Good Dog or Bad Dog? The Statistics Are Horrifying...?

Beacuse irresponsibility and ignorance knows no socio-economic borders.

Because people see labs as the perfect starter dogs that will do fine without training but in fact labs are hard work and in todays worlds dogs are now seen as accessories , when you don't want it anymore or does not fit you just give it away to the shelter where most of them die.

I have found that the abused and neglected Pitties make great pets Why ? because they are so grateful you choose them and gave them a chance.

Both of these breeds are bought for the wrong reasons.

Labs because apparently they are "easy dogs"

and Pitbull" because of their strong appearance.

I won’t state what people have already said but ill add to it

shelter puppies rule? - Yes that’s very true most people turn their noses at the great american pitbull terrier simply because it’s a pitbull”

100% Agree with EVERYTHING you have said.

a gal and her dog - Yet again true , can you really live with a 2 year old for 15 years since most dogs are as boisterous as a 2 year old

American Pit Bull Terrier Lover - Sadly in today’s world it takes ONE APPLE to spoil the tree.

Jennifer T - Amen to you could not have said it better.

Have you noticed all the “what breed should I get “ question at least 5 people suggest Labs or Goldens and they do not know anything about there life style.

Over here in England Staffies make up most of the dogs in shelters.

The problem is at the higher end of the lead.

The reason they both end up in shelters so often is because they are both extremely popular breeds, though a lot of times for different reasons. The irresponsible backyard breeders see this and think they can make a quick buck by breeding their lab or pit bull, so there are an over abundance of both, so they both end up in shelters often, and not all of them find homes.

And another reason many Pit Bulls end up in shelters is because people fear them, or they move somewhere that doesn't allow them. And they are Very hard to adopt out because people fear them, they don't want to adopt an adult Pit Bull with an unknown history.

The reason labs are hard to adopt out, especially black labs, is because there are just so many of them, and also because they are big dogs who shed a lot. Seems the trend lately is to buy a cute unique small mixed breed dog.

This is just what I've seen and experienced through volunteering at an animal shelter, working at a vet clinic, and talking to people who have surrendered their dog, or adopted a dog.

***Tiff above me made a good point. If you read answers when people are asking what breed they should get SO many people say that labs are absolutely perfect. Everyone is recomending labs, so some unknowing person might buy a lab puppy, it is cute and small, and they were promised it would be a good easily trainable dog. But when the dog starts to get older and bigger, they realize this dog was more than they could handle. They are Large dogs, they are intelligent, Very Energetic, and they shed a lot. People don't do their research, so they just don't see it coming, and the poor dogs are the ones who have to suffer.

I think that a lot of it has to do with ignorance. People get a dog without really knowing what they are in for. You can research all you want, but it isn't the same as actually owning a dog.They are a lot of effort and they are very expensive. Unfortunately, many people see no problem with taking a dog to the dog pound the minute it becomes an inconvenience. I think that the reason you see so many pits and labs at shelters is because they are EVERYWHERE! Craigslist has ads for either cheap or free labs and pits every day. They are both on freecycle all the time ,too (along with golden retrievers).There was a posting on my local freecycel last week from a lady who got a puppy from another freecycler and was furious that he had worms. She fumed that she didn't know that this 8 week old puppy had worms.She needed him gone ASAP. I hate to be a snobby, rude jerk and look down on others , but that was too much for me. With people thinking like this lady, it's no wonder the animal shelters are so crowded :(

That's a really great point. And it's so true. Lab mixes and Pits are the dogs that you can always find at the shelter. Jenn said it perfectly....

But I think it has to do with "media" too. Labs are top of the charts in one way and Pits a different way. Almost everyone knows about both breeds and that makes them "wanted" by different sorts of people-but people all the same. Because they are so well known although for different reasons...people want them because they expect them to be a certain way. Maybe they just want a lab cause they're ALL "nice". Maybe they want a pit to look like a punk-no offence to responsible pit owners. Or maybe they want a pit just to prove that they aren't mean. Who knows. The point is....they're both at the top of "some" chart so they're popular and people want them because of it.

ADD: Ms Mystery....I could not agree LESS.

"The shelter people" have the best interest at heart for any dog that comes their way. MOST do not throw labels on dogs just to make them more desirable and I really find it insulting that you both think that and assume that all "shelter people" do the same thing. There are plenty of reliable animal shelters that know what they're doing and place a dog with the family that is best suited for them!!

Different brees of dogs are bred for different traits. Their talents lie in different directions as it where. For example, a litter of pointer putppies will point at a strange object just by instinct.

