# Just thought I would say this



## APBTN00b (Jul 8, 2013)

:hammer:

But ....

If you have to get online to ask if you have a pit bull... chances are that you do not have a pit bull. 

Just food for thought for the new people who join asking if they own a pit bull or not.

:hammer:


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## ::::COACH:::: (Apr 4, 2012)

Lol yep


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## montez25 (Apr 9, 2013)

*i concur*

touche!!! :roll::goodpost:


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## hashbrown (Mar 17, 2013)

I has a gator mouth abpttt! Watch it!


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## hashbrown (Mar 17, 2013)

and I'm breedin it!


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## APBTN00b (Jul 8, 2013)

LOL Hash! I'll have to get me some of that blood there! You know because gator is the best with those big mouths! But it has to be a blue pit. It has to have blue fur. You know like the color blue. Navy Blue would be awesome! With a purple nose!


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## bluedozer (Sep 8, 2013)

Pick me, I have a male gator mouf blue pit with a purple nose, but he has a white chest does he still count for breeding?


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## Carla Restivo (Feb 17, 2014)

Just put it in the rules for posting, that "do I have an APBT?" questions aren't allowed! Besides, no one here is going to say if a dog looks like an APBT even if it DOES! You need to have a pedigree! AND, that pedigree has to be approved by....certain people...

so, just don't allow those kinds of questions!

Will save you all a bunch of frustration.


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## APBTN00b (Jul 8, 2013)

Haha Carla I have to agree with you there. Seriously. Especially since the APBT is becoming more and more endangered because everyone thinks they own one. Then when one bites and another BSL law is passed against the breed and it wasn't even its fault.

BUt I totally agree. If you do not have Papers on your dog. Its a mutt. And this goes for ANY breed of dog. Because there are too many mixes out there that look like pure bred dogs you cannot be sure. And The worst thing that ever happened to dogs is shelters thinking they can identify a dog based on temperament and characteristics.

@Bluedozer - Hmm White chest you say? I bet it will make some pretty fine disfigured pups. And Man biters! Have to have those. Yes I am totally interested! [/joking!!!]


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## Carla Restivo (Feb 17, 2014)

APBTN00b said:


> The worst thing that ever happened to dogs is shelters thinking they can identify a dog based on temperament and characteristics.


How would you identify, say a German Shepherd (in a shelter or walking down the street) if you didn't do it based on temperament and physical characteristics? I mean really, a dog doesn't have to have a pedigree (we already KNOW it doesn't if it is in a shelter), but we can say the dog appears to be a German Shepherd, (and, if in a shelter, with all the unknowns that come with any shelter animal).


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## bluedozer (Sep 8, 2013)

Im not sure why but all the shelters around my area list all the "pit mix dogs as staffordhire mix. 
As for the people asking is my dog a apbt I think it is just a reassurance they need. I believe that is why the VIP section is available for more experienced dog conversations.

As nice and welcoming as this public forum is it is going to be impossible to keep the "is my dog pure" questions from popping up. 

just my real 2cents


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## Sarah~ (Mar 13, 2013)

bluedozer said:


> Im not sure why but all the shelters around my area list all the "pit mix dogs as staffordhire mix.
> As for the people asking is my dog a apbt I think it is just a reassurance they need. I believe that is why the VIP section is available for more experienced dog conversations.
> 
> As nice and welcoming as this public forum is it is going to be impossible to keep the "is my dog pure" questions from popping up.
> ...


Maybe because they think Staffordshire mix sounds better than pit bull mix and might help the dogs get adopted, only reason I can think of.

