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That's sorta messed up mintbread ... Each state is different in the US, but i the states I've lived in, you typically have to pay for the vaccinations and spay/neuter process and the dog is yours - no other fees.

Most of the shelters run off of donations tho.

No organisations like that in Naples, however. There is only one organisation I know of (which i donate to) that brings in strays off the streets, and if no one wants them, they spay/neuter the animal and release it back onto the streets. There isn't a "family pet" mentality here like in other countries - most people never bring their dogs into the house.

Here's a pic of my dogs Angelo the Purebred pug , Sammy the Lab/Chow mix i got at 8 wks old from the junkyard i frequented for parts and stuff, and Ciuffo , The Neapolitan street mongrel extrordinaire. He belonged to the neighbor who left him abandoned 2 houses down from us. He got fed once a week, and was so thin he slipped out of her yard and into ours. We gave her 100 Euro for him. Turns out she didn't actually live there, she just came by once a week to check on the house and throw the dog table scraps.

We pointed out how thin he was and her exact quote was "But he eats well! I Give him People food !! "

TechBMW wrote:

We pointed out how thin he was and her exact quote was "But he eats well! I Give him People food !! "

And she probably figured she was a hero for feeding him inappropriate food once a week.

If your set on a purebred, definatly check out the breeder as closely as Minty did. Not all breeders(maybe not most breeders?) are as ethical or honest.

But I still don't get the big attraction of a purebred. Is it bragging rights? Or does the dog HAVE to look a certain way? I just don't get why a purebred is so much more desirable than a mutt? I like dogs for the companionship they provide, not what shape or color they are. I think Dixie(the white dog in my pic) is a good looking pooch, with exellent temperment, and her ancestory is highly uncertain. He poppa was a German Shepard, her Momma was a white mutt that looked alot like Dixie but smaller(Lab/cross of some kind?), all her littermates looked different from each other. She is a great dog, smart as a whip and very friendly. PeeDee(the Border Collie) is a poorly bred purebred, and while her personality is good, her physical problems speak of 'puppy-mill' breeding tactics. She also takes the herding instinct to extremes, she will fixate on and follow anything that moves for hours on end. I'm thinking of getting her a pigmy goat or something just so she can follow it around all day

a good friend of mine and a riding buddy owned 2 pitbulls. both from the some litter of a friend of his...both dogs were wonderful and kind. he has 3 kids of his own...a 15 year old a 3 year old and a 2 year old...his 15 year old was having a friend over...as soon as she walked in the door her friend was terrified of the lemoyne...the bigger of the 2 dogs...she mad a move at rachel (buddys daughter) and lemoyne nipped at her hand before she could get too her...now when i say nipped i meant it...she drew blood but the girl didnt need stiches or anything...the local pd sent a cop out and said he had said they were going to put lemoyne down and he had to get rid of brooklyn(the other pit). they would be back the next for the dog...so he shipped both out that night to a huge mansion where they live happily ever after....


point is...peoples preconcieved notions are what get them in trouble.

Always check on the Breeder. Actually go look at the facilities and make sure its the kind of place you would want to live if you were a dog. Usually the smaller the better. I currently am only breeding Beagles, although in the past I have worked with other breeds, mostly gun dogs. I Have 5 beagles, and 3 Labs, all working hunters. I only breed one "dog" three times in her life,and only against studs from freinds' Kennels, dogs I've hunted with and know the owners. I only tend to have one litter a year, but only if there is enough interest in the dogs to guarantee the pups a good home.

Buzz- your story was horrible. Kick that guys "O Ring" for me next time you see him.

As for those of you spouting about how wonderful Pitts are, the truth is that they HAVE been bred as fighters in North America for centuries. We all know of good Pitts, but the truth is, they are fighters.

Everyone knows labs and goldies are just big fuzz balls, I'll go one better-Beagles, if true to the breed will NEVER bite, even if pulled out of a rabbit hole by the tail.

The reason is that if I'm out with my buddies and we're running a pack of 15-20 hounds, the last thing we need to worry about is getting bit, or having 2 or 3 of them decide to turn on us, or them tearing each other up.

All the meanness has been bred out of them.
Now somebody here will come up with story about how they know someone who got bit by a Beagle.

The nearest "city" to me is Dover, and a couple years ago in an effort to curb the dog fighting culture and cut down on the number of dog bites, they made it illegal to own a pitt in the city limits.

