Pit bulls' visits heal patients, reputation

[Palehorse]

http://www.indystar.com/article/20101014/LOCAL1804/10140337/Pit-bulls-visits-heal-patients-reputation

. . .For the past six months, Kim Lane has visited nursing facilities in Anderson, Martinsville, Mooresville and Plainfield with her "two boys" -- Milo, a 3-year-old pit bull, and more recently Murphy, a 4-month-old pit bull -- to provide therapy for staff and residents.

"I promised Milo when he was a puppy that we would change people's minds," she said. "It was hard at first because as soon as some places heard the word pit bull, they said, 'no.' I even gave up at one point. But six months ago, I decided I would try even harder, because I felt Milo's talents were just wasting away."

Milo already has a Canine Good Citizen certificate and is being trained to be certified as a therapy dog and to serve in hospices.

Lane said what makes pit bulls such good therapy dogs is the same trait that some owners take advantage of when they are training them to fight and be mean.

"Pit bulls will do anything to please their owner, even if it means fighting to their death," Lane said. "But if you channel that desire to do good things they were meant to do, they have the perfect disposition for it. My dogs have been treated and handled with nothing but love, so Milo, in particular, is just one big mush ball."

The people who get weekly visits from Milo and Murphy couldn't agree more. Many say it is the highlight of their week.

Joyce Baldwin, a resident at Plainfield Nursing and Rehabilitation, can't wait to have the dogs climb up on her bed with her.

Baldwin said she lost her dogs just prior to moving to the facility. So Lane's dogs have helped her cope with the depression many nursing-home residents endure.

"Aren't these dogs the sweetest things?" Baldwin said. "They have brought me so much joy and always cheer me up. What you hear about pit bulls isn't true. They are good dogs. I don't know how anybody could not like these two."

Chris Ray, administrator at the Plainfield facility, said he believes in pet therapy and often uses dogs, birds and even fish to help cheer up and relax residents there. So he was delighted and had no hesitation about having pit bulls come into the facility as therapy dogs.

"You always think about the concerns when you hear pit bull, but once you meet them, that all goes away," he said. "You can just see the change in the residents' faces when the dogs come around."

Lane said she believes both dogs can sense when someone needs extra love and attention.

They can even do a few tricks to entertain residents, and Lane also allows residents to feed them low-fat treats.

"As long as we can change at least one person's mind about pit bulls and make someone happy every visit, I consider it a good, productive day, and hopefully, it starts a domino effect that changes people's perceptions," she said.

[Locutus]

Good to see pit bulls getting some positive coverage for a change.

[Palehorse]

Good to see pit bulls getting some positive coverage for a change.

Oh, no doubt! I swear they get a bad reputation just because of the media frenzy!

[The Troll]

Oh, no doubt! I swear they get a bad reputation just because of the media frenzy!

  From what I can see, I don't think you will not see any change in how most people feel about a pit bull.  To me owning one is just like leaving a loaded .357 pistol, cocked with a hair trigger out in the open in a building with children in it.  One of them will find it and will hurt someone with it and if you own it, you will pay for it, big time.

[Palehorse]

  From what I can see, I don't think you will not see any change in how most people feel about a pit bull.  To me owning one is just like leaving a loaded .357 pistol, cocked with a hair trigger out in the open in a building with children in it.  One of them will find it and will hurt someone with it and if you own it, you will pay for it, big time.

As I've said before. . . spend a half a day with my dog and you will rethink that!

[Henry Hawk]

As I've said before. . . spend a half a day with my dog and you will rethink that!

You know the thing I have noticed is, there is people like you Palehorse, who take the time and effort to make these good animals, no, excellent animals.  BUT it is those who get these dogs and have NO business with them, that makes these aggressive by nature animals, a bad name.  I had a friend who had one, and it was a GREAT dog.

[Sandy Eggo]

You  the thing I have noticed is, there is people like you Palehorse, who take the time and effort to make these good animals, no, excellent animals.  BUT it is those who get these dogs and have NO business with them, that makes these aggressive by nature animals, a bad name.  I had a friend who had one, and it was a GREAT dog.

I've seen an aggressive Golden Retriever because he was in the wrong hands.

[Henry Hawk]

I've seen an aggressive Golden Retriever because he was in the wrong hands.

yep, I know...and THAT is not an easy task, to make a Golden Retriever a mean dog....

[The Troll]

yep, I know...and THAT is not an easy task, to make a Golden Retriever a mean dog....

  Living with you would make any dog mean.  Tight ass you at least need to feed him.

