Pitbulls and Parolees

[Country_Gal]

I’m watching a cool nature show on Animal Planet, and they keep advertising for a new low: Pitbulls and Parolees.

A new cultural low. I think the premise of the show is parolees rescuing crazy appearing pitbulls, from the promo. Good grief.

 

[Evania]

I’ll also add Toddlers and Tiaras in that category.

 

[KendraDZ1902]

It is about an animal shelter. It shows the dogs being rescued, taken care of, and adopted to new owners. The people who care for the dogs are parolees. I think it is better for these parolees to be given a second chance and a job, instead of being released from jail to continue a life of crime. People can and do change, sometimes they just need a little support.

 

[Avdima]

Its great show about second chances, regaining lost humanity and turning ones life around.

I guess people do not like redemption stories anymore,

people are so jaded these days

 

[KrazyKat]

I’m watching a cool nature show on Animal Planet, and they keep advertising for a new low: Pitbulls and Parolees.

A new cultural low. I think the premise of the show is parolees rescuing crazy appearing pitbulls, from the promo. Good grief.

It is a very good show. Has been on for many seasons. The parolees and the dogs actually help each other. Watch with open mind and heart.

 

[didymus]

I’m watching a cool nature show on Animal Planet, and they keep advertising for a new low: Pitbulls and Parolees.

A new cultural low. I think the premise of the show is parolees rescuing crazy appearing pitbulls, from the promo. Good grief.

I don’t have cable but I looked up the show on Wikipedia.
Why should it be objectionable? It reminds me of a 60 Minutes piece I saw about murderers serving life who trained rescue or seeing eye dogs (forget which).
In either case people who have done wrong are now contributing to a good cause – and I bet the parolees’ recidivism rate is way lower than average

 

[Bruised_Reed]

I don’t understand why this would be a bad thing. I even double checked the date on the OP to make sure this wasn’t from a few years ago. I think they featured s similar show with inmates but has been some time since then.
.
I don’tiknow how many people know this but the majority of michael vick’s dogs were rehabilitated, some even became certified good citizens and therapy dogs. So I’m not sure what the objection is about, the dogs or the humans.

 

[Country_Gal]

Call me jaded then. From the promo it looked like another idiotic reality show. Add to that, I think pitbulls are a dangerous breed generally, and shouldn’t be promoted on Animal Planet.

 

[Mary_Gail_36]

It is about an animal shelter. It shows the dogs being rescued, taken care of, and adopted to new owners. The people who care for the dogs are parolees. I think it is better for these parolees to be given a second chance and a job, instead of being released from jail to continue a life of crime. People can and do change, sometimes they just need a little support.

Agree. I had seen an episode of this a year or so ago. It’s about parolees working in an animal shelter and helping to rehabilitate dogs. There isn’t anything, “” about it.

 

[KendraDZ1902]

Call me jaded then. From the promo it looked like another idiotic reality show. Add to that, I think pitbulls are a dangerous breed generally, and shouldn’t be promoted on Animal Planet.

Dogs are only dangerous when people train them to be. I know of several pit bulls who would lick you to death before they would harm you. They are just big babies. Actually, come to think of it, I have never had a problem with so-called “dangerous breeds.” I was attacked by a rat terrier when I was little. I have never been harmed by the “dangerous” ones.

The dogs on the show are being rehabilitated because they were harmed/trained to fight and are given a second chance like the parolees that are rehabilitating them.

 

[Country_Gal]

The Pitbull that bit me was a family pet, totally unprovoked. The Pitbull that killed my friend’s pregnant stepdaughter was her own cherished pet, she was a member of a pitbull society in N California and avid defender of the breed.

I’m an ER nurse and most every dog bite I’ve cared for is from a Pit or Pit cross. Yes, there are sweet ones, but a disproportionate percentage of Pits carry aggressive genes that people have bred into the breed.

Yes, pitbulls are a breed that was genetically altered, through selective breeding, to be more aggressive.

 

[AbideWithMe]

The Pitbull that bit me was a family pet, totally unprovoked. The Pitbull that killed my friend’s pregnant stepdaughter was her own cherished pet, she was a member of a pitbull society in N California and avid defender of the breed.

I’m an ER nurse and most every dog bite I’ve cared for is from a Pit or Pit cross. Yes, there are sweet ones, but a disproportionate percentage of Pits carry aggressive genes that people have bred into the breed.

Yes, pitbulls are a breed that was genetically altered, through selective breeding, to be more aggressive.

