DON’T BLAME THE DOG

As an ardent lover of pitbull terriers, having raised four of them (Bullisan, Yellow, Carver and RedNose) from puppy to old age, I find it extremely disturbing that this misunderstood breed has to suffer the consequences of what we humans instil upon them.

Many of these dogs are purely bred for fighting (we all know the strength of their jaws), and are raised in horrid conditions in order to bring out the beast in them. How many of these owners have been brought to book for the manner in which these animals are raised?

The public should start off by castrating the owners, rehabilitating the dogs and re-homing them in loving homes and then see how they thrive. They’re fiercely protective and loyal beyond compare – more so than most humans. STAND UP FOR THE PB, EMAIL S According to the Pitbull Federation of South Africa, these dogs are just as normal as other breeds of dogs but the problem is how owners treats them. People are advised to treat such dogs as they do other dogs. If you breed a pitbull, it’s better to let it live just like other dogs and give it freedom of movement so it gets used to people and other animals.

And most of all, people are advised to raise pitbulls from puppies. That would be much better than to buy a fully grown dog that already has certain behaviours ingrained, and you don’t even know how they were raised.

Most people don’t give them any freedom – you find the poor dog is locked in a cage and the only time it goes out it is tied by the neck.

That’s the biggest mistake people make and in some instances, the dog doesn’t even know anyone in the family except the breeder.

So you can imagine what will happen if one day it finds itself outside the cage and the breeder isn’t around.

It isn’t safe for anyone who walks close to it because the first thing that comes to its mind is to protect itself against the stranger. LETLADI WA GA-MPHAHLELE, EMAIL