[Palehorse]

Had a crowd of folks over for a fall cook out yesterday. Friends, family. One of the guys was like you Troll, scared to death of a pit bull. He almost didn't come because we have one.

I brought the dog outside and he could tell the guy was afraid of him. So what did my dog do? He grabbed his bone (toy), and took it over to the guy and laid it on his lap. Then he stayed around him for a while. Wasn't long before the two of them were best buds. When they left he said to me, "Man, that is a really good dog! I cannot believe he's a pit bull!"

Mission accomplished! 

[The Troll]

Had a crowd of folks over for a fall cook out yesterday. Friends, family. One of the guys was like you Troll, scared to death of a pit bull. He almost didn't come because we have one.

I brought the dog outside and he could tell the guy was afraid of him. So what did my dog do? He grabbed his bone (toy), and took it over to the guy and laid it on his lap. Then he stayed around him for a while. Wasn't long before the two of them were best buds. When they left he said to me, "Man, that is a really good dog! I cannot believe he's a pit bull!"

Mission accomplished! 

  PH, I am not going to talk about Pit Bulls anymore.  I think they are basically a dangerous animal.  It's the only dog that jaws lock in combat.  That jaw lock works on children, adults and other animals.  Why do Pit Bulls have this, it is because it was breed into them.  These dog were breed as catch animals, actually going out and catching and holding wild hogs and semi-wild cattle.  Imagine a animal so strong and with a bite so strong as to hold these large wild animals. 

  Oh, they might be sweet and nice and beautiful and a wonder pet for your family, but you will never know what might trigger an attack.  That the sword that's hanging over your head not mine.

  You and I have to much in common to let your dog come between us.  So all I can say is be careful and carry insurance and let's hope nothing bad will happen. 

[LOsborne]

http://www.pitbulllovers.com/american-pit-bull-terrier-myths.html

MYTH: American Pit Bull Terriers have 1600 P.S.I. in jaw pressure

Dr. Lehr Brisbin of the University of Georgia states, "To the best of our knowledge, there are no published scientific studies that would allow any meaningful comparison to be made of the biting power of various breeds of dogs.

There are, moreover, compelling technical reasons why such data describing biting power in terms of "pounds per square inch" can never be collected in a meaningful way. All figures describing biting power in such terms can be traced to either unfounded rumor or, in some cases, to newspaper articles with no foundation in factual data."

MYTH: American Pit Bull Terriers lock their jaws.

Dr. Brisbin: "The few studies which have been conducted of the structure of the skulls, mandibles and teeth of pit bulls show that, in proportion to their size, their jaw structure and thus its inferred functional morphology, is no different than that of any breed of dog.

There is absolutely no evidence for the existence of any kind of "locking mechanism" unique to the structure of the jaw and/or teeth of the American Pit Bull Terrier.

[Lester Sasquatch]

Troll, they have a novel way to find out information now days. They call it a search engine and I use it with increasing frequency. There is a person on this forum that I will not name but she is a "pit bull" when it comes to requiring something that is not used a lot in most forums, they call it proof. Not only will she demand this proof but requires it come from a reliable source. Also I will come out and make a confession I keep secret from most people - I only completed 9th grade in high school. If it is not obvious to the readers yet, I will be the first to admit to being stupid. I usually put that in my introduction when I join a forum before anyone can count coup by telling me what I already know. I am pretty tricky though and can fool many people who think I must have at least went through my junior year in high school! Anyway, I used to write like a blathering idiot, misspelling words, not knowing the purpose nor how to use the comma, and would assert my theories as facts until my unnamed friend took me under her wing and taught me how to put my thoughts down on paper, or in this case a digital format. Before she looked at me with pity and helped me with my writing, I constantly made a fool out of myself on a public forum. People were always making fun of Lester and I was the butt of many jokes. My good friend taught me what smart folks call "critical thinking" or "independent thought". Anyway Troll, keep in mind two important things - "Proof" and "Reliable Sources" when you make assertions about pit bulls.


You see I too once fell prey to the pit bull "lock jaw" myth. Why? Because someone told me that and I wanted to believe it was true. But if you do just a few minutes of research you will discover this breed is a canine with no super powers. I have taken the liberty of posting some information here in an effort to dispel some pit bull myths and, because she is so adamant that I show my work, I have provided a link to my source.

