[junkyard]

This goes for everyone and every type of these breeds, What was it that got you into them, ie were you brought up with them, did you just end up with one and fell in love , did a friend have one, was it allways a dream? ect ect ect, you all know what i mean.

We use to hunt alot when i was a kid, we had allways at least four working hunting dogs and they would all just run around the property they were never off the land ever just well trained dogs. A fella owed my dad some money for a car or something and we ended up with a gamebred bulldog as payment, i remember seeing alot of the dogs there in pens and as a kid lost my calm when we got to the pups. Took my pick and we were on our way.
Ben was a bit of a prick with the other dogs but at the same time when hunting if the other dogs were in trouble he would allways help the pack and smash what ever the quarry was. Saw him jump seven feet in the air and pull a large feral cat out of a tree by its tail once, i was amazed. Ben died when he was only three in a accident after he got out. Dad never understood the breed but he was hit by a car wandering of the block.
Years down the track a few of my friends showed me their "pitbulls" that were all crossbred mutts and were funny temp wise, i wasnt that impressed. A little further i met a fella through my work who owned a few gamebred bulldogs, and eventually i was invited around for a beer or three and a chance to look at his dogs, a yard of ten or so dogs greeted me with alot of little muscly dogs screaming jumping and hitting the end of their chains and the look on my face mustve been pricless, for a bit i thought they were the dogs we see on the news until he told me to go pat them.
I went over and gave hem a pat each and quickly realised they didnt want to kill me they just wanted to say hi.
I was in love straight away. Old mate and i would have a few beers after work and slowly i would spend more and more time helping him clean the yard and work the dogs which he just loved we could get twice as much time spent with them with two people which gave him more tim with his new son.
I wanted one and he told me if i could handle a couple of his with no issues he would sell me one down the track so we set a set up at my house and soon there was another, then a new place with a bigger yard and eventually i had a few there. Then one day he came and just gave me a dog one of my own, it would have to be culled out if i couldnt take him so i set up another spot and grabbed her the next day. Its been over a decade and i dont ever think i will change breeds again as long as i can get them. They just have everything i love in a dog, endless energy but can be a lap dog when they want, never give up attitude and they seem to own the entire world according to them. And they have more scrap in them than any ufc fighter could ever have. I know they are just an animal and the comparison should not be mde but they have the qualities i love in most people whom i am friends with.

So thats me.......what about you?

 

[william williamson]

1978,A guy was living in an apt. he had A red pit,11 mos,12 mos old.
he was in front of the 7/11 across from tropical racetrack.
I saw it fell in amor,took her.
never looked back.
then 11 yrs ago got an ACD.I had seen one about 10 years prior and it stuck in my mind.
with tv as it is started watching shows and seeing more and more about dingos.they stole the show for A new breed in my home.
so I stewed on it.then decided to get one.I read books, and talked to folks whenever I saw them with one for the 7 years prior to getting mine. from having pits, and hearing snippets I knew then,homework.you don't get a dog as strong physically,spiritually and mentally as A dingo blooded ACD without knowing ALL the intricacies.
the pit gave me great insight as to managing a powerful dog.the ACD is compact,bulletproof and a timebomb in the wrong hands.
the pit gave me the opportunity to don velvet to handle the steel.
I have 2 magnificent dogs looking at me right now from my bed where we sleep.
they and I would give life for life.we are unsettled sometimes in our functioning.
we've all made small mistakes and had our diff.s.
yet we are still A unit.we are balanced and complete.my dogs sometimes get a foot in the ass,or A short attention getting rabbit punch.and by the same token,I understand their snappiness or rebuttle when I invade their space.
we are like teenagers,whiny and full of defiance, yet when we are invaded we "pack" up.I would go to war,or A ball with my dogs,and we would have fire or grace to attend either event.
folks got their work cut out for them to have better dogs.no brag,just fact.
when we are out,they are mostly off leash in areas that dogs can be loose.beach,the bridge parks,the glades.when folks with dogs happen upon us I tell,not warn them that my one dog,the pit is DA,yet I'll put her in "down" and she will shake,she wants to kill the predator,yet she will not budge.
Syd,he goes and says hello if they are ok with it, and they, the other folks are amazingly mortified and the splitness of transaction that takes place.
often we are complimented as to our diverse yet tuned relationship.

