapable genes.

Generally any one of them up for adoption locally are not recommended for smaller animals or small children in the household. Why is that exactly? How many small children do you know of that run around Wal-mart unleashed?

 

[Ewok]

I see unleashed kids all the time in walmark


True any dog can bite a person if given the chance, but that is the first time I have heard of a pitbull being used for disability

 

[Mina]

It really isn't unusual for pitbulls to be used as dogs to assist the disabled. They have the qualifications needed for a service dog, they are strong and smart.
My girlfriend has a doberman for her service dog. She is a larger than average woman and needs a dog that is big enough and strong enough to pick her up when she falls, and steady her if she becomes dizzy.
I have two bullys as pets, one pit bull, and one American Staffordshire terrier. I was asked to leave petsmart the last time I took my Am Staff there to fit him for a collar. He was doing nothing wrong and was better behaved than the other dog in the store than was barking like mad and dragging its owner around the store.
Pit bull prejudice is a shame, but I have become used to it. My dogs behave better than most in public, but because of what they are, they are asked to leave when other dogs who cannot behave are welcomed.
I take every chance I get to educate people, and introduce them to my two boys, but it is slow going. Some people aren't willng to be educated.

 

[C_Strike]

It does seem unfair, ut at the end of the day, the breed of dog is only around fbecause of dogfighting. I do feel that most are NO worse than ANY other dog..but as a generalisation, which dog is more likely to become hostile..Am pitbull.. or a lab?
It is a shame, but tbh many owners of these dogs dont fully understand them..it was only recently a guys pet doberman ripped up his ddaughter.. the dog was put down. It seems unfair..The dog is bred for hostility, the guy should have understood the breed better, read the signs of the dogs dominance stuggles and DONE something much more to quell it.
I think is similar with other things, they cant control which Am pitbulls are good, and which are 'bad' so its a general outline..
unfortunately the good ones sufffer too..
lol the managers are jsut covering his back, we got silly bloody heslth and safety regulations, america has the power to sue for anything, lol
But a service dog? lol thats silly
The dog is very infrequently the blame, seems the level of understanding and care given is more than likely the reasons. The dog doesnt deserve the bad name, its the owners..as a generalisation- i would imagine most are still awesome to their pets..but its the few, add that to the slightly tempermental dog and its not a best mix. In decent care, they thrivvee and will become beautiful, loving animals like other breeds.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

The breed was bred as a fighting dog, so the genes are there, latent and waiting,

Even fighting dogs are bred to be DOG-hostile, not human-hostile. A human-hostile dog is just as much a threat to a dogfighter as it is to any other owner.

However, psychological abuse, physical abuse, and starvation will make ANY breed of dog hate people. But it's not innate, not at all.

 

[green_bottle_04]

Even fighting dogs are bred to be DOG-hostile, not human-hostile. A human-hostile dog is just as much a threat to a dogfighter as it is to any other owner.

However, psychological abuse, physical abuse, and starvation will make ANY breed of dog hate people. But it's not innate, not at all.

exactly! i couldnt agree more!

 

[green_bottle_04]

The breed was bred as a fighting dog, so the genes are there, latent and waiting, so whether they come out through abusive owners or poor training, is neither here nor there. They still have those inescapable genes.


QUOTE]

oh and by the way...they were NOT bred to be fighting dogs. they were bred to be cattle/hunting dogs. hence their name pitBULL. they were trained to take down cattle by latching on the the cows nose. to do theis job they needed a strong, stocky, tough dog with powerful jaws. (try doing that crap with a lab, see what you have left at the end of the day) it was only after this that people saw the potential to fight these dogs because of their said qualities. not all fighting dogs are pitbulls. their physical attributes just happen to make them naturally good at it.

i wont try to persuade you with personal experience, as that is not a constant. but what IS, is that any dog can be vicious and mean if raised to be so, its just alot easier to get a mean jack russel off your leg than it is a dog with the physical attributes of a pit.

 

[skinheaddave]

You guys are going on a tangent. Even if we were to concede that pitbulls are naturally very agressive dogs -- godless killing machines, even (which is about as far from the truth as possible .. but let's pretend that this WAS actually the case) then that still would have nothing to do with this case.

bugmankeith got it right on when he said that to be a service dog, it would have had to have proven its temperment. I don't know what the selection requirements are everywhere, but every organization I know about has very, very stringent temperment tests as part of the entrance qualifications to even start to be considered as a service dog. Even if it were a standard poodle -- one of the most human-agressive dogs out there -- as soon as it is wearing that service dog jacket it means that it has passed a series of tests and can be trusted.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[pitbulllady]

It does seem unfair, ut at the end of the day, the breed of dog is only around fbecause of dogfighting. I do feel that most are NO worse than ANY other dog..but as a generalisation, which dog is more likely to become hostile..Am pitbull.. or a lab?
It is a shame, but tbh many owners of these dogs dont fully understand them..it was only recently a guys pet doberman ripped up his ddaughter.. the dog was put down. It seems unfair..The dog is bred for hostility, the guy should have understood the breed better, read the signs of the dogs dominance stuggles and DONE something much more to quell it.
I think is similar with other things, they cant control which Am pitbulls are good, and which are 'bad' so its a general outline..
unfortunately the good ones sufffer too..
lol the managers are jsut covering his back, we got silly bloody heslth and safety regulations, america has the power to sue for anything, lol
But a service dog? lol thats silly
The dog is very infrequently the blame, seems the level of understanding and care given is more than likely the reasons. The dog doesnt deserve the bad name, its the owners..as a generalisation- i would imagine most are still awesome to their pets..but its the few, add that to the slightly tempermental dog and its not a best mix. In decent care, they thrivvee and will become beautiful, loving animals like other breeds.

