[May14th2011]

Several weeks ago, we found out that DH's dog is a pitbull. He's a very good dog, only chews on his toys, doesn't get into the trash etc. He does play rough if you play rough. I can sit on the floor and play with him, and he won't get rough at all unless I start to get rough.
Ever since DH's parents got told that he's a pitbull, they are on a witch-hunt to find a reason to get rid of him. If he makes one wrong move, they act like no other dog breed would ever do it. MIL has even told me several times "It would have been better if he hadn't turned out to be a pitbull."
He hasn't changed at all! He's still the same people loving, sometimes dramatic dog. (By dramatic I mean that he could rival a 16 yr old girl with his moods. You should see him pout! LOL )
Tonight BIL (who's 19 and not very smart) decided it would be a good idea to hold Diesel's face and stare into his eyes. Just about everyone knows you don't do that to a dog.
Diesel let him for a minute and then went "wild" thinking that BIL was trying to rough-house and started playing. BIL got annoyed and forced Diesel to lay down, and Diesel ended up scratching his arm.
When BIL told his parents, they instantly assumed that Diesel had bit him. I spoke up and corrected them, but FIL wasn't satisfied until BIL agreed with me that Diesel had not bit him.

They blame Diesel for all the troubles we have. BIL's dog absolutely hates Diesel, and kept attacking him when we first got him. We keep them apart now, but Diesel now takes a proactive approach, if for some reason they end up together, Diesel won't just lay down and take it anymore. (The one time in the last year that they ended up together, FIL "forgot" to check and see where the other dogs were.)

Just another reason we need out of here. It would kill DH if they made us get rid of his dog. His parents suggestion to my question of what options were there for finding an apartment that would allow this dog was "Find him a good home from someone on craigslist." And FIL's ever so helpful suggestion of "Put him in the shelter."

Speaking of Diesel being dramatic- DH just made fun of him and now he's blatantly ignoring DH. ROFL.

[Gripstress]

Oh God, I hate how people are about pits! I have had the best experiences with those dogs. Our family had one until she died almost a year ago. So sad...she was old and had cancer. She was so smart(smarter than ANY other dog I have known) and would teach my parents' dog to behave. The problem is with jerks who fight them and breed them wrong and don't mind their animals. Some pits are badly behaved, some are great. They don't seem to cross over into good one day, bad the next. Some say they do but I've never seen that and I've worked in plenty of shelters too. I won't lie, it's going to be one heck of a time finding an apartment or house with one. Most insurance companies either won't insure or charge astronomical prices so landlords are unwilling to accept them. I too would love to get a pit but I don't want to end up having to find it a home if anything were to happen to our place. Can you pass him off as some other breed? Won't help with the in-laws but it will with housing.

RIP Oshka

[crystalcherry]

We have a Chihuahua that is more dangerous than most pits. It makes me so made when people make assumptions about a breed. People are so scared of our Great Dane becuase he is so big. Tell them to get over it! Some people are just stupid.

[Gripstress]

LOL Not to make blanket statements about breeds....but....chihuahuas are NUTS! Have/had plenty and most are insane "one owner" dogs. My mom had one and when it was 5 weeks old she slept with it. It had NO TEETH yet and my mom sneezed in her sleep and the crazy thing growled and "bit" her haha

I agree, tell em to shove it!

[Crystallee]

I am SOOOO sick of hearing comments on my dogs like "when are you going to get rid of them, you are going to get rid of one of them right? you'll just have to see if they get to stay... what if she's allergic.... thats really not safe..... did you see this story about this dog that ate this baby...." I mean good god seriously people????? I'd get rid of some of my relatives before I would my babys hehehehehe I am so darn sick of others opinions on my pets. Yours is a little different since its all in one house and I will cross my fingers that you are able to escape your relatives sooN!!!

[Gripstress]

Yeah maybe if you put your kids in a bubble they won't be allergic to anything...sure, that'll work! Some people don't seem to understand how great animals can be for kids(and adults). I had 2 great danes when I had my 10 y/o, those dogs were so floppy and energetic but with the baby, they were so gentle. They know! Most, big dogs especially, will let kids tug and pull at them and they know they don't mean anything so they let it go.

[marinewife1345ny]

When we had our first dog she was a pit and when living in an apartment we put her down as a mastiff boxer mix. We would still have her had it not been for someone complaining about how "vicious" she was. She acted like our cat slept on the back of the couch loved everyone preffered to be picked up and carried (at 80 something pounds). The person that complained had a dust mop of a dog had just moved in and never met the dog until after we were given a notice to have her re-homed or get evicted. She admitted she complained without knowing the dog but was unable to retract her previous complaints.
I hope you can find a place or an agreement with your inlaws.

[daffneyc]

I had a border collie for the three years before my oldest was born and when he came, she got super envious and actually snapped at him when he was two WEEKS old. That ended up not working out, but it was heartbreaking. It's hard to predict what kids will be allergic to, and just like anything else, I figure if this one develops an allergy, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

I think dogs are like people in that they all have very distinct personalities. I think breed can have some influence but I think nurture can overcome nature a lot of the time. Some dogs are just mean dogs, could be a pit or a lab. I had a chihuaua/weenie dog once that my husband have me and she.was.awful. The ONLY person she liked was my husband but we ended up rehoming her on the vets recomendation because she kept biting people. Not gonna lie, it didn't break my heart because I just didn't like that dog.