 

[Mach0]

I grew up in the hood- it is what it is- most of the ppl had under socialized I'll tempered dogs. My cousin had a back yard several OTC winner early 90's. She was mean as can be tho( I didn't like her.) Same cousin brought home a gamebred jeep bitch from Puerto Rico. She was gorgeous-big ol mouth with a set of teeth that looked like she would destroy anything. Someone stole her and tested her [] and he got her back months later. He then bred her and produced a nice litter (BYB but this was 16 years ago lol). Gave some of the pups to some family. My favorite out of the litter was Taz- lived to be about 12-13 years old. Greatest dog I have met to this day. Better than any dog I have had myself. I miss that dog. I wish I had a picture lol. It was then that I got my first dog and I'm on my 7th now. Been hooked since.

 

[MY MIKADO]

I grew up in a house that did rescues. My mom did not believe in buying a dog when there were so many that needed homes. We didn't have any pit bulls until I was in my 20's. My sister was going to college in Bemidji she heard of a dog that was being fought and living in muck. She stoled that dog and brought her to me. Acema wa a beautiful girl but she didn't like my two dogs so I had to work around the crate adn rotate system with a baby three dogs and a 50hr work week. I had her for about a month when I found a good owner. Last I heard 2yrs ago Acema died at about the age of 13. We didn't know how old she was but made a guess.

Down the road we were still doing rescues when I told my mom tht someday I wanted a APBT. I really fell for that girl. It was about 6mos after I made this anouncement that Mikado was given to me. He was found in the Pamida parking lot at about 3mos of age. Man I loved that dog. He was.......fill it in the best dog ever. He got me hooked. After my mom died and I need to have people to talk to I found a forum GotPitBull. That went down the drain I found this one. Been here ever since.

 

[American_Pit13]

They came to me.. I had unknowingly been around apbts much of my life as my Grandpa ( who my mother and I lived on a ranch with) had retired fighting dog thru out part of my life who his friends would give to him and my sister and I played with. I remember only one of the dogs well the rest are faded memories or non existent, but my Grandpa has told me stories.

I never knew at the time what breed they where just that they where dogs.

When I was about 14 or so I stumbled across "Money"

Aimee and I where walking down the road and this big guy came out of the bushes face all tore up. I went up to him regardless of his scary appearance and he was quite friendly. I found his owner a couple houses down who had no issues saying they had intentionally fought him. They needed to move so I bought him for $15

Not long after that ( a couple months) I was out walking Money ( with Aimee of course) and Little furless Chino wandered up...

Being young and not allowed to have dogs anyway ( I kept them at my aunts) I had to find out how to treat her fur issues myself, which is where Aimee and I gathered all our knowledge about demodex mange lol.

I was scared to death of Money when I got him. I just knew he was about to bite me in my face or something! However he did not ever maul me Him and Chino both where amazing dogs regardless of the fact that I couldn't offer them everything a dog should have or the proper care. They loved me anyhow and I never forgot that bond.

One after another more made their way into my life and tho I have had several other breeds of dogs I have found none that are compatible with me like the "Pit Bull" type dogs, be it Amstaffs, APBT, Mixes of either ect.

 

[k8nkane]

I got Kane because my ex got Roxie.

I'd always loved dogs -- my mom tells me I had no problems walking up to a dog any size since I was 3 years old -- and had actively pressured her to get one starting at the age of 7. One Christmas she said she had a surprise for me and I was so excited because I thought I was getting a puppy ... and then she pulled out a kitten. I was so bummed out but fell in love with Smokey anyways, and she's still happy and healthy at 12 years old.

Well, I moved out into my own apartment a year ago or so, and thought that this was my chance to get a dog since I didn't have to worry about upsetting Smokey in her old age. My ex was going on and on about pit bulls and how amazing they were -- I was aware of the fact that they got a bad rap, but got most of my information on the breed from him. Wasn't the best thing in the world, because he told me they had locking jaws and other BS like that. Later, after already getting the pups from his best friend's uncle who bred his two pit bulls together for money (hello, BYB :hammer, when I went online to look up more information (and found you guys), I went back to tell him that pit bulls didn't have locking jaws and that pit bulls shouldn't be over 80lbs, he insisted that he was right and I was wrong.

One of our many arguments over our dogs that never got resolved. Eventually, I chose my dog over him, because even though Roxie was a harder dog than Kane and could withstand my ex's sometimes harsh treatment (believing that these were PIT BULLS and because of that you had to be harsher with them and beat them when they were doing something wrong), Kane couldn't. I hated seeing what he was becoming, losing his confidence.