Labs actually DO bite/attack more people, but if it gets reported at all, it will be in some tiny little piece at the back of a newspaper, and it won't make the evening news, even if the attack is serious. If it DOES get reported where anyone would notice it, the breed of dog will either not be mentioned, or the Lab will suddenly and mysteriously turn into a "black Pit Bull" or "Pit Bull mix", just like the pack of Walker and Black-and-Tan Coonhounds that mauled a toddler to death a few years ago in South Carolina inexplicably became "Pit Bulls" and "Rottweilers" when the story made front-page news in The State newspaper.

Pit Bulls were bred to fight other DOGS, and dog-specific aggression is very different from PEOPLE aggression. Traditionally, any Pit Bull that showed even the slightest aggressive tendencies were immediately culled(meaning KILLED)by the old-school dog-fighters who perfected the breed. It's a complete myth that this was the ONLY purpose they were bred for, however, since when not in the pit, the dogs were expected to be family pets and all-around farm dogs, and many lines were developed for controlling semi-feral livestock, especially hogs and cattle. You could not have a dog that would savage valuable livestock that a family might depend upon for food or for money when sold. These same qualities that made these dogs stable companions and working dogs "back in the day" are what make them ideally suited as service dogs now. I can guarantee I've been around more purebred American Pit Bull Terriers, my own and those belonging to other people, than pretty much anyone else on these forums, and I've never been bitten or even threatened by one. I know that there are bad ones out there, but all you have to do is to eavesdrop on the conversations of the punks who now fight/abuse these dogs, and hear what they subject the animals to, and you won't have to wonder any longer as to why some of the dogs just "go off". I can also guarantee that if someone could wave a magic wand and every Pit Bull and Pit Bull-like dog vanished from existance overnight, these PEOPLE would still be there, and their mind-set and culture(or lack thereof)would still be there, and there are other breeds out there who make Pit Bulls look like stuffed plush toys that these people would be all too willing to embrace as their next bad dog "flava of the month". Just thinking of what it would be like to meet up with a 15-year-old Crip with a Caucasion Ovtcharka on a chain is chilling, to say the least.

pitbulllady

 

[skinheaddave]

To be absolutely fair, I have personally encountered a potentially dangerous pitbull. I am fortunate that I am strong enough in both body and character that I could at least partially fight him off. He gave me quite the licking and, being such a cold day, it chilled my face and hands a bit. Had I gotten the full brunt of his affection I might have gotten frostbite.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[David DeVries]

Realizing this was not the jist of this thread I had to comment. As someone who wears a uniform and is at peoples doors everyday I can say that I have run into unfriendly dogs of almost every size and shape. (And a siamese cat too!)

The fear I have is in direct proportion to size and strength. Poodles may be more snippy toward humans but most cannot look you in the groin when they are mad. A dog whose ancestors were bred to take down cattle or other large animals can certainly take down a person if it takes a mind too. I do not think many owners realize this and are lax on training and on putting themselves in the visitors shoes. There have been many times over the last fifteen years I have found myself cornered on a porch, in yard, or simply trying to walk away while a large dog snarls, froths, and snaps at my (pick a body part from the waist down). The worst are the idiots that simply stand there saying "He's really very nice and would never bite you." My answer is usually along the lines of "Really, is eating the end off my flashlight his way of saying hi?" Large dogs have to be well trained and controlled or they cause fear even when they are well behaved.

 

[LeilaNami]

Realizing this was not the jist of this thread I had to comment. As someone who wears a uniform and is at peoples doors everyday I can say that I have run into unfriendly dogs of almost every size and shape. (And a siamese cat too!)

The fear I have is in direct proportion to size and strength. Poodles may be more snippy toward humans but most cannot look you in the groin when they are mad. A dog whose ancestors were bred to take down cattle or other large animals can certainly take down a person if it takes a mind too. I do not think many owners realize this and are lax on training and on putting themselves in the visitors shoes. There have been many times over the last fifteen years I have found myself cornered on a porch, in yard, or simply trying to walk away while a large dog snarls, froths, and snaps at my (pick a body part from the waist down). The worst are the idiots that simply stand there saying "He's really very nice and would never bite you." My answer is usually along the lines of "Really, is eating the end off my flashlight his way of saying hi?" Large dogs have to be well trained and controlled or they cause fear even when they are well behaved.

Well those chihuahuas can take down large field mice and maybe a deer in packs of 200.

