BoCo

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Pit bull to be renamed 'New Yorkie'

NEW YORK — Start spreading the news -- the notorious set of chompers otherwise known as a pit bull is being renamed the New Yorkie in an effort to improve its image.

While already banned in parts of Colorado, Florida and Connecticut, the dog is just misunderstood, animal lovers contend. But a bloody history of aggression and attacks has branded the dog dangerous and deadly to some.

In the city where a reputation can make or break you, the dogs are getting a fresh moniker.

Ed Boks, director of New York City Animal Care and Control (search), told the New York Post he came up with the idea to change the breed's name after moving from Phoenix, Ariz., to New York City and realizing that the dogs' reputation was as erroneous as that of Big Apple citizens, who he said are "some of the most generous an open-hearted people I've ever met."

Broadway baby Bernadette Peters, who owns a loveable pit bull, told the Post that she thinks the name change is a great idea. "'New Yorkie' fits their personality better."

Over 6,000 pit bulls are dropped off at New York City animal shelters each year -- 90 percent of which end up being put to death, the Post reported.

"Pit bulls need to have the same opportunities as any other breed of dog," said Richard Gentles, NYCACC deputy executive director. "They are very sociable animals. They are very trainable and they can make great companions to the right pet guardian. And that's what we kind of want to get across to everybody, that they can be just as good as any other kind of dog."

For years advocates have said that bad owners, not the dogs, are to blame for the breed's malicious reputation.

Indeed, Maxie Riveria, who runs a housing agency in the South Bronx, N.Y., has witnessed the brutal way in which the breed is sometimes raised: "I've watched these kids feeding jalapenos and crushed glass to their dogs. They hang them from a tree with a rope or a towel to toughen them up."

Still, numerous headline-grabbing attacks haven't helped pit bulls' cause.

In October 2003, doctors raced to save the mangled foot of a 7-year-old boy after a pit bull named "Murder" attacked him outside his family's Newark, N.J., apartment building, cops said.

And just last month, seven pit bulls mauled an 82-year-old Florida woman to death after escaping from their owner's home in Citra, Fla.

Also that month, three pit bulls attacked a couple, fatally mauling the 40-year-old woman in Kiowa, Colo. "As strong as she was, she just didn't have a chance," Kristi Van Etten, the woman's daughter, said.

But pro-pit bull advocates point out that the breed is loyal, loveable and trainable. In fact, pit bulls perform slightly higher in behavioral tests than even golden retrievers, according to the American Temperament Test Society.

Positive qualities of the pooch never make the news which Gentles said is detrimental to their adoption appeal and helps spread unwarranted fears.

"Any time on the news you hear pit bulls you hear about a mauling, and that's what gets the attention," he said. "You don't hear the other stories about what great companion pets they make, and that they can be just as loving and sociable as any other breed of dog."
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mb99usa

I think the name is a bit on the wimpy side.

I've known several pit-bulls and pit-bull mixes and they were all friendly, gentle dogs. Dogs are just like people and are products of not only their own personality but the manner in which they are raised.

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yournamehere

There was a rather long thread on v. 3.0 about pitbulls.

Not to pick on you, <b>mb99usa</b> but just about every story about an unprovoked attack by a pit bull contains at least one <i>"they were all friendly, gentle dogs"</i> comment from the owner, or a neighbor. Yeah - they're all nice gentle dogs until they rip the arm off of one of the neighbor kids.

I strongly believe (and others disagree) that there is something inherently wrong with the breed. It can't be that <i>all</i> the bad owners just happen to own pit bulls.

I think owning a pit bull is like owning a loaded gun - most of them probably won't hurt anyone, but would you really want one around your kid?

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mb99usa

Rottweilers are beginning to get the same reputation as pit-bulls. It is the same thing. Owners are having trouble getting pit-bulls so another breed is taking its place.

I am more wary of German Shepherds than any other dog. You want to talk about a breed with a mean-streak.

And check on what constitutes unprovoked. Many of these incidents have been found later to be provoked attacks that were not at first clear. I've heard incidents of pens and other objects jammed into the ears of dogs that were involved in unprovoked attacks. The items were only found after the animal was put-down.

I'm not saying every dog is innocent. Each dog has its own personality and will react to a situation differently. Saying there is something wrong with the breed is like saying there is something wrong with a race of people.

And yes I would feel entirely fine having one around my 2 little kids.

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So, what's your point?

It's not an attitude, it's a way of life.

yournamehere

No, it's not - dogs are bred to intentionally enhance or intensify particular physical and/or emotional traits. Not so with people (yet).

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If you want to avoid 95% of internet spelling errors:
"If your ridiculous pants are too loose, you're definitely going to lose them. Tell your two loser friends over there that they're going to lose theirs, too."
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rockogre

I have renamed my pump shotgun. It is now known as the "Happy Fun Stick", it should no longer be dangerous.

Pit Bulls, the offical White trash dog of Oklahoma.

Prejudiced? Moi? Damn right!

