Wednesday

Pit Bulls: Supersize Me!



"Hey, is that a Pit?" the guy asked.
"At least that's what they tell me!" Six week old Rocky stopped chasing imaginary playmates long enough to give the stranger his undivided attention (a whole three seconds' worth).

I was accustomed to people asking me what breed Rocky was. Rocky is a sleek, yet modest, 60 - 65 pound menace NOW, but as a pup he was always much smaller than other American Pit Bull Terriers his age. Because of this, people usually thought he was some other kind of terrier or bully breed.

"Really? He's little!" By now the guy was squinting; as though he were trying to see an ant scale a tree from thirty feet away.
"No, he's six weeks." Can you sense the sarcasm?
"Yeah, my dog was bigger than that at six weeks, though," he countered, shaking his head.
"Well, perhaps my boy just got the smaller side of the genes, huh." I was really getting annoyed.

Why is there so much infatuation with over sized Pit Bulls? Most, if not all, of these "giant" Pit Bulls are cross-breeds, mixed with English Bulldogs or Mastiffs usually. If I had wanted a Bulldog or Mastiff, I would have adopted a Bulldog or Mastiff.

The problem is that most of these large Pit Bulls are being bred for the "scare factor" alone. A 120lb Pit Bull is a bit more intimidating than a 60lb Pit Bull. Shouldn't breeders focus more on temperament than size? What about possible health consequences?

This "bigger is better" mentality may be a by-product of the male dominated Pit Bull breeding circuit (shh...).

Oh, yeah, I ran into that guy again when Rocky was about ten months old. Suddenly, my Pit Bull was "big and ripped." Funny how puppies can do that...grow, that is.

Have you ever met someone obsessed with "giant Pit Bulls?"

 
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