 

[pitbulllady]

Realizing this was not the jist of this thread I had to comment. As someone who wears a uniform and is at peoples doors everyday I can say that I have run into unfriendly dogs of almost every size and shape. (And a siamese cat too!)

The fear I have is in direct proportion to size and strength. Poodles may be more snippy toward humans but most cannot look you in the groin when they are mad. A dog whose ancestors were bred to take down cattle or other large animals can certainly take down a person if it takes a mind too. I do not think many owners realize this and are lax on training and on putting themselves in the visitors shoes. There have been many times over the last fifteen years I have found myself cornered on a porch, in yard, or simply trying to walk away while a large dog snarls, froths, and snaps at my (pick a body part from the waist down). The worst are the idiots that simply stand there saying "He's really very nice and would never bite you." My answer is usually along the lines of "Really, is eating the end off my flashlight his way of saying hi?" Large dogs have to be well trained and controlled or they cause fear even when they are well behaved.

Ever heard of a Standard Poodle? Mine can look over the top of my HEAD when he stands on his hind legs, and I'm not quite a runt. He's also taken down a wild boar with as much ease as my Catahoulas can, and has the longest canine teeth I've ever seen on a domesticated dog. Clipped down to his skin, in trim hunting condition, he weighs 89 pounds, and he was the smallest in the litter. Trust me-he can definately look you in the groin and then some! Don't rule out the ability of even small dogs to inflict horrific damage to even an adult human; my vet nearly had his career ended by a 23-pound Cocker Spaniel, which attacked him as he was vaccinating it, with its owner proclaiming all the while that "he doesn't bite". The guy's handed was literally ripped to shreds, with bones broken and major nerves and tendons severed, and his upper lip was torn open down to his teeth-and this is someone who is trained and experienced in handling all sorts of animals that really aren't in the best frame of mind anyway! He required multiple operations on his hand and plastic surgury on his face, and extensive physical therapy to regain the use of that hand, without which he would not have been able to perform surgury himself.

The point is, though, that it is stupid and unfair to automatically assume that a dog of any given breed with have thus-and-such temperament. I've seen some really psychotic German Shepherds, but that doesn't prevent them from still being the most widely-used Guide dogs, Search-and-Rescue dogs, Narc dogs, Bomb Sniffer dogs, etc., worldwide, and it certainly does not mean I would freak out if I see a disabled person with a GSD in a store. Most people here, I guess, aren't old enough to recall when this breed was the "bad dog of choice" for trouble-makers, who picked it due to its bad reputation as a killer, a dog known for "turning on" its owners and being completely untrustworthy with children. They can't recall when every dirt-bag ne'r-do-well just HAD to have a German Shepherd so everyone would KNOW how bad you were, and that you weren't to be messed with, and every person you met had at least one anectotal tale of a German Shepherd that had killed a child, or mauled its owner, or put the mailman in the hospital, and every barber shop dog expert could tell you that the reason these dogs were crazy was because they were "part wolf", and everyone back in those days knew that wolves were nothing but bloodthirsty monsters whose main purpose in life was to kill people and eat little children.

pitbulllady

 

[Arachnophilist]

Dogs are pack animals and will do what they are taught to do. if you wanna talk about generally mean dogs.. poodles tend to be quite snippy as far as breeds go. not to say all of them are but its true.. and as far as dangerous. lets consider a Malamute. they are the strongest dog there is as well as posessing the most bite power of any canine including a wolf. I have seen a malamute dispatch 2 pitbulls like they were harmless puppies. yet when u see a malamute do u freak out and run? no most ppl say wow what a beautiful dog! I personally think that anything a dog does should be pinned on the owner. there are always exceptions but as a general rule they do what they are taught to do. most of the pit bulls I have met are goofy little things. they may be very strong but they are in no way the most vicious type of dog I have encountered.

 

[sstellw]

Pitts

I feel that dogs are a reflection of their environment. But everyone should be cautious with ANY animal large enough to inflict physical damage, not just dogs, because ALL animals have instinctual mechanisms and the potential to attack. I do so hate dog prejeudice and here's my story. Recently I brought my own pitt to my friends house. She has a little white fluffy maltese. I went in the house and left them together and I heard Jeordie(the maltese) start gowling and yelping. I go out there and Moose is just standing there letting this little fluff ball bite him. Jeordie just kept on, biting Moose in the face and what not. Moose didn't "snap" and tear little Jeordie to shreds. Jeordie was feeling territorial and Moose was being submissive. We calmed Jeordie down and they got along great. My pitt was raised around other dogs and has lots of dog friends and has learned appropriate dog-dog behavior.
I think the unfortunate higher instance of pitt bull problems is because the number of abused pit bulls is much higher than the number of pet pitt bulls. Compared to something like labs which are more likely to be raised as pets But if labs were used for fighting and less as a family animal, I bet you would hear about all sorts of lab attacks. If a pitt bull escapes from a back yard, it has a higher chance of being an abused dog than a family animal, and so people people are quicker to assume pitts are dangerous. I'm sure Wal-mart feels silly for being so foolish.
-Sarah