That meant all the jerks had to dump their dogs in the countryside or get fined. We had packs of pitss wandering around, pulling down deer, killing pets and carrying rabies. The Animal Control and State Police finally issued "a shoot on site policy" for any stray pitt. I called them because one was chasing our horses around and when my wife went out to see what the commotion was it backed her up and she got trapped in the house. I called animal control and the Officer said he knew the dog and hadn't been able to catch it and told me to do what I needed to do, which I did.

If your a Single guy or a couple, no kids and know dogs and are going to do it right there is no reason you shouldn't own a Pitt, just be aware of what your getting into.
To many idiots just buy them for their reputation and then end up having problems.

id certainly be carefull with the dog, im sure most of these dog attacks no matter the breed happen because the owner is careless. if the dog is on a leash at all times its hard for it to do that sort of thing. but theres certainly risks.

i like the rotts my uncle had one, but its too big of a dog for me i want something on the smaller size. my uncles rott weighd like 100lbs easy, a nice size pitt would be 30lbs[/quote]

Most dogs need more than a walk on a leash. They need to run off-leash to maintain peak physical condition. The worry is always what they'll do when off leash -- some kid or some panicky chick or he-chick will one day be in the wrong place at the wrong time and do the wrong thing with your dog around and the worry for you will be how does the dog react?

Ask yourself if you're willing to put in the time and effort to ensure that your particular pit won't be a problem in this kind of situation.

All dogs are creatures begging to be taught (well, maybe not bulldogs) and proper obedience classes for you and a dog are imperative, as one of the key differences between dogs and humans (besides the whole being able to lick themselves thing) is that they are more prone to act on instinct than us. Retrievers live to retrieve. I have a hunting dog -- she lives to point and flush out birds (though I don't hunt). One of a pit's instincts is its aggression. Training the dog to not be any more aggressive than a couple of warning barks is the way to go. But, there are statistically more risks with certain dogs -- your pitbull is more likely to act on the instincts it was bred for. If you're going to go with this breed, be a responsible owner, take your time, and find a breeder that is PROVEN to breed for a calmer demeanor. If you shop around like all owners should, you'll find that within any breed, some breeders will produce dogs that are calmer than others. Some like the more 'fiesty' qualities in thier chosen breed and mate the dogs accordingly. I'd submit that this is not what you want in a breeder. As a couple others have noted (once again, Wizz; that's a beautiful dog), many breeders have chosen to try and maintain a 'harder edge' in thier line of pits, and others are trying to breed this out. When shopping to find my dog, some breeders insisted that the dogs are supposed to be very high energy, and their line of dogs bounced off the walls. Other breeders insisted the dogs should be high energy, but calm after exercising daily. Thier lines reflected that. Guess which kind of breeder we went with?

Having said that, like another said, look hard at your lifestyle and see if this is really the breed for you.


Oh, and up here in Ontario, the provincial governement has also outlawed any further breeding of pitbulls. Under the new law, anyone who has one now is allowed to keep it, but must keep it muzzled at all times when in public. The population were in support of the bill, but I personally am not. I'm more in favour of mandating obedience training for dogs and thier owners. As Buzz said, "Any dog can be screwed up by a screwed up owner. Any dog can be a functioning, caring part of the family if it is treated properly." NO ONE NEEDS TO HIT A DOG. EVER. Physical aggression will get you a dog who is scared of you, and also a dog who knows it's okay to act aggressivly towards those below it in the pack hierarchy (umm -- that's strangers. WHO WILL SUE YOU WHEN THE DOG ACTS ON WHAT YOU'VE TAUGHT IT). It's better to teach a dog its behaviour using positive reinforcement; and perhaps a squirt bottle of water when it doesn't listen.
In addition, this bill (now law) gave the government the power to widen the range of breeds included in the ban. If there's an election happening and a couple of Rottie attacks happen, you can bet politicians will be pushing/acting to include Rotties in the ban; and they wouldn't need a new bill passed to do it.

And as Buzz noted, please consider the option of adoption -- there's a lot of owners who just don't care to train or take proper care of or love the dog -- those end up in shelters and then are killed because of irresponsible owners, not the dogs; and people in the market can save a life through adoption (my current pooch was the first one we ever got from a breeder, FYI).

"NO ONE NEEDS TO HIT A DOG. EVER"

So true. And it's a small person who does so.