I agree it will be difficult to keep the topic from coming up, as annoying as it may be. All you can do is try to point them in the right direction


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## ::::COACH:::: (Apr 4, 2012)

I understand what Carla is saying and I have said it before-- you CAN tell many breeds based off of looks, you do NOT need papers to tell a dachshund is a dachsund or a Collie is a Collie, those breeds have very distinct looks. However bully breed dogs like the APBT, Amstaff, Dogo, Corsos, Staffy Bull, American Bully, Etc. all have a similar look...that is why with these breeds you can not tell by looks alone. They are often crossed by BYB, especially the Ambully and many of them are completely out of standard yet they have the blood of the Ambully for the most part but not the look because the BYB are just breeding for color and $$.... Anyway...
So when someone comes on here and posts their dog and its buckskin colored and a leaner dog, yes I would think it looked more like an APBT but I'm not going to say "yes sir, you have a full on APBT" because most likely they do not if they got it off craiglist or wherever. These breeds are so overbred and crossed, there should be a new breed called the "Street Pit" because there are more of those on craigslist, newspaper, online, shelters, etc. than any of the purebreds lol!


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## MSK (Aug 13, 2008)

I would like to give an example I had basically a Heinz 57 dog that was definitely a golden retriever/ rot/Aussie/pit/husky/boxer mix and the dog looked exactly like a border collie. I only know this cause a cousin had all the dogs and all were accidental breeding bred down from each dog that was pure bred. I wish I had a pick of them all together so I could show how it started and how it ended.

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## MSK (Aug 13, 2008)

It went aussie pit mix then that went to a boxer then that went to a rot then that went to a golden then that went to a husky.

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## ::::COACH:::: (Apr 4, 2012)

Lol what a crazy combo!!


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## MSK (Aug 13, 2008)

Yep He was and he had attributes of all with his attitude. He was a good dog but eventually lost his mind a bit cause he got to where he would growl at everyone including me and I never went and seen if it was only a brain tumor or something of that nature I was 16 and have always been in the mind frame if they show aggression put them down. I raised him from 8 weeks up so I thought oh well maybe since he only growled at me in the dark it was something to do with a guarding breed in him. Well one day I went out to feed him and it was like a switch turned on and he bit me no warning that was then when he met the swift end of a needle. I muzzled him after I knocked him out with a sleeping pill in his food and loaded him up in the back of my truck to take him to death row. Now having more knowledge I wish I would have checked to see if it was something other then genetic that could have been treated as he was only 3. It could have been also something that wouldnt of shown until maturity never will know now.


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## ames (Jun 6, 2010)

Really dislike people claiming you can tell other dogs by just looking but pit bulls are special you can look at a pit bull and know. Ugh it's the same for every dog or every breed. If everyone in the world understood guessing a dog by looks alone says nothing about what it's behavior will be no matter what breed it is it would save a lot of trouble. But too many feel if you have a collie it will herd and if you have a Doberman it will guard you. It's not always true and all it does is add fuel to the people who think bull breeds owners are crazy. There are tons of dogs that look like a pure bred gsd who are mixed with something and may not act like every other gsd out there. I don't get why so many feel it's ok to guess and assume Breed traits based off looks alone and not in knowing what the dog was bred for. Blows my mind actually.

Looking at a dog you have no idea what it was bred for you have no idea how it was bred then it's a dog. Why people must put labels on their animals when they have no clue really blows my mind.

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## ames (Jun 6, 2010)

For instance a page I was on was bitching at shelters tying to claim the dog was a boxer/Dalmatian and they were complaining because the dog should have been labeled a bully breed. Ahhh wtf do you the boxer is?! Why make further designations bully breed mix or pit bull mix when people do not use pit bull to mean apbt they use it to encompass tons of dogs. So then the dog would be a pit bull if their definition is pit bulls encompass lots of breeds. Why put pit bull mix or bully breed mix. Why not just say dog and stop continuing the stereotyping based off looks for all dogs not just bully breed

And pit bull mix is wrong because who knows if it's a mix of dogs? You do not know how it was bred why say mix unless you KNOW it's a mix? That's why I use mutt. It could be a pure bred dog without papers and be a mutt. It can't be a papers purebred and be a mix.

