I've been thinking of getting a dog. I want something, that can run a lot and not get tired. I like pitbulls, y biggest concern is other hikers/bikers/dogs reactions. Has anyone had any experience with these dogs on the trail?
Pitbulls on Trail
HANKg
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I hate pittbulls, or any dog for that matter with the inconsistant and unpredictable predisposition for snapping and attacking someone with the power and lethality to kill whatever they're going off on. I've seen some very very sweet pitts in my life time, and I've also seen the same dog who the family grew up with raised and had nothing but a loving relationship with snap, and take off a childs face for looking at it wrong.
Get a labrador hound or setter. the shorter the hair, the easier the cleanup when they get frisky and go creek hopping, mudrolling, and Sh!t eating.
Get a labrador hound or setter. the shorter the hair, the easier the cleanup when they get frisky and go creek hopping, mudrolling, and Sh!t eating.
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Every trail dog I've had experience with was a lab or a mutt. The mutts were adopted and I honestly think dogs you adopt from the pound are more grateful than some other dogs. You saved their a$$ from hell basically. I have a lab that we have had since he was a puppy and he is a spoiled a$$hole. I will def adopt my next dog b/c it is for a good cause. I would highly advise against a pitbull too for similar reasons of Zonk. It is in their instinct to attack and they could be fine for a long time and then just snap. Not to mention people reactions when a pit is running at them on a trail and if they get scared of the dog and the dog senses fear that could get ugly
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just so happens I got bit by a pitbull a couple months ago as I was coming down the trail. The girls who were hiking with it had moved well off the trail and were trying to hold the dog back but he got away and clamped onto my leg, missed my armor too. I don't think the girls knew it was a bike trail (it's not a legal trail, but it is state forest), and that the dog didn't like bikers. I probably could have prevented it if I had stopped but they were well out of the way.
Same area is a hunting area, hunters use dogs, usually pit mixes for pig hunting, I've seen hiker/biker dogs get there assses kicked by these dogs, but they don't mess with us riders. In fact there are alot of times when we help lost hunting dogs find there way back.
Same area is a hunting area, hunters use dogs, usually pit mixes for pig hunting, I've seen hiker/biker dogs get there assses kicked by these dogs, but they don't mess with us riders. In fact there are alot of times when we help lost hunting dogs find there way back.
i wouldn't suggest getting a pitbull if you are planning on having it run with you down trails fully free to do whatever it pleases. even if it was a perfectly nice dog, the reaction from other trails users could be very bad. i do like pitbulls, i know someone who has a pit mix and it seems to be one of the nicest dogs i've meet but if you put one in the wrong situation you could end up giving the bread an even worse rep then they already have which isn't fair. there are plenty of other super athletic, people friendly dogs out there. i also suggest adopting a dog from a rescue of some sort.
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i won't join the discussion about the behavior of pits, but i had a friend in college that had one. kublai kahn was his name, awesome dog. we took kublai trail riding all the time, he totally ripped. kublai was one of the better trail dogs, he was fast, could run forever, and he kept the grizzly bears away.
adopting a mut is a great idea, i've seen some good trail muts.
labs are dumb and they get addicted to fetching.
adopting a mut is a great idea, i've seen some good trail muts.
labs are dumb and they get addicted to fetching.
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:nono:bad:nono: bad:nono: bad:nono:TNC said:
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A Pitbull Is A Poor Choice
You need to really think about some things....
1. Do you know how to train dogs (with years of experience)?
2. Do you plan to keep the dog primarily on your property and NEVER walk it off leash.
3. Do you (or will you) have other dogs?
4. Do you live in the US (most homeowners policies will not cover your house with this dog choice)?
5. Do you (or will you have kids)?
If you answered yes to #1 & #2 then you get a point for each
If you answered yes to any others, take away a point for each
If your total is a negative number DONT GET THIS BREED!
Now I have met many owners of Pit mixes (rescued animals) whose dogs are very well adjusted and socialized (but this took a very skilled amount of training). The problems with a pit (and similar breeds) are two fold, first, they were bred for a specific task (not a pretty one I might add) which makes them EXTREMELY DOG AGGRESSIVE, and second, once they bite they will not let go (such a strong bite its as if their jaw locks, which is why they are so deadly in dog fight "pits" they simply will not let go).
If you want a dog that is smart, great with kids & other animals. can run non-stop all day, loyal, not dog aggressive (unless provoked), but still offers home and personal protection, look into a Belgian Malinois (the choice of most LE agencies), the Beauceron (also a top LE and Special Forces pick), or some of the other herding breeds (which typically have high drive and can run their arse off).
Best of luck! Here are some great links to see what I do with my dogs:thumbsup:
http://www.workingdogs.com/Reno99/welcome.htm
http://www.ringsport.org/champs/Ring3/ring3.htm
http://www.ringsport.org/Pictures/2006coa/2006coa.htm
You need to really think about some things....
1. Do you know how to train dogs (with years of experience)?
2. Do you plan to keep the dog primarily on your property and NEVER walk it off leash.
3. Do you (or will you) have other dogs?
4. Do you live in the US (most homeowners policies will not cover your house with this dog choice)?
5. Do you (or will you have kids)?
If you answered yes to #1 & #2 then you get a point for each
If you answered yes to any others, take away a point for each
If your total is a negative number DONT GET THIS BREED!
Now I have met many owners of Pit mixes (rescued animals) whose dogs are very well adjusted and socialized (but this took a very skilled amount of training). The problems with a pit (and similar breeds) are two fold, first, they were bred for a specific task (not a pretty one I might add) which makes them EXTREMELY DOG AGGRESSIVE, and second, once they bite they will not let go (such a strong bite its as if their jaw locks, which is why they are so deadly in dog fight "pits" they simply will not let go).