I’m a dog lover, and a lover of all animals. But, I more or less have to agree with this. I was attacked—bitten in the face, barely missing my eyes-- when my neighbor’s Neopolitan Mastiff jumped on me. My body language wasn’t setting the dog off; it was unprovoked and the owners didn’t take the Neo’s bred-for tendencies seriously enough. A friend’s son was attacked by a Rottweiler in my friend’s yard; the dog dragged his petite owner over to the boy who was on a swing. Whose fault is that? IMO, the owner’s, who foolishly bought a dog she couldn’t handle.

I’ve been a horse person almost my entire life, and taking responsibility for the safety of myself and other people was taught to me over fuzzy romantic notions. I’m all for humans and animals healing each other–I’ll be quick to say my horses have been a source of peace and growth for me. But, when it comes to dogs, I think too many people do too much anthropomorphization, which lessens the dignity of both species.

 

[Country_Gal]

I’m a dog lover, and a lover of all animals. But, I more or less have to agree with this. I was attacked—bitten in the face, barely missing my eyes-- when my neighbor’s Neopolitan Mastiff jumped on me. My body language wasn’t setting the dog off; it was unprovoked and the owners didn’t take the Neo’s bred-for tendencies seriously enough. A friend’s son was attacked by a Rottweiler in my friend’s yard; the dog dragged his petite owner over to the boy who was on a swing. Whose fault is that? IMO, the owner’s, who foolishly bought a dog she couldn’t handle.

I’ve been a horse person almost my entire life, and taking responsibility for the safety of myself and other people was taught to me over fuzzy romantic notions. I’m all for humans and animals healing each other–I’ll be quick to say my horses have been a source of peace and growth for me. But, when it comes to dogs, I think too many people do too much anthropomorphization, which lessens the dignity of both species.

Well said. Big doglover here too, I have two of them. My Border Collie wants to herd, my Lab loves water. They are true to their genetic callings. Yes, they have a happy home which makes them more secure and less neurotic. But some things in them are innate.

 

[Bruised_Reed]

A friend’s horse lover SIL was bitten in the face by a neighbor’s horse unprovoked. Animals are unpredictable.

The dogs I referred to up-thread went through rehabilitation, were tested and some were later trained and certified as Canine Good Citizens. Being a good pet owner goes beyond food, water, shelter and health care. Companion animals should be socialized properly and many would benefit from training. Were the pets that attacked socialized or trained and tested? My neighbors’ dog spends a lot of time indoors and when he is outside he is chained up in the yard and is never walked. He seems friendly enough but being chained up like that makes him more territorial. He goes nut when people go by but acts like he would attack when other dogs walk by. Animals generally like me and even though he sees me coming and going and in my yard I get barked at. He’s not being friendly. On the few occasions I’ve tried to let him sniff me he ducks a bit and I’m afraid if I move too suddenly CHOMP. I now wish I would have offered to walk him when they got the puppy and I could see he wasn’t going to be walked. He’s a lab BTW.

This would never work but I think there should be fees for all pets and mandatory spaying and neutering of animals with high populations, especially feral, unless the owners are planning breeding the animals.

 

[Country_Gal]

I guess I would think better of the show if they didn’t just rehabilitate pit bulls. It irritates me.

A lot of animal rescues are using inmates to rehabilitate dogs, and I do think highly of the program. It’s a win win situation. I might watch a show that show them working with all kinds of dogs. But the pitbull angle is a big turn off to me.

 

[Bruised_Reed]

I guess I would think better of the show if they didn’t just rehabilitate pit bulls. It irritates me.

A lot of animal rescues are using inmates to rehabilitate dogs, and I do think highly of the program. It’s a win win situation. I might watch a show that show them working with all kinds of dogs. But the pitbull angle is a big turn off to me.

I think it’s because pit bulls have gotten a bad rap. People used to react the same way to Doberman pinschers, German shepherds and a few others. Pit bulls are the breed to hate. Also, I don’t think they are rehabbing dogs that are known to be violent but dogs that have been neglected and abused.

I think you may be right about breeding agressive genes into the breed, though and that worries me. It can be done to any breed.

 

[Country_Gal]

I think it’s because pit bulls have gotten a bad rap. People used to react the same way to Doberman pinschers, German shepherds and a few others. Pit bulls are the breed to hate. Also, I don’t think they are rehabbing dogs that are known to be violent but dogs that have been neglected and abused.

I think you may be right about breeding agressive genes into the breed, though and that worries me. It can be done to any breed.

They seem to be making a parallel between pitbulls and parolees, in their title. They are both social outcasts. I guess you can’t be successful unless you sensationalize.

