I can't for the life of me, understand the attraction in having a dog around that is nothing but a liability. We have two little house dogs that give us a lot of pleasure and companionship (and are both at my feet at the moment.) They are also whole-house alarm systems with incredible hearing that that will wake the dead at any suspicious bump in the night. I can take it from there. My "real" dog is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever. He weighs, usually 3 or 4 pounds under the top of the breed standard (which is 80 pounds for a properly built male.) He's a great dog on upland or waterfowl. He swims long and fast and he's done blind retrieves on birds everyone thought were lost for sure. He's earned a pass in every sanctioned hunt test he's been in. He will not fight another dog. Why would I want him to? It can lead to permanently being banned from UKC events. I don't feel like I have any particular shortcomings that can be compensated for by having a dog that weighs 30% over the breed standard or that will rip the schitt out of any other dog in the neighborhood.
There are an alarming number of pit bulls and similar dogs around, many, if not most, in the hands of people with no fugging clue how to train or handle a dog. When my wife and I are out walking with the two little dogs, we have a procedure in the event of an uncontrolled, agressive dog coming after us. She takes both little dogs by their harnesses and gets behind me, keeping me between her and the threat. Don't touch me, just keep me between her and the threat. I'll take care of the rest.
I've actually known people into dog fighting. (The operative term being "known." They weren't my friends, I just knew them.) Their family had a history of felony criminal behavior, alcoholism, drug abuse, child sexual abuse and suicide. A limited sample, yeah, but that's what I associate with people enthralled by vicious, out of control dogs.
If JRT's were dragging a 14" limp d!ck behind them the trailer trash posse would keep those too...it's all about projecting an image.
