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I love this pic. Not only does it show two beautiful dogs, the reaction of those who posted to it clearly demonsrates a split I see in dog-owners. There are the oh-its-so-cute-and-cuddly types (most of whom hate this pic). For them, I say: Your dog is not a person! It is a dog. The other half, which I'm happy to see represents a majority of the comments posted (YEAH!) are those who have a bit better understanding of dogs, and were able to, at a glance, recognize the posture of these dogs correctly. For all you self-deemed "dog lovers" who hate this photo, I strongly suggest you do some real research and educate yourselves on the body language and social behavior of dogs.

It's not the breed of dog that makes this photo questionable. I don't care what breed you might portray like this, it LOOKS like aggression, not play, and it's not a good idea to post a photo of ANY dog like this.
There isn't enough "stoop" in the one dog's posture to positively identify this as play, and the shredded paper in the back ground means absolutely nothing.
I really like pits, and I disagree with those trying to "rid" the world of this breed, but the facts are, these dogs,like Akitas and rotties, are on the black ball list.
Perhapse if the owner had snapped the photo while one of the dogs was in the "play bow" or would have at least put a description of what these dogs were up to would have alleviated alot of the misconceptions. However, I suspect that if this owner was on the up and up, he/she would have popped in sooner to explain the photo...
Just my own humble opinion.

I also think people should treat these dogs better. My dog is half pitbull and the sweetedt dog ever.

Quite the response to this photo! I do have to admit it also makes me nervous seeing it. I am a huge dog lover and realize that pit bulls have really a wonderful gentle personality in the proper ownership and training. But like most folks here this will only give a more fearful and negative response to the breed from additional people. Which if you enjoy the breed you would want to protect the reputation not cause more harm. Whether at play or not the additonal body language of ear positioning and extreme eye contact only gives me the impression of a very negative situation.

i see nothing wrong with this photo, seeing as how this is the same way my rotties look when they play, they also sound like a few bears playing,.just because they are pitts, dont mean that they are mean dogs, or that they are "fighting"pitts can live together with out fighting & i have seen this with lots of them, so calm down with the bad remarks, thanks.

They look like they are in deep conversation.

Thank you all who wrote in regarding our family dogs. Contrary to most of these posts, both dogs are playing as usual. I happened to snap this photo at a time when their teeth were showing. They are extremely playful and NOT TRAINED TO ATTACK. As a matter of fact, the one on the left was adopted out of the city pound on the same day he was to be put to sleep. They have NEVER shown any signs of aggression. They were playing in Christmas wrapping paper on Christmas day and did a fine job of shredding it. The only reason we think this dog on the left was turned in to be destroyed is because he has a horrible underbite. Pit breeders only want the best. It's sad when it has to be this way. What's even sadder is the arrogance and ignorance of some people on this board (Joan) who wouldn't consider rescuing a breed from certain death just because of their looks or what the media has told them to think. My wife, children and myself adore these dogs. They play for hours and get the very best care. For some people, they get the negative image from a TV show or get their information from the news media and all of a sudden...they know everything about Pit Bulls. While I agree that this image might not agree with some uneducated people, those who own Pit Bulls know full well of their playful and loyal nature. We have had these dogs for 2 years now. I apologize to anyone who was offended at this image and maybe I did wrong in putting it up (although the moderator didn't believe so). So Shalimar, Joan, and other who think I need to be put to shame and this image wiped clean, remember this. Instead of buying from a breeder, my family went to the city dog pound and adopted two dogs who are usually put to sleep because of their bad rap can you say the same? I know now where they get that bad rap from, people like yourselves. Moments after this shot was taken, they continued to take turns chasing each other and when boredon set in, then switched to their play toys. They aren't the smartest breed but neither are the people who want to shame me for giving this wonderful breed a chance.

Ok I have not read everyones reply to this picture...but I would like to point something out. The reason this breed gets such a bad reputation is, A - irresponsible owners and bad breeders, B - Pit fighters and C- ignorant people. Now please do not think I am calling anyone names here...I just think that if this were two Labradors showing their teeth, no one would complain. Maybe Im wrong. However, just because they are showing their teeth to eacother does NOT by any means show that they are fighting dogs, nor does it even prove aggression. I know many many dogs who do this while playing, I also know dogs who do it on command. My beagle "smiles" when I ask him to. There is honestly no way to tell from a picture just what is going on, but I can assure you if they were serious, the person taking the picture would only have a very short time to take a descent picture before they start attacking. I think its obvious from the picture that these two dogs are comfortable with eachother. My dogs often have mini mock fights to establish dominance, especially over a bone or something...if its not playing, the two dogs could be simply saying "Stay away from that" Basically what I am trying to say is don't jump to conclusions. I think they are both very nice looking Dogs, a Red Nose and a Chocolate colored APBT or AST? I rarely see the chocolate color, I like that. I think its a humourous Pic. : )

I think this picture is amusing. It's obvious these two aren't fighting because there is no blood.. there is no... I won't repeat what other have said. I think it is ignorant that people automatically throw this photo into the category of demeaning the breed's reputation! I mean.. if they knew the breed for what it really is, loving and an awesome dog, then they wouldn't jump on the bandwagon and go off shooting allegations at this photograph.