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## Carla Restivo (Feb 17, 2014)

::::COACH:::: said:


> However bully breed dogs like the APBT, Amstaff, Dogo, Corsos, Staffy Bull, American Bully, Etc. all have a similar look...that is why with these breeds you can not tell by looks alone. They are often crossed by BYB, especially the Ambully and many of them are completely out of standard yet they have the blood of the Ambully for the most part but not the look because the BYB are just breeding for color and $$.... Anyway...


Well, we can all agree that APBTs are one of the most popular breeds in the country and they make up a majority of the population in many shelters. If a dog looks like an APBT it is much more likely to be one than a Dogo, Corso, Staffy Bull or Am Staf. THOSE breeds are so rare in this country RELATIVE to APBTs. So, if a dog looks very much like an APBT it is MUCH more likely to be one than the others. (We already KNOW it's not papered but so what. As with any other breed in a shelter, it can LOOK like one!).
AS for "American Bully", they are just going to get recognized as a bigger, bulkier APBT, just as some get recognized as a leaner one. There is just not much "official" and known about that (unfortunate) recognition of those dogs in the general public. And I bet you and I and many others here CAN for the most part tell the difference between these breeds....I'm not going for the "you can't tell them by looks alone" thing. You CAN tell what it is for the most part. You are not doing the public any good by trying to sugar-coat what they are getting (trying to call an obvious APBT or APBT mix a Dogo/Lab or Lab/Boxer, etc.



::::COACH:::: said:


> So when someone comes on here and posts their dog and its buckskin colored and a leaner dog, yes I would think it looked more like an APBT but I'm not going to say "yes sir, you have a full on APBT" .


And you know what, I've never said that on these "what is my dog" posts. I'll say it "appears to be an APBT". But apparently, that is STILL the wrong thing to say.


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## Carla Restivo (Feb 17, 2014)

Sarah~ said:


> Maybe because they think Staffordshire mix sounds better than pit bull mix and might help the dogs get adopted, only reason I can think of.


Sure they do. Do you think that's a good idea?


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## Carla Restivo (Feb 17, 2014)

ames said:


> Why not just say dog and stop continuing the stereotyping based off looks *for all dogs not just bully breed *


Why have breeds then?


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## MSK (Aug 13, 2008)

ames said:


> For instance a page I was on was bitching at shelters tying to claim the dog was a boxer/Dalmatian and they were complaining because the dog should have been labeled a bully breed. Ahhh wtf do you the boxer is?! Why make further designations bully breed mix or pit bull mix when people do not use pit bull to mean apbt they use it to encompass tons of dogs. So then the dog would be a pit bull if their definition is pit bulls encompass lots of breeds. Why put pit bull mix or bully breed mix. Why not just say dog and stop continuing the stereotyping based off looks for all dogs not just bully breed
> 
> *And pit bull mix is wrong because who knows if it's a mix of dogs? You do not know how it was bred why say mix unless you KNOW it's a mix? That's why I use mutt. It could be a pure bred dog without papers and be a mutt. It can't be a papers purebred and be a mix. *
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com App so please excuses the typos


Exactly:cheers:


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## Sarah~ (Mar 13, 2013)

Carla Restivo said:


> Sure they do. Do you think that's a good idea?


No not really. I understand a lot of people want to be able to tell people what breed their dog is so the shelters try to come up with something. But it seems like any short coated dog that doesn't really look like anything in particular is a pit bull now.


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## ames (Jun 6, 2010)

Carla Restivo said:


> Why have breeds then?


Because people are classist and for some reason need something "pure"
To feel better about themselves? Lol I don't know man what you looking for? Some people understand the purpose of breeding some people breed for money and don't care about performance. Look at a puppy mill filled with some breed. Is the puppy mill pumping out dog after dog care about the same standards some other breeder might care about who is breeding champions year after year? Is it the same caliber? Is it the same breeding habits determining what is kept, culled or sold?

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## Katey (Aug 5, 2013)

Oh... This statement again?!

Lol!!

we are what we do repeatedly. excellence is then not an act, but a habit. - Aristotle


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## Carla Restivo (Feb 17, 2014)

ames said:


> I don't know man what you looking for?


