my opinion of pitbull owners is torn… part of me thinks they are stupid for choosing a breed with such aggressive reputations if they are unable to “handle” them. the rest of me feels bad because there is a lot of prejudice against them. pitbulls and their related (or similar-looking) breeds really can’t do anything right and don’t get much slack at local dog parks.

yesterday, Maddy and i met a lovely pitbull/bullmastiff cross. the owner was quite chatty (as some are) and seemed to need to vent to a sympathetic ear. he spent several minutes relating a couple of previous encounters between his dog and smaller dogs. small dog owners can be over-protective and, while i understand it is occasionally within reason, often they end up encouraging the small dog’s fear. this is the easiest shortcut to promoting passive-aggression or straight-up aggressive behaviour.

but his stories surprised me. after all, the dog’s meet-n-greet with Maddy was completely uneventful and he was now peacefully lolling in the grass with his bright orange ball. he ignored all of the other dogs at the park and listened attentively to commands. at 18 months, it seemed like his owner had done a good job of training the aggressive tendencies out of him.

a few minutes later, a few more dogs arrived with their respective leash-holders. one was a small, bouncy Kleenex-box dog. no one (pitbull/bullmastiff cross included) had paid the yappy thing much attention. but as soon as it was off-leash, it started barking and ran straight for the pitbull cross.

still, the pitbull cross did nothing. i turned away as the woman ran after her yappy Kleenex box and shushed it. when i turned back, the small white dog was back on its’ leash and the pitbull cross owner had his dog in a down-stay. the entire encounter had lasted less than a few seconds. as soon as the small white dog was back on its’ leash, the situation was completely calm.

“your dog just tore my pants,” the woman said as she checked her dog over, presumably for additional tears.

“he did?” the pitbull cross owner answered with a note of resignation in his voice.

i didn’t hear the rest of the conversation as Maddy and i moved away, but later found out that the woman had actually been scratched/bitten in the rear during the dog separation scuffle. blood was drawn. and a tailor would need to be called.

the pitbull owner treated Ms. Kleenex box with total respect and deference, but i found myself hoping he didn’t offer to pay for the repair of her pants. part of me was upset that the woman was arrogant enough to erase/forget her dog’s role in the scuffle. the pitbull cross and his owner left soon after and i found myself wondering…

who’s responsibility is a situation like that? the small white dog obviously initiated the “situation” — everyone was friendly before it arrived. but if you know your dog has a chance of responding to aggression with aggression, why doesn’t it have a muzzle on? why do you run it with other loose dogs at all?

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