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Gotenks

I own 3 pits, i'm not gunna say that they're gentle, because god knows i'd be lying. Are they loving? Hell yes, just like any dog, if you respect them they'll respect you. Would I let my dogs outside on a leash? Hell no, they'd find a way off their leash and it's very much possible that they WOULD attack something/someone.

I will say that my biggest dog (homer) is around 115lb's. Overall he's a nice dog when it comes to humans, but i've seen him fit his mouth around the head of another pit in a split second. We used to keep him on a leash until he kept finding out how to get off (I dunno how). Anyways he got off one night, and I hear a knock at my door, a group of kids.. ages 5-10 (ish) standing there holding homer (bigger than all of them may I add). I gave em 20 bucks for bringing him back to me, and they all ran off. I just don't think I would feel too good if that had turned into another "pit kills kid" situation, and eversince we've kept them in the house.

About the name change though... I sure as hell aint callin em that.

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raeanna74

I have encountered "tame" Pit Bulls. Every one of their owners were fairly decent with them. One of whom had several children in their home. The home with children was irresponsible though with the dog. They let it out to roam as it pleased and it damaged other's property. A large breed dog should most often be raised in a place where it has room to run. When the dogs are raised in cramps apts and in the city they tend to go "wild" when let out. I think there should be a limit on how many dogs are allowed to live in one place. Granted that might affect breeders but there can be regulations and liscenses to handle those situations as well. It would give the authorities the ability to help prevent situations such as where 7 dogs escaped and killed. When dogs are kept in groups the "pack" mentality and "hunting" instincts take over. These dogs can be mild if trained right but I almost wonder if it wouldn't be possible for authorities to make it illegal to own one unless you take a brief course to know how to handle, train, and raise one. They can go bad just as easily as other dogs but when they do they are capable of doing much more damage. A toy poodle goes bad and the kid looses an ear - a pit bull goes bad and the kid looses a throat. Size makes the difference. I don't think changing the name will do any good. I think they need more regulations. Usually I'm not one for regulations - I run a home day care and regulations and red tape can be a pain. It is there for a reason - to protect those who can't stop what's going on. The people who've been killed when pit bulls escaped couldn't do anything to stop it. Those who have the ability need the regulations and thus authority to stop it.

Also - I think if more areas of our country that people were allowed to carry a weapon they would be able to protect themselves in these kinds of situations. Wisconsin is in the process of passing the law allowing us to carry w/liscense. I think it will help a lot.

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Psivage

Isn't there already a breed name New Yorkie?

WhoaitsZ

leave it to a proffesional to give a powerhouse a pussified name in hopes of changing reality.

pit bulls are great dogs. but they are no 'yorkie'. they are to be respected.

what an idiot.

(ps: I have done wars on defending pits for four diff threads so i'm skipping this one)

Lebell

Rename it "Super Happy Fun Stick" and the Japanese will beat a path to your door

BTW, I agree with you.

A pit bull by any other name is still a pit bull.

Imagine the headlines:

New Yorkie Attacks, Kills Tot

Boy there's some bad advertising!

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GakFace

Pit Bulls are great dogs.. I'd vote to stay Pit Bull.. New Yorkie? How many different ways can you take that? heh.

Now to retort to YNH
You could say the EXACT thing about me... yet i'm allowed to go out in public (Keep the immature jokes out of here please). I'm a nice, easy going kinda guy. But you know? At any moment I could lash out and stab you with a knife. I'm sorry but that is a weak excuse. Everything is good until it is bad... not just a dog.

My neighbors used to have a mixed breed. It was half Pit Bull and half.. something else. Either way, this dog was HUGE!! For the first year of them living beside us, we were downright terrified of that dog. Just simply because of its size. It would have had NO problem jumping over the four foot fence. Believe it or not, the dog was a huge scare-D-Cat. If we'd walk up to the fence (as he was literally leaning on it with his front paws on the top bar), he jump down and back away. It was pretty funny actually. He was a very good dog. Completely got me off that stereotypical view of them. These dogs are just as good as any other breed of animal. They are only known as "violent" because of a few reasons. Ya know, like how some people treat the animals like shit.. aka bad owners.. or perhaps how they train them to attack. There is Cock Fighting with chickens.. well some people use Pit Bulls.. well if you've been trained to fight, and fighting is the way you get good marks by your owner.. you'll fight..

Just because you see some as evil doesn't mean all are evil. To judge all of a species by one or two in it... is wrong and unjust. It too is wrong to state that just because something has the possiblity of doing something bad, that it must then be bad.

Can dogs really sense fear? If they can that would explain why some people get attacked. They see a pit bull and initially fear it because they were taught to, from there the dog senses it.. and well, you know the rest. Be nuetral to it, and it shall be nuetral to you.

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yournamehere

And I've taken the other side in as many.
Let's both skip this one and save the TFP a shitload of bandwith

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BoCo

I bet what happens is they're reported as pitbulls when they attack, but called New Yorkies all other times to throw off the dumb masses. The media does this crap more often than we think.

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