So, I got stronger for the both of us and ditched the ex. I've put a lot of work into fixing Kane's confidence issues and re-establishing his trust with men and he's come a long ways. At this point, he will approach men on his own and beg them to pet him, as long as they don't reach their hands over his head or body. If they come at him from the side or underneath his chin, he's great.

Anyways. He's an amazing dog, everything I could've wanted and more, and I don't think I'll ever get another breed of dog, unless one comes to me. lol.

 

[aus_staffy]

The first stafford I met, I fell in love with. He was a big black brindle that belonged to my uncle. That dog, Rocky, would later make a lasting impression as to the type of stafford I would later get. Everytime we would go to his house, I would be out in the yard with that dog. Years later, when I had my first full time job, I used to regularly go to a sandblasting business that had an awesome little apbt/sbt bitch that used to roam the yard and used to try to jump in the ute with me everytime I went there. That little dog sealed the deal for me and I vowed that as soon as I had my own house, the first thing I would do would be to get a stafford or an apbt.

What I didn't want was one of the little short legged "frog dog" show type stafford that seemed to be everywhere. I wanted one like Rocky, the first stafford I met. So, when the house was built and the wife was found, the search began. Actually it was my wife who started looking for breeders because at the time I was working mostly nights and life was pretty hectic. It was hard to find good breeders because they seemed to all have these short, fat dogs that didn't appeal to me.

Eventually, we went to see the "right" breeders. They were show breeders too but their dogs actually looked functional. One of their studs caught my eye immediately as he was the closest looking dog to Rocky I had seen. He was a big old brindle and white boy. After a few meetings and interviews to make sure we were right for their dogs, a contract was signed and a deposit made on his next breeding. About a year later, we finally had our Nitro boy. He was one of a litter of only two and he was huge! If you look at my avatar, Roxy on the right of the picture looks like a puppy compared to him. She's actually over a year old in that photo.

 

[Xiahko]

Rescuing Bruno from the shelter. I never gave pitbulls much thought until then.
I had mixed feelings. My original feeling was no way am i adopting one of those. I still don;t really know what caused me to change my mind,but I am so glad I did.
It's been a rough battle since I have owned them,but I wouldn't give them up for the world.

 

[Gimbler]

I can't say I'm "into the breeds", but more like I'm "into" Maggie and have grown to appreciate the breed and the advice that I've been able to find on this forum.

I've had a lot of different breeds through the years and when it's time to get a new dog I never really sought out a specific breed except for last year when I was looking for another Ridgeback after our elderly RR passed away.

We went to a shelter to check out what was supposed to be a RR mix and wasn't. He also clearly wasn't the dog for us no matter what he was - way to jumpy/mouthy/hyper.
Most of the dogs at the shelter were pit or pit mixes with a couple of hounds and a mastiff in the mix. One little female dog was sitting alone in her kennel facing the wall and as I walked by she looked over her shoulder at me with the saddest eyes imaginable.

I had to stop and talk to her and she came to the door and licked my hand. Everything about her seemed to be saying "I don't belong here." And she didn't. She belonged in a real home with people who loved her. So, that's how I ended up with my first and so far only pitbull. I adore her and having her has helped me to understand how enthusiastic people are about the breed.

I still don't understand all the differences between the breeds - APBT, Staffies, etc. But, I've learned a lot about energy, exercise, temperament and habits which is really of the most interest to me cause I want to be the best owner I can be for her and never set her up to fail.

 

[DarkMoon]

I LIKE what was being said about the breed while I was researching about DA for my Boxer Mix and it sounded like the PERFECT breed for me. Nubs sealed the deal with his personality and then I started meeting other Pit Bulls and the love just grew. The first larger dog I ever met was a Pit Bull and I didn't realize it until after I got Nubs. It just never clicked that she was a Pit Bull. Friendliest dog on the block next to Nubs (and I only say that because she is DA while Nubs isn't). I still stop by when her owner isn't home and give her loving.

Another breed I love are Dobermans. I really want one in the future and will get one. I had always adored the look of the breed and the first one I met was a neighbors that was known for opening their gate and letting him and his 2 Doberman sisters out to roam the neighborhood. My Next Door Neighbor knew the dogs and I helped her catch the BIG male, and he was the sweetest thing ever. Smart as he could pick the gate easily, loyal because he never went too far from his house, goofy as heck, and yet so proud of himself. Every time I see a well bred Doberman, my breath gets caught in my throat and I am in awe. Every one I've met have been the goofiest dogs ever.