Because when you say THIS: _Why not just say dog and stop continuing the stereotyping based off looks for all dogs not just bully breed_ it sounds like you are saying, "Since you can't tell anything about a dog by what it looks like, just say all dogs are dogs". (let me know if I'm wrong).

And that's why I asked: "So why have breeds if you can't tell them from one another by what they look like?" I don't need a pedigree in front of me to be able to tell that's a German Shepherd or a Saluki or a Fox Terrier or an APBT walking down the street...they are BREEDS and it's natural (and of common sense) to relate what I am seeing in terms of BREEDS - not to look at every one of them and remark, "nice dog".


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## APBTN00b (Jul 8, 2013)

Because, as stated before, there are too many mixed breed dogs out there that look like pure bred dogs. So I hate it when a shelter 'identifies' one. They all should be American Mutts. Even the ones that look like obvious purebreds. If the dog ain't got papers, you cannot say its a particular breed because you have no proof its that breed. You also are not going to get a pure bred dogs papers from the shelter, because they shred them. So basically all dogs going into the shelter come out mutts. 

I hope that made sense. I am so tired.

I actually had someone call Apollo a Boxer mix. (Which I secretly love. That means that the common person down here doesn't know what a real APBT looks like; And yes, he is a pure bred with papers)


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## Carla Restivo (Feb 17, 2014)

APBTN00b said:


> Because, as stated before, there are too many mixed breed dogs out there that look like pure bred dogs.


I don't agree with that. If something is a mix, it usually does not look like a purebred. And when identifying a dog in a shelter (and some shelters ARE bad at it!), it's a GIVEN that it does not have a pedigree, no matter what! And with that goes a lot of information! Like, I can't show the dog in AKC, I can't reputably breed this dog, I cannot pass this dog off as a registered purebred! That is all a given!



APBTN00b said:


> I actually had someone call Apollo a Boxer mix. (Which I secretly love. That means that the common person down here doesn't know what a real APBT looks like; And yes, he is a pure bred with papers)


So what? APBTs get called Boxers fairly often. If it happens to me, I correct them.

I admit, many shelters are not very good at breed ID -- but that doesn't mean I advocate for calling everything that comes out of a shelter a mutt! I don't care if they call something that appears to be a Fox Terrier a Fox Terrier and I don't care if they call something an APBT that is an APBT!

Then, if the person is not responsible with their dog they got from the shelter, nail them on THAT! NOT with, "you don't have an APBT, quit calling it that." Or, "don't worry about the dog park, your dog doesn't look anything like an APBT".

It's just silly!


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## ames (Jun 6, 2010)

Dog parks are silly for all breeds of dogs so I don't get what you are so confused about. No I disagree with you mixed breed dogs can look exactly like a pure bred dog.

Yes dogs are dogs. I'm not one of these people that says never trust a pit bull not to fight. I say never trust a dog not to fight. I don't think most dogs bred today are bred for their purpose. So to me a dog not bred for purpose is a dog. If it's not being bred for temperament behavior performance then it's a dog. I have seen many labs that are scared of the water or don't like to fetch and enough bully breeds to know not all of them have dog aggression. Shoot I even met a basset hound that didn't want to sniff! All of them were in my shelter. Strays. That is what they got labeled as. based off their behavior I would not label them the breed they looked like. Behavior and looks don't go hand an hand is all I am saying. Sure the average goes up in cases of a well bred dog. But most dogs are bred for money 

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## APBTN00b (Jul 8, 2013)

Ames I think we think a lot alike


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## Carla Restivo (Feb 17, 2014)

ames said:


> So to me a dog not bred for purpose is a dog. If it's not being bred for temperament behavior performance then it's a dog.


Okay, you essentially don't believe in BREEDS.

I think it's kind of an elitist, haughty attitude to believe that, for example,the Labrador Retriever that is a guide dog is not a Labrador Retriever (only a proven hunting dog can be called one is what you believe I take it?); or that the Shetland Sheepdog that is a champion in agility is NOT a Shetland Sheepdog because it is not out herding sheep. We KNOW that the agility Sheltie is not out herding sheep and may not be very good at it, but so what? If I want a herding Sheltie, I go GET one! I don't go tell all those people with agility Shelties they don't have Shelties!