When I was looking for a young border collie, I saw a lot of the rescues board the dogs with the prisoner program. That’s a breed that people give up on, not because of aggression, but because they are so energetic and can wreck havoc if not channeled. (I know very well, my young dog is only one and a lovable handful! ) I would love to see a show that includes that wonderful breed, that has so much potential!

 

[Bruised_Reed]

They seem to be making a parallel between pitbulls and parolees, in their title. They are both social outcasts. I guess you can’t be successful unless you sensationalize.

(…)

They are social outcasts. It’s difficult to be successful unless they are socialized.

 

[AbideWithMe]

A friend’s horse lover SIL was bitten in the face by a neighbor’s horse unprovoked. Animals are unpredictable.

I think you may be right about breeding agressive genes into the breed, though and that worries me. It can be done to any breed.

They seem to be making a parallel between pitbulls and parolees, in their title. They are both social outcasts.

The thing with horses is that, while they’re bred for specific jobs, people don’t breed them for jobs that need aggression. Dog breeds such as pit bulls were deliberately bred for tenacity and aggression, so I don’t blame the dog for acting on its genes, I blame the people who breed a niche working dog to sell as a pet to the average person who is rarely trained to socialize such a dog properly. The number of pit bulls being bred for money greatly surpasses the small number of people who are qualified to own such a dog, IMO.

Animals can be unpredictable, that’s true, but after nearly 40 years of being with horses, I’ve learned without a doubt that unpredictability is rare in horses. They’re very good at trying to tell us humans how they feel; we’re often bad at hearing what they’re saying…and then, sadly, some horses just give up on our thick-headedness and tune us out because they can see we aren’t worth the bother.

I’d very much like to think that almost all dogs are as predictable as almost all horses are. I do question if that’s true, though, because of human stupidity in irresponsibly breeding neurotic tendencies or aggressive traits into some breeds. I mean, I can see the physical deformities purposely bred into some breeds for appearance’s sake, and I can’t help but wonder if some dogs have been foolishly bred to have mental “deformities” that we can’t see until the dog snaps. I know I’ve heard about a Rage Syndrome in Cocker Spaniels. And then again, apart from poor breeding decisions, a dog such as pit bull was bred to be tenacious, quick to react, and aggressive, so I’m puzzled why people breed and buy them unless they need those qualities in a dog.

Regarding pit bulls and parolees as social outcasts, that hits the nail on the head as to why the title makes me cringe.Sure, I love stories of redemption. And broken people and broken animals sometimes can help each other heal. But ISTM that there’s some less than responsible playing on people’s sympathies for the sake of a feel-good story, rather than for the animal’s best interest. IMO, the animal’s best interest would be to not breed more dogs with aggressive working qualities unless an equal number of competant owners are needing them for some job.

 

[Country_Gal]

The thing with horses is that, while they’re bred for specific jobs, people don’t breed them for jobs that need aggression. Dog breeds such as pit bulls were deliberately bred for tenacity and aggression, so I don’t blame the dog for acting on its genes, I blame the people who breed a niche working dog to sell as a pet to the average person who is rarely trained to socialize such a dog properly. The number of pit bulls being bred for money greatly surpasses the small number of people who are qualified to own such a dog, IMO.

Animals can be unpredictable, that’s true, but after nearly 40 years of being with horses, I’ve learned without a doubt that unpredictability is rare in horses. They’re very good at trying to tell us humans how they feel; we’re often bad at hearing what they’re saying…and then, sadly, some horses just give up on our thick-headedness and tune us out because they can see we aren’t worth the bother.

I’d very much like to think that almost all dogs are as predictable as almost all horses are. I do question if that’s true, though, because of human stupidity in irresponsibly breeding neurotic tendencies or aggressive traits into some breeds. I mean, I can see the physical deformities purposely bred into some breeds for appearance’s sake, and I can’t help but wonder if some dogs have been foolishly bred to have mental “deformities” that we can’t see until the dog snaps. I know I’ve heard about a Rage Syndrome in Cocker Spaniels. And then again, apart from poor breeding decisions, a dog such as pit bull was bred to be tenacious, quick to react, and aggressive, so I’m puzzled why people breed and buy them unless they need those qualities in a dog.

Regarding pit bulls and parolees as social outcasts, that hits the nail on the head as to why the title makes me cringe.Sure, I love stories of redemption. And broken people and broken animals sometimes can help each other heal. But ISTM that there’s some less than responsible playing on people’s sympathies for the sake of a feel-good story, rather than for the animal’s best interest. IMO, the animal’s best interest would be to not breed more dogs with aggressive working qualities unless an equal number of competant owners are needing them for some job.

Good post!