Pit Bulls

I got a pit bull a couple of months ago, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier to be specific, and it is not the terrifying beast that they are made out to be. Rufus, is the polar opposite of every stereotype I had ever herd about pit bulls. First off let me say that I was under the impression that pit bulls were these massive blood thirsty beasts. Massive is not even close, my vet says that Rufus will grow to be approximately 50 lbs. That is all. Human children, especially in this country, run bigger then that. Sometimes I carry him around just to be funny; he is a little light weight. We actually used to have a female runt of a chocolate lab and that dog was bigger then this male pit bull.

It isn’t all about size as there is the stereotype that these dogs are ferocious and will rip your throat out just for looking at them the wrong way. NO. Rufus will run and hide under the table if you look at him the wrong way. And if you raise your voice, even at jest with someone else in the room, the little guy makes a B-line to hide under my parent’s bed. While on walks the little guy will defend me as he stops to bark off those killer… killer street signs and trash cans. Even moving around a throw rug will send him scurrying off.

Now many times people say that they are just plain mean dogs. Those people are mistaken. Rufus is a pack animal just the same as any dog. My mom and my sister recently had minor surgeries done which took them out of commission for a few days of hanging out on the couch and recuperating. Despite Rufus being a scarred little ninny his pack mentality had him at their sides the whole time they were recuperating. He could sense that they weren’t at the top of their games and stood by, just in case. It was kind of sweet of him.

Uncontrolled and inhibited have been said of pit bulls as well. Not the case either. The entire time my family has had Rufus he has had 2 accidents. That’s right the 6 month old puppy went two whole months with only two accidents. He can from the SPCA were he did receive daily walks but the dog kennels are set up so that dogs can, and often do, go to the bathroom in them. So Rufus becoming house broken so quickly is no small feet for any dog. Pit bulls rather are a trainable dog. Perhaps this is why dog fighters use them, because they will do what they are trained to do, no matter the cost.

Ignorance is horrible thing, and I always strive to set myself from the ignorant masses. It also helps that I have a friend who rescues pit bulls and enlightened me long before we got ours. Still I was surprised that pit bulls are not big. But my little rascal is just right.