All dogs play, all dogs bear teeth when playing. people need to accept that fact and stop stereotyping the breed. If two Afghans were to replace these two dogs, but be in the exact same positions im sure that they would not be accused for THREE PAGES of posts that the dogs are being misrepresented.

I am astonished that people would be so quick to assume the worst. What does that say about you as dog lovers? You're just as bad as any other person who isn't educated in dogs. Think about THAT for a moment and maybe you would see that it would be better to bite your tongue or really think before you speak when you are confronted by a situation such as this.


geesh

Thanks Aysel, you're absolutely right. As a matter of fact, the latger dog was rescued just before they were going to euthanize at the animal shelter. I knew that having two Pits might be a problem and so I took him in temporarily. These two dogs get along so well with my family, and play with my daughters so much, I couldn't even think of sending Sumo (the bigger one), to another home. Both of them are keepers and the best dogs we've ever had. Too bad the other people who posted couldn't get past what the media wants them to believe. Great post and thanks for writing Aysel!

Well folks you're not going to believe this. I'm sincerely offering my deepest apology for including this photo on the internet. yes, these dogs love each other and they are only playing. I'm an idiot for posting this particular picture because it gives a bad representation of the breed. had it been any other dog, such as a beagle, maybe it wouldv'e been cute. I've reviewed this shot several times and came to this conclusion. I'm very sorry to the Pitbull owners out there who have worked their rumps off trying to establish a better representation for this breed. My apology is aimed towards you. The reason for posting this shot in the first place, and you can barely see it, is because SUMO (pictured on the left), has an interesting way of sticking his tongue out and blowing. kind of like what Archie Bunker does to Meathead. So, once again, I do apologize to those who were offended and the fine people who own this fantastic breed.

Whether or not those dogs are fighting dogs, I believe that picture in inappropriate & wonder what your point is in posting. It is probably offensive to most PB owners, including me.

OK I BREED BLUE AMERICAN PITT BULLS, I HAVE A 3MO. OLD PUP AND A 17MO. OLD FEMALE. I CAN NOT TELL YOU HOW MANY TIMES A DAY I GO OUT TO THEIR RUN AND SEE MY PUP IN SNARLS AT THE OLDER ONE. THEY ARE JUST PLAYING!!!! THIS PERSON TAKES REALLY GOOD CARE OF THESE BY THE LOOKS OF THEM. DO ANY OF YOU HAVE CHILDREN?? DO THEY ARGUE??? PUT TO DOGS AND I DON'T CARE WHAT BREED TOGETHER AND BELIEVE ME THEY ARE TOO GOING TO HAVE THEIR DIFFERENCES ON OCATION AS WELL!! DO I AGREE WITH THIS PIC? NO BUT IN THE OWNERS DEFENCE I UNDERSTAND THE TWO DOGS COMPLETLY AND BY THE WAY IF THEY WERE FIGHTING DOGS THEY WOULD BE SCARED BEYOND BELIEF!!!
IT'S NEVER THE DOGS FAULT IT'S THE OWNERS WHEN IT COMES TO MEAN PITTS.

Furangel,
Did you bother reading my above post or did you just jump to a conclusion?

Actually, I did not see your post as I did not realize there were more than one page of post. However, I would not have thought of it as cute or funny regardless of the breed but, I did not think it was smart, for many reasons, to post it, especially of this breed. Not everybody is educated on this breed & judge them with only what they have heard. I do appreciate you explaining this picture & I hope people take the time to read it. It may appear to people that have not read it that it was posted for inappropriate reasons. As a rescuer of this breed, I have seen uneducated people's reacting to these dogs & work hard to help educate them. I hate to see things like this that can easily be taken the wrong way.

Anyway, you have two beautiful PBs. I own two myself & cannot imagine life w/o them.

There simply fighting over some wrapping paper. They are pack animals if it was too poodles it would be cute. Yeah the dogs look to be well groomed and perfect shape I have pits myself they cant laugh and giggle when playing they do grawl and bite and show teeth but rarely hurt each other only when they get carried away.