So, that's cool. I now know where you stand.

Probably MOST of us shouldn't be calling our registered, pedigreed APBTs APBTs should we?


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## APBTN00b (Jul 8, 2013)

Carla, I think Ames' post are going WAY over your head. Take a breath. Your post aren't really making sense anymore. All Ames' is saying that there are more breeders out there breeding pet dogs and not working dogs. The dog was domesticated to have a job. Breeds were developed when certain dogs were bred to do a job. No where did Ames say that they did not believe in breeds.

A Labrador is still a Labrador. But with out papers it could be a Lab/pit/great dane/golden retirever/dalmation/collie mix and still take the characteristics of a lab. 

What sets the unpedigreed dog apart from the pedigreed dog, is when dealing with responsible breeders you can guarantee that you have that breed of dog.

I just don't get how you can say with 100% no doubt that a dog with out a pedigree that resembles a pure bred dog is actually that breed of dog? Have you not seen how closely most Terriers resemble each other to other members of the breed group?


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## Carla Restivo (Feb 17, 2014)

APBTN00b said:


> All Ames' is saying that there are more breeders out there breeding pet dogs and not working dogs.


Could be...

So often I hear that if a dog isn't doing original function, it's not that breed....forgive me if that's not what she meant.

Truth is, a lot of dogs DO end up being "just pets", and they should still be considered of a breed.



APBTN00b said:


> I just don't get how you can say with 100% no doubt that a dog with out a pedigree that resembles a pure bred dog is actually that breed of dog?


For shelter dogs, I never say "that is a purebred so and so". I say, "that dog appears to be an APBT or a Black and Tan Coonhound, etc". IT's a GIVEN that if it's in a shelter it's not a registered ANYTHING! I personally think it makes me look kinda stupid to look at a shelter dog that looks a LOT like a Rottweiler or Scotty and say "oh, it's a mixed breed".

And I don't cotton to NOT calling a dog that looks like an APBT a "mixed breed" in order to avoid "issues." I believe in educating people on the "issues" and educating them to, in many instances, NOT getting any dog that resembles a "pit bull". Educating that NOTHING looks like an APBT unless it has papers from a reputable breeder is going to cause worse "issues".



APBTN00b said:


> Have you not seen how closely most Terriers resemble each other to other members of the breed group?


LOL! I'm always getting the Lakeland and Welsh mixed up!

If I don't know or if one of those shelter dogs doesn't look like a purebred, I'll say so! If I think it looks like a mix of whatever, I'll SAY so!


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## ames (Jun 6, 2010)

Carla Restivo said:


> Okay, you essentially don't believe in BREEDS.
> 
> I think it's kind of an elitist, haughty attitude to believe that, for example,the Labrador Retriever that is a guide dog is not a Labrador Retriever (only a proven hunting dog can be called one is what you believe I take it?); or that the Shetland Sheepdog that is a champion in agility is NOT a Shetland Sheepdog because it is not out herding sheep. We KNOW that the agility Sheltie is not out herding sheep and may not be very good at it, but so what? If I want a herding Sheltie, I go GET one! I don't go tell all those people with agility Shelties they don't have Shelties!
> 
> ...


hahaha of COURSE I believe in breeds of dogs. Where your dog is registered has nothing to do with what breed it is. There are MANY dogs registered as APBt that are not APBT. There are many crap registries who don't even look at what the pedigree is and register them, registries mean jack except you get nice ribbons or trophy's (aka bragging rights) and meet some kick ass people! The people showing their Shelties have a pedigree on their dog, so yeah just because its a show dog doesn't mean its not a sheltie, that dog was bred for the purpose of being a show dog. I am not in the camp that true APBT that are bred for conformation are American Staffordshire Terriers because the original purpose of the APBT was not conformation, although I know many who do believe that.

