h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: The Pit Bull - A87782755
Author: MachineGunRodeo - U14997893

An article on one of many breeds of dog on Earth, more particularly a breed that I own as well.

Hello and welcome.

This is an excellent idea for an entry and an excellent opportunity to correct some of the bad publicity the breed has had no doubt been subject to.

I have no knowledge of this breed of dog and was interested in reading your entry, you raised several interesting points and ideas unfortunately there was much more that could have been said on this interesting subject.

Please have a read through other entries in the guide and you can see what I mean, and perhaps add more information covering the many points in your entry.

Well done this is a good start and perhaps the first of a series on sporting dogs.

Welcome MachineGunRodeo

This a good subject for an entry. I would like to see several points added.

>Pit Bulls are known to be some of the more violent dogs in the animal kingdom. This is largely due to media coverage on Pit Bulls, both good and bad.

How fair or unfair is this opinion? How much can be attributed to breeding and also to training? Fighting dogs are obviously trained to be violent.

>However, many people still own them as pets, myself included, despite their violent reputations.

Just a minor point, the guide prefers we do not use "first person" references - "myself" would be more acceptable as "this researcher", I know it sounds awkward, but that is the accepted style.

Pit bulls are not only used as pets, but hunting dogs and as guards for both private homes and businesses. Many breeders claim they are one of the most intelligent breeds available. For attack dog training in the US there is one school that only teaches commands in German so others cannot command the dog, I forget the name, but you should be able to find it in a short search if you like.

A mention of a few famous Pit Bull dogs would be appropriate (and helpful to the Artists).
The dog in the RCA Victrola adverts and "Pete" the dog on the "Little Rascals" are both Pit Bull Dogs (American Staffordshire Terriers).

That is enough for now. Please keep writing, I look forward to reading more of this.



FS

Thank you both Sailor and Bob Stafford, I appreciate the helpful feedback, and will get to work on the article ASAP. This is my first article with the guide and I didn't expect I would write a masterpiece and I fully expected to have to fix, so I further appreciate the help.

...after a fast scan, title having caught my attention...

We used to host pit bull pulling contests at my National Guards Armory, while I was still in, I'm retired now.

Contests originated in Alska, where the test was to break a dog sled free of the ice and pull it a given distance.

In southern California, the pulls are measured weights anchored on a small cart pulled up a ramp.

We've a local man here in the desert who trains his pit bulls by having them harnessed to the front of his pickup truck, pulling it along an unpaved desert road.

Errands to ....

Cool info on pit bulls. They get an unfair reputation.

What the others said - add more.

About that school...you mean, I could go and tell their dogs what to do, because I speak German? to find German-speaking dogs...

Well I guess you can now I let it slip

I worked with a fellow many years ago who bread and trained pit bulls and he told me about it. Here's a link

http://www.ehow.com/info_8144035_german-training-commands-dogs.html

Apparently the idea is both that an observer could give an attack or stay command and confuse the dog if they were trained in English. I had a friend who had a stray German Shepard show up in yard once and he jokingly pointed at his little brother and said 'sic him'. The dog chased the poor kid up a tree until he figured out how to re-call him.


FS

I'd perhaps mention what legal restrictions there are on owning a pit bull terrier. In the UK, under section 1 (a) of the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act, it is illegal to own an unregistered pit bull (whether pure bred or mongrel), breed, sell, give, abandon or even walk a pit bull in a public place without it being muzzled and kept on a lead. And they're not allowed on aeroplanes, either.

Are there any similar laws in other countries, such as the United States?

<BB<

There are some local laws that are breed specific, but there is a lot of folks like me that believe they are unfair. I wouldn't necessarily mind some restrictions or better vetting of potential owners for breeds like pit bulls to keep them out of the hands of those who would fight them or are just getting them because of their bad reputation. Personally, I think the main reason pit bull dogs are so often involved in tragic biting or mauling cases is because so many are trained to be aggressive, whether it's done on purpose or inadvertently. Even people that get them as pets, often leave them on thick chains in their yards. This makes dogs aggressive. I know from sad personal experience and will never leave a dog on a tether unattended for any extended period of time again. Sadly due to their bad reputation, many owners believe the best way to prevent their dog from attacking someone is to chain it up, but that just makes it more likely they will attack someone or something if they do get loose.

Here's some more info on the subject. (Notice that many of the pictured dogs are pits). http://www.unchainyourdog.org/Facts.htm

Oh, and yes, the original Pete from the Little Rascals was indeed an American Pit Bull Terrier. Pete was also the star in the Buster Brown films. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_the_Pup

Nipper from the RCA logo was probably a mix. His lineage is less well established. Looking at his features, his head does not display the typical broadness of a pit bull. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipper

Hello MachineGunRodeo how are you getting on.

I believe that, sadly, the author has ed.

This is a very short borderline entry - Writing-FleaMarket or Back to Entry?
It is certainly a very good topic for an entry, but at only 180 words long would it be easier for someone writing about Pit Bulls simply to start from scratch?
I'd like to propose that, if no-one expresses an interest in rescuing this entry in the next week, it be sent Back to Entry.

<BB<

I think Flea Market might be best. It may give another Researcher a starting point.


lil x

pity but the flea markret is best

Well it appears that <./>Writing-Fleamarket</.> is the more popular choice, so I'm happy to second that.

<BB<

The Flea Market is making amazing inroads into the Guide Entry backlog these days. It's not a bad place for a good idea to end up.

Entry removed from PR and placed in the Flea Market (securely tied, of course)

h2g2 Editors

The pit bull has been put in the flea market... poor thing's going to scratch himself silly.