 

[Mach0]

Here's a pic of my first two dogs-

The one with the one patch over her eye was super sweet(mya)
The other one was a sweet with me and family- however, she was HA and extremely DA

Mya again

This little one was a wiry sweet heart
Way too much energy and had a habit of grabbing dogs without warning- I miss that little 30 lb girl.

Here's Baby and Shady-
Shady was a pup when I backyard bred a litter about 6 years ago( worse thing I've done to a dog) but he was a super dog and hella smart

The old gang together

And my boys old Reddevil dog "Honey"

Crazy 28 lb dog with a crapload of drive-

I miss my old dogs- had to get rid of them because I moved and didn't own a home back then so no one would let me take them. However, several years later- I got Blue and stumbled across this site when he was sick last year- I learned a great deal of info from you all

 

[Rudy4747]

My dad and uncles used to have a few OFRN dogs. And sadly yes they were BYB's but it was not till I got my dog Tyson out of one of the litters, that I new I would own an APBT for the rest of my life. When I move up to Oklahoma I worked with a rescue to rehab and foster APBT. then two years ago, the lady down the street also a BYB. had a litter of pups. when another dog got in her yard and hurt the dam of the litter I took three of the pups adopted out two and kept one. She later brought me his reg papers and that is how I got Dooney. He has been the best dog ever since.

 

[dixieland]

Kinda stumbled across them.My dogs of choice before were GSD and Rotties.
My family and I went to a Easter get together at a family members house.There was a guy there who bred apbt's.A byb.He had 2 pups left that he couldn't get rid of so he said he was just gonna take them out in the woods and shoot them cause he was tired of feeding them.So I told him to let me have one and I'll find a home for the other one.Sooo that's how I ended up with Pretty Girl.And I haven't looked back since.Apbt's are now my breed of choice.Wouldn't have anything else.

 

[fishinrob]

I grew up in the worse part of Detroit. Everyone owned them who was anyone. You walked by someone with a new dog, sized them up and rolled them. We had a local breeder a few blocks away who was that part of Detroits best dog fighter. I helped out on his yard and a few years later got a choice pup. I will never own another type of dog.
These dogs bring out the best in you. You get the energy they give off and it gets you off your butt and doing things.

 

[circlemkennels]

we raised **** dogs then my husbands cousin had a litter of APBT pups and we fell in love with a cowpatch blue fawn out of the litter. never the less we now have 9 APBTs and 0 hounds... we got out of hunting and started weightpulling.. we still have our first, his names Tyson and he's 6 years old now

 

[crystalcountry]

I met a few good pits over the years, but our dogs of choice was rotties and danes with the odd Jack Russell threw in>LOL. Seen the "tread" of rotties come and slowly go and we did some research about pits/ staffs then thought about if we wanted to buy from a breeder or adopt. Looked on petfinder at the local shelter and was smacked in the face with just how many pits were in our local shelter systems. At the time they had several ( can't remember if it was 5 or 7) decided to call about 2- one blue male and one blue fawn female- just because this is a high kill shelter and we didn't know if they would still be there. Spoke with one lady about the two and went down later that week.

We got the skinny about them, both were separate cruelty cases, the blue male was older but used in a fighting ring unsure if he was used as a bait dog or fighter, but he was way to scary shy when we went to meet him. Blue fawn girl's previous owner left her and her brother without shade, water and care(first episode- lost case), and (second episode)broke her leg and neighbor seen what happened and called AC when they (Tia and bro) escaped under the fence away from the owner. They were picked up as strays and hit the owner with second charge and it stuck that time! Decided if she could get along with our other girls we would go the next step of home visit and then adoption.

Took our other girls down to meet Tia, and our old rottie girl is 10 and on seeing Tia did the mama grunt and decided Tia needed a clean face. Tia did the leaning rub with Hannah, and was in heaven. Vegas, our dane girl, did one lick to the nose one long sniff and was like," *shrugging shoulders* ok, can she go home to play?"

The rest is history. She's been with us for around a month, and is the apple of Ken's eye.

Because of her color and some of her health problems (heart murmur and demo) she's from a BYB and either of staffie or bully background. She's not old enough to hit that stage of what her temp will be, but seems very ok with everything on the farm. So she's not a bred in the wool bull dog, but we're okay with her no matter what.

