Introduction
Dog is considered as one of the most intelligent creatures in the world. There is a great variety of this species’ breeds. It should be highlighted that me and my family were always interested in dogs, and we always had these pets at our home. That is why I chose such topic. The article focuses on the problem of those factors that have an impact on pit bull’s formation of behavior. It should be clarified that trainings might have a positive outcome on pit bulls making them non-aggressive creatures.
Background
As it was mentioned above, dogs are one of the smartest living creatures. However, there is an idea that such breed as pit bull is the most dangerous one. There are several reasons that might prove this fact. The first is that these dogs are automatically assumed as aggressive ones. In addition to this, it is not complicated to raise an aggressive pit bull if a person has such goal. However, there is also a contrary idea to these facts. It should be highlighted that pit bulls can also be very friendly if they are grown up in such lovely environment. That is why it can be assumed that the living conditions and attitudes from owners’ side are of paramount importance for this breed.
Body
It seems justified to assume that there are some aspects that might positively influence a pit bull’s upbringing. For instance, early socialization, positive reinforcement in training, considering canine good citizen certification, and dog sports might help this god’s owner to see that his/her dog will be a good friend in the nearest future. Such aspect as early socialization is of paramount importance in a pit bull’s upbringing because it provides the dog with an opportunity to see other dogs, children, men, and women. In this case, the dog is likely to get used to the feeling of being handled. It seems justified to assume that in a short period of time this dog might not demonstrate aggressive reactions during walks (Wilkins 5). The nest important aspect is the usage of positive reinforcement in the process of training. It may include the technique of clicker training.
In this situation, a pit bull feels happy when it gets something tasty after completing an exercise correctly. One more aspect under consideration is the canine good citizen certification. If a dog demonstrates the possession of several skills, the American Kennel Club ( AKC) gives is owner a certificate. These skills include basic obedience, walk in a crowd, allow petting from strangers, and calm reaction to other dogs. This certificate has several advantages, and among them there are proving other people that this dog is not an aggressive one and changing their attitude towards this breed. The last aspect under consideration is about dog sports. It presupposes agility or Rally Obedience activities that are aimed at forming a dog’s good behavior along with having fun (Bender).
It should be highlighted that the other idea that is about pit bull’s aggression has also been thoroughly investigated. Pit bulls can act aggressively, and there are some reasons of it such as genes and bad environment in which they were grown up (Janies, Voronkin, Das, Hardman, Trseder and Studer 7). That is why some pit bulls are considered as angry ones. It seems justified to assume that the problem exists because it is impossible to say from the first glance at the dog whether its behavior is aggressive or not. Moreover, the consequences of such guessing can be crucial ones.
The ancestors of pit bulls were fighting dogs. However, pit bulls do not often start fights but they can engage in them when they see other dogs fighting. Moreover, there is always a high risk of instincts’ being expressed at any moment. In addition to this, an owner who is not a confident one and does not know how to behave in critical situations might not prevent negative results when a dog expresses aggression.
There is also the fact that pit bulls do not like cats and other fleeing creatures. In this case, they are likely to demonstrate their chase and seize basic instincts.
I strongly believe that despite the breed, any dog is susceptible for that environment in which it lives. In addition to this, an aggressive attitude from the owner’s side may have a negative impact on a dog’s behavior in the future. There is a great number of cases when pit bulls have demonstrated their devotion and rescued people in complicated situations (Welton). These situations happened when pit bulls prevented children from aggression of other dogs. In those cases, pit bulls risked their lives.
It seems justified to assume that such phenomenon as genetics is of paramount importance; that is why there cannot be a complete trust to pit bulls (Terry and Withler 25). However, behavior of any breed depends on an owner. Moreover, the public perception of these dogs cannot be accepted fully because every dog is a unique one. Such cases when pi tbulls helped people might become a basis to believe that right training and love to the dog can be beneficial ones in the future.
Conclusion
To sum up, the reputation of pit bulls cannot be considered as the best one in the society. However, trainings and love from the side of this dog’s owner are likely to help bring up a non-aggressive dog. It should be highlighted that such points of view as pit bulls are all aggressive owing to their genes and pit bulls can be non-aggressive if they are properly trained were investigated in the paper.
- Bender, Amy. Training Your Pit Bull Dog. The Spruce Pets, 8 Feb. 2018, https://www.thesprucepets.com/training-your-pit-bull-dog-1118246. Accessed 20 Oct. 2018.
- Janies, Daniel, Voronkin, Igor, Das, Manirupa, Hardman, Jori, Treseder, Travis and Jonathan, Studer. “Genome Informatics of Influenxa A: From Data Sharing to Shared Analytical Capabilities.” Animal Health Research Reviews, June 2010.
- Terry, Beacham, and Ruth Withler. “Population and Individual Identification of Coho Salmon in British Columbia through Parentage-Based Tagging and Genetic Stock Identification: An Alternative Code to Coded-Wire Tags.” Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, January 2010.
- Welton, Michelle. American Pit Bull Terrier Temperament: What’s Good about Them, What’s Bad about Them. Your Pure Bred Puppy, 2018, https://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/reviews/americanpitbullterriers.html. Accessed 20 Oct. 2018.
- Wilkins, Catherine. “Frozen Tail or Limber Tail in Working Dogs”. The Veterinary Record, May 1997.
