I have been a dog lover since I could spell it. Advocating for their rights, working at a dog daycare, and adopting dogs into their forever homes. When I was eight years old, we adopted a dog and I helped by chipping in some of my communion money I had got that year. So yes, I would say I like dogs a lot.
There are over 300 known dog breeds in the world, and there are hundreds of mixes of breeds throughout the world. Every single dog breed has their own characteristics along with them, while every individual dog has their own character traits as well. Specifically, pit bulls are the most misunderstood dogs all over the world. There are over ten countries that have heavy restrictions related to pit bulls or Staffy-like dogs, some actually ban the breed entirely. But it is not that simple. There are pit bulls, American bullies, Staffordshire bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, bull terriers and many other bully breeds that do fall under that umbrella. Pit bulls and bully breeds are the number one breed to be found in a shelter, also more commonly found to be abandoned, abused and used by humans. Additionally, I worked at dog daycare for about three years, being exposed to many different breeds and falling in love with them all. I specifically fell in love with bully breeds. They were silly, outgoing, playful and absolute cuddle bugs. As the media covers dog attacks and fatal injuries due to dogs, it is mostly covering dogs who are deemed “scary” such as German shepherds, Rottweilers, pit bulls and any other breed under that umbrella, causing false narratives to be placed on the breeds.
Additionally, adopting is not always sunshine and rainbows as dogs come with very high needs especially if they have endured things before you as an owner. Something that needs to be on your radar when adopting a dog is training. Some dogs seem perfect but they will have little quirks that could turn into something a little more serious as the issues goes untended to. A lot of dogs I saw at the daycare showed resource guarding, specifically toys, their space, and a huge one is their food. They could be the world’s sweetest dog but once food is in front of them, they turn aggressive. This is more common in dogs who come from shelters, the streets or abusive owners, as they may never have had their own items or they had to fight for their food in their past lives. This could be an extremely dangerous issue, as it could become more than guarding their own food and starting to guard human food as well. It is an easy fix though, with training and lots of changes to their eating habits. A very interesting fact about dogs is that they know what they are doing when they act a certain way, and if there is no intervention, they will continue to do as there are no consequences for their behavior. Every single dog on this planet has their own specific personality and maybe a few quirks that are not so good.
Featured image by Aleishka Ruiz on Canva.