If you want a dog that is smart, great with kids & other animals. can run non-stop all day, loyal, not dog aggressive (unless provoked), but still offers home and personal protection, look into a Belgian Malinois (the choice of most LE agencies), the Beauceron (also a top LE and Special Forces pick), or some of the other herding breeds (which typically have high drive and can run their arse off).
Best of luck! Here are some great links to see what I do with my dogs:thumbsup:
http://www.workingdogs.com/Reno99/welcome.htm
http://www.ringsport.org/champs/Ring3/ring3.htm
http://www.ringsport.org/Pictures/2006coa/2006coa.htm
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I love pit bulls and I used to have one(adopted) until she attacked my EXg/fs dog and her twat mother had the city take her away from me. They are great, loving dogs.... but they are also a walking liability. All it takes is one person to get bit for any reason and its yours and your dogs asses.
A pit would definately not be the best decision for this application. While i disagree with some peoples opinion of all pits are mean and attack anything, you must consider that this breeds "gamey" temperment would not be good for what you want to do with it.
1. If this dog is to be running with you while your riding this means he will more than likely be off a leash. This breed likes to test their owners for control whenever they can,and as a responsible owner you must be in control 100% of the time with a dog this powerful.
2. With that "gamey" temperment you must consider there will be other people on these trails riding. Now a pit may chase them thinking that the people are playing (gamey temperment) while in these peoples eyes, there is a huge ferocious pit bull chasing them down to kill them. There have been numerous attacks on children to which i believe this is the exact reason. Child sees dog and wants to play, dog is too big and is too rough for small child, child then turns and tries to get away, dogs gamey temp. takes over and chases, child then begins to actually fight out of fear, dog is being faught with so it fights back, child is killed and another vicious ferocious pit bull was on the hunt and killed a child is on every major news chanel.
1. If this dog is to be running with you while your riding this means he will more than likely be off a leash. This breed likes to test their owners for control whenever they can,and as a responsible owner you must be in control 100% of the time with a dog this powerful.
2. With that "gamey" temperment you must consider there will be other people on these trails riding. Now a pit may chase them thinking that the people are playing (gamey temperment) while in these peoples eyes, there is a huge ferocious pit bull chasing them down to kill them. There have been numerous attacks on children to which i believe this is the exact reason. Child sees dog and wants to play, dog is too big and is too rough for small child, child then turns and tries to get away, dogs gamey temp. takes over and chases, child then begins to actually fight out of fear, dog is being faught with so it fights back, child is killed and another vicious ferocious pit bull was on the hunt and killed a child is on every major news chanel.
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The best trail dog I have ever came upon was a guy riding with an Austrailian Catle dog. The trail was in Edmonton Ab along the Nth Sask river and half the time the dog was playing in the water. All it took was one command from the owner and he was at his side.
To ride with a dog you need one that is trainable while off lead. I own a Lab who has his AKC Junior Hunter title but still would not feel comfortable taking him onto a well traveled trail with hikers. Liability is very high these days. Trained or not, loving and friendly or not they are still dogs and faced with a challange they react to it. Good luck
To ride with a dog you need one that is trainable while off lead. I own a Lab who has his AKC Junior Hunter title but still would not feel comfortable taking him onto a well traveled trail with hikers. Liability is very high these days. Trained or not, loving and friendly or not they are still dogs and faced with a challange they react to it. Good luck
I'm not saying there are no good pits out there, but just running free with people running, riding, and perhaps even having their own dogs running with them i feel this is a recipe for disaster. I hope i have enlightened you as well as educated you in this matter. I do not own pit bulls nor will i ever. I like the breed but this is a breed for someone who has the total time, dedication, and know how on how to have one of these dog, and sometimes that doesn't even prevent an attack. So i hope i saved the life of the pit that you would of got that would of attacked someone who would of died or sued you for way more of the money that you would have spent buying a dog that was not a good decision for you in the first place. I hope i have educated some of the rest of you guys too. My intention is not to piss anyone off merely to give you knowledge that might help you.
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Don't do it. We have a Presa Canario and a Dogge de Bordeaux, both of which are very well behaved, and neither one of which I could imagine attacking someone - the truth of the matter though is that we do not let them run off leash anywhere there might be other dogs, you never know if someone else's dog is socialized and there's something a wee bit unsettling about the thought of trying to pry Lucy's jaws from the head of some hapless schmuck's aggressive (and off-leash) dog.
I've ridden with both dogs off leash before in remote areas, but it's more stress than it's worth.
I've ridden with both dogs off leash before in remote areas, but it's more stress than it's worth.
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I would tend to disagree with your description above (as do most animal behaviorists) in that this breed in particular is extremely quick to jump from inquiry to attack mode, not because of a playful nature, but because of its inherent instincts (which can be fettered out with skilled training). It does not attack kids through escalation of play (typically), but rather because a kid is small like another dog, and this breed (without heavy socialization and quality training) is EXTREMELY DOG AGGRESSIVE. In addition, it has an insatiable drive to clamp its jaws (like when playing tug-war), again an instinctual drive shared by many in this breeding family (like Boxers). However, Boxers were bred as Bull Baiting dogs (not to fight in dog pits), and while can be dog aggressive, are easily socialized with other dogs and are fantastic with kids. In contrast, the "PitBull" was bred to fight other dogs, and is an absolute thoroughbred at its task!z28steve said:
As my post above stated, I know many a sweet Pit Bull (and some which can be off leash at our Ring Sport meets) but those are owned by skilled trainers. IT IS NOT AN EVIL BREED, but you better know what your doing and cary lots of insurance!
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