Where are you showing dogs without a pedigree (not talking about save a bully and fun shows) in your example? That's what I want to know lol



APBTN00b said:


> Carla, I think Ames' post are going WAY over your head. Take a breath. Your post aren't really making sense anymore. All Ames' is saying that there are more breeders out there breeding pet dogs and not working dogs. The dog was domesticated to have a job. Breeds were developed when certain dogs were bred to do a job. No where did Ames say that they did not believe in breeds.
> 
> A Labrador is still a Labrador. But with out papers it could be a Lab/pit/great dane/golden retirever/dalmation/collie mix and still take the characteristics of a lab.
> 
> ...


Exactly, I think she is reading way more into what I am trying to say and I must be doing a bad job at explaining lol.

What I trying to say is a dog with no history is unknown and you will never know how the dog was bred and it doesn't matter anyway because its a dog, treat and love it as a dog and stop getting caught up in what it looks like, who cares! and if you DO care (and there is NOTHING wrong with caring or NOT caring!) you should have spent time and money finding a reputable breeder so you KNOW what breed of dog you have.



Carla Restivo said:


> Could be...
> Truth is, a lot of dogs DO end up being "just pets", and they should still be considered of a breed.
> 
> For shelter dogs, I never say "that is a purebred so and so". I say, "that dog appears to be an APBT or a Black and Tan Coonhound, etc". IT's a GIVEN that if it's in a shelter it's not a registered ANYTHING! I personally think it makes me look kinda stupid to look at a shelter dog that looks a LOT like a Rottweiler or Scotty and say "oh, it's a mixed breed".
> ...


Who is telling you to tell anyone their dog is a mixed breed?? I do not think you know the definition of mutt. A mutt can be a pure bred dog with UNKNOWN LINEAGE or it can be a dog with more than one breed. Rescued without a pedigree you will never know if the dog is a pure bred OR if it is a mixed breed. I don't want you lying to anyone, hence why any dog of unknown lineage is a mutt. Not "it looks like a poodle so lets call it a poodle." Society needing to attach labels to dogs is a HUGE part of the problem. No one is saying to look at a dog that resembles a APBT and call them another breed. I say to call a dog that is unknown what it is, a mutt. You are very confused, I think you should ask more questions before making such broad assumptions. You know what they say about people who assume...


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## APBTN00b (Jul 8, 2013)

And you wonder why there are so many mislabeled dog bites out there. If it Ain't got a pedigree its a mutt. Rather it be 'Purebred' or a 'mix'. There is no 'it appears to be' because when you start saying that the person asking is going to go around calling it that breed of dog and it could be something totally different. Even sometimes I say 'It looks sort of like such and such dog' but I also say, and I've seen it in your post too, 'but without a pedigree its hard to tell.'

I really think we are all on the same page but misunderstanding each other. LOL

To farther my point: say these two dogs walks in the shelter. Do you have any idea what breeds they are?


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## Carla Restivo (Feb 17, 2014)

APBTN00b said:


> There is no 'it appears to be' because when you start saying that the person asking is going to go around calling it that breed of dog and it could be something totally different. LOL


you guys are all too "scared". I just don't automatically think think the worst of people. What I WILL tell them that will mean MORE to them and actually EDUCATE them is: "Your dog appears to be (or have a lot of) APBT in it, so if you live in an area with BSL your dog is in danger.Always check the laws of the area you live in to be sure that "pit bulls" aren't banned."

These laws certainly don't define "pit bull" as some pedigreed dog from a reputable breeder.


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## Carla Restivo (Feb 17, 2014)

ames said:


> I don't want you lying to anyone, hence why any dog of unknown lineage is a mutt.


oooookay then....

I just say, "hey, it looks like a (insert purebred) or, "it looks like it has some German Shepherd in it, but we don't know anything about how it's bred (we don't anything about the dogs it came from except that one of them was probably another German Shepherd." Doesn't that say enough? What is the lie? I think you can show a little more knowledge and give out a little more information other than, "it looks like a dog".