 

[Gimbler]

I met a few good pits over the years, but our dogs of choice was rotties and danes with the odd Jack Russell threw in>LOL. Seen the "tread" of rotties come and slowly go and we did some research about pits/ staffs then thought about if we wanted to buy from a breeder or adopt. Looked on petfinder at the local shelter and was smacked in the face with just how many pits were in our local shelter systems. At the time they had several ( can't remember if it was 5 or 7) decided to call about 2- one blue male and one blue fawn female- just because this is a high kill shelter and we didn't know if they would still be there. Spoke with one lady about the two and went down later that week.

We got the skinny about them, both were separate cruelty cases, the blue male was older but used in a fighting ring unsure if he was used as a bait dog or fighter, but he was way to scary shy when we went to meet him. Blue fawn girl's previous owner left her and her brother without shade, water and care(first episode- lost case), and (second episode)broke her leg and neighbor seen what happened and called AC when they (Tia and bro) escaped under the fence away from the owner. They were picked up as strays and hit the owner with second charge and it stuck that time! Decided if she could get along with our other girls we would go the next step of home visit and then adoption.

Took our other girls down to meet Tia, and our old rottie girl is 10 and on seeing Tia did the mama grunt and decided Tia needed a clean face. Tia did the leaning rub with Hannah, and was in heaven. Vegas, our dane girl, did one lick to the nose one long sniff and was like," *shrugging shoulders* ok, can she go home to play?"

The rest is history. She's been with us for around a month, and is the apple of Ken's eye.

Because of her color and some of her health problems (heart murmur and demo) she's from a BYB and either of staffie or bully background. She's not old enough to hit that stage of what her temp will be, but seems very ok with everything on the farm. So she's not a bred in the wool bull dog, but we're okay with her no matter what.

What a great story, Crystal Country. I love the part about your rottie washing Tia's face! So many good dogs in need of a home. I'm always glad to hear about a happy outcome.

 

[Silence]

These are all great stories.

Ok here`s mine.

I first saw a pit bull when I moved in next to poorer neighborhood as a kid. The neighbors had a brindle female named Trixie, then later got a brindle pup, I don`t remember her name. They were very sweet dogs, loved to lick and cuddle. I didn`t much like these dogs though because Trixie was very DA and would attack and bite the fence between our yard and their yard when my german shepherd/dingo mix, who also had DA issues with other dominant females. So it used to cause a big issue. Also with my parent`s impressions that these dogs were vicious man biters and child maulers, they didn`t sit right in my books.

Later down the road after my dog had passed at a good 12 years of age and we had moved down to NC from Canada, I had started terribly missing my dog and I would cry to my dad about missing her. A couple weeks later he brought home Raisa, a lab/pit mix that he got from a BYB giving them away in front of Wal Mart at 5 weeks old.
She is going on 7 this year, by far one of the best and smartest dogs I`ve ever owned. She has protected me in a very serious situation facing my ex boyfriend, never afraid to face anything head on, and for that I am forever in debt to her. She has been a very good companion, guardian and friend. And though she lives now 2500 miles away from me at my parents house still, I miss her terribly. (mom says she runs through the house every night before bed looking for me, whining for a good 10 mins before she actually will go to bed.)

 

[shewerewolf]

I am 19 years old so I can't say I have had all kinds of experiences . I was/ still am an oddball lol. I have the dream of becoming a self-employed dog trainer with my own business (have work to get there but im up for it..know of any good trainers in MO? ) anyway I have always been a dog person...Walking up to any breed without fear. My mom gets ticked off because she says I should be scared of "certain breeds" so yea as you guessed..my family hates pits (or anything that LOOKS like a pit) I however was raised to never discriminate against people, so I do not see why i would dogs. I have always had a soft spot for the underdogs..and to me in this time, pits tend to be underdogs..Anyway i have a neighbor who has a pit/boxer mix and he is the sweetest dog...however he has a sad background also, when he was just a puppy..he was drenched in gasoline and set on fire...so his back has no hair...but yet again his spirit and love of people havent been phased..and thats when i really began to recognize the breed.

So now I own my first APBT mix that I rescued and she is an amazing pup. I love this breed, their loyalty, and their drive. As a kid i used to read every dog breed book i could find, so i know all my breeds and their historys and temperments...by far i am glad and blessed to own a pit.

 

[crystalcountry]

thanks Gimbler, we've been very blessed with our dogs. I won't say it will never happen, but so far... we haven't ever had any DA or HA with any of our four leggers, and we've had a multi-dog home ever since we got married way back when. We stay vigulate and always try to follow the rules of a multi- dog house.

Everybody has such great stories about their dogs and their passion for their dogs!