-> WC> -> What if Spanky HAD responded viciously(per leftover
training from his
-> WC> -> previous owner, e.g.)?
-> WC>
-> WC> You mean my ex-girlfriend Cynthia who was one of the two former owners?
-> WC> I'd known the dog since he was six months old and I'd even seen him
-> WC> respond to Cynthia ordering him to attack using his attack command.

-> I thought you had said that Spanky's first(or last?) owner had had him
-> partially trained as an attack dog?

Yup, Cynthia and her former boyfriend Greg.
They never really got him to attack but were quite close to acheiving
this as the dog would advance and give a fearsome display but not
quite yet bite.

-> WC> Prior to my little experiment with the homeless guy Cynthia had
-> WC> used the dog's attack command in an attempt to get him to attack
-> WC> ME!
-> WC> She was very serious and her tone unmistakable as she literally
-> WC> screamed her attack command.
-> WC> What may you ask was the dog's response?
-> WC>
-> WC> Spanky stood there head slunk low between his shoulders
-> WC> with all four legs very visably shaking.
-> WC> The dog used his judgement and seeing I'd done nothing wrong
-> WC> was locked in conflict between his training and his judgement.
-> WC> I gave Spanky a reasonable alternative and in a very mild and quiet
-> WC> tone said "Spanky, go behind the recliner and lay down."
-> WC>
-> WC> Spanky very promptly complied with my request leaving Cynthia speechless
-> WC> and quivering in rage.
-> WC>
-> WC> It also ended Cynthia's unexpected and unexplained outburst against me,
-> WC> she was completely taken aback the dog refused to attack
-> WC> deferring to it's own judgement of the situation.

-> Wow!  That's incredible!  And that's partly because you established this alpha
-> dominance over Spanky?

Well to tell the truth it surprised me a bit too.
Yes it's both because I'd known the dog and he liked me and I'd
established myself alpha dominant pack leader status.

This was established when we had a serious but bloodless dispute about
Spanky taking a bath.

Now he walks into the tub on his own without prompting :-)
                                                          
-> How'd you do that?                                      

Acknowledging and addressing basic canine instincts and incorporating
those realities into my training program which consists of about
5 minutes a month of demanding prompt response to verbal commands.

If he's slow to respond a sharper, louder more imperative command gets
me compliance and I maintain a safe dependable Pit Bull.

-> WC> I hold the dog in higher regard and it's why he's still with me
-> WC> despite my limited resources and mobility issues.
-> WC> Spanky has NEVER let me down in any way.

-> And why Cynthia is NOT, eh? *G*

She had some bad habits i tolerated for a time but when she picked up 
crack cocaine I evicted her that day.

-> That expression on her face must've been a sight to see!   

Oh yeah, she was flabbergasted, stunned, open jawed and red in the face.
Still it took all the wind out of her sails.

-> WC> -> Right, and up here, the cops would see him and press
their luck, with
-> WC> -> gun ready, just so they can kill something and feel like
'real men'! :(
-> WC>
-> WC> There've been a number of such incidents around here with Pits
-> WC> whose friends and neighbors all testified were good friendly dogs.
-> WC> Those dogs are still dead and the officers cleared of wrongdoing :-(

-> Yeah, sucks, don't it? :(

Don't it though :-(

-> WC> I don't live in Denver County but Pinellas Florida.
-> WC> One woman however did move out of the county on account of her love
-> WC> for her dog.

-> What else can one do, eh? :(    

In Denver nothing but.

-> WC> ->  WC> It would take so little media time to educate
how to make the breed
-> WC> ->  WC> safe
-> WC> ->  WC> but do they take the three minutes to do so?
-> WC>
-> WC> -> Why?  When hyping up the negativity attracts more
attention to their
-> WC> -> rags than any attempt at educating the willfully
ignorant could ever do?
-> WC>
-> WC> A sad indictment of human nature ain't it.

-> Yes, indeedy! :(
-> Our stupid media-indoctrinated neighbours who have the power of the vote! :P
  
That too.

-> WC> One dog they'd had five months, the second three and the second had
-> WC> been feral running loose.
-> WC> Neither was neutered and no alpha dominance training provided.
-> WC>
-> WC> What happened was quite predictable and I'd say they got off rather
-> WC> easily as the both lived, lost no appendages and their injuries
-> WC> will heal.
-> WC>
-> WC> I would never take in a Pit Bull tha had been running in the wild Feral.

-> That'd be like taking in any other wild animal(eg. Puma) -- without expert
-> knowledge, you're going to run up against the animal's feral nature, and you
-> WILL lose!

Oh yeah bigtime.Like I say I think they got off very lucky.

-> WC> BTW, Spanky isn't neutered either but than he isn't broken,
-> WC> just very gentle, well behaved and absolutely reliable.
-> WC>
-> WC> I've 15 1/2 years or a touch more experience with this animal from which
-> WC> to make that observation.

-> There ya go -- you can speak authoritatively about how Pit Bulls are not
-> automatically dangerous, and how good ownership/leadership leads to a good pet,
-> Pit or otherwise. . .

It really was as simple as I tell it, the dog's eager to please.

That first bath was the only somewhat nervy encounter but I was more
stubborn than the Pit Bull and he wasn't quite too far gone yet.

-> But, of course, it's the know-nothing fearmongers who get all the
-> press/acknowledgement. . . :(

-> I've never had a Pit, and likely never will, but I know dogs well enough from
-> my younger days, and I know that it's all about good caring ownership -- and
-> that BAD ownership can(will) well lead to bad dogs! :P

Hey, I didn't plan to own a Pit Bull either, came with the girlfriend.
I threw out the vicious one and kept the Pit Bull.
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