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## Carriana (May 13, 2008)

That's the problem though Carla. Is allowing the general public to call unknown dogs pit bulls, which the average person believes isn't a real breed by the way, when you have no idea is the reason that BSL can successfully work on such a generalized concept of what a pit bull is. We're not trying to say people who have dogs that have a general pit bull like appearance but no papers are in any way safe from BSL. We are trying to saythat perpetuating the general pit bull stereotype based purely on visual identification is a large part of the issue and why all of our dogs, mutts and purebred alike are subject to BSL. Any unstable mutt of indeterminate lineage even remotely resembling a bull breed that bites a person automatically gets the pit bull label. Why? Because that person was told that the dog looked like a pit bull, so that's what they call it. But how is that fair to the actual APBTs? How are we causing harm by trying to educate people about why visual identification doesn't work? It's unreliable and not based in fact but opinion.


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## hashbrown (Mar 17, 2013)

Carla Restivo said:


> oooookay then....
> 
> I just say, "hey, it looks like a (insert purebred) or, "it looks like it has some German Shepherd in it, but we don't know anything about how it's bred (we don't anything about the dogs it came from except that one of them was probably another German Shepherd." Doesn't that say enough? What is the lie? I think you can show a little more knowledge and give out a little more information other than, "it looks like a dog".


By pulling something out of your anus? Really


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## Carla Restivo (Feb 17, 2014)

Carriana said:


> How are we causing harm by trying to educate people about why visual identification doesn't work?


There have been instances on this board where a dog is very obviously an APBT and we are doing that dog's owner no good by stating that his VERY Pit Bull-looking dog looks nothing like a Pit Bull.

...someone else out there (not so smug as many here on this board) is GOING to tell him his dog DOES look like a Pit Bull. I can just see the reaction of that someone else when this owner tells them that someone on an Internet message board told him the dog didn't look anything LIKE a Pit Bull!


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## APBTN00b (Jul 8, 2013)

Carla you do realize that mixed breed dogs can have a pedigree too? All a pedigree does is shows what dogs were involved in the breeding. Say you want to breed a good working dog. You start with (heck I don't know) a Basset Hound and a St. Barnard. Okay you record those dogs breeds and their names. Then say you like your big fluffy super sniffer and decide you want the coat a little shorter and the dog just a tad thinner so you could add a grey hound. You record that breed. And so forth. It might not be a Pure Bred Club Pedigree, but its still a pedigree. And proves that dog is a mixed of those breeds. And thats all a pure bred pedigree is. Proof of the dogs linage.

I have two Shepherds in my yard. Zeus and Thor. I have no clue if they are pure bred GSDs or if they are actually a mix. Zeus is twice the size of the GSD standard and has white on his paws. Thor is still a pup but still seems to be in the correct growing range. I question his structure though. Hard to tell he is only 6 months old. But because I do not know these dogs linage I just refer to them as Shepherd Mutts.


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## ~StangChick~ (Jan 1, 2009)




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## ames (Jun 6, 2010)

Carla Restivo said:


> oooookay then....
> 
> I just say, "hey, it looks like a (insert purebred) or, "it looks like it has some German Shepherd in it, but we don't know anything about how it's bred (we don't anything about the dogs it came from except that one of them was probably another German Shepherd." Doesn't that say enough? What is the lie? I think you can show a little more knowledge and give out a little more information other than, "it looks like a dog".


What knowledge are you trying to give people about what their dog may or may not be? I don't understand what is hanging you up. If a dog looks like a GSD, so what! lol it doesn't mean it will behave like every GSD out there. Why not explain to people how to read their dogs body language and how they can better communicate with their dogs?

http://www.gopitbull.com/general-discussion/96178-all-dogs-individuals.html



Carla Restivo said:


> There have been instances on this board where a dog is very obviously an APBT and we are doing that dog's owner no good by stating that his VERY Pit Bull-looking dog looks nothing like a Pit Bull.
> 
> ...someone else out there (not so smug as many here on this board) is GOING to tell him his dog DOES look like a Pit Bull. I can just see the reaction of that someone else when this owner tells them that someone on an Internet message board told him the dog didn't look anything LIKE a Pit Bull!


please post where anyone has ever said we know what their dog breed is or isn't by looking at it? Who has stated a dog that looks like a pit bull doesn't look like a pit bull? All we say is the pit bull should only called a pit bull to when you know the dog is an American Pit Bull Terrier, not the media accepted term of pit bull that encompass multiple breeds and mixes?