OK- so certain breeds have tendencies towars certain types of behavior and there fore are very easily trained to do that behavior when it is desired. A border collie is great for herding sheep, yet , while it may be possible, training a pointer to her sheep may be very difficult.

The dogs having the most desirable characteristics in the breed (for example, the best sheep herders) keep getting bred to each other to better and better those characteristics.

Training is crucial, on any breed, but there are natural characteristics that can be expected out of purebred, while not all have the same degree of talent or lack of talent, there are inhernt talents.

No dog is savage, unless mishandled, but most people know very little about a breed when they purchase and much less about how to control the inherent behavior. If you buy a so call "protective " breed and don't socialize and play agressive games with it- you will have a dog that is over protective, and has too extreme a prey drive.

Whose fault? People who don't study breed characteristics before they take on home and don't take the responsibility to make sure it is raised correctly for that breed.

Labrador are a very intelligent and trainable breed. Therefore when properly trained they are quit impressive. Even my Schnauzer isn't jumping in freezing water. But I think the reputation of being a good breed is what gets this breed in trouble You have a lot people that have never owned a dog, go out and get a Labrador. What is not said is these dogs like most breeds need a lot of exercise and training. So once the dog takes a part the house a few times. The owner decides to get rid of it. There are also breeding issues. Such as in breeding, which makes a problematic dog

They're both victims of generalizations.

Upper middle class, "all american" families see Labs as being gentle, friendly and trainable. Those who have never had a dog go with a Lab because they expect it to be easy. They are so wrong! Labs require a lot more work than a lot of breeds who are overlooked. They need a lot of exercise and a lot of training. I could hazard a guess that an untrained lab who lives with a normal family could end up being a bigger problem than a pit bull who had no people in his life in the first place.

Most of us on this site know the truth about pit bulls so I won't go into detail about them- they can be just as great as companions as any other dog. The problem is that idiots think they're status symbols and use them as accessories or entertainment. The people who create the "bad" pit bulls are the ones who should rot away in a cage, awaiting death- not the dogs.

Add:

The pit bulls end up in shelters because the idiots get bored with them or they get to be too much of a problem for the idiots to handle.

Good dog, bad dog, I dont think so.

its the other way around, good owners, bad owners, people are the cause of all these babies being put down...the dog was not born bad, but people made them that way.

and to correct a little statistics wise, there are so many German Shepherds and GS mixes in the pounds also, for the same reason, and they can be found in every shelter.....not just a few shelters.....

a large dog is more likely to end up without a home rather than a small dog, people get puppies, oh how cute, then they get too large to care for, then here goes, a new home, or to the shelters.....

large dogs of all breeds are there, and the labs and pitts are the on top of the list......In Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, it was printed in last years AKC news forum, that the top dogs in shelters and placed at the dog rescue centers were as follows:::

Collies

Dobermans

German Shepherds

Labs

Pitts

Rotti's,. yes Rotti's are showing up more and more at these shelters, we now have 9 Rotti's and 12 GS in the local shelter here....and guess what, not one lab or pitt.........

If people would just think before they buy a dog, make sure it fits their lifestyle first, then maybe we could stop all the poor babies being put down...

I wish I had 100,000 acres, I would be rich, and would be a shelter so magnificient, so that no dog or cat would ever go hungry or be put down again....but as people get lazier and dont want to care for the pets, I dont even think that much land would hold all the homeless babies that are in the world right now............

DOGS RULES,

Lousy BYB's, puppy mills, and pet stores are to mainly blame.

stop them, and we have it made......

Breeder/show/handler 15 yrs

I don't have anything to add to this question since it's all been repeated dozens of times above lol. So I will just state something slightly off topic.

Shelters always try to find pits a home by calling them Lab mixes. Sure there are such thing as lab/pit mixes, but most of the time they aren't labs at all, just pits with the lab label so that people who would normally not bother looking at them give them a chance. Kind of funny to pretend the opposite dog of the spectrum is being called the other.

Because labs are a very popular dog they are bred/owned by irresponsible people. Pits are gotten by irresponsible people looking for a tough image and because they are generally cheap. Both end up in shelters because the people getting them don't consider the needs of the dogs. Labs are expected to be the perfect dogs and when the people realize they need to be trained like any other dog, owners bail out. Pits are given up when the people looking for an image or a dog for cheap get sick of an untrained dog. Therefore, both end up in shelters with the same fate. I know because I volunteer at one. Some of the reasons dogs are turned into us:

Too big

Too small

Too old

Too young

Too expensive

Doesn't match my couch

Moving

Untrainable (but really not)