Dispelling some myths about Pit Bulls:

-Is it true that Pit Bulls can lock their jaw?
The infamous locking jaw is a myth. The American Pit Bull Terrier and related breeds are physiologically no different from any other breed of dog. All dogs are from the same species and none have locking jaws. Dr. I Lehr Brisbin of the University of Georgia states, "To the best of our knowledge, there are no published scientific studies that would allow any meaningful comparison to be made of the biting power of various breeds of dogs. There are, moreover, compelling technical reasons why such data describing biting power in terms of 'pounds per square inch' can never be collected in a meaningful way. All figures describing biting power in such terms can be traced to either unfounded rumor or, in some cases, to newspaper articles with no foundation in factual data." Furthermore, Dr. Brisbin states, "The few studies which have been conducted of the structure of the skulls, mandibles and teeth of pit bulls show that, in proportion to their size, their jaw structure and thus its inferred functional morphology, is no different than that of any breed of dog. There is absolutely no evidence for the existence of any kind of 'locking mechanism' unique to the structure of the jaw and/or teeth of the American Pit Bull Terrier."

-Are Pit Bulls naturally aggressive towards humans?
While many Pit Bulls do tend to be aggressive towards other DOGS (as are most terriers), the normal, well raised Pit Bull has NO human-aggressive tendencies! In fact, human-aggression was actually bred out of the breed. The majority of Pit Bulls are affectionate, intelligent, trainable dogs. In fact, the highest obedience trial record of all time is held by an American Pit Bull Terrier named Maddy!

-Can Pit Bulls "turn" on people?
In fact, no breed of dog does. Dog aggression is nearly always preceded by some kind of warning, and there is always a reason behind the attack. However, many inexperienced owners do not recognize the dog's behavior as aggression, or refuse to acknowledge it as a warning sign. The only exception I can think of is Springer Rage, a rare and controversial neurological condition that manifests itself as a spontaneous attack, followed by confusion, and then a return to normal behavior. Pit Bulls are NOT prone to this condition. There are individual dogs of any breed that may be more aggressive to others.

http://www.austinlostpets.com/kidskorner/2October/pitbull.htm

Troll, I hope that now that you will realize that a pit bull is just a regular dog. Most humans by their nature are lazy and fail to take the time to properly train their pets.

Note: I am so slow I see that Lolly beat me to it!

[The Troll]

Lester, I did some research to.  Mine said that to unlock a pit bulls jaws, you could do three things.  Break an ammonia ampule on it nose.  Hold your hold your hand tightly over it's nose and third, take a stick and pry it's jaws apart.  I think in that situation a knife blade in the throat would work too.

  I am not going to have a ammonia ampule on my person, I not going to get my hand that close to it's teeth and I am not going to look for a stick.  But I do carry a knife that I can open with one hand and I think it would handle that job of breaking the lock. 

[Lester Sasquatch]

Pitt Bull terriers are not the only creature that has a bad reputation Troll. There is a certain reptile whose mere name can make some people uncontrollably cower in fear. This poor creature can be a faithful companion despite all the bad publicity he gets, I am talking about the poor crocodile the source of the derogatory and demeaning phrase "crying crocodile tears". When most fishermen in Costa Rica come across a wounded baby croc the first thing the try to do is kill the poor critter! But not Chito, a poor man who made his living by catching fish to sell. About 20 years ago Chito found a small 150 pound crocodile that had been shot and left for dead by an unknown assailant. Chito took the poor wounded croc home and nursed him back to health. Chito named the little croc "Pancho" and, after he had regained his health, took him back to where he had found him. But Pancho did not want to go back and followed new friend Chito home.

Every day when Chito returned from a hard day of fishing he was greeted by his pet crocodile who was growing bigger by the day. Needless to say Chito didn't have many of his human friends come by and, after the word got out about Pancho, local thieves gave Chto's house a wide berth when they were out prowling around looking for easy targets from which to steal. Then after about 10 years Chito thought "Why don't I teach Poncho some tricks?" and soon Pancho proved to be quite the entertainer. It has been 20 years now since the two friends met and Chito remains single but he has never found a woman who shares his love for Poncho. Chito stopped fishing for a living when he discovered that people would pay to see him frolic with Poncho in the water. Today Poncho had brown to an amazing 18 feet in length and the pair are a popular tourist attraction where Pocho is quite popular.

You can search the net for "Poncho and Chito" and find where many of the people who have seen their act have posted videos.  Here is a link that I found for your viewing pleasure.

http://www.asylum.com/2010/09/29/video-costa-rican-man-trains-18-foot-croc-to-perform-for-tour/

This is a good example of a creature of the wild which has overcome the stigma of its bad reputation and become a valuable asset to man.