All that being said, I have a border collie/pit bull mix. I literally picked her up off the side of the street in the rain when she was about 6-8 weeks old. Her and my three year old are only a couple weeks apart. For a long time I thought she was lab/border collie. She is the best dog I know. My three year old chases and torments her all the time and she is amazing. He learned to walk using Millie to hold onto (Millie is the dog ). Last year for my bday my husband sent off one of those doggie DNA tests on her because I was always curious what she as and I was FLOORED when it came back border collie/ PIT BULL!! I was totally one of those people that thought all pit's were inherently mean, no matter what. Now I know how ignorant that can be. I'm sorry they are giving you a hard time, I wonder if sometimes once people find out that a dog is pit, doberman or rottweiler they just LOOK for reasons to not like them. Now that I have kindest and most meek (half) pit in the world, it has completely changed my outlook! I hope things start to work out, but I wouldn't count on it because it sounds like they have their mind set. I'm sorry.

[anna.rose]

Do people not understand that "pitbulls" were once what labs are today- the all american family dog? Ugh. I'm not even goin to get started on this. Tell them you were wrong again and the dog is actually an American staffordshire terrier. Thy probably wouldn't even realize that's a breed considered to be a "pit bull".

[lilemma86]

people are so stupid when it comes to "pit bulls" I have two of them. My male LOVES children! my female is protective of them but she doesn't like to play with them. She would rather just keep a distance and watch them play with my male. I had a Weenie dog that would have eatin me alive given the chance! My grandmother is a little concerned about them (she loves next door) and has ****- zues (spelling). I think any dog pushed to a point can be violent. My little cousin was just at their house over the weekend playing with the small dogs under the table (should not have been under there!) and got bit by the smallest! Grandma was like "I dont know WHY that happened......" Gee i wonder.... she was under the table confined space harassing dogs...... oh well. Hope the in laws stop harassing you about him soon! they are great dogs!

[anna.rose]

Can I add in that I'm more afraid of an unstable, energetic lab than of a pitty? I was bitten and had to have plastic surgery on my face when I was 3 or 4. Guess what it was that bit me? A lab/ collie mix. Labs are over-bred because of their popularity and the bad genes are mixed in there. Pitties are also over bred, but they got their reputation prior to that. Part of peoples' issues are from the fact that they're not a beginner dog. They're hard headed and need an experienced owner... Like a lot of little dogs (who have a higher bite rate, but it's less reported because obviously they don't cause much if any damage).

[May14th2011]

We originally thought he was Bull Mastiff/Bull Dog mix, so if we find a place, we'll more than likely go with that. I'm hoping though that we can find a place where the owner is sympathetic to pits, and will take time to get to know Diesel instead of just writing him off.

[Gripstress]

I agree, the little dogs, and I have/have had plenty, are more prone to biting but it's not reported. When a pit bites, everyone reports! They can do some mega-damage and people have predjudices so they aren't likely to be forgiving no matter what the reason for the bite(ie. you went into their guarded yard and gave em a nice big petting without asking the owners first!).

lol lilemma, it edited the dog breed shih tzu! hehe

[lilemma86]

couch potatoes! and the cat joins in too! when there is space for me the bird hangs out on my shoulder too

[Gripstress]

OMG I love that picture! They are so dang cute! Aren't pits the cutest with their soft mouths? I just love them

Here is my sweet Oshka(from facebook page):

[Crystalici0us4]

I've never owned a pit bull, but after German Shepherds, they are my favorite dog breed. I cant stand people who have something against them because of things they've heard about them. IMO, any dog can be mean, its all about how they are raised. It sucks that because pits seem to be the most popular dog that dog fighters choose, they have a bad reputation, and the breed as a whole suffers for it

Most of my friends own pit bulls, and every single pit I have ever met were some of the sweetest dogs.Mikes cousin owns one, and anytime I go over his house, the dog sits on me and gives me kises & nibbles on my ears. Its so cute! My cousin has a pit, and then they adopted one from a guy on Craigslist. The guy rescued him and didn't know his history, but he is just too sweet. The dogs had puppies together, and my cousin was going to give me one for free because he knows I would have given it a good home. I wanted one soo bad, but MIL refuses to let usget a puppy, since our dog died almost 2 years ago, she doesn't want another dog in the house. I didn't push her cuz she didn't want cats either and I convinced her to let me have the 3 that I have. Plus, even if she'd allow us to get a dog, she wouldn't allow a pit. Unfortunately, she believes everything she hears, and she believes all the bad hype about pitbulls. Its sad, really..

I'm sorry your in laws are acting this way about your dog. I would try to get them to get to know him a little & them maybe they would realize pits aren't as bad as a lot of people make them out to be. Hopefully you can find a place. But try to pass him off as another breed, like an American Bull Dog, to me, the two breeds look so similar, I doubt they would notice. Good luck!

[rlh27]

In college my roommates and I had a dog that looked like a rottweiler, and even though he was just the sweetest dog, people thought he was mean and would attack them at any time. Our neighbors used to call the cops and animal control and just make up stories. It made me so mad that people just assumed he was a mean dog because he looked like a bread that is stereotypically mean. Sure, he was hyper, but he just liked to play. I can't imagine him ever hurting somebody, unless he was protecting somebody. Ugh. All that to say that I can relate. I hope your inlaws come around soon.