Would you call my dog a pit bull? He is a mutt. I was told he is an American Staffordshire Terrier from his breeder but they never supplied the papers so I know he isn't registered and I don't have his Pedigree so he is unknown = mutt. Or NOT a pit bull since he might be an American Staffordshire Terrier, which is NOT a pit bull. No one on this thread is trying to be smug, we are just having conversations and trying to get you to understand the damage you are doing by telling people their dog is XYZ when you have no clue what it is.


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## Carla Restivo (Feb 17, 2014)

ames said:


> Would you call my dog a pit bull?


I would say he looks MORE like an Am Staf. Am Stafs are more likely to have those flashy white markings, but it COULD be a Pit Bull.



ames said:


> He is a mutt.


I think we are going to have to agree to disagree on the meaning of "mutt". Where I come from, it means a dog of such indistinguishable, vague features that it doesn't resemble any known breed to a significant degree.



ames said:


> I was told he is am American Staffordshire Terrier from his breeder but they never supplied the papers so I know he isn't registered and I don't have his Pedigree so he is unknown = mutt.


That's too bad they never registered him.


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## ames (Jun 6, 2010)

I do not get why so many people get offended by the term mutt. I really don't get it, its not a BAD thing to own one, my mutt is better than any other dog out there cause he is MINE (OK now THAT is SMUG! lol) If it bothered me I would have gotten a registered dog by a reputable breeder and not my friends cast off when he couldn't care for him... people get caught up on mutt meaning MIXED and not indeterminate.

just in case you do not believe me, or maybe you can start educating people to what the true meaning is instead of conforming to society and helping fuel BSL.


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## Carla Restivo (Feb 17, 2014)

ames said:


> I do not get why so many people get offended by the term mutt.


I'm not OFFENDED.

Just bewildered!


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## ames (Jun 6, 2010)

Carla Restivo said:


> I'm not OFFENDED.
> 
> Just bewildered!


what country are you from? Just curious, you said where you come from so I am assuming its not the states? not sure what is confusing you lol


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## Carla Restivo (Feb 17, 2014)

ames said:


> what country are you from? Just curious, you said where you come from so I am assuming its not the states?


It's not so much the place as the time and the people I grew up around...


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## Chloesmygirl (Jan 31, 2011)

So this has got me thinking. When you fill out paperwork for your dog that requires you to identify what breed they are and you cannot say mixed or mutt without identifying at least one breed that they could potentially be, what do you put?


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## Sarah~ (Mar 13, 2013)

I put lab mix. Who knows? Lol 

But seriously, this has been done to death, I have had the same argument myself and all that came of it was sort of a "I can appreciate what you are saying let's agree to disagree" situation.

My opinion is sort of between you two, I would give the same links and info about not being able to tell breed by looks alone BUT the dog resembles a pit bull, you may want to look up BSL in your area to make sure there won't be any problems in the future. Much less wordy than my other posts on the subject but that's my view in a nutshell.


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## Sarah~ (Mar 13, 2013)

Oh and as far as mutt vs. mix I know mutt is not meant to be offensive here but before I joined here I had only really heard it used in a derogatory way, I have always used mix myself. To me it means not purebred, before I learned all of these places will give you papers for just about anything. But the average dog owner who isn't as well informed IME thinks of mutt and mix as the same thing.

I do think it's great everyone here wants to set people straight. I understand just because that's the way it's always been doesn't mean it shouldn't change or we shouldn't at least try to open their minds a bit!


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