Anonymous Question: How do I keep my cool and prove my point when talking to someone who states that they hate Pit Bulls or the breed is vicious?

Answer: First of all, what I do is judge whether the person even wants to hear what you have to say, so you're not wasting your breath talking to a wall. It's a little like politics or religion...You get defensive, the other person gets on their high horse thinking they've got your goat....Now you're the one who's upset. It depends on the personality as to what my response is going to be.

Person #1- They know they're right, and want to be the one talking...Ask them open ended questions. What happened that was so awful? What were the people like who owned him? (Looking for some of the "bad owner stuff" in my past blog). The dog was on a chain all the time? (We all know that raises the chances for aggression immensely). Where were the child's parents? Oh, it was a stray...probably had no training ever... "How sad in so many ways".

Or you could simply... Smile, listen, and say, "I'm sorry you feel that way, you've missed out on experiencing some beautiful, smart, loving, loyal and very trainable dogs!!"-MC

Person #2-  They heard bad things about Rotties, Pits, and other power breeds, but are open to listen a little...
      "Pits aren't typically aggressive to humans. Its actually not one of their traits. If they have hurt someone I would wonder about their socialization as a puppy, and the emotional stability of their owners".
      "Even most of Michael Vick's dogs have been adopted out to homes. A lot are even therapy and service dogs". (Because we all know people heard his story).
      "Human aggression isn't even a trait of the Pit Bull. Even horrible Pit fighters kill the Pits if they try to bite them. They aren't even allowed to bite if the human is breaking up a scheduled fight. That is only one way human aggression has been bred out of the breed".
      "One of the original reasons they were bred is because of their high pain tolerance, so they could handle being around kids".
     "That was just unfortunate. The dog's mouth was so big and the child's head was right there as the parents weren't appropriately supervising the situation. It wouldn't have been so bad if the bite was on an adult human leg".
 

Person#3- They really want to learn...Give them websites to look at, movies to watch, and encourage them to meet an appropriate power breed some day. "They're are dogs with issues in every breed".


There are many other situations you could encounter. Keep it short and sweet, and leave a person thinking, "Maybe I should read up on the breeds, or meet one some day". If your not pushy you might just leave something important ringing in their ears.

"Yes, statistically Power Breeds may do the most damage, but their mouths are bigger. That only makes sense".

 "Of course the large dog bites are reported more. What 250lb man wants to call the cops and admit a chihuahua bit his calf".

"Yes, Pit Bull bites may be one of the top dog bites statistically, but Pit Bull is a bully breed mix, not a pure bred. There are also way more pit bull mixes than any other breed".

The key is to keep your emotions out of it. People are more open to